The Hunting beast project

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Zona1
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby Zona1 » Tue Oct 31, 2017 2:21 pm

Been away for awhile, got locked out and had trouble getting back on.

The property has been more fun than I ever imagined and more work also. We put in a half acre food plot just east of the larger pond and a 500' x 12' plot on an old logging road just west of the top of the ridge. Planted half of each with cereal grains and winter greens. The deer have been hammering the larger plot for a month. My dad was the first to harvest a deer on the property when we caught a couple doe feeding in the plots during our senior/youth hunt. Seeing all our hard work pay off is definitely a feeling I will never forget. We have some really nice buck for PA in the area. 3 of us will be hunting the property for the first time later this week. Can't wait!


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Zona1
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby Zona1 » Fri Jan 19, 2018 8:01 am

Finally have time to do a summary of our first year.

Our first year ended up being a big success in our eyes. 3 bucks, 2 of which were mature, and 4 doe were harvested on the property. We were 2 doe shy of our goal but weather played a big part in hitting the mark. Our strategy was to leave the big hollow as a sanctuary area the entire season and hunt the edges with access and wind our top priory for stand sites. All of our stands were either in funnels or trails just outside of bedding areas. We also tried a little different strategy at times by entering our stands well after daylight. We knew we had some of the best bedding in the neighborhood and wanted to let the deer get into the bedding areas before ambushing them. We didn't hunt the property until the beginning of November. The first few days of November were slow. Bucks were not moving, and had the feel of a lock down. I had a close encounter with a good 8 point on the way in to my stand as he chased a doe across the trail in front of me. Unfortunately I didn't have my release on and somehow managed to get my bowstring inside my release strap when I finally did. :oops: As we reached the end of our archery season on November 11, things started to heat up. This guy showed up in our upper food plot at 9am on the 8th. One of our hunters was in a stand 80 yards away, but never got a shot. Image Archery season ended with no bucks on the ground, but a wealth of knowledge was obtained for the upcoming rifle season and next years archery season.

Opening day of rifle had 4 of us in stands before daylight. Since this was our first year hunting the property during gun season, I was looking forward to watching how the deer would react as the orange army hit the woods. Shortly after daylight a close crack of a rifle had me focused on a draw above me. 10 minutes later the distinct sound of hooves in the leaves could be heard coming from the shot direction. It was a decent young 8 point that I was going to pass on until he laid down 30 yards from me and I could tell he was hit. I watched him for a few minutes as he stood up and rearranged himself to watch his back trail. I figured he was being tracked so I decided to put him down as he laid in his bed. Immediately after my shot, I heard my neighbor yell, "Did you get him?" I told him yes and to come and get his buck. This was the first time I had met my neighbor and he was very excited to recover the buckImage
My spot was shot for the day so I congratulated him and moved on. The next couple days were really slow, none of our hunters were seeing bucks, then came the first Wednesday. That morning we decided to give our late morning access idea a go. Myself and my good friend son, Nate, departed camp around 10am to hunt the east end of the property. I was going to give my opening day stand another try and he was going up the ridge to hunt the top. We came to my access point and I wished him good luck and started to sneak into my area. I crossed the small spring that flanks my stand and just crested the stream bank when I noticed the back end of a deer standing 30 yards beyond my tree stand. When he turned his head and the bright sunshine hit his rack, the safety came off and the 7mm08 went bang. The buck dropped in his tracks and I was still trying to come to grips with what just happened when Nate opened fire 50 yards above me. Out of the brush comes a buck headed straight at me. At 15 yards the young 9 point J hooks and gets tangled up in a grape thicket and expires. I yelled up to Nate his buck was down and a jubilant YEAH filled the air. Nate didn't know I had already put a wide 8 point on the ground and thought I was shooting at the buck he killed. We had just pulled off a double on our way to the stands and couldn't believe it. Without a doubt a memory neither of us will ever forget.
ImageImage

Rifle season was coming to a close. We had manged to take 4 doe and 2 buck to this point and the weather was starting to get cold. My son, Dominic and I sat in front of the camp wood burner and talked about what do the next morning. I suggested to him to go to the east end of the property where Nate was suppose to go, but never made it. The wind was going to be perfect and he might be able to catch one heading into the sanctuary hollow. He agreed and was out the door well before daylight the next morning to the stand we call the Big Oak. Since I was tagged out, I was enjoying some camp coffee when I received his text message, "GOT ONE, BRING THE BUGGY!" Shortly after daylight, the nice 11 point with 3 broken tines tried sneaking into the hollow, but didn't make it. The buck was by far his biggest to date, I was one proud Papa!! :dance: ImageImage

Our 2017 season has come and gone, but it will be forever remember. A life long dream to own land, manage it and enjoy it had come true. The land just isn't a place to hunt. It's a place to gather with friends and family. A place to make memories like the day I got a skid steer stuck and almost rolled it into what we now call Oh "Shoot" Hollow.Image ,the night we got the bright idea to play redneck jingaImage or watching my Mom for the first time ever having the chance to enjoy our success with my Dad ImageI think most of us, myself included, at some point in time have got too caught up on the killing part of hunting and miss what hunting is all about.

Habitat management plans are already underway for 2018. Locating and improving known bedding areas are on top of the list for winter work. As well as creating 2 new bedding areas and screening for stand access. In the spring we will be adding another 1/2 acre to our destination food plot and clear a 1/4 acre spot for a fruit tree orchard. I look forward to the work almost as much as the hunt! We had some good bucks make it through the seasonImage hopefully we can meet his guy next year.
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llcooljames
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby llcooljames » Tue Jan 23, 2018 8:45 am

Great write up for your season. Its great when plans come together and I enjoyed the read. Looking forward to property updates in the future.
mathews418
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby mathews418 » Tue Jan 23, 2018 10:08 am

Congrats on the successes!!!
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peteherbst
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby peteherbst » Wed Jul 18, 2018 6:56 am

Great read, Zona. Congrats!
“You have to pay your dues”
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Tufrthnails
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby Tufrthnails » Wed Jul 18, 2018 4:12 pm

:clap: Outstanding. Great write up. Cool to see you guys put a plan together and succeed.
Tuf- The below average hunting beast
JohnFunn
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Re: The Hunting beast project

Unread postby JohnFunn » Wed Jul 18, 2018 5:19 pm

Tufrthnails wrote::clap: Outstanding. Great write up. Cool to see you guys put a plan together and succeed.


Well done!


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