Looks good Jesse. How high up is that stand you were in? Looks like it's 50' up a tree by the view! lol
Jesse's Off Season Thread
- Thread starter bowhunter1023
- Start date
I don't have a cultipacker yet, just used an '01 Honda Rancher and an '07 Honda Rancher! :smiley_clap:
That is the 17' Big Dog buddy stand I bought off of Phil, but it is hung on a shelf above the bottom. It's a good 25-30' above the plot on one side, then you turn around and can shoot at deer 3-4' above you on the opposite side. Gotta love the hills!!!
Hung a new stand last night on Hippie Ridge, but has to abandon ship before I finished cutting my shooting lanes thanks to the lightening and rain. It's about 40 yards off my sanctuary and covers several good trails. Once the leaves come off, it should make as good an observation stand as it will a killing stand.
I'm finishing all my stands this weekend and will throw up some pics of my sets. It'll be nice to finally be ready for the season!!!
I'm finishing all my stands this weekend and will throw up some pics of my sets. It'll be nice to finally be ready for the season!!!
Buckmaster
Senior Member
Nice looking plots there Jesse. Now that you have the equipment you're soon to be a food plot'n fool. As for the cultipacker I typically drag around a chainlink fence with my ATV or take my 7 foot back blade, turn it around, and drag it backwards. Now stock up some herbicide for that spring time spraying such as Poast, Slay, and Grass B Gone.
Spent 9 hours at the farm today and managed to finish everything up. I hung 4 stands, pulled 2, cut lanes on the new ones and 2 that were already hung, and cleared all my access routes. I was pleased to see some decent growth after one week on my smaller food plot that was mostly radishes, and some early growth from the larger plot. It's not looking good on the rain front, so I'm still a little worried.
I snapped some pics from a few of my sets today. This first one is on Hippie Ridge just off the back corner of my sanctuary. It's hung for a straight S or N wind and would be a perfect set for anything of out the E. I have a thicket to my back, open timber and a logging road to my right, the best trails leading in to my sanctuary via an fence gap in front of me, and a ridge finger that funnels deer in and out of my sanctuary and to Hippie Ridge from the creek bottom to my left. There are 6 red oaks within 50 yards of the stand that are loaded withe acorns. I won't sit this stand until late October...
Looking left I have this lane and one more to just to the left of the edge of this pic that extend to 50 yards...
This is the view to my right. There are two oaks between me and the road. It's 50 yards to the road...
This is looking straight ahead. I ended up cutting the closest tree to me on the right of the pic because it was eating up a lot of shooting and glassing opportunities. I have a good sized tree to my back, so I wasn't TOO worried about leaving it for cover...
This stand here is going to be my bread and butter at the farm. If I kill Captain Jack, it will either be from here or as a result of my I see from here. I'm on the inside corner of the cornfield, with a steep ditch behind me, and the best trail coming off the corn leading to our bottom just in front of the stand. When the corn comes off, I have a giant red oak to my right that will provide cover, but I'll still be able to see the field. Late season muzzleloader could be awesome here. The entire edge of this field is lined in oaks and 60-75% of them have acorns.
I'm facing this direction and have a 25 yard shot the trail that cuts down to the bottom, plus what I can shoot on the edge of the field. There is a scrape on that oak every year. I have it mocked up with Smokeys Deer Lure (preorbital gland) and a cam hanging there.
This is over my right shoulder. I cut the small red oak just short enough to shoot over after I snapped this pic. The deer love to enter the woods right in that corner...
This is over my left shoulder and allows me to shoot the trail that cuts above the ditch. With this stand being hung for a N-NW wind, I'll rely on the smoker to make this shot work since it is dead down wind, but I'm 25' above them, so I doubt it'll be an issue.
This stand is roughly 200 yards E of the last stand and sits in an oak flat at the edge of an old food plot. I've killed 3-4 deer on this ridge when the acorns are good and while they are spotty, I have all the good trees within bow range of this stand.
These two lanes allow me to see the bench that runs along the edge of the ridge. I cut them last year and didn't have to do much today. I can glass a lot of ground down the right lane and most deer will walk through the one on the left around 35 yards...
This is behind the stand looking at the old food plot. Next spring, we will have a dozer up here making a new road and making this plot about 5 times the size. This stand is hung for a S-SW wind, so deer in this area are clueless to what's up. There are 4 oaks dropping right in this area.
I have one other shooting lane that covers deer walking from N to S 30 yards left of the stand at about my 10 o'clock. I found several large piles of droppings and some good tracks along that trail today. I used the saw blade on the Stihl today to widen the trail through the briars to the edge of the corn field. My stand is about 75 yards from the corn and any deer walking through the woods parallel to the corn, drops below the tangle of brush and downed trees between my stand and the corn, taking them right past this tree. I won't hunt this stand a lot, but it always have the potential to produce.
I have two stand to hang tomorrow at my new farm and I'll be all done with stands thankfully. I'm flat ass wore out right now, so I'm glad tomorrow will be a much shorter day! Hanging stands and cutting lanes with no help sucks ass...
I snapped some pics from a few of my sets today. This first one is on Hippie Ridge just off the back corner of my sanctuary. It's hung for a straight S or N wind and would be a perfect set for anything of out the E. I have a thicket to my back, open timber and a logging road to my right, the best trails leading in to my sanctuary via an fence gap in front of me, and a ridge finger that funnels deer in and out of my sanctuary and to Hippie Ridge from the creek bottom to my left. There are 6 red oaks within 50 yards of the stand that are loaded withe acorns. I won't sit this stand until late October...
Looking left I have this lane and one more to just to the left of the edge of this pic that extend to 50 yards...
This is the view to my right. There are two oaks between me and the road. It's 50 yards to the road...
This is looking straight ahead. I ended up cutting the closest tree to me on the right of the pic because it was eating up a lot of shooting and glassing opportunities. I have a good sized tree to my back, so I wasn't TOO worried about leaving it for cover...
This stand here is going to be my bread and butter at the farm. If I kill Captain Jack, it will either be from here or as a result of my I see from here. I'm on the inside corner of the cornfield, with a steep ditch behind me, and the best trail coming off the corn leading to our bottom just in front of the stand. When the corn comes off, I have a giant red oak to my right that will provide cover, but I'll still be able to see the field. Late season muzzleloader could be awesome here. The entire edge of this field is lined in oaks and 60-75% of them have acorns.
I'm facing this direction and have a 25 yard shot the trail that cuts down to the bottom, plus what I can shoot on the edge of the field. There is a scrape on that oak every year. I have it mocked up with Smokeys Deer Lure (preorbital gland) and a cam hanging there.
This is over my right shoulder. I cut the small red oak just short enough to shoot over after I snapped this pic. The deer love to enter the woods right in that corner...
This is over my left shoulder and allows me to shoot the trail that cuts above the ditch. With this stand being hung for a N-NW wind, I'll rely on the smoker to make this shot work since it is dead down wind, but I'm 25' above them, so I doubt it'll be an issue.
This stand is roughly 200 yards E of the last stand and sits in an oak flat at the edge of an old food plot. I've killed 3-4 deer on this ridge when the acorns are good and while they are spotty, I have all the good trees within bow range of this stand.
These two lanes allow me to see the bench that runs along the edge of the ridge. I cut them last year and didn't have to do much today. I can glass a lot of ground down the right lane and most deer will walk through the one on the left around 35 yards...
This is behind the stand looking at the old food plot. Next spring, we will have a dozer up here making a new road and making this plot about 5 times the size. This stand is hung for a S-SW wind, so deer in this area are clueless to what's up. There are 4 oaks dropping right in this area.
I have one other shooting lane that covers deer walking from N to S 30 yards left of the stand at about my 10 o'clock. I found several large piles of droppings and some good tracks along that trail today. I used the saw blade on the Stihl today to widen the trail through the briars to the edge of the corn field. My stand is about 75 yards from the corn and any deer walking through the woods parallel to the corn, drops below the tangle of brush and downed trees between my stand and the corn, taking them right past this tree. I won't hunt this stand a lot, but it always have the potential to produce.
I have two stand to hang tomorrow at my new farm and I'll be all done with stands thankfully. I'm flat ass wore out right now, so I'm glad tomorrow will be a much shorter day! Hanging stands and cutting lanes with no help sucks ass...
Looking great Jesse but I wouldn't wait till the end of October to hunt them red oaks, I'd get on them during the first week of season.IMO
Yep, seek and destroy. Them things will get gobbled up fast. Hit it fast and heavy.
Food plots got a drink the other night and should get a lot of rain this weekend with the hurricane remnants pushing through. I may have over looked an awesome spot on my new farm, so I hope we get a down pour on Sunday I can scout in. It is so thick, I'm worried about bumping deer for no reason, but after looking at the topos tonight, it's worth a try to find a suitable tree. I need a S-SW wind set, so I hope it pans out...
More good rain today and tomorrow. Been a blessing for the plots...
Now if I can find a good place for a ground blind tomorrow!!!
Now if I can find a good place for a ground blind tomorrow!!!
What a day! We had a steady down pour this morning that soaked both my plots...
Then I pulled cams on my new farm and knocked my current #1 and #2 shooters on the hit list down to 3 and 4!!! I found some amazing sign in the new area I wanted to scout...
So I set up a ground blind that will be easy to slip in to from the hay field behind it with a N wind...
And cut lanes for a mobile set up on a S wind...
It's on a little hogs back in between two thickets, a creek and huge hay field. TONS of old rubs through here. No doubt a hot spot!!!
Then I pulled cams on my new farm and knocked my current #1 and #2 shooters on the hit list down to 3 and 4!!! I found some amazing sign in the new area I wanted to scout...
So I set up a ground blind that will be easy to slip in to from the hay field behind it with a N wind...
And cut lanes for a mobile set up on a S wind...
It's on a little hogs back in between two thickets, a creek and huge hay field. TONS of old rubs through here. No doubt a hot spot!!!
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Looking good man! The plots look like they are coming along nicely! I'm sure this rain we got is really gonna help out!
Good luck.
Good luck.
Couldn't have asked for a better timed rain! I was literally soaking wet when I was done setting that blind today and it just poured here again!!! Perfect way to wash away all the stink I left in there today!!!
Can't wait to see my other food plot tomorrow. It should really be in good shape since I planted it two weeks before the other two and it got plenty of rain the week after planting, plus all we've had this weekend. First year in a while I've had good and timely rain on my plots.
Can't wait to see my other food plot tomorrow. It should really be in good shape since I planted it two weeks before the other two and it got plenty of rain the week after planting, plus all we've had this weekend. First year in a while I've had good and timely rain on my plots.
Very nice! We got "some" rain. Sure could use some more, but I won't complain. Better than what we had all summer. Looking good out there for the stands and all the work you got accomplished.