Now we are getting somewhere

I suppose you may call this an infestation. 

V-Food Plot. 6:15 p.m. We are inching closer to daylight hours. This guy has some length and is officially on the "hit list."

Same buck as above.

Different buck. One day earlier than the photo above. From the look of his body, this guy has been around awhile.

Making some scrapes

We caught this little punk checking out some scrapes close to the South property line.

Recent Pictures

This guy was spotting on top of Pond Circle Road two hours about sun down.

This doe was tearing up the South food plot.

South Food Plot Camera

Dates and times are correct. This one snuck out right at dusk.

As you know, we have plenty of creatures roaming around.

Good gracious, look at them turkeys. This explains why I didn't kill anything last turkey season. They were all on the South food plot.

Enjoy. See everyone out there Saturday for opening day.

October 23, 2010

Hunted Dead End Road again. This time, I set up closer to the creek to try and catch that buck slipping by. Nothing. Nothing but squirrels and woodpeckers. Afterwards, Josh, Bill and I set up two more stands. Check the updated map for locations.

October 16, 2010

Dead End Road. 7:00 a.m. I spotted a legal buck moving through the bottom just south of our property line. It couldn't have been twenty yards from the border. It never moved onto our place, so I couldn't get a shot off. Later that morning, Bill, Justin and I hung three stands.

Work Day Clean Up

My daughter accompanied me back to the land Sunday afternoon to do a few housekeeping things. The camp looked outstanding after Jay mowed it. A simple mowing does a huge difference. Whenever Caroline comes with me to the camp, she insists on going to see the school bus in the middle of the woods. Due to our lack of bushhogging, walking the short distance to Bus Road made me uncomfortable. We absolutely have to get in there with a bushhog and take care of business.

First thing we did was go to my shooting platform and finish the flooring. I added ten more inches of flooring to shore it up. I then cleared out every bit of brush that blocked my shooting lanes. Now, I can see perfectly up and down Pond Circle Road. We also poured a bag of stump licker all over a stump off the trail. I set the camera up in front of it. If this stuff works like the bag said it would, I should get some interesting pictures.
I also hung a tire swing at the camp. I swiped a brand new tire from my neighbors trash pile. It isn't a full sized tire, but it's perfect for the seven and under crew. Caroline christened it in grand style.

Camp Work Day Part Two

The second camp work day began at 8:00 a.m. Thankfully, the weather failed to live up to the hype that was the rest of the summer. Temperatures didn't reach 100 degrees, and the sun stayed behind a thick blanket of clouds for the most part. I have a couple of before and after shots related to the work. Below is a shot of the campsite area. There are a number of abandoned outbuildings around the camp site, the utility of which is unknown. On the first camp work day, we cleared out a tangle of brush around this building. The new site will serve as the home of our new skinning rack.

Bill and Jay starting digging the holes for the post (3 feet deep in hard clay), while Justin and I constructed the actual rack. A couple of 12 foot posts, a 10 foot post cut in half, some hardware, and we were done.

Jay and Justin are putting the final touches (of the day) on the rack. We plan to improve on it by adding a roof.

Jay also helped me put together a shooting platform. I pre-cut all the parts at my house, and assembled them all in the field. It was simply too heavy to tote all the way from Brandon. Every piece fit perfectly. I am pretty proud of it if I say so myself. The picture below is the spot off Pond Circle Road where I put the platform. Before:

After:

It's eight feet high, six feet wide, and six feet deep. It's also pretty stable, so long as you aren't dancing on it. Materials total about $90. My 5' x 5' pop up blind should fit perfectly in the middle of it. That pop up blind sits two comfortably. This will be the main stand I use when my kids come with me.

Below is the view you see from the platform to the right. You have about fifty yards line of sight down this trail on both sides. Not a bad place to catch a deer slipping by.

May 23 through June 12, 2010

Only one camera was working during this time period, and apparently only then for three days. I checked the mineral station camera on May 23, replacing the SD card. I left there for the next three weeks, thinking I'd have some great pictures. To add to my excitement, when I got down to the mineral station on June 12, I could see huge hoof prints in the mud, where the deer--large deer--had clawed at the mud and stump. Imagine my dissapointment when I got home and discovered the batteries had lasted only three more days, enough to take three pictures of an extremely pregnant nanny as she passed through the forest.

At 9:40 p.m. on the day I checked it, no less.

I changed the batteries in both working cameras and stuck new SD cards in them. In another three weeks, I should have plenty of good photos. Hopefully, those photos will include some spots.

Camp Work Day # 1

Friday, June 11, 2010, Justin, Josh, Bill and I camped out. When we got there, a large branch from one of the massive trees surrounding the old home site had fallen across the access road. Work day started early for us. First order of business was cleaning that up. That evening, we grilled out under a cloudless, moonless sky, watching the fireflies light up the wilderness around us.

The next morning, Jay joined us. Josh and I took soil samples from the four main food plots while the rest began clearing the underbrush away from the camp site and finishing up the fallen branch. We all pitched in after that, tearing down underbrush and small trees, loading the trailer, and hauling them away. Load and after load. Around 9:30, the clay gravel was delivered to the camp site. For the next hour and a half, we spread clay all around the newly widened camp site. Back breaking work in 100 degree heat. In the end, however, it was great to see a marked difference in the campsite. We opened it up greatly, took care of some fire hazards, and shored up the soil. A good days work.

May 5 through May 23, 2010

I bought another game camera at the Big Buck Sports closing sale. A Wildview for $40. I couldn't pass it up. I spent a few hours one afternoon making two mineral licks. That was incredibly difficult without a four wheeler. Those 50 pound sacks of salt, along with a shovel, two game cameras, and a box of powdered sugar tested my back. Two weeks later, I checked the cameras. Here are the fruits of my labor.

Our first buck. It looks young, but keep in mind that its antlers are just now starting to grow. You can see another in the very left part of the screen. I can't tell if it is a male, though I assume it is. They tend to group together this time of year.

The deer in this photo is licking the root ball of this fallen tree. 6:00 a.m. in the morning. I'll have to get up early.

Another day, though it appears to be another, if not the same, buck. This time, the deer is feeding in the afternoon. I put it at 2.5 to 3 years of age. This one has my name on it.


The last decent photo in the fading light.

The other game camera died after four dark photos. I dropped a little salt in front of this camera in what appears to be an old salt lick. There were deer tracks all over it. I wish it hadn't died.

Camp Work Day Set for June 12, 2010!

Planned activities are clearing of brush; cleaning up around the camp site; constructing supplemental feeding stations; constructing a two-man shooting platform; better deliniating the location of stands and trails.

April 11 through April 17

We got a variety of action this past week. The shot above is from the second game camera. I believe this to be the last photo before it gave up the ghost. This camera will only take three or four pictures before the batteries run out. I'm giving up on it. The photo was taken halfway down what is called East Bridge Road. Looks like a decent hindquarter.

These three photos came from the North food plot. The week prior, we only got one grainy photo of a mystery creature at dusk. This week, we got a mixed bag. All dates and times are correct. The deer above looks much more healthy than the others.

This is the third time we've captured turkeys on the camera.

April 2 through April 10

We have our first mystery creature. I moved the North Camera further down what I suspect to be a major deer trail. I am hoping to find exactly where their main veins of passage. I left the camera out there for eight days to no avail. I didn't catch the first deer moving down the path. I did make the mistake of not removing the branch in the right of the frame. Therefore, I have plenty of pictures of nothing but empty space. The camera did capture this unknown thing as it moved across the food plot. Any ideas on its identity? The date and time of this camera is correct.

The picture below is of the same food plot during the day.

March 19 through April 1, 2010

Here are two photos of a deer getting up close and personal. They are still munching on that clover.

Friday night was spent around the campfire. Earlier that evening, I had been unable to locate a roosting turkey. However, all was not lost. I ate at Bridge's Catfish House for the first, and certainly not the last, time.

Saturday morning was fruitless. I began the long hike up to West Bridge Road in the semi-darkness. Nothing. Slowly hiked to Yellow Jacket Road and set up down in the bottom. Nothing. Walked slowly to the intersection of East Bridge Road and Main Road. Nothing. Walked down to the end of Main Road and set up. Nothing. Them turkeys just as smart as the deer.

Club Work Day: April 24th!

Saturday, April 24, 2010, is Club work day, beginning at 10 a.m. Meet up at the camp and be ready to work.

February 27, 2010, to March 14, 2010

On my way down to Hattiesburg, I stopped off at the property to check the game cameras. While passing the actual camp site, I noticed two deer grazing in front of the old home place. They immediately jumped into the woods. Interesting, how different their behavior is outside of hunting season. It's like they a calendar.

Again, don't let the dates and times fool you. These represent pictures between February 27, 2010, and March 14, 2010. The top three pictures are all from the North food plot. The bottom picture is from the South food plot. Judging from the shadows in this first picture, it was taken close to noon. This deer looks a little ratty, no? It certainly doesn't look pregnant.

I love this photo. There had to be multiple deer running since the camera has such a bad delay. I think there is a ten second delay from the time it detects heat and movement, to when the photo is taken. In other words, this is a freak shot. It is in full alert. I wonder what spooked it.

This is our first photo of turkeys. Of course, turkeys are all over the place out there. Every time I go out there, I hear or see turkeys. I was beginning to wonder whether my camera would take pictures of these things.

Here is the first photo of deer from somewhere other than the North food plot. This was taken on the long South food plot, near where the trail leads to Scarbrough's lake. They are moving from West to East, toward the lake. I had to lighten this photo up a bit.

February 28, 2010

I went out to the property for a multitude of purposes. I collected soil samples from the four largest food plots, scouted for turkey, checked the cameras, and explored the Southern boundary line. The two photos are from the North food plot. The deer have been hitting the clover with a vengeance. There were tracks all over the place leading into the plot, leading out of it, and all up in it. I've been rotating the camera all around the food plot to get different angles, and to better see where the deer are coming from. I've convinced myself that the deer are coming in and leaving out on the trail leading to the shooting house. In the photos above, that is where the deer are heading. They may be traveling through a shooting lane through the pines as well.
Don't let the date and time on the photos fool you. These pictures were taken on February 20th, at 6:11 and 6:14 p.m., respectively. When I replaced the batteries, I failed to reset the date and time. These are the first day time photos, so I'm pretty excited about it. I ended up putting the camera on a different tree overlooking the same plot to see if we can find out if they are coming in through the pines at all. We shall see. I set the other camera up on the South food plot. I don't think I'll have much luck on that one, but you never know.

As I said, I took four soil samples. The plan is to go to the Rankin County Extension Office and send these samples off to MSU for testing. We'd like to find out exactly what kind of conditioning we need to do to the soil for Fall planting. I'm all for keeping this clover.

I also explored the very Southeastern part of the property. From the aerial map, it looked like a trail from the neighboring hunting camp but through our property. Sure enough, about 150 yards cuts through our corner. I'm not sure what we can, or would want to do about this. The property is not good for much except deer habitat. There are five year old pines throughout that part of the property, so it's pretty thick.

More Images

Years prior to our occupation, the land was used by another hunting club. They took good care of the property, for the most part, even erecting signs to designate internal trails. I can't figure out why the prior lessees never ran electricity of water to the place. The odd name for this trail is explained in the photograph below.

This bus is in the middle of the property. It's not like it's close to the road, or that it still has the engine in it, or even wheels. It's an empty, hulking hull in the middle of the woods. How does this get here?

Here is a singular aspect of the property. Right off a nice food plot is this ridiculous red-neck penthouse. Seriously, a wooden box over a shallow hole with a toilet seat on top. Did people actually take care of business on this thing? I can picture some half asleep redneck sitting on this thing, gun in hand. The problem is, it's close, but not all that close to the camp. A person would have to walk a good 150 yards through the woods to get here. It ruins the whole food plot. I'm sure we will take this thing out in the summer when we fix up the plot. At least I hope we do.

Deeper and deeper into the woods is this old cattle pond. It's actually a cool little place. Very peaceful, with a thick, sturdy levee. Someone thought there was fish in here because I found some fishing implements along the levee. Three well worn paths converge at the pond. There is also a nice food plot here with plenty of deer sign. I set up one of my cameras here.

As you can see, the food plots are in bad shape. We can really make large improvements to this property by reworking the food plots. This tripod overlooks the plot. To this point, it's actually, the only place on the property that someone has seen a deer. Jay saw what he called a large bodied buck rubbing his antlers in a cedar tree earlier in the season. Today, I saw large tracks in the mud.

Every time I go to the property, it's another wonderful experience. Today, I started taking some of these ribbon trails that lead off into the woods. I've found these ribbon trails lead to the best parts of the property. This one in particular lead from the Main Camp Road towards the Creek. It crossed the creek and stopped in a hardwood bottom that calls my name. This picture is taken on the West side of the creek, looking into the bottom. A wall of young pine trees climbs up the hill in the background. I'm hoping there enough acorns left to draw in some deer hoping to get fat before the winter's over.

The past owners made this lane into a food plot. Clover, partially submerged. The woods are so thick over here, unless the deer walked into the food plot, you'd never see them.

The far South part of the property. This trail dead ends into the Creek. A ribbon trail leads off to the East, over the Creek and eventually into young pines. Lots of hardwoods around here along with some tall pines perfect for climbers.

Here is the creek. It runs from North to South the entire height of the property (1 mile). Plenty of signs of beaver. I've heard them out there.

A picture of the old home place at the camp site. It is falling down badly. I don't think it could ever be salvaged. You can see the water well off the porch. Hopefully, it has good water and all we'll need is a pump.