1023's 2013-2014 Hunting Log

What a year it has been for growing food plots! I stopped by the farm before the 3D shoot yesterday to check a couple of cams, replenish the feed site, and to check on the plots. We had an all day soaking rain last Sunday and things have really taken off since then. I'm very pleased with how things have turned out thus far...

The Corner Pocket Plot



The Runway Plot



The Big Plot

Boarhead said:

Your plots are looking good.

Click to expand...

Thanks man. Took me about 6 years of trials and tribulations to get a good plot. And my dad buying a 50hp tractor and 5' tiller didn't hurt anything! lmao

Still nothing quality on the cameras, but the food/cover situation is really working out in my favor right now. The beans north of us should stay green up to the season opener, then they'll have plenty of green browse from the plots for them to transition to. We should get some rain this week, so I hope to get out and scout the oaks to see how that will effect me. I'm getting anxious for the season to start! There is a 40 acre parcel close to home I plan to hunt through October just to get in the woods, but the farm will be calling my name all month long!!!

I had a few chances to sit and reflect on past hunting seasons and where I am at today as a hunter. It has been a roller coaster ride with a few highs, but mostly a lot of failures. Not sure I can really put a finger on why I feel so different going in to this season, but a few things stick out in my mind. What is so nice about it is I have this calmness about me that I've never experienced before when it comes to my hunting. The success of last season, the birth of my little girl, and a new found love of waterfowling have all altered my feelings and perceptions about my bowhunting in a very beneficial manner.

I'm ready to go preparation wise, along with being fit mentally. Going to be a great fall/winter!

Just verified I can still hunt a 40 acre tract close to home and the landowner said they have been seeing a "big" buck in the evenings. My guess is that its not a deer I'd shoot, but you never know. I've seen people call huge deer "big" and 100" deer "big", so I take that as a grain of salt unless they hunt. I've had access to this place in the past, but have never hunted it before mainly due to a lack of food source. Well a farm 3,000 feet away is under new ownership and they have since turned it in to a crop producing farm. A nice powerline RW connects the two places and it appears that I should give this place some more attention. There is another 40 acres N of this one that has some mature oaks and provides great access, along with a pine thicket that I will try and get permission on at lunch today. If I can lock down both, I'm in pretty good shape. This place is only a few miles from my house.

Headed to my elevated blind in the morning. It sits on a little hogsback down in a bottom where 4 hollers come together. I'm just looking for a good place to watch the sunrise tomorrow and this spot has become an opening day tradition since I built it a few years back. Going to be a sleepless night!

I spent Saturday morning in a spot that has become tradition to hunt over the years. I'm lucky to have access to a good bit of ground all over the county, but year in and year out my best hunting comes off the little bit of ground behind my parents place. There are almost always acorns available and there is an abundance of thick stuff in the area. Couple that with about 10 acres of corn just over the hill and a 10 acre swamp, you get a good supply of deer.

My iSolunar app predicted best movement was at 8:21AM and history says to be ready from 8:30 to 9:30. At 8AM on the dot, I stood to stretch my legs and heard a loud snort from up on the hill to the N of my stand. It turned out to be a 2-3 year old doe with her fawns. Her doe fawn from last year was also with them and she was completely downwind of me. The big doe snorted a few times before calming down and coming to investigate. She spent a couple minutes in a clearing 30 yards from the stand, all the while downwind of me. Eventually they all moved off towards the corn and that was that. It was just nice to be out!

My plan is to sit tight for a few weeks and only hunt if I can catch a good cold front. This Saturday we are building our duck blind and I promised to take the girls to do something Sunday, so I doubt I hunt before Strouds. I will probably make an attempt to kill a deer to donate while down there as I like to do that, but don't really have the doe population around to do it right now. The weekend of the 19th is duck opener, so it will only be evening hunts that weekend if I even go. I really have no desire to get in a stand right now. I''m feeling very patient...

2013 Stats

Does Sightings: 4
Bucks Sightings: 0
Different Bucks: 0
Shooters Seen: 0
Total Sightings: 4

Deer Killed: 0
Arrow'd Squirrels: 0

Morning Hunts: 1
Evening Hunts: 0
All Day Sits: 0
Skunked Hunts: 0
Total Hunts: 1

Hours on Stand: 2

Average Time Per Hunt: 2 hours
Deer Seen Per Hour on Stand: 2

Stands/Blinds Hunted: 1
Properties Hunted: 1

I just got reliable word that 2 shooters were seen about 1/2 mile from my honey hole. One was a "giant 10" and the other was slightly smaller. Can't beat that news!