5 Pines Farm Whitetails 2014

[Joeabowhunter]

This is a great post Jim, keep it coming and good luck.

Joe

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #73 Lower Apple alley ( by default)

 

I had decided since it felt like a late December day I would alter my tactics as if it truly were that late in the season. left the horns in the yurt and headed to a food plot. I waited till 2 pm to head out and had intended to hunt in stand #6. With the SE wind I hoped to get into the stand before the deer moved to the clover plot in AA. But also late enough to still be warm and comfortable at sundown. Hard to do both!

I got to point on the bluff where I could see up to the clover field above $6. Shoot , two does were already in it.!! So I doubled back ( red line) and looped around the bottom of the ravine the lower ladder sits in. Stopping 20 yards below the stand (7)I put on my last layers of snow camo.

The deer in the food plot must have sensed or heard me as they never came down the hill later.

But about 4 pm I heard a noise behind me. I looked right and down and there was a big doe standing on the trail that goes by me on the right. (blue line) Perfect wind and she has no idea I am there. She looks over her back trail and I know a deer is following her.  It's a big buck fawn with hard little antler burrs sticking out his scalp! Following him is little sister.

They all walk by with out a clue death sits so near. But with three does in the freezer , I never even thought about picking up my bow.

40 minutes later right at last light another doe also with twin fawns comes down from above. This one gets wind of me and lets everyone in the valley know about it!

Hunting in the snow is so much fun, I think white is my favorite color of camo.  We have not had November hunting like this since 1991!

Going to head up to the Ivy stand in the am. I am making sure a little saw is in my pack.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Good Luck in the morning Jim.  Its funny seeing your snow pictures then looking at the aerial photos of green.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

unable to hunt at all today , life and then the wind got in the way. Better luck tomorrow as they say.

[ron w]

WHAT.........after only #73 outings you didn't go out. I think your getting soft in your old age      

[huntnmuleys]

life happens man. at least you can get out as often as you do. my schedule isn't that forgiving but I do get a lot of days off during the year. those of us with good schedules are lucky beyond our knowledge...

good luck today.  hope its warmer than it is here.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #74 Squirrels tail.
 

Ron , you hit the nail on the head. Yesterday I just plain chicken out!

Like yesterday , today the wind was out WNW. Gusty! Unlike yesterday it did not back off until after legal shooting light had passed.  It was brutal ! Even though we had temps approaching 20 degree's when I left the yurt. It took all of my will power to stay put on stand. I was just about to call it quits when I saw movement coming down the ridge to my left.

A very small buck came down and was headed to the beet field to join 6 or 7 others all ready there. Where those deer came from I am not sure. But at the end of the day I could see them in the field.

The last couple of days I have been trying to figure out what all the shooting at last light is , since the 1st gun season ended last Sunday.

DEPRADATION HUNTERS! The bottom of the bottom feeders are at it at a couple of farms near me. One farmer has killed 35 deer this past week! I am sick! I posted letters to the editor of 5 newspapers today about the practice!

[huntnmuleys]

35 deer?  that's insane.  ive never heard of such a deal.

[Chuck Janssen]

Good evening Jim. 35 deer is no longer hunting. That is just killing and a a waste of natural resources. They have stolen from every one in MN.

[Dave Pagel]

So does this guy have crop damage permits or is he just shooting the deer without permits?  I would assume the approach to deal with it would be totally different depending on which is the case.  It would tick me off either way unless there was a major over population issue.

D.P.

[Eric Krewson]

The farmers who's crop land surrounds our hunting land killed over 90 deer last year on crop deprivation  permits. They use a bull barrel, 300 win mag on a tripod and claim anything thing that steps out in their fields up to 1000 yards is toast.

The above sounds pretty ruthless, one look at the damage the deer do to certain parts of their fields and I can't find fault in what they do even though I hunt the adjoining land.

On one field finger that butts up against our land the deer ate 19 acres of soy beans to the ground, completely gone.

I hate to hear their gun go off but I understand, their livelihood depends on it.

One of the adjacent landowners who hunts, talked to them and asked them to spare the big bucks. We have been seeing some nice bucks this year so they may have taken his request to heart.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

What needs to be done in MN is to model after what WY does. A fund is established by  using a small portion of each license sold. Then farmers/ranchers apply to fund for compensation when they can substantiate real crop loss. The $ is then paid to the claim filer. but they are never allowed to simply kill the wildlife. If it is determined that a hunt must be held, it is held by the GF dept. and all meat is donated to charity.

However there in no way is there that many deer here. This is a case of very rich farmers only wanting to be richer.

enough said now back to hunting.

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #75 Joels stand

Ron will be pleased to know I grew some $$@@s and went on out!

it was in the single digits this am! But with no wind it made quite the difference.

I chose Joel's stand in the event I froze out early. I didn't want to hike for an hour only to return to the yurt just as quick.

So I took the short hike down the road to this spot. When it's this cold every step in the snow makes a loud squeak!. The stand makes a loud squeak. My joints make loud squeaks!

My clothing worked well, but there just weren't any deer moving. After 3 hours I was toast.
 

here are my clothing items today.

top
2 pairs of Kuiu merino zip tops.
one wool shirt.
wool sweater lined with wind stop
one white camo covering

bottom
3 pairs of merino wool long johns
I pair of thinsulate white bibs

feet
one pair of wool socks
Hoffman 14 inch high outdoors man boots
with thinsulate liner and a felt insole

Head
one balaclava with neck gaiter
one hand knit and felted helmet liner ( made by my Mrs.)
one white fleece hoodie

hands
light gloves
muff with handwarmers

[wapiti792]

I will not complain about our 20 degree temps Jim    

That type of hunt takes guts and toughness and a pair of cojenes' even if they are froze off  

[DaveT1963]

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #76 Lefty

By 11 am the temps soared to 28 but along with warm weather came high winds out of the south. This has been the windiest fall that I can remember. It seems like howling winds is a daily thing.

I set up Goliath just as I did before when I spotted that giant 8 up here. But by 4 pm I was just freezing. So I lowered my bow and prepared to quit early. Then I spotted a single deer coming my way from the south. So I pulled the bow back up and knocked an arrow. The deer got delayed when it found something tasty in the prairie grass. I got the shivers, so I lowered the bow and quickly got down. I stood next to the big oak and watched the deer making it's way towards the food plot. I kept an eye on it's back trail in the event it wasn't alone. It turned out to be another very big buck fawn. He really didn't know what to make of Goliath. So he tip toed past him and began to feed just to the left of me. He looked my way a couple of times but never made me out. we weren't 20 yards apart. After a few minutes my shivers returned. I made sure no other deer were on their way to the plot before I moved. The fawn did the high jumping run as it bounded off. Man they run really cool.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Jim, I'll have you know that Ole Ron Headed south so dont listen to what he has to say about Cold weather.            

I give you Kudos for going out in those temps. I am a fair weather fan.  Anything below 10 with my current gear and I am sleeping in...

[ron w]

Who you calling ole Charie......lol, 61 degrees here in Georgia this afternoon. God bless you Jim for your endeavors......    

[LITTLEBIGMAN]

outing #76  the long long day..........

The wind roared out of the south all night. A few times while lying in my cot in the yurt, it sounded like a train was bearing down on me. But the yurt's curves just let the wind roll off with hardly a side flap. I wouldn't have wanted to have been in a wall tent!

The temp at 6 am was some where in the mid 30's and I hiked up the ridge in my long johns. Haven't done that in a while!

I tried to duplicate last Saturday and started the day out in my stand.
 

With the warmth and all the snow on the ground we were in a heavy fog until 10 am.
 
I barely saw the only 2 deer here before they were on top of me. Two yearlings that were obviously siblings came past on high alert. The 2nd gun season started today and there had been several shots nearby. The fog was clearly having an effect on the deer's ability to see as mush as it was on me!

At 10 am I moved and still hunted down my back trail to the Ivy stand. After about 2 hours there I finally spotted 2 more deer. They were about 100 yards downhill from me. They browsed for a bit and then lay down. AS far as I could tell they were both does. I sat here until 1 pm and it was clear they weren't getting up and there were no bucks in sight.  So I headed in for lunch.

Back in the yurt hang on stand by 2:30.
 
Just when the witching hour was upon me, 2 guys in orange on a 4 wheeler came down the county road. (red path) Exiting the road at my driveway they cut over to the corn field and headed up into the pasture just below me. Motoring along the fence line with uncased shot guns. Man the crap a guy has to put up with during gun season.

Needless to say, nothing came out of the bedding area they drove thru, at least nothing in my direction.

The temp is going to see saw the next 48 hours. Tomorrow is calling for a high of 49! but with rain all day. Then on Monday, back below freezing and 3 to 5 inches of new show. We lost almost all of the snow cover today. I'd love to have it back.

If it is raining tomorrow, I am going to go the movies with the Mrs.!

[wapiti792]

That stinks Jim...I do feel your pain. 10 members of the punkin army drove a 2 acre patch of woods at my north line. 8 shots one dead fawn. We only have 7 total days and I am already sick if it!

Keep after it. Come Monday I get to hunt again