J-birds place

[Triple C]

Another thread got me thinking about something and I wanted to take the opportunity to add it here.

I faced a defining moment on stand early in my hunting career and it could have been a really bad deal for me. I am a self taught deer hunter and I struggled early on and at the time harvesting anything with antlers was a treat, but the goal was always something for the wall. I had taken a yearling buck in archery season and IN had/has a rule where a single hunter can only harvest a single antlered deer over the course or the entire deer hunting season. I was hunting for a doe for the freezer and a buck and doe comes busting thru the woods right at me. He caught my movement and stopped and stood there and watched me not 30 yards away. The doe continued on without a shot. It was the biggest buck I had ever seen while hunting at that point in time......a clean 10 pointer that would have pushed 150". He stood there and begged me to kill him.....and to be honest, I really thought about it. "Nobody will know", "You can tag it under the wife or the boy", "Nobody in their right mind would let this deer go" all ran thru my mind. As much as I wanted a trophy on my wall - here I was faced with the opportunity to do so, but I would have to sell my soul to do it. I didn't shoot that deer. I kicked myself for not doing it. And I told the story to several people and they all said the same thing......"Why not, I would have." Why not? Because I would have to lie or make an excuse for that deer every time someone wanted to talk about it. Why not? Because every time I saw it I would know I cheated. Why not? It would have been a symbol of how I put my own greed for attention above my own values and the way I was raised. Why not? Because it would have been wrong!

I saw a person give in to that "greed" and I was SO disappointed in them it wasn't funny. I lost a lot of respect for that person that day. That person shot a deer they shouldn't have, they know they shouldn't have and I know they shouldn't have. I don't want to be that person.

I don't type this or tell this story to pat myself on the back, or to claim to be some sort of better person....we are all flawed in some way or form. I do this because there are some defining moments we all face in the woods and those moments can have a profound impact on us as people. If I had killed that buck.....I more than likely would not be hunting still. As badly as I wanted that satisfaction.....I want it for the right reasons. Turns out those reasons are not even what I once thought they where. As much as I love the excitement of the hunt and I recall the details of some of the hunts that resulted in trophies on the wall.....I have hunts with kids when they took their first deer that stand out just as clearly. It's moments in the stand or odd events that happen along the way that I will never forget.....that I shared with someone else. If I had taken that deer - I could very well have led down a very self-centered path and one in the end I would NOT have been proud of.

That "horn greed" is a very dangerous thing. I think many habitat guys have some sort of gene or chromosome or something that makes us a different breed of people. We come to realize it isn't just about us and our success....even though that may be what drives us to jump into this work. The journey tends to change us in the process. It connects us with a piece of property and to animals we now are almost caretakers of. We see success in the process and NOT the end result so much. Sure we want those antlers on the wall, but we have a greater respect for what it takes to accomplish that. The old saying is "Life isn't about what you take with you when your gone, but what you leave behind" comes to mind. I have no issue with pursuit of your own personal success, but the mark of true success isn't what we take with us.....it is truly in what we leave behind. We all have people in our lives that we look up to, imagine how our lives would have turned out if those people would have only focused on themselves....

Sorry for the ramble - I just felt compelled to capture some thoughts.....

j-bird...Just catching up on your thread and this post caught my attention. We have most all of the bucks we've taken from the farm mounted and placed on the wall of our hunting cabin. Every time I look at any of those deer the events that surrounded the taking of that animal come back in vivid form. You did the right thing. Had you taken it, every time you looked at it on the wall the truth would emerge. Great insight and kudos to you for displaying great fair-chase hunting. Thx for sharing!

 

[j-bird]

Well, Sunday I filled the new water hole. I was curious just how much it would hold and I knew I would not really know for certain, so I washed out the 3 point sprayer and filled it and used it as a water truck. It's a 50 gallon sprayer but I am certain it holds more than that (closer to a max of 55 or 60). Filled the water hole up nicely. I backed the sprayer tank over the edge of the hole and removed the strainer bowl and left gravity do it's thing. I am also too impatient to wait for the rain to fill it! I hung a trailcam to see what if any activity it gets.

 

[j-bird]

j-bird...Just catching up on your thread and this post caught my attention. We have most all of the bucks we've taken from the farm mounted and placed on the wall of our hunting cabin. Every time I look at any of those deer the events that surrounded the taking of that animal come back in vivid form. You did the right thing. Had you taken it, every time you looked at it on the wall the truth would emerge. Great insight and kudos to you for displaying great fair-chase hunting. Thx for sharing!

Thanks 3C.

 

[OkieKubota]

Well, Sunday I filled the new water hole. I was curious just how much it would hold and I knew I would not really know for certain, so I washed out the 3 point sprayer and filled it and used it as a water truck. It's a 50 gallon sprayer but I am certain it holds more than that (closer to a max of 55 or 60). Filled the water hole up nicely. I backed the sprayer tank over the edge of the hole and removed the strainer bowl and left gravity do it's thing. I am also too impatient to wait for the rain to fill it! I hung a trailcam to see what if any activity it gets.
View attachment 3656

Ingenious! Anxious to see what starts using it!

 

[Weasel]

Place is looking great J. Nice work on the water hole.

 

[j-bird]

Well - like always I seem to still be running behind. I am still putting up stands.....and I should be hunting.

Turned the 790 into a "stand buggy" today. There are 2 ladder stands, 3 fixed stands and all the other goodies needed on there.


Here is the view from one stand in an area we haven't hunted much historically - I like to move stands around some just for a different view. What you see is the view to the right, straight ahead and to the left is a thicket area with a creek directly behind.


Now for the bad news......I was SO looking forward to hunting over my new water hole......WTF! I'm upset, disappointed and at a loss - I have no idea what happened - all but completely dry! I'll get me a kiddie pool this week -there WILL BE a water hole there. To top it off my trailcam acted up as well so I don't know if anything visited over the course of the week either.


I seem to be having a hell of a time this year staying on schedule......At the rate I'm going I won;t be ready to hunt until seasons over!!!

 

[Familytradition]

Well - like always I seem to still be running behind. I am still putting up stands.....and I should be hunting.

Turned the 790 into a "stand buggy" today. There are 2 ladder stands, 3 fixed stands and all the other goodies needed on there.
View attachment 3800

Here is the view from one stand in an area we haven't hunted much historically - I like to move stands around some just for a different view. What you see is the view to the right, straight ahead and to the left is a thicket area with a creek directly behind.
View attachment 3801

Now for the bad news......I was SO looking forward to hunting over my new water hole......WTF! I'm upset, disappointed and at a loss - I have no idea what happened - all but completely dry! I'll get me a kiddie pool this week -there WILL BE a water hole there. To top it off my trailcam acted up as well so I don't know if anything visited over the course of the week either.
View attachment 3802

I seem to be having a hell of a time this year staying on schedule......At the rate I'm going I won;t be ready to hunt until seasons over!!!

I still have a stand to hang.

 

[OkieKubota]

Well - like always I seem to still be running behind. I am still putting up stands.....and I should be hunting.

Turned the 790 into a "stand buggy" today. There are 2 ladder stands, 3 fixed stands and all the other goodies needed on there.
View attachment 3800

Here is the view from one stand in an area we haven't hunted much historically - I like to move stands around some just for a different view. What you see is the view to the right, straight ahead and to the left is a thicket area with a creek directly behind.
View attachment 3801

Now for the bad news......I was SO looking forward to hunting over my new water hole......WTF! I'm upset, disappointed and at a loss - I have no idea what happened - all but completely dry! I'll get me a kiddie pool this week -there WILL BE a water hole there. To top it off my trailcam acted up as well so I don't know if anything visited over the course of the week either.
View attachment 3802

I seem to be having a hell of a time this year staying on schedule......At the rate I'm going I won;t be ready to hunt until seasons over!!!

I guess that's the reason all of our ladder stands other than the ones in vulnerable to stealing spots on our deer lease and most of our hang-on stands stay up year around...keeps the woods fresh. I make a trip through in about July/August to see if they need anything, replace straps, tighten back to tree and then most of them will not be visited again until late October. Works out great and a real time saver!

Did you figure out what happened to the shower curtain pond?

 

[j-bird]

Did you figure out what happened to the shower curtain pond?

No - I looked and dug around some and really didn't find anything. There was one corner where the dirt was wet when everything else was dry so I can only assume there was a hole or something I either didn't know about or got added some how. I thought maybe an edge had rolled over when I was "back filling" but that didn't seem to be the case. I'm stopping after work to see if I can find a kiddie pool on sale and going that route - I ain't giving up. I only lost the battle......not the war.

As for stands I prefer to take them down just because I can inspect them better and I don't have the straps out in the sunlight and weather and the critters chewing on them. It's only a handful of them, it's just that I do them by myself and with kids and life and the like sometimes it just seems like we never catch up. I got a few of them up and will get a few more this week. I am out on my property nearly every weekend because I live there so my activities are nothing new to the deer - I'm sure it doesn't help as well but what use is a toy if you can't play with it?

 

[Btaylor]

Deer hoof could have punctured the shower curtain.

 

[j-bird]

I will do a better autopsy for a cause later. I stopped and picked up a poly tub for my second attempt. It's intended to be used to mix concrete in so it's fairly sturdy - it's 8" deep, 24 x 36 in size (roughly 30 gallons). I figure it's a good place to start. It's going in the same location - and I will fully remove the shower curtain and be able to give it a better review for the issue then. Should go in this week or weekend. If I start to see use - I can always expand the size later.

Have to give a shout out to my swapping buddy Catscratch......I sent him some pawpaw seed earlier and he returned the favor with some sawtooth acorns. The USPS flat rate box of $7 was well worth it and helped me make a closer connection to another habitat junkie 100's of miles away.

 

[OkieKubota]

Lakngulf did the same for me...some really great folks on this board!

 

[catscratch]

Have to give a shout out to my swapping buddy Catscratch......I sent him some pawpaw seed earlier and he returned the favor with some sawtooth acorns. The USPS flat rate box of $7 was well worth it and helped me make a closer connection to another habitat junkie 100's of miles away.
View attachment 3821

Glad to have the pawpaw! I hope those acorns produce some nice trees for you. It's cool to swap plants, I enjoy it more than I thought I would. The lady at the post office now recognizes me and asks "what's in the box" when I show up. She seems to enjoy the stories of what I'm trading for and shipping out.

 

[j-bird]

Glad to have the pawpaw! I hope those acorns produce some nice trees for you. It's cool to swap plants, I enjoy it more than I thought I would. The lady at the post office now recognizes me and asks "what's in the box" when I show up. She seems to enjoy the stories of what I'm trading for and shipping out.

Due to the strange and twisted humor that runs rampant in my house - the acorns have already been nicknamed "catscratch nuts". My 12 year old and I had a real good time making poor and tasteless jokes about it......my wife just hung her head in disgust over our collective lack of maturity over the matter! I told my 12 year old they where poisonous (to keep her from messing with them) - SHE then replied that she had no intention of putting nuts in her mouth and it quickly spiraled out of control from there! There was even a comment made about how I had to get more nuts in the mail because the originals where still in moms purse.....brutal I tell you! So I figure at some point we will have "catscratch trees".

I simply like helping fellow habitat junkies out. If I have something that I am not using or have extra of I have no issue sharing.....especially at $7 a box. Sure I get strange looks and questions, but who cares - it keeps things interesting. If I knew more about cuttings I would more than likely have sent sticks by now as well. The kids think I'm crazy. The wife knows I'm crazy and I really could care less what society in general thinks. Folks that do what we do are a little bit of a different breed anyway - so big deal. It helps folks try new things and have access to things they may not otherwise have and it helps strengthen our sense of community......I see it all as a good thing.

 

[catscratch]

Due to the strange and twisted humor that runs rampant in my house - the acorns have already been nicknamed "catscratch nuts". My 12 year old and I had a real good time making poor and tasteless jokes about it......my wife just hung her head in disgust over our collective lack of maturity over the matter! I told my 12 year old they where poisonous (to keep her from messing with them) - SHE then replied that she had no intention of putting nuts in her mouth and it quickly spiraled out of control from there! There was even a comment made about how I had to get more nuts in the mail because the originals where still in moms purse.....brutal I tell you! So I figure at some point we will have "catscratch trees".

Lol, ohhh man! I don't even know what to think about that! So much of it is wrong... so wrong. (I had other stuff typed here, but decided better judgement should win this round and deleted it)
It's the same way at my house though. My boy is 13, and my wife doesn't get it when we get going.
Glad you and your family liked my nuts! Maybe we can do it again next yr. lol.

 

[j-bird]

Well, the failed water hole has bugged me since I found out about it, so I have sort of been on a mission to fix it. I bought some poly tubs earlier in the week and I set out to install them yesterday after work. I am disappointed that they are about half the size of what I had, but if I see some use I can always expand then with a larger tub later.

This is the one I replaced up north. I pulled the plastic curtain out of the soil and leveled the bottom and set the tub in place and then back filled. Filled with water via mt sprayer again. BY calculation it holds 30 gallons in reality it holds about 25.


Since I bought 2 tubs I installed the other one at the edge of a plot on the south portion of my property. Since some folks seem to have luck with them in plots I figured I would give it a shot and placed it in a low spot where I know it will collect water. This is right on the edge between my perennial plot/apple trees and my corn plot.

I purposely placed the "spoils" from digging the hole on one side. I am hoping this will keep the deer from standing there and thus position them for a better shot. I am not sure just how well this location will do as it is exposed to direct sunlight, but again - it's one of those things that if it doesn't work - I'm out an hours work.....big deal

I also placed a limb in each hole to rescue any potential swimmers! Now time will tell on which locations work and which ones don't and how I can use that information next year to either move them or expand them in their current locations. I feel better now having these in and I can move on.....I HATE having things unfinished.

 

[j-bird]

Well I was at it again today.....no still not hunting!

Had to check my water holes, hang more stands and the like. The water hole in the south shown me that I need to get some sort or metal screen into my water hole. 3 drown mice in the one water hole alone (I didn't get to my north one - had a birthday party to get to). I did get a cam on the water hole so I can see what activity it draws.


I also improved my scrape tree as well, I felt I needed a bigger "turd" in the punch bowl - as Steve B would say. I had a smaller tree, but I removed it and added a much larger one to hopefully help get some attention. I added some mock scrapes under it as well.......sorry no pic.

As I was hanging stands I also took advantage of a spot that created a great place for a kill plot from the logging earlier this summer. This is a small 1/8 acre clearing along a logging trail that runs along the south creek running east/west and connects two small blocks of cover. This little clearing I will seed with some cereal grains and some clover to make a great plot both this year as well as next.


Here is a map of the location and the 180 degree pano view. Far left is facing due West and as we swing to the right we are looking North and then East.

Stand (white dot) will be accessed via the creek when the wind is from north. I can also access from the field directly south of the stand if needed. Yellow square is a corn plot and the green area to the right of it is a grown over clover plot. Plots are surrounded by switchgrass. Black line between the 2 black squares is the logging trail.


Gotta get a cam on the north water hole and the seed down in the plot above and I can finally get to hunting!!!!

 

[catscratch]

Looking good! Goofy mice can't find your stick? Maybe they are just swimming the edge and not looking towards the middle. I wonder if a piece of rope draped over the edge would work?

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[Flyfixer]

Love the water holes, that is something I really need to do on my land. I guess those mice are not smart enough to use the limb and crawl out.

 

[j-bird]

Well in case you haven't figured it out yet I can't leave something unfinished. Today I seeded the new kill plot in biologic fulldraw and addressed the "floaters" issue in my water holes.......and took a pic of my "bigger turd"!

Kill plot - I simply broadcast a small 2.5 lb bag of biologic fulldraw. I was mostly interested in the wheat and clover it had - any of the rape that grows is fine with me (I listed the full contents of the fulldraw in the BOB mixes thread for anyone interested). BOB seed works real well in quick situations like this. I'll let the rain do it's thing and hopefully get a crack at a deer in this new spot.....if I ever go hunting!

My "bigger turd" - I cut a small hackberry tree that was about 4" in diameter with several low branches and "planted" in in the same spot as the previous one. I had to hammer in some support for it as well and used 3" wood screws to give the tree the support it needed. I need to get a 3 or 4 inch diameter piece of schedule 80 PVC pipe and do like I have done on the smaller ones. It works pretty slick. Also added some scrape wicks as well to see if that will help encourage some interest as well. You can see my corn plot - I have a stand to the right in the pic and my new water hole isn't but 20 yards from it as well. At the end of the corn plot is the location where I shot the deer in my avatar - and the first decent buck I ever shot as well. My buddy hated this choice of a location for a stand, called it "the dumbest place I have ever seen for a stand".....now its difficult to get him out of it!


Mice in the water holes - well I quickly found out that mice are really stupid. So, since it appears that they can't/won't use the limb in the water to crawl out I have added a piece of small opening metal mesh to the edge and placed a dowel in the ground to hold it in place. I also noticed that the one in the woods was well hidden from all the falling leaves floating on the surface so I thought a piece of flagging tape on the dowel may help keep someone less observant from getting a wet foot or worse!


The screen idea is a patent pending product called "save the swimmers" - I'll sell you the license to use the patent if you would like! Or I'll sell you a piece of screen and a dowel rod for $19.95 plus shipping and handling......flagging ribbon is an option at an additional fee.