Pinetag's Plot - 43 acres in Virginia

[pinetag]

I started on my shooting backstop project this afternoon and I got about 60% done. It is basically a wooden frame box filled with sand. I was able to give it a quick test run with the 9mm before heading home and got 0 pass-throughs from 10 feet away. I might add a second sand layer if I have issues with the 6.5 creedmoor making it all the way through, but based on some internet searches it looks like it should hold up. Also, I will be adding a piece of plywood in front of the 2x8's as an additional front layer and it will have some sort of guides on the sides to allow for replacement plywood in the future.

Right now it consists of a front wood layer of 2x8's (1st pic), followed by a 3/4" heavy duty rubber mat (2nd pic), then 6" of sand (3rd pic), and then another 2x8 layer on the back to close up the frame. I only got the back side built about half way up but I should be able to finish this weekend. I shot one mag of 9mm FMJ into the 3rd board from the bottom and as you can see in the last pic, none came out.

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[KSQ2]

Great tour! You’ve done a LOT in a short amount of time. It’s pretty awesome seeing the improvements in the deer herd in that time as well.

 

[pinetag]

Great tour! You’ve done a LOT in a short amount of time. It’s pretty awesome seeing the improvements in the deer herd in that time as well.

Thanks KSQ2! Property work is neverending, but at least it's fun (usually, LOL) and rewarding. I really like the sense of accomplishment you get when you complete one of your goals and I'm definitely looking forward to this fall with the hope that my efforts have a positive impact on the herd and my hunting!

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[pinetag]

I got the shooting backstop about 95% done today. I also built a mini version out of the scrap boards to go in front of the original so now I have a double layer of 6" soil/sand for rifle rounds. I tested it with the 6.5 Creedmoor and it stopped all 5 rounds, but since I was almost out of screws each back board only got one screw in the center. The impact of 5 rounds in the same area caused the board to pull out so I'm going to get a box of 3" screws to prevent that from happening next time. Overall I'm pretty pleased with the functionality of it.

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[Elkaddict]

I drove two steel fence posts in front of 5’ pile of dirt and then lean a used pallet up against the fence posts. Big rifles blow right through 18” of soil so I have to remember to only shoot targets low on the pallet (there’s no real harm as I have a mountain further behind as the ultimate backstop).

 

[pinetag]

I drove two steel fence posts in front of 5’ pile of dirt and then lean a used pallet up against the fence posts. Big rifles blow right through 18” of soil so I have to remember to only shoot targets low on the pallet (there’s no real harm as I have a mountain further behind as the ultimate backstop).

I'm new to rifles so what are you considering big Elk? I watched a bunch of rifle penetration videos before deciding how much soil I would need and most things up into the .30's never went more than 6" through sand. I've got about 12" of sand/soil when you combine the smaller backstop and bigger backstop, with layers of wood and heavy duty rubber in between. Does that seem sufficient?

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[Elkaddict]

I’m blowing through with a 340wby (210g Partitions at 3250) and 7STW(160g Accubonds at 3400fps). My 3006, 270, 7mm08 and 270wsm do not shoot through. FYI, sand is very different from a pile of dirt, particularly if compacted.

 

[pinetag]

Gotcha. So should the loose sand in my larger backstop perform better than the dirt in my smaller one?

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[Elkaddict]

Gotcha. So should the loose sand in my larger backstop perform better than the dirt in my smaller one?

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I would expect it to.

 

[pinetag]

Had a fun shooting session today with my dad, father in law, brother in law, and nephew. The backstops held up well! We shot 22's, a .380, 9mm, .45, Governor, .308, and my 6.5 Creedmoor. I got the 6.5 sighted in pretty well. You can see the progression with the first 5 shots far to the right and a wide grouping, the next five a little closer and tighter, and finally the last 5 with 3 centered but slightly low and then the last two in the red. I will have one more sighting in session to bring it up a hair but I didn't want the barrel to get too hot today.

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[pinetag]

Also, I must be either holding more deer this year or they've changed up their travel patterns slightly. Over the last two years I've only gotten a handful of deer pics up by the cottage (on my "security" cam) but this year I had about 30 over the last two months. I always like getting fawn pics.

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[pinetag]

I rode my atv trails this morning to clean up some downed trees and cut back some weeds that had started to get pretty tall in the paths. I also checked a couple cams but don't have a whole lot to show for it. It seems the bucks still summer elsewhere even though I've put in more food and cover this year, but I do seem to be holding does more consistently. They hit my new micro plots fairly regularly and bring along their little ones. The plots are very weedy, but there is frost seeded clover starting to show through as well as some of the store bought beans I threw out a few weeks back. I will spray both of them prior to my fall seeding. The buck in the last pic looks promising despite the fact that his growth is lagging for this late in July. No sign of the split brow buck yet...he must be summering elsewhere.

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[pinetag]

We have been saturated as of late with more rain to come, so I decided to go ahead and seed my plots in the rain today using the throw and mow method. Since I don't have a tractor or mower I did this with the weedeater. I have high hopes for the fall blend I got from the local co-op and I threw in a light dusting of turnip and radish seeds to compliment it. The "Oak" is a misprint that should say oats.

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[pinetag]

I got stung by a yellow jacket near the end of weed-eating the second plot, and being allergic I didn't stick around to take pics of that one. I did have my epi-pen if it had been necessary. Also, it must have just been a rogue bee cause if I hit a nest I'm sure they would have lit me up multiple times!! He got me right on the knuckle of my index finger and you can see the venom spreading and turning red.

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[pinetag]

After a couple years of running summer cameras, I've determined the bucks just aren't on my place until the weather gets cold. I did get this guy moving through but he's a little too far off in the distance to make out clearly.

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[KSQ2]

I got stung by a yellow jacket near the end of weed-eating the second plot, and being allergic I didn't stick around to take pics of that one. I did have my epi-pen if it had been necessary. Also, it must have just been a rogue bee cause if I hit a nest I'm sure they would have lit me up multiple times!! He got me right on the knuckle of my index finger and you can see the venom spreading and turning red.

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Ouch! I’m not sure which makes me more nervous, yellow jackets or bumblebees. I’d rather not go head to head with either!


We have several properties we hunt that are similar when it comes to does and bucks in the summer. I’m not even sure why I run cameras on them in the summer, habit I guess.

 

[pinetag]

Ouch! I’m not sure which makes me more nervous, yellow jackets or bumblebees. I’d rather not go head to head with either!


We have several properties we hunt that are similar when it comes to does and bucks in the summer. I’m not even sure why I run cameras on them in the summer, habit I guess.

I made the decision today that I'm just gonna run cameras from Sep through Mar going forward.

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[T-Max]

I got stung by a yellow jacket near the end of weed-eating the second plot, and being allergic I didn't stick around to take pics of that one. I did have my epi-pen if it had been necessary. Also, it must have just been a rogue bee cause if I hit a nest I'm sure they would have lit me up multiple times!! He got me right on the knuckle of my index finger and you can see the venom spreading and turning red.

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Oh man... I helped my dad doctor a couple calves yesterday morning. Thanks goodness it was still a little dark and cool. I heard a noise in the working pen just above my head and there hung the biggest wasp nest I have ever seen! We were able to slip in and get the spray. Probably 30-40 wasps we killed. That could have been a wreck with me and 11 calves in that small pen...

 

[pinetag]

Oh man... I helped my dad doctor a couple calves yesterday morning. Thanks goodness it was still a little dark and cool. I heard a noise in the working pen just above my head and there hung the biggest wasp nest I have ever seen! We were able to slip in and get the spray. Probably 30-40 wasps we killed. That could have been a wreck with me and 11 calves in that small pen...

Glad you were able to take care of them before they were able to get a crack at you! That would have made for a bad combo with angry bees and young calves.

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[pinetag]

After a couple years of running summer cameras, I've determined the bucks just aren't on my place until the weather gets cold. I did get this guy moving through but he's a little too far off in the distance to make out clearly.

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After zooming in (although blurry), I think this might be the same strange looking buck from this past winter... real wide with extremely short tines. It's hard to make out for certain in the photo above, but I know he survived the season as I had pictures of him in Feb.

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