Deer season around the corner!
Alright folks, deer season is just around the corner, and preparations are well into the works. I wanted to give a breakdown of what I had done last year (my first year on the lease), and what I am doing differently this year. I will be heading out to the lease this week/end to take some pictures and do other prep in a follow-up post.
Last year
I started the season with single "permanent" tripod stand at the front of my acreage. I moved it up into the trees and added a camo skirt to it for extra concealment, and that worked out quite well. I also got a tripod cleaning station so I had a place to clean game. I picked up just the thing from Sportsman's Guide. I had bought from Academy the Low Boy feeder, and that thing is a beast. I love everything about it, except that the battery and timer unit are in a separate box from motor. The raccoons hanging on it caused all kinds of issues and I have had to do some reinforcing. I had bought a Wildgame Innovations IR6 game camera to capture pictures, and saw many deer/hogs throughout the season. This camera has since died on me and won't take pictures. We mowed down the field between the feeder and the tripod, and I threw down some "Plant Easy Deer Food Plot Seed" from Outside Pride. Without much rain, the food plot barely grew anything, but some low clover did finally start to come through. I did see several deer nibble on the clover, so it wasn't a complete loss, but hardly a major food supplement. I shot a doe from the tripod during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The only other setup I had was a 5-gallon Moultrie hanging feeder in a spot another 3/4 mile walk up the main trail into my lease. Without a 4-wheeler at the time, I knew hunting there would not be as frequent. I have had a Summit Viper SS climbing stand for quite a while that I knew I could use at that location. Towards the end of the season, Academy had some Shadow Hunter blinds on sale, and I picked one up JUST before muzzleloader season began, and put it on the trail that overlooked the Moultrie hanging feeder. At Christmas, I got a Bushnell Trophy Cam 8gb, to capture pics/video and had it setup at this feeder. It started out fine and gathered some great pics/video, but turned out to be of very poor quality. The LCD didn't work anymore, and now it flat out won't turn on... very disappointed. Anyway, I hunted the Shadow Hunter stand during muzzleloader season without taking any game.
This year
In May, I picked up my 4-wheeler. It has been a huge help in setup/preparation as well as fun. In addition to that I got a Polar trailer on father's day. It has already carried plenty of corn out to the field and hopefully a deer and a hog or 2 this season. I am working with customer support of both Bushnell and Wildgame Innovations since neither camera works... in the meantime, I have bought 2 new Moultrie M-80 cameras from Cabelas to start the season. I will put them out at the end of September when the heat dies down.
For forage, I have purchased 2 bags of "Throw & Go" seed. I intend to lay this out there in the next few weeks as well. I also purchased an Moultrie 30-gallon hanging feeder (also from Cabelas) and another Academy Low Boy. The Moultrie 30-gal is way in the back of the property, and the Low Boy replaced the old 5-gallon hanger in front of the Shadow Hunter blind. I can use either my chair blind or my climber stand for now to hunt this location, but I intend to pickup/build/etc a box blind for this location.
Several times last season, sitting in the rain in the tripod was a strong reminder of how spoiled I was hunting out of box blinds out in Llano, and how much I took that for granted especially when considering the cost and time to get those setup! Regardless, the last week has brought some cool mornings, and I am excited about the upcoming season.
Hopefully, the Texas drought and wildfires danger will change soon, and we (and the game) can get some much needed rain. I am not sure, honestly if I will pull the trigger this year, as I have been quite concerned about the health of the animals out there. Not a lot of food, almost no water, I can't even imagine. However, I look forward to getting out there and spending time in the outdoors again.
Side note: anyone else besides me think I should be a sponsor for Cabelas, Academy, or Moultrie???
Last year
I started the season with single "permanent" tripod stand at the front of my acreage. I moved it up into the trees and added a camo skirt to it for extra concealment, and that worked out quite well. I also got a tripod cleaning station so I had a place to clean game. I picked up just the thing from Sportsman's Guide. I had bought from Academy the Low Boy feeder, and that thing is a beast. I love everything about it, except that the battery and timer unit are in a separate box from motor. The raccoons hanging on it caused all kinds of issues and I have had to do some reinforcing. I had bought a Wildgame Innovations IR6 game camera to capture pictures, and saw many deer/hogs throughout the season. This camera has since died on me and won't take pictures. We mowed down the field between the feeder and the tripod, and I threw down some "Plant Easy Deer Food Plot Seed" from Outside Pride. Without much rain, the food plot barely grew anything, but some low clover did finally start to come through. I did see several deer nibble on the clover, so it wasn't a complete loss, but hardly a major food supplement. I shot a doe from the tripod during the Thanksgiving holiday.
The only other setup I had was a 5-gallon Moultrie hanging feeder in a spot another 3/4 mile walk up the main trail into my lease. Without a 4-wheeler at the time, I knew hunting there would not be as frequent. I have had a Summit Viper SS climbing stand for quite a while that I knew I could use at that location. Towards the end of the season, Academy had some Shadow Hunter blinds on sale, and I picked one up JUST before muzzleloader season began, and put it on the trail that overlooked the Moultrie hanging feeder. At Christmas, I got a Bushnell Trophy Cam 8gb, to capture pics/video and had it setup at this feeder. It started out fine and gathered some great pics/video, but turned out to be of very poor quality. The LCD didn't work anymore, and now it flat out won't turn on... very disappointed. Anyway, I hunted the Shadow Hunter stand during muzzleloader season without taking any game.
This year
In May, I picked up my 4-wheeler. It has been a huge help in setup/preparation as well as fun. In addition to that I got a Polar trailer on father's day. It has already carried plenty of corn out to the field and hopefully a deer and a hog or 2 this season. I am working with customer support of both Bushnell and Wildgame Innovations since neither camera works... in the meantime, I have bought 2 new Moultrie M-80 cameras from Cabelas to start the season. I will put them out at the end of September when the heat dies down.
For forage, I have purchased 2 bags of "Throw & Go" seed. I intend to lay this out there in the next few weeks as well. I also purchased an Moultrie 30-gallon hanging feeder (also from Cabelas) and another Academy Low Boy. The Moultrie 30-gal is way in the back of the property, and the Low Boy replaced the old 5-gallon hanger in front of the Shadow Hunter blind. I can use either my chair blind or my climber stand for now to hunt this location, but I intend to pickup/build/etc a box blind for this location.
Several times last season, sitting in the rain in the tripod was a strong reminder of how spoiled I was hunting out of box blinds out in Llano, and how much I took that for granted especially when considering the cost and time to get those setup! Regardless, the last week has brought some cool mornings, and I am excited about the upcoming season.
Hopefully, the Texas drought and wildfires danger will change soon, and we (and the game) can get some much needed rain. I am not sure, honestly if I will pull the trigger this year, as I have been quite concerned about the health of the animals out there. Not a lot of food, almost no water, I can't even imagine. However, I look forward to getting out there and spending time in the outdoors again.
Side note: anyone else besides me think I should be a sponsor for Cabelas, Academy, or Moultrie???
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