Frank's outdoors...

The last week has really got the blood pumping with cooler morning temperatures.  The fever is in! I need to take some pictures now that I have disc-ed and seeded the field, but here is the food plot right after it was mowed with a brush hog.  I put out Tecomate MAX Attract mixed with Monster Mix ( recommended for my zone on the Tecomate website ).  They also noted Chicory, but I didn't find it in stock at Gander Mountain . Also attached a picture of my "penthouse" blind ( 4x6 Shadow Hunter ) that is 6' tall on Shadow Hunter elevators .  The installation of elevators went quite smooth.  The instructions are easy to follow, and actually the biggest issue we had is related to my underpowered cordless drill.  I have a 14volt Ryobi, and really need an 18volt.  More power, more torque, longer battery life, etc... the Ryobi was actually fine brand new, but it definitely was wiped out.  If I had other jobs to do that day, I would have bee...

I put my food plot in this weekend, and will blog and post photos of that process soon with the Groundhog Max, but the camera shows increased deer activity with my feeder going, and I hope that the plot when it takes will bring them in and keep them in!

So, a few months ago I started researching on discs/plows to help in improving my food plot creation at the deer lease.  I ended up with the conclusion that the Groundhog Max was the best bet for me in my scenario (cost/availability/portability).  However, in order to use it, you have to have a 2" receiver or else install there bulky and obtrusive hitch kit.  At first I wanted the hitch kit until I saw how it connected to my 4 wheeler and quickly abandoned that hteory.  I did some more research and settled on the Kolpin 2" Receiver kit that virtually "plugs" right into my Polaris.  It bolted right to the frame and into the existing 1.25" factory receiver.  With the Groundhog Max engaged, it was very solid and held up to the task.  I am very pleased.

I put my Moultrie M-80 game cameras out a few weeks ago to start pre-season scouting.  I went this past weekend to go see what is in the area, and scout the land a bit, prior to putting in my food plot and filling up feeders. Here is what we have so far. 2 does 1 hog 1 snake TALL WILD GRASS! I filled the feeders with corn, and now its now time for serious planning to begin prepping the plot.  The plow decision is still yet to be made, but I am now HEAVILY leaning to the Groundhog MAX for the following reasons:  Cost/Convenience/Maneuverability.  I reset the cameras now that corn is in them, and will check them next weekend to see what has found the corn.  I intend to have my plow in place, and ready to start plot preparation by getting the weeds knocked down, turf chewed up, and seed bed prepped.  Then, I'll come back and plow again, throw seed/fertilizer, and get that going.  Finally, PRAY FOR RAIN!!! The season can't get here f...

Went to the lease the other night to get the game cameras out for some pre-season scouting.  Hadn't been to the property in several months, and was shocked at what I saw.  With the surprising amount of rain we have had in Texas, the trails and fields were VERY overgrown!  I have a lot of work to do to get ready for the season, but things look really healthy, and it was great to see.  I am going to leave the cameras up for a month or so and see what is moving out there.  I will begin feeding at the start of August with supplements and corn.  At that point, I'll get to try out my Duke DP coon traps to keep the coons from eating all my corn! I'll post an update once I get the cameras back, and when I have my action plan in place for the food plot.

I have been doing a LOT of reading on food plot preparation, and the best way to prep my field to accomplish this. RECAP:  Last year I had the filed mowed, then used my drag harrow to scratch the ground surface right after a rain.  Then I threw some scatter seed on the surface with some fertilizer, and re-harrowed to try and get a decent seed/soil contact.  It yielded pretty good, but it was far from what the "pictures" show and what I know is possible.  Side bar, I am also aware that last year was an incredibly dry year, and thus moisture was an issue. To that end, I acquired an additional implement for my ATV, the plow, however I am missing the most critical one in my opinion...  a disc.  With the disc, when done properly (and regularly), I won't need to have the field mowed/round up/ground cleared every year.  Those are not bad things to do first, but having a disc eliminates that as a requirement.  I don't have regular access to a mower, and...

Finally got the plow after a shipping debacle with UPS.  First, this thing was relatively easy to put together, even though the instructions were complete garbage.  The directions were on a small piece of paper with an even smaller diagram with numbers pointing to illegible numbers relating to part numbers... disaster.  But as a relatively bright individual, I was able to figure it out :)  haha. Anyway, for the cost, it is pretty darn heavy and should do what I need it to do.  I am quite certain it will not fair well from a "weather proof" perspective, and I think will rust.  Will have to keep an eye on it. Just need to throw 2 or 3 cinder blocks on the tray for extra weight when needed, and lower the wheels using the bar to drop the tines into the dirt.  I plan on using this to prep the soil by first mowing.  Then I'll use the plow to churn up the ground, then throw down the seed & fertilizer, and finally use the drag harrow to smooth the...

Purchased an ATV plow to better prep my plots in the areas where breaking up the soil requires more than just my drag harrow.  I saw this one on The Sportsman's Guide site .  For the price, I think it will do the job, and the reviews say it is heavy and rugged enough.  My Polaris Sportsman should pull it without a problem.  From the looks of it, I can put 3 or 4 cinder blocks on it, and attache my drag harrow right behind that and do a twofer. I will take some pictures once I get it and get it assembled.  I will also take some pictures of the work I do in the field with it. Anyone have recommendations on a seeder/broadcast spreader?

So the black powder season started on Monday (1/3/2012) in Texas.  Pretty much you get one shot during the sit in the stand.  I went out on Monday evening, and had a pretty exciting sit.  I have my Thompson Center Pro Hunter that I got for Christmas last year.  Around 5:15pm, 3 does shot out from right beside my blind and went every which way in front of me.  Not sure if they caught my scent or heard me move from inside, but they blew out from beside me.  After a bit of snorting, they re-entered the field from all sides, and there were 5 in total.  I saw a doe (or yearling) that had an injured front hoof, and was waiting for an opportunity to take her. Unfortunately, it never presented a shot opportunity.  I had MANY other shots I could have taken, and in hindsight I probably should have.  Either way, it was an exciting evening hunt, with lots of deer activity on my food plot. After the hunt, I gathered my SD card from the camera, and ...

I got on my lease real close to the start of last season.  As I sat in my tripod one morning and looked over my barren field, I started making plans for the NEXT season on how I would prepare the field.  The challenge lay before me in acquiring/coordinating getting the work done.  I don't live near my lease, and don't have any equipment.  So basically, borrowing, renting, etc. was going to be the course of action.  As with everything else, life takes over and the season was upon us before I knew it.  I still had been planning but the execution and coordination was becoming the bigger challenge.  Throw in the fact that we hadn't had ANY rain for months and it was looking like it was going to be another barren field... Well, I blogged in the past about how it all came to be... the purchase of the drag harrow, and laying the seed in the first rain in months, etc. etc. etc.  Well, I turned my game camera towards the plot the week leading up to my ta...

After sitting in the stand and hunting hard since the season opened, I finally got a nice deer on the ground. He made me earn it for sure! The Details: I was in the stand by 5:45am, with sunrise at 7:15am.  It was a half moon, but overcast with slight fog so I had moderate visibility.  It was still dark around 6:40am.  As usual, my eyes are playing tricks on me with the fog and waiting for the sunrise, and I see something flicker behind the feeder (about 100yds away).  I grabbed my binoculars and there he was rubbing his antlers in the brush back behind the feeder.  I watched him for a minute or so, then grabbed my rifle when he started to walk towards me to the food plot.  He was starting to head to the left (where there is a game trail that heads back into the woods).  I put the cross hairs on him and landed a perfect hit behind the shoulder with him right at the edge of the food plot.  I was shocked and thrilled!  6:45am, 30 min to ...

So I went out the day after Thanksgiving, and took my daughter on her first hunt.  We were really just there to sit and watch deer, we didn't even take a rifle.  I wanted her to experience sitting in the blind, see what comes out, enjoy the serenity of being quiet in the woods, and enjoying my time her!  For a 6 yr old, she did very well.  We were only going to sit for about an hour and a half, and that was just the right amount of time.  She started to get a little bored, so I let her play a game on my phone.  As it turns out, we didn't have anything come visit the field that evening other than an owl and quite a few doves.  Either way, she asked a lot of good questions, and was actively looking for action.  Although, as with any youngster, the question "So, when are the deer going to come?" made me laugh... as I ask myself that a lot!  :) Also while there, I noticed how well the food plot is coming in!  Lots of greenery, and than...

Opening weekend for rifles in Texas was a great weekend filled with lots of activity.  We saw a lot of deer.  The biggest issue we experienced was that the deer were constantly moving and appeared to be in the early stages of rut.  With the exception of the spikes and small bucks, the bigger bucks were actively moving and not stopping to feed.  Opening morning was cold, around 35 degrees.  I was sitting in my culdesac blind and had a nice 6 point buck come out and walk 5 yards out of the woods, turn around, and head back into the woods.  About 10 minutes later, I could see him coming through the woods again, and he walked right on out and turned and went to the side and into the woods via another trail.  I could see another buck behind him about 10 yds.  I grabbed my rifle, pulled it up, and by the time I saw the buck in the scope, I only had a side view, and couldn't tell if it was a legal buck.  I had about 2 seconds to shoot, and I couldn'...

Alright, we are 4 weeks from opening day of rifle season here in Texas, and I have everything ready.  I went out to the lease on Sunday afternoon during the first major rain in over 6 months!  Finally got my Polaris "muddy". On Friday, my buddy Mark and his friend Gary took a tractor and brush hog and cut down my field at a finishing cut length, which looked fantastic.  On Sunday, when I got there I took my new harrow, dragged it over the field with the needles down to really scratch the wet, muddy dirt/sand mixture.  It was a lot muddier than I thought.  I believed it was primarily sand, but the amount of soil is quite surprising and a pleasant one at that.  After that it was seeding time.  I used the Whitetail Institute - Imperial Whitetail Extreme seed and that covered half of my field.  The other half I covered with Evolved Harvest Throw & Grow .  Both of these I picked up at Gander Mountain.  Now it was time to fertilize....

My buddy Mark and I spent all Saturday morning working on my back blind setup today.  The goal was to get the "rough" food plot done by using the drag harrow, spreading seed, and laying fertilizer as well as preparing some shooting lanes. When we got out there, we got straight to work opening up the main viewing lane down to the feeder.  It was grueling work.  Lots of vines, baby yaupon trees, and oak saplings.  There were several areas where the trees have bent completely over and other trees and dead brush have continued to fall upon them forming a natural bivouac or lean-to shelter.  These things were upwards of 10 feet tall and took us a long time to break down. Food plot and widened view to the feeder  You can see in the food plot picture that there is a significant difference from the way it was originally.  It is very dry and dusty, so we'll need to some rain to get growth for sure.  Also, I put down some lime/fertilizer mixture to ...

One of the things I wanted to get done this year was to prepare a "poor man's" quality food plot.  I don't have a tractor, I don't have a disc, I don't have a [fill in the blank].  I can't remember if I posted this previously, but I found out about a device called the " Plotmaster ".  You can buy one of these bad boys for around $4K, but that is not the route I wanted to go for sure.  I figured I would be able to rent of these from the local rental agencies (US Rental, Allied, Sunbelt, etc.) but none of them had even heard of such a device. So, my plan has been focused on how to reasonably prepare my foodplot.  Last year, I had to do a major overhaul on my field as it was overgrown with tall grass and pine tree saplings.  This year, I intend to mow the grass short, possibly till it, then use a drag harrow to level and smooth the seed into the dirt.  The cost of renting a tiller/mower compared to purchasing is a no brainer at the moment, however...