5 pines farm 2013

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Thanks again Jim! Hope your freinds have a great Hunt!      

[Hopewell Tom]

That's it, get right back at it.
Very nice to see that big buck in daylight. Good luck with your friends.

[Easykeeper]

Condolences on the loss of your friend.

That's another great looking buck in you last photo.

[Shinken]

Godzilla LIVES!!!

Most-excellent that you have his matched sheds from last year!

The dream lives on!

Shoot straight, Shinken

   

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

Outing #14  The Pususta stand.

It turned hot and windy yesterday. Near 80 and gusty SE winds all afternoon.

We walked up the logging road together and where Bwana turned right to go to the upper fields I turned left to head to the middle ridge.
 
When I first purchased this place all that was at this spot was an intersection of three four wheeler trails. It is a natural game crossing  where three ridges come together.  So I dropped some trees and hired a small dozer to come up and push out the stumps. That was six years ago already.The stand is named for my friend the chain saw carver who killed a nice doe out of the tree early on.
 

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

I have a ladder in a big shag bark hickory here
 

the food plot is looking woefully sad due to the lack of rain and too much shade as well . I don't think any rain now will salvage the plot. But there is still a lot of acorn and hickory nuts here and it is a corridor that the animals just naturally move thru So despite the shape of the food plot I will continue to hunt in the general area as the season progresses.
 
 We had guessed the deer movement would be minimal and if any deer were moving it would be at the very end of the day. We were wrong. There wasn't any day time movement at all. But it was still a pleasant afternoon to be in the deer woods!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #15   The Tarzan Stand.
 


To the East of Apple Alley beneath a rocky outcrop sits the Tarzan Stand. So named for the wrist thick vines that hang from some of the trees that are so strong you can swing like Tarzan on them. This stand is new and will get hunted hard in future seasons. It sits above a trail that hugs the middle contour of the face of the bluff. The hill is very steep here with a rocky cliff above your head. The deer movement here is forced to go below you . Its just a natural funnel But I hunted in the am today and will most likely hunt it only in the afternoons going forward. One I jumped several deer in the dark going in and I think the deer are jut more likely to come down the hill in pm. I  think the deer need to be hunted higher up in the am.  Again its hot and windy out of the SE. no deer other than the one i bumped were seen or heard.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #16 Back to the scene of Tuesday's crime. The AA single ladder (aka lost doe stand) Pulled chip from the camera in the plot and found this picture. Its the doe I hit poorly. If you blow the picture up you can see my arrow laying in the rape. But you can not see where I actually hit her. I still think thru the arm and into the near lung.
 

Two words describe tonight/s hunt. Hot. Windy. very  hot all day for late September. gusty SE winds.  Deer movement minimal I had all ready climbed down and at the far side of the food plot stood a single deer. Too dark to tell what it was. I went out the back door of the spot and circled around as to not blow it out of the plot. Spotted 2 white flags leaving the forage beans.

This heat is supposed to be replaced with some rain and then cooler temps Sunday and Monday. Lets hope so so my guests can at least see some deer.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #17  Jay's stand

It stayed very warm over night. I think it was 58 degrees at 4 30 am with very gusty winds still out out of the SE just like we have had all week. I knew we would all need to be in protected areas. So after dropping off my buddies, I headed up the logging road.  I turned left on the hogback then turned right and dropped down the bluff's East side. In the bottom near a retaining ( dry this year ) pond sit's Jay's stand.
 
The wind was roaring at the top of the bluff but down below it wasn't nearly so bad .

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

This stand sits at the intersection of an old skid road I keep oped by going down there once or twice in the summer and using a chain saw and weed whacker  with a brush blade and clearing out a path in the brush and bramble. Its very heavy bedding cover and I thought if I was going to see deer in this wind it would be here.

the line you see is the county line, I cant seem to get it to delete.
   
Its too bad the pond is dry this year. But there are three or four apple and two crab apple trees down here and they all have fruit on them this year.
   
This is looking towards where the pond is. you can see it is surrounded with really heavy cover. Tough to see very far down here.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

The stand is a good 14 feet up but there isn't a lot of cover in this tree. If the deer are coming from the south or east its not a problem. But from the north or west it can be if you dont spot them early on. Today at 8 am I saw a doe and fawn approaching from the North. The doe went to one of the apple trees and started eating apples that were on the ground/ The fawn went to the crab apple right in front of me and was pulling the little crabs off of the tree. A 2nd doe appeared. The fawn moved forward and was standing right below me in the open her mom walked over and stood beside her baby. I was planning on shooting the 2nd doe. She was the largest of the three and had no fawn that I could see. The first doe looked up at me and stared. I tried to be invisible. The doe took a few steps and stared up  at me a gain. Once again she didn't make me. The wind was perfect so far. She moved forward followed by her baby. I was just about safe now as she was moving off to bed. I felt certain the shot was going to happen as the next doe was now at the crab apple pulling down crabs. I was focused on her. when the first doe let out a snort! The doe and fawn ran off and the 2nd doe whirled and stopped and stood still. I hoped she would turn around and follow her buds. But she did not. Instead she ran the opposite direction. I think the wind must have swirled and a molecule or two of me gave me up. I don't think I moved or that the first doe had turned back and was watching but I am not sure. The wind came up at 9 am and the rain moved in and we were washed out the remainder of the day. As it turned out I was the only one that saw deer this am.

[Hopewell Tom]

Soooo close...
The ups and downs in such a short time with the bow are a big part of this for me.
I have to get more stands out on our land.
I like how you have a number of options for any outing.

[S. Brant Osborn]

I still following on pins and needles!

[USN_Sam1385]

Great read. Spend a good part of my morning today reading it and catching up.

Beautiful place you have there.

[Whip]

I'm on my way home from CO and catching up on this had helped to pass some miles. Sorry about the loss of your friend Jim. I know he is enjoying his time in the woods this fall through your thoughts.

[Whip]

I'm on my way home from CO and catching up on this had helped to pass some miles. Sorry about the loss of your friend Jim. I know he is enjoying his time in the woods this fall through your thoughts.

[coaster500]

Best laid plans???   wind is a killer........


   

[Jayrod]

its almost like things are not meant to be when your out there afield and all things are going right and the shots almost there and then the winds shifts.....NUTS!!!!  

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #18

After yesterday's afternoon rain the temps dropped nicely to a cool 43. We set out at 5:15 in the fog and the crescent moon had a cool ring around it.

Joel headed to the stand with his name. Bwana and I marched up the bluff together. When we got up high we could look down on the top of the cloud that had socked in the valley. I dropped him off on my way to a brand new stand near Inspiration point.
 
This stand sits up high on a very steep slope. The old logging road intersects with several deer trails here and several other deer trails run the contours of the ridge below it.  Looking down you can actually watch three trails that run parallel to each other.

The steepness of the slope is rather unsettling at first. It makes you feel like you are much higher than you are. I caught myself constantly having one hand on the trunk of the oak to steady myself.

The wind was perfect. Out of the south and right in my face. Any deer passing below would not have any nose advantages on me today!

The first deer that made its way past was a small doe. It came down a trail 15 yards below the trail I am watching at around 8:15.  Too far and too steep to shoot. Then a large doe followed at 8:30.

I  was getting ready to sit down for a bit when the 3rd caught me off guard. It sensed the movement above and stopped for a short second or two and then continued on its way. All three deer ended up eventually on the trail I am guarding  but they were 50 yards down the trail when they did.

I was happy that I had guessed there would be AM movement here. I'll likely sit it again and if the deer move through but below what I thought was the main trail, I"ll adjust the stands location accordingly.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #19

Back up top to the ladder on the new turnips field. I have renamed this ladder to Lefty.

 

Everyone who hunts my farms risks getting in a stand set up for a lefty. Sorry but i just can't set stands any other way! This one's new name says it all.

There is a very large limb that is right at shoulder height when you are standing up. It's on your right when you are facing the food plot . It comes straight out of the trunk and stretches out over the mowed trail below. It makes it impossible for a right handed person to draw their bow.

After the rain the food plot has really perked up.