1023's Seasonal Exploits - 2020 Edition

[bowhunter1023]

Spent 12 hours at the farm today banging out all my preseason stuff with one exception and that was a ground blind. It'll just have to wait cause I ran out of steam. Here's before pics of the North Ridge Plot, which got planted with Whitetail Institute Extreme, the Runway Plot, which got planted with Frigid Forage Autumn Quick Plot, and the Pond Holler Plot that got the same FF mix.

@5Cent hunted this farm back when it was pristine and mowed down. Some of you guys remember the Big Plot, well, this is it now...

There's actually still plenty of clover in there. The goal has been to increase bedding throughout the farm and we've probably overdone it, but I like it better than when it was cleaned up. From where I took this pic, you used to be able to see 350 yards to the property line.

And these 2 pics show 7 years of regrowth that's increased this sanctuary by 10x.

With the crop field immediately adjacent to it, it's become a haven for deer. I have 4 cards to go check, but I don't expect much from a buck standpoint. Right now, we have does, cover, and food. When the bucks breakup their bachelor groups and head for new territory, our farm is a much better place to settle down than it was 10 years ago. I'm pretty pleased with, and proud of, how this place lays out right now. We prepped 7 sets today and I'm confident in each one. Add in the ability to go mobile, and life is good come October!

 

[Isaacorps]

Can’t put a price on sweat equity. Looks good, man!

 

[bowhunter1023]

The girls asked if we could get ice cream and go for a drive tonight to look for deer. It's not hard to talk me into that, but boy am I glad we did. I witnessed something tonight I've never seen and I've been road scouting this area religiously since 2005. A little over a mile west of my place, were 9 bucks in this bean field. 4 of them were shooters. 3 were really nice 2 or 3 year olds, including a beautiful young 10-point that's clearly got Booner genetics. Of the 4 shooters, 2 were giants and 1 of them may have been a Booner. He was already in his fall coat and from 150 yards, it looked like you could sit 2 5-gallon buckets in his rack. Another of the shooters was only 30 yards off the road and he let us watch him for 5 minutes. Easily 19" wide with thick, heavy beams and spilt brows. Truly an incredible 5 minutes of observation. We were fighting over binos to say the least!

 

[Sgt Fury]

The girls asked if we could get ice cream and go for a drive tonight to look for deer. It's not hard to talk me into that, but boy am I glad we did. I witnessed something tonight I've never seen and I've been road scouting this area religiously since 2005. A little over a mile west of my place, were 9 bucks in this bean field. 4 of them were shooters. 3 were really nice 2 or 3 year olds, including a beautiful young 10-point that's clearly got Booner genetics. Of the 4 shooters, 2 were giants and 1 of them may have been a Booner. He was already in his fall coat and from 150 yards, it looked like you could sit 2 5-gallon buckets in his rack. Another of the shooters was only 30 yards off the road and he let us watch him for 5 minutes. Easily 19" wide with thick, heavy beams and spilt brows. Truly an incredible 5 minutes of observation. We were fighting over binos to say the least!

View attachment 106858

Do you have permission to hunt there? If not, do any of the bucks you’ve observed in the past make there way over to your place? I’d love to see a hero pic of that wide one!

 

[5Cent]

Not trying to jinx ya, but feels like this could be a good year bubba!!

 

[bowhunter1023]

Do you have permission to hunt there? If not, do any of the bucks you’ve observed in the past make there way over to your place? I’d love to see a hero pic of that wide one!

No. I've made several unsuccessful attempts in the past to hunt that farm and the one next to it. But, I have also seen several bucks there in years past that I've eventually seen on camera or in person on our place. If I'm the king of that group, I'm going somewhere other than in the woods behind my house, but you never know. Especially once the rut rolls around.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Girls asked if we could go for drive tonight and look for deer. I've never pressured my girls to like hunting, but have made it accessible and fun when they do show interest. Whether they grow into hunters, or marry hunters and make good wives because they "get it", either one is a victory for this dad.

 

[Dustinb80]

Love it

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

Great picture!

 

[5Cent]

Pure gold Jesse.

 

[Big_Holla]

I'll say it again Jesse, you are doing it right. Those girls seem genuinely interested in everything outdoors, best roots kids can have these days.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Just drove the quad "around the block" and saw 6 really nice bucks, 4 shooters, 3 of which are 150+, including the one I've got pics of here behind the house. One of the other 3 is a 20" wide 8 with split brows. Really cool buck. The remaining 2 are the same 2 "giants" we saw a few weeks ago. They were still too far off the road to truly gauge, but they're plenty big enough to be considered giants in my book. The one is flirting with Booner status depending on final time count. Hell of a crop of bucks for us that's for sure.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Spent the day tidying up around the barns, moving cams, setting up mock scrapes, and generally enjoying a beautiful day. My upper food plot in the woods is a no go, but the other 3 look great and the oaks look promising. Our doe population is in great shape, so I expect the bucks to be showing up soon.

 

[5Cent]

Beautiful sights ninja!

 

[MoonLab]

Good shit, jesse

 

[OhioWhiteTails]

I like what I see.

 

[bowhunter1023]

Food plots are looking good!

 

[bowhunter1023]

What a start to the season! It was a slow morning other than the two deer we saw walking in. I really expected them to come back, but we never saw them. I started picking up at 9 and just as I was about to decock the crossbow, I heard a stomp and snort right behind us. I peaked out the back window and 2 does were eye level at 15 steps behind the blind. They were nervous for a few minutes, then moved off to our right. I figured they'd hit the corn before bedding for the day, so we got ourselves ready for the shot. Sure enough, 5 minutes later, here comes this doe. We sat patiently while she fed, eventually giving her a broadside shot at 27 yards.

The crossbow startled all 3 of us when it went off! I had the binos on her and saw the lighted nock disappear in her liver. Within 60 seconds, I heard her companion blowing where they'd ran off towards. I hurried down to the shot to confirm blood type, then we backed out for 45 minutes. I've seen a few liver shot deer with Rages and there's not much need to wait more than 30 minutes and sure enough, she was stone dead when we found her. I'm a proud daddy this morning!

 

[giles]

Oustanding!!!!

 

[Sgt Fury]

Congrats to the young lady...she’s a killer!