5 Pines Farm Whitetails 2014

[4runr]

Jim, thanks for all your work with journaling your hunts again this year. Very enjoyable to follow.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

For outing #12 this AM I returned to the little food plot on my northern border.
   arrow points out the stand.
I have been favoring the north end of the farm because my good friend and neighbor to the north has been seeing two slammer bucks on his south end. I keep hoping to run into one of them!

But today I had just a single spike feed near me.

The following pictures were on the trail camera which is placed just beneath the stand itself. If the weather holds I might just hunt that spot again tonight and bring home one of those does!
 

 

 

[Cyclic-Rivers]

   

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #13 Not lucky!

I gambled tonight and lost. Breaking all of my rules, I went back to this AM's stand early in the afternoon.

A storm front moved in and it began to rain. A friend who follows this blog sent me a text and told the front would move thru quickly and to "hang in there on the plot". As the rain came down a spike buck, most likely the one from this AM came into the plot and began feeding. My hopes that the does would follow were high. As it really began to rain the little guy lay down right in the green plot about 30 yards away. He faced the neighbor's house.

Rule# 1. Never sit the same stand 2 times in a row.

Then a truck came down the dirt road and pulled into the neighbor's yard. The next hour was spent listening to their boisterous conversation. The little buck kept watch in their direction.

Rule #2. Never hunt near the neighbor's in the afternoon.

The rain stopped.

Finally the guest drove off and it was just getting quiet when another neighbor from the opposite end of the valley comes cruising down the road on his atv. He was checking out the deer movement with his big barking lab in tow.

Rule #3 Don't break rules #1 and #2.

Finally everyone was gone and there were about 10 minutes left of shootable light. The little buck had wandered off. With nothing coming in sight, I exited the tree and saw two does now  in flight at the bottom of the field. They must have been standing off to the side some where near waiting for the coast to be clear. I didn't hang in there long enough.

I think I'll head up high in the am and see what's what.

[Huntrdfk]

Seems like I never win when I break self imposed rules.......I am sure it will come together soon Jim.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, I look forward to it every day!

David

[Huntrdfk]

Seems like I never win when I break self imposed rules.......I am sure it will come together soon Jim.

Thanks for taking the time to do this, I look forward to it every day!

David

[Robhood23]

Rules are made to be broken brother! If you got a hot stand sometimes you have to sit it as long as the winds right! I see back straps in your near future!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #14 Upper apple alley

With a south wind and very mild temps, I decided to head up to where I sent Jamie this past Sunday.

I was hoping to catch deer moving up ridge from the various food plots and apple trees as they went to bed on the ridge tops.

As I crested the first little hill behind the garage two deer stood from their beds. They blinked at my head lamp and then trotted off.

As I entered into the bottom of the old pasture a Bard owl on top of the ridge to my left called to a mate on the ridge top to my right. If you live in part of the world where Bard owls do not live, click on the link below and then click on the sound tracks part way down the page.

  http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/barred_owl/sounds  

This Spot is one of the more scenic deer  stands on the farm.
 

 

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

My morning snack was an apple grabbed off a tree on the hike in .
 

 

But I was alone with just my thoughts all morning.

looking back up the alley on the hike home.
 

The first of this years hunting guests are late arriving. Unfortunately neither of them are trad guys. I will tease them and give them grief all weekend over their ugly looking arrow flingers.

[BoonRoto]

I follow this thread every year, thanks for taking the time to let us follow along.

[Possum Head]

Beautiful fruit hanging on that tree. Your hunt journal is my enjoyment each evening. You do a great job with photos and comments.

[Whip]

I'm sitting in elk camp and still have to check in on you daily Jim.  Guess that makes me a 5 Pines addict!

[wapiti792]

Keep it up Jim, love your journal and all your pics. The effort it takes is something. Good luck the weekend    

[Lefty]

Another great season underway!

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #15 the old but new lefty stand

After my 2nd hunter arrived last night and I got him on stand I hustled up the logging road to the "new " lefty stand.
 

the stand sits on the west side of the N/S ridge across from the Bwana stand. The crest here also prevents one from seeing over into the forage beans and the weed field in front of the Bwana and the Justin stand as well.  A great little turnip patch is here.

Last spring I sort of started a forest fire that required not one but four local fire depts. to come out and put it out.

It was quite the day. But the end result was about 20 acres of nasty buckthorn down the ridge behind the stand was top killed. I then spent the summer on this ridge spraying the regrowth and I am really quite happy with the results. I guess this is the silver lining of that little fiasco!

It was really hot yesterday with a SE wind that was forecast to change to the solid East by nightfall That is perfect for this spot as I did not expect to have deer come up thru the burn.

I carried nothing but my bow and a tree stand harness on my back. I had re positioned Lefty to  be able to observe the small green field on the very south end of the ridge as well as hunt the turnip plot. I was looking to the south  and suddenly two dark forms exited the neighbor's tree line and entered that far little plot. Thru the bino's I could tell both were bucks. (star) One looked pretty darn good. Soon they disappeared and two fawns appeared closer in the south end of the long clover field that runs N/S along the entire ridge top. As I was watching the fawns the larger of the two bucks reappeared in the background and started scraping along the tree line! Cool!

Soon more deer started entering the turnips coming from the direction of the forage beans. Finally just at dark there were four deer in the plot. Two little bucks and two big does. I was stuck in the stand until I decided I just had to leave. I had guests waiting for me. So I cracked a stick over my head and scared them all off.

As I entered the house and saw that dinner was one the table, I was told we had tracking to do. So after a curry dinner we went back afield to retrieve one of my guests kills. there are now 18 hash marks on the doe score card.

[steadman]

Nice Jim!

[Cyclic-Rivers]

   

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

Outing #16

This morning I dropped Bwana off at the Andy Ivy stand and continued on my way to my stand. Very warm again and very little wind. Soaking wet with sweat by the time I got to the tree. What I would do for a 40 degree temp!

At just after 8 am I picked movement below me on a trail that runs parallel to the one I am on but 60 yards down hill. 6 antlerless deer were making their way to bed. I was focused on where they were going when I caught movement out of the corner of my left eye.

Crap! A single doe had closed in to 15 yards on my left and was all ready walking thru the shooting lane! To close for me to turn and all I could do was watch her walk by. This one hurt as it would have been a short putt for sure.

Morning ended with more skinning. there are now 19 hash marks on the doe score card.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

Outing #17

Weather was just like yesterday only hotter! I'll never complain about the cold again.

I dropped a hunter off at Lefty where I was last night. I continued the short distance on to the Possum stand. This is where I killed the great buck last year. (#22)

 

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

This is a great little staging area I created a few years ago.

looking North towards Lefty
 

Trail entrance/exit to the stand.
 
approaching the stand .
 

the stand is in this cedar