1023's 2024-2025 Journal

[bowhunter1023]

I did deer things yesterday, so you could say it's getting serious...

I've been chipping away at things here and there, mainly babying the nicest clover plot I've ever grown. It's not in a great spot for hunting, but it's getting a ton of traffic.

I gave up on our back field. It's just too much for me to keep up with, so dad agreed to let it go from the year and we're exploring native prairie restoration for this 3.5 acres. I'm blown away by the deer sign all through and around it. Plant some soft mast, some pines, and a native prairie seed mix and let it go seems like a good idea.

Life's been ridiculous of late, so I needed some tractor therapy to unwind. Spent 3.5 hours hogging on Sunday and 2 more last night. My plots are all mowed and ready to spray. I had an "Oh shit!" moment last week when I realized I had to get started on plots this week or I'd be behind schedule. Where does the time go?!?

Looking forward to another year in the Corner Pocket.

Oh, and this guy. He's cool. Needs 3 years, but you know how that goes

 

[bowhunter1023]

Spent some time doing deer chores while the girls went to the pool. Added urea to my plot screen, which is now planted N/S instead of E/W since my neighbors have taken full advantage (and then some) of having land next to a manage farm. Their new blind won't have the same view this year

Here's an unsolicited ad for Domain Seed, specifically their Comeback Kid clover mix. This plot has dog shit soil and I didn't add a thing to it. Tilled it for the first time last fall, seeded and finally mowed it 2 weeks ago. It's a nice little clover patch with a great scrape tree. It makes this stand just a touch better!

Picked up my supervisor for a cruise around the block to see what crops are in rotation around the neighborhood. Caught her sleeping on the job!

 

[finelyshedded]

Great update Jesse! Looking great so far.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Life got in the way of deer season most of the summer, but I made good progress behind the house yesterday. We set a post for the new Boss Buck feeder, and 4 posts for a new permanent base for the Redneck. Made the move with no issues thankfully. I'll get the decking done this week, so more pics to come. I'm taking a "mental health" day tomorrow so I can clear trails and till plots at the farm. Fingers crossed the forecast holds and we get rain Friday! I may be way behind, but I'm going to do my best to get caught up in the next 4 weeks.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Made good use of a "mental health day" today. Spent the morning with Kaydence, who brought her new woodworking skills to the project thanks to 4H. She was a big help today and it was a pleasure having competent roustabout with me!

We set these posts behind our house on Saturday in a spot roughly 100 yards from where the blind used to be. With the way the pressure has increased back here and the need to be the best baiter in the neighborhood if we're going to win the bait wars, I wanted to adjust our feeder location to a more secluded location. Bucks can safely view this from a higher elevation and approach it using the terrain to stay hidden from the ridge lines. I have neighbors with stands/feeders 150 yards N and S of here, but I've got the upper hand on seclusion.

Sis can even handle a 2x6x8 now!

I gambled on padding and carpet, and need some more, but she's in place. I'll add some brush to it after I finish the floor (added cheap anti-fatigue floor mats under the carpet to dampen the sound). Miss Kenna Grace says she wants to make her hunting debut this fall, so we'll likely be here on opening day. One good thing about the new location is on low wind, good thermal days, we can hunt this on practically any wind and be relatively safe.

Made it to the farm and put another 6 hours on the tractor. Tilled 2 plots and opened up the Pond Holler road after being shut off for 3 years. The bridge washed out and high walled the creek. I'm no @giles with the equipment, but not bad for 20 minutes and a 23hp tractor. The bank was 4' on the far side and 2' closest to me. It's been a pain in the ass not having this crossing in because it forces me to climb the big hill on the other side of the property every time. This is a much safer route on a quad or tractor, and less steep for the e-bike.

If the forecast holds, all the plots will be in and rained on by Fri/Sat. If only I can get that lucky!

 

[giles]

Did a fine job!

 

[Sgt Fury]

Nice work Jesse. What are you feeding those kids? They are growing up super fast. They gonna be in college before you know it.

 

[bowhunter1023]

The first of the plots are in here at the house. I first planted this small kill plot 20 years ago. Tracie and I had been together a little over a year, so she knew I had the sickness. For my birthday, she bought me my first trail cam (35mm Moultrie) and a bag of no-till food plot seed from Biologic. I used a weedeater and a rake to prep it and that was food plot #1, and a whole new sickness was born. Fast forward two decades and I hit it with herbicide 3 days ago, then used the tractor to mow it clean. Still a "poor man's plot" as Bill Winke would call it, but a little less of a back breaker! Hit it with a combo of Domain No BS and Domain Bombshell, so we'll see how it does in a true "backwoods" plot.

I started this plot circa-2014, but never put much into it. I started reclaiming it last year and was pleased with the usage. I increased the total SF by 30% this year and will be able to add another 15-20% next year. Eventually, this will be a clover plot, but it got the same mix as the one above.

Excitement is high with the forecast. I'll have time to get all 5 plots done at the farm tomorrow and if the weather holds, I should be in good shape.

Speaking of good shape, this plot blows my mind. I sprayed and tilled this for the first time last fall. Terrible soil, no soil test, and no lime/fertilizer. Seeded with Domain Comeback Kid. Mowed once this summer. Despite the drought, this clover has thrived in the creek bottom. 2 of the plots I'm planting tomorrow are in the creek bottom and the goal is to duplicate this in 3 locations strategically located along major travel routes.

 

[at1010]

The first of the plots are in here at the house. I first planted this small kill plot 20 years ago. Tracie and I had been together a little over a year, so she knew I had the sickness. For my birthday, she bought me my first trail cam (35mm Moultrie) and a bag of no-till food plot seed from Biologic. I used a weedeater and a rake to prep it and that was food plot #1, and a whole new sickness was born. Fast forward two decades and I hit it with herbicide 3 days ago, then used the tractor to mow it clean. Still a "poor man's plot" as Bill Winke would call it, but a little less of a back breaker! Hit it with a combo of Domain No BS and Domain Bombshell, so we'll see how it does in a true "backwoods" plot.

View attachment 198084

I started this plot circa-2014, but never put much into it. I started reclaiming it last year and was pleased with the usage. I increased the total SF by 30% this year and will be able to add another 15-20% next year. Eventually, this will be a clover plot, but it got the same mix as the one above.

View attachment 198085

Excitement is high with the forecast. I'll have time to get all 5 plots done at the farm tomorrow and if the weather holds, I should be in good shape.

View attachment 198086

Speaking of good shape, this plot blows my mind. I sprayed and tilled this for the first time last fall. Terrible soil, no soil test, and no lime/fertilizer. Seeded with Domain Comeback Kid. Mowed once this summer. Despite the drought, this clover has thrived in the creek bottom. 2 of the plots I'm planting tomorrow are in the creek bottom and the goal is to duplicate this in 3 locations strategically located along major travel routes.

View attachment 198087

Looks great man!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Plots are in at the farm. The smorgasbord includes:

Pond Holler - Domain No BS & Hot Chic
Runway - Domain No BS & Hot Chic
Big Plot - Domain Green Machine & Bombshell
Corner Pocket - Real World Wildlife Deadly Dozen
The 3rd Field - Vitalize Seed Carbon Load & Anilogics Amazin' Grains.

Shout out to @Fluteman for damn near jinxing me today after the subject of yellow jackets came up in our group text. Somehow, I sprayed and mowed over a nest without getting hit. I ran it clean over with the mower deck today

Now let it rain! 🌧

 

[bowhunter1023]

With the exception of a few adjustments to my stand, we're done behind the house. Finished the flooring, bolted it down, and added some brush. The does took right to it, so we should be in great shape for opening day.

 

[Sgt Fury]

With the exception of a few adjusts to my stand, we're done behind the house. Finished the flooring, bolted it down, and added some brush. The does took right to it, so we should be in great shape for opening day. View attachment 198237View attachment 198238View attachment 198239

Brushing it in made a HUGE difference….doesnt stand out at all, blends right in.

 

[TinyTucky]

Looking great Jesse! Looking forward to your updates.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Nothing like drawing up a plan and seeing deer read the instructions. After 4-5 days of non-stop use by "this" buck, I realized it was actually two different bucks. The top one is a new face and a 3 year old. The bottom one is the one I was hoping to see and is clearly mature. Having a second option is perfect for a dad with two huntresses ready to drop the hammer!

We'll see what velvet peel, acorns, and dried up beans do for us, but I'm convinced we'll have plenty of opportunities here. It's a far more secure location for them to feed than our previous location, it's much safer to hunt in terms of access and wind, and in a neighborhood full of feeders and bait piles, seems like I'm the first one to give them what they've wanted since winter. Doesn't hurt I go the extra mile on what's actually in that brown jug

 

[WoodCoDep]

yeet yeet

 

[Hedgelj]

That second buck is mature and at least in that photo much more wary looking than the other. Looking forward to reading along with you this season.

 

[giles]

That's all the one is ever going to be and he's plenty for most! Kill hims!!! Kill hims dead!!!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Pulled two cams from a long soak at the farm, and one behind the house. Not a bad pull for a guy with two kids itching to get in the woods. Not a good pull for a guy looking for something special. We will have fun this fall because the young buck crop is the best in recent memory. The # of 2-3-year-old good bucks we have around both spots will make for some fun sits, and we have an army of does at both places, too. Target rich environments for the girls!

This feller will be fun to see in person. Bright future ahead if he can avoid the wrong hunter(s).

I've had cams on the farm since 2005. This is the 2nd best 2-year-old ever. He's off-limits to Kaydence, and I think if I explain to Kenna, she'd pass him even if we had a shot at killing him for her first deer. She's a smart cookie like that The girls love Uno and since he only has one brow, why not? We'll call him Uno.

Lincoln is back. Found his sheds in the "Second Field" this spring and he's become one of the biggest homebodies I've seen in a long time. He's the only 4-year-old on the farm now. He'll get a pass from dad, but he's fair game for the girls.

The house is the house. Reliable as they come. Nothing huge, but I know they are around from my summer scouting. Good options for the girls and I'll sit back there when it's most convenient because of that summer scouting.

 

[bowhunter1023]

And now we collect data. Whites are regular, blues are cell. I've never seen the woods look like the do right now. The spicebushes look dead, not like it's fall (and hopefully that's true). It's wild how dry it is here. Did see some good sign from the white oaks, so there's some food waiting on them there.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Had to rescue some plots today. Looks like we may get rain M-Tu-W, so I put down some oats. As you can see, the drought cost me $300 in seed the first round and half that in a last ditch effort. Come on rain!

Even my beautiful clover field gave up the ghost. I mowed it low and overseeded. As long as we get some decent rain, it'll recover. Otherwise it'll be next spring before it wakes back up.

All the corn and beans in a 2 mile radius with the exception of one small patch of corn have come off already. Earliest harvest I can recall. The acorns have them occupied for now, but when those dry up, golden acorns will be extra powerful this year.