Frank's outdoors...

Yes, its been a long time, but its never too late to post some preseason pictures!  In preparation for the coming season, I have setup 3 good locations to sit with my bow and take my first game with it.  Just looking at my setup, and I know I'll be able to get on something.  I will take some photos of the blind layout on opening weekend.

Took my daughter the last weekend of bow season, and took my son opening weekend of rifle season.  Saw a couple of does at different points over both weekend, but not the big whopper from opening day bow season.  Well, to prove I am not hallucinating, he finally showed up on a trail camera I had sitting on the scrape I watched him on! Enjoy: A couple of other bucks in the area (all smaller).

Alright, archery season is a few weeks away, and I finally have the perfect spot for my first go at it.  Hopefully, I can catch them going to/from the creek on the right of this photo. Can you find my blind?

Mark and I finally got a camper for the deer lease.  Its a 1987 Fleetwood Prowler Lynx 24'.  It had some water damage that Mark and I repaired (replaced skylights, rotted ceiling boards, and ceiling).  It cleaned up nicely (will post pics of interior soon).  We took the camper to the lease Sunday afternoon.  It gets narrow at a few spots and also some ruts to get it up to the camp.  Dragged it up a steep climb over some dicey terrain, but we got it up there.  Looks real nice, and can't wait to be able to go the lease for a weekend and have a place to sleep and get out of the rain, hot or cold and not be in a tent!  Sleeps six comfortably.  Enjoy a look at the pictures of the camper (outside) and the camp in general. At our camp, most people have a camper of some sort, otherwise they live nearby.  And, most have put some sort of structure over it to protect from the elements and UV.  There is a central camp where there is a fire ...

Long story short: Wow, what a turn of events.  I got my feeder and camera back (or will next weekend)!!! Long version: On Friday, my buddy Mark and I were heading up to Crockett to put some T-posts and barb wire at that entrance road that currently does not have a gate.  About 45 minutes before Mark arrives as my house to ride up, my phone rings.  A gentlemen on the other end introduces himself as a member of our lease.  Turns out that he did not get his money turned into the land owner prior to March (which is in our club by-laws).  So, the land owner filled his spot with me.  Well, he called the land owner to tell him he wanted to be on the lease for the coming season but had missed the deadline.  The landowner told him that was fine, but he had already given his spot away.  The land owner told him that there has been a trespassing thief on the property.  He explained that there wasn't a thief, but that he was on his way to the property...

Took me a few days to write this, as I am still a bit in shock about it after only being on this lease 4 or 5 weeks...  I went to the lease this past weekend to do some work, and help my buddy Mark setup a new blind.  When we finally went to my spot to fill feeders, put up a new feeder, etc. we found that I had been robbed!  Initially, I thought the hogs might have knocked over my feeder and it was out of view as we approached, but then we realized it was gone.  Some crook decided to steal one of my low boy feeders full of corn and a Moultrie game camera! What kind of useless piece of $%#$# does this stuff?  I have been robbed or attempted-to-be-robbed 4 times in that past 2 years (laptop from truck, truck tailgate, truck side door, and feeder/camera) and I am sick of it.  Crime has become such an epidemic, that people no longer steal to cover the basic needs of themselves and their family... its ridiculous.  The feeder was full of 300# of corn... ...

Thanks to my good friend, Mark, we have another spot to hunt this year after the much maligned loss of our lease at season open last year. We are up in Crockett, TX and have a solid 1200+ acres.  This piece of property has some elevation changes and is used as a privately owned timber property, so there are selective cut lanes throughout.  The timber company grades roads after a cut, so access in and out of the property is pretty easy. At the moment, I have 2 box blinds and 2 tripods setup.  One of the tripods is a bow blind for the coming season and will be my first go at that.  Will post on that at a later time. Below is a pic of my big box blind looking down a lane, and it has 5 directions to really keep an eye on.  2 in front, 1 out of both sides, and a lane directly behind!  I only have one feeder in front 70 yds at the moment. My son is silly!

Here are the highlights... a write-up of the setup soon.

Found out last night that the property owner has committed a sale on our lease.  The buyer asked for us to be completely OFF in 3 days!!!  Are you kidding me?  Well, our lessor successfully negotiated us to have 2 weeks...  how generous.  So, we get to hunt opening weekend, and attempt to get ALL of our stuff off the property ASAP.  I am pissed.  That is all.

Rifle season is a month away (in fact this weekend is opening weekend for bow season in Texas), and the young bucks have FINALLY started showing up on the game cameras.  I didn't see anything legal on the cameras, but its good to see some buck activity moving on the lease.  I saw at least 3 distinct bucks on all 3 cameras.  Pictured below... Also the pigs are back... plural. And a coyote.