Anyhow, September is giving way to October and I have to say the wait hasn't been too terribly hard on me this year. Cameras have been running for a month and a half and once again, we have an absolute pile of bucks. There's no doubting the number of deer on the property. I've nicknamed our farm "The Daycare" because of the number of 2-3 year old bucks we get regularly. However, the mature bucks have been very, very elusive this summer. I would guess that we've gotten well over 20 different racked bucks, just running 2 cameras on one side of the property. I did have a camera on the east block at the pecan ladder but it was moved after about two weeks. There is no doubt that the future looks VERY promising and I know we'll do our part by way of habitat enhancement/protien/spring and summer plots to help as well. I also believe we have an infestation of hogs this year. More of those than we saw all of last year, and it wouldn't surprise me if we kill double digits this year. They are camping out, and have been for some time, at all the protien/corn feeders. I won't be able to make opening day this year as it is on a Monday, but plan on being in the woods on the 6th and 7th. We'll also try to plant what hasn't already been planted for bow season that weekend with a mix of wheat, oats, winter peas and clover. My favorite time of year is here and I thank the Lord for the joy of anticipation and look forward to the next four months doing what I love.
Somehow, someway, September has slipped by and October is less than a week away. I don't know if it was dove season opening, football starting or just the overall busyness of our schedules, but bow season is less than a week from beginning. This is the point when I spend the majority of my day revisiting all the stand sites in my head and wondering where I'll be sitting on the first hunt. I've been looking at maps all summer, but this is when I start to study them indefinitely and look for anything that I might have missed or overlooked for natural travel features. 300 acres of monotonous WRP doesn't make for many different pinch points or funnels, but I have picked up on a few subtle changes that I believe might channel the deer. This is also a time to reflect on all the blood, sweat and tears that have been poured into the property over the past 6 months and pray it will pay off this fall. I can't begin to even put into words the amount of resources, both time and financially, dad has put into this peice of dirt over the past 18 months. There's no way to ever repay what all he's done for us. It really is tough to be 4 and 1/2 hours away and want to be there every weekend, but logistically only being able to go about once every 5-6 weeks. Two boys in school and coaching two separate fall baseball teams makes it hard. It seems we rarely even have a night in without having to run here or there, much less a full weekend to "play" at the farm.
Anyhow, September is giving way to October and I have to say the wait hasn't been too terribly hard on me this year. Cameras have been running for a month and a half and once again, we have an absolute pile of bucks. There's no doubting the number of deer on the property. I've nicknamed our farm "The Daycare" because of the number of 2-3 year old bucks we get regularly. However, the mature bucks have been very, very elusive this summer. I would guess that we've gotten well over 20 different racked bucks, just running 2 cameras on one side of the property. I did have a camera on the east block at the pecan ladder but it was moved after about two weeks. There is no doubt that the future looks VERY promising and I know we'll do our part by way of habitat enhancement/protien/spring and summer plots to help as well. I also believe we have an infestation of hogs this year. More of those than we saw all of last year, and it wouldn't surprise me if we kill double digits this year. They are camping out, and have been for some time, at all the protien/corn feeders. I won't be able to make opening day this year as it is on a Monday, but plan on being in the woods on the 6th and 7th. We'll also try to plant what hasn't already been planted for bow season that weekend with a mix of wheat, oats, winter peas and clover. My favorite time of year is here and I thank the Lord for the joy of anticipation and look forward to the next four months doing what I love.
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The goal for the weekend was to get Grayson his first dove. At 5 years old, this marks his 3rd season hunting with me, and his first to actually carry a "big gun." I made the mistake of telling Laura as I shot at a passing bird that I had "this little gun" (I was reloading his and threw a shot up as I didn't have time to grab mine) and Grayson quickly, and matter of factly, told me that his gun was a big gun. We spent Saturday afternoon in the field and the birds were S.L.O.W. The field was wet, muddy, and just downright nasty. We got set up around 3:30 and had a few flying but nothing close. We did take a shot at a distant dove and then at 4:30 the good Lord sent a suicidal dove our way. The mojo (which the boys have named Spotty) drew the pair in like magic and Grayson made a great shot. After his shot, I swung on the 2nd bird and dropped it. A father/son double and a memory that will live with me forever! Grayson was so excited as was little brother, Hayes. We decided to pack it up at that point and head for the house and the LSU game. Grayson didn't mind a bit and was on cloud 9 all evening. When leaving the property we ran across this 5ft. rattlesnake sporting 12 rattles. A quick shot with the .410 was all she wrote for the big guy and I was able to get the rattles for the boys' collection box. Also while leaving, we noticed just how many birds had started flying in the area and I planned to bring the boys and Laura back on Sunday after church. On Sunday we took it easy and didn't get set up until 5 that afternoon. I normally don't like to shoot a field after 6, but knowing we were resting the field for a week, I didn't mind. The birds started flying as soon as we got set up and it was a different ballgame than Saturday. Grayson shot an entire box of shells, which is a feat in itself with a single shot and I managed to burn two boxes. We finished the day with 10 and should have had an easy limit if I could have hit the broadside of a barn. I shot horrendous. We capped the day off by killing 2 mocassins on the way out and look forward to returning this coming weekend to try our luck again. Grayson got broken in the right way by killing his first dove, getting hit and cutting his nose with the hammer on the .410 and getting a real nice bruise on his shoulder. He thinks he's big stuff and I can't go on enough about how proud I am of the little hunter he's becoming. Hayes also did great and gave the dragon flies and tweety birds fits with his Red Ryder and he's already made mention that he'd like a gun like brother's for his birthday next year. A few pictures of the weekend are below. |
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