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Blog Entries from the WeHuntSC.com blogging crew


Ben Sullivan?s First Deer

This is a guest blog entry by Ben Sullivan

Ben Sullivan has been one of my life-long friends and in the past few hunting seasons he?s started getting into hunting.  Ben hunts in the Coastal area of South Carolina down around Georgetown.  Last weekend Ben got his first deer and it was a very nice buck!  Since this was his first deer, a huge buck, and a good story, I asked Ben to give us some info about his hunt and I would post it here on the blog.  Ben gave me a brief summary of his first hunt and how it went down. 

Last week we had a large tropical storm move up the eastern seaboard and it got really wet here on the coastal region.  Wednesday night my buddy Luke and I were planning on bow hunting the next morning since the tropical storm was moving up north. We thought the bucks would be up and moving after three days of heavy rain. 

We hunt on roughly 2000 acres in Georgetown, SC and after the tropical storm about 1200 acres of the land was under water.  We woke up on Thursday and saw that the rain had stopped and there was a nice breeze (for Georgetown) in the air.  Luke texted me around 6 am and said that the weather was perfect and we needed to get in the woods.  My favorite bow stand was under water so we decided to sit in the tower stand instead (one of the highest spots on the facility).  This was the first time I sat in the tower stand.  I had pics on 9 other stands and we didn?t expect this spot to be much of a producer; therefore we didn?t put much effort into it other than putting out corn.

We were sitting in the tower stand just looking and at exactly 9:15 a huge buck walked out.  It took him about 4 seconds to get broad sided and give me a clear shot.  I didn?t waste any time taking the shot and the deer fell on the spot.  Luke?s inclination to go out that morning was dead on the money!  We got down out of the tower stand and took the pics that you see below.

We saw 4 other decent size bucks moving that day while we put out corn at the other stands on our property.  I?m excited that we have let them walk for 2 years in a row and our management practices are proving beneficial. Another interesting note is that we get a lot of game-cam pics, but the deer I shot had never been captured on camera.   It appears that we will have quite a few shooters this year.  

WeHuntSC.com - Ben Sullivan with his first buck

WeHuntSC.com - Ben Sullivan with his first buck

WeHuntSC.com - Ben Sullivan with his first buck

Congratulations to Ben on his first deer...a very nice buck!  I don?t know if I?ve ever seen on that big in the woods before, but I hope to!

Regards,

Clint
 


Black Powder Doe
  WeHuntSC.com - Bruce Puette with the doe he shot with his Muzzleloader
  Bruce Puette with his doe and Muzzle loader

Last Spring Mr. Bruce Puette took me on my first turkey hunt.  After the hunt I posted a blog entry titled ?The Day I Learned How to Turkey Hunt?.  I got all fired up about turkey hunting and went and bought all kinds of turkey calls, camo, etc.  Well, Mr. Puette also deer hunts and we just had another successful hunt.

Two weeks ago I gave Mr. Puette a call to see if he wanted to go deer hunting at some point.  I told him that I didn?t plan on bringing a gun and that I just wanted to video one of his hunts again.  It seemed to work out well the first time with turkeys, so I figured it would probably hold true with deer, plus I had gotten a better camera since turkey season!  Mr. Puette and I got a date on the calendar and I was looking forward to it.

So this past Saturday I crossed the Pee Dee River into Marlboro County and met Mr. Puette at 4:30 in the afternoon.  It had rained a lot in the previous week (we really needed the rain) and a cool front had started to moved in.  It was still warm, but nothing like it has been.  The conditions seemed just right for seeing some deer. 

WeHuntSC.com - The road we came in on   
The road we came in on  

When I arrived we talked around the trucks for a bit and put on our camo.  Mr. Puette said he wanted to hunt with his muzzle loader to see if he could get one with it.  Mr. Puette was shooting a Traditions Pursuit XLT, Black Powder, 50 caliber.  I?ve never even seen a muzzle loader so I really didn?t know much about it.  While we talked, Mr. Puette loaded his gun.  Me, being slack, didn?t even think about videoing how he did it.  After the hunt, I was kind of mad at myself for not getting it on film.  Anyway, I think he put in the black powder and then the bullet.  I know that he took a rod out from beneath the barrel of the gun and pushed the bullet and powder down the barrel.  He really had to put some muscle into it to get it down the barrel too.  It didn?t just drop easily.  After he got the load down the barrel he dropped the rod down on it and it bounced.  He said when the rod bounces then the load is ?set? correctly.  I have never I seen anyone load their gun like that, so it was pretty neat to see.

We headed out to the deer stand not too long after that.  We rode a 4-wheeler to get there and I?m glad we did because it was a pretty good distance from where we parked the trucks.  The rain really did get the road wet and we rode through some big puddles on the way.  You?ll see it in the video, but it was pretty scene on the way in as we rode deep into the forest back to the stand. 

   WeHuntSC.com - The Condo Stand
  The Condo Stand

We arrived to the stand and headed up the ladder.  Mr. Puette had us hunting in style in a nice condo-like stand that he had previously built.  The stand was situated on the edge of some woods overlooking a cut-over.  From our vantage point the cut-over was to the right and the hardwoods were on the left.  Mr. Puette sat on the left side with the best angle on the shooting lane and I sat on the right.  Mr. Puette had a shooting lane cut out to the left and had some corn down on the shooting lane. 

We had been sitting in the stand for about 5 minutes and Mr. Puette said that one of the branches down the shooting lane was bothering him, so he climbed down out of the stand and walked over there and broke the branch off!  Mr. Puette returned to the stand and we sat for a little while and observed the scene looking for movement.  Not too long after that we heard a shot off in the distance that was really early.  Mr. Puette looked at me and said ?That?s a good sign?the deer are moving?.  Shortly thereafter Mr. Puette got his grunt call out and grunted a little bit, but nothing responded.  We continued looking over the cut-over and shooting lanes for a while and then we heard the sound of stick breaking behind us to our left.  If you?re a hunter then you?ve probably heard a sound like this before.  It sounded like an old limb lying on the ground that got stepped on and snapped.  It?s a distinct sound and it got our attention.  For the next little while we were scanning back to our left really hard to see if anything was coming.  We kept looking, but nothing ever showed from that side.

 WeHuntSC.com - Does coming out of the cut-over

I was hopeful to see some deer, but pretty soon the sun would start setting and go behind the trees.  When the light gets low it?s hard to film so I was keeping my fingers crossed that something would move sooner than later.  Since we heard the sound from the left, I kept glancing over that way thinking I would spot something, but I never did.  The cut-over was so thick, I never thought anything would come from that side, but just when I least expected it?I saw a flicker of white out the corner of my eye. 

WeHuntSC.com - Doe in the field   
Doe in the field  
I looked to my right and saw a doe?s head pop up and down once right on the edge of the cutover and I reached to turn the camera on.  I turned to Mr. Puette and whispered??here comes a doe? and I turned the video camera on and clicked the record button.  The brace on the right side of the stand was helping guard my arm and some of my movement from the deer seeing them so that helped me a little.  I got the camera on and zoomed in quickly on the deer.  Mr. Puette just stayed still and watched the screen on my camera rather than leaning up and spooking the deer.  I zoomed in and then saw another doe coming behind the first.  It was obviously more than one and the lead doe kept walking.  A few seconds later?another doe, then another.  They just kept coming and you couldn?t really see them until they got out in the open due to the thickness of the brush in the cut-over.  I tried to keep all the deer in the same shot, but the lead deer got way out and more and more does just kept popping out.  I was zooming in and out, panning right to left trying to keep track of them all.  It was really neat though because the light was still good and I was getting really close-up footage of the deer!  Sitting behind your computer watching the video it doesn?t seem like it?s too hard, but when you?re out in nature trying to get it done, it can be more difficult than you think.  It?s a lot to manage at once (camera angle, being quiet, steady shots, not moving much etc), but it is worth it if you?re lucky enough to pull it off

.WeHuntSC.com - Bruce Puette staring down the scope of his Muzzleloader

Anyway, the does came out of the cut-over on the right and headed towards the woods.  Mr. Puette said ?They?re headed to the corn? and he got his gun up.  He had a little better line-of-sight than I did because of where he was sitting and he whispered ?Here they come?.  I zoomed out for a quick view of him and his gun and then zoomed right back in on the corn pile.  I saw the first one pop its head out and I knew it wasn?t the largest one.  Mr. Puette was saying ?Is that the big one? ?you can hear it in the video.  We were waiting on the largest doe to get there and it didn?t take long.  Three does stepped out before the bigger came into vision.  I told him that the last one was the biggest out of the group.  When she stepped into the shooting lane she was broad-sided and Mr. Puette had the perfect angle.  Mr. Puette clicked his safety off (which you?ll hear in the video too) and the doe perked her head up?she knew something was wrong?and then BOOOOOM?Mr. Puette had shot and smoke went everywhere.

   WeHuntSC.com - Doe in the shooting lane
  Doe in the shooting lane
Since I had never been hunting with a black-powder gun I didn?t know to expect this part, but when he shot a big cloud of smoke came out of the gun.  It was neat looking and it hovered in the air for a couple of seconds and it also had a different kind of smell to it.  The smoke cleared and Mr. Puette said ?I don?t know if I hit her? and I said ?Well let?s look at the replay? and see.  I don?t think what I said initially registered with Mr. Puette, but a few seconds later we were looking at the shot he had just made on the screen in my camera from the stand.  From looking at the video we were sure that Mr. Puette had a made a good shot.  I think he enjoyed being able to see the shot right there in the stand.  It was like instant replay and it let us breathe a little easier seeing the shot because we knew that he had made a good shot.  We sat in the stand for a few moments and then got down to go trail the doe.  As we walked we could hear the rest of the does running off and blowing in the distance.  About 30 yards later we found the doe.  Mr. Puette had bagged a doe with his Muzzle loader and it was a textbook hunt. 

There were some others hunting in the area so we waited until it got dark before we left so as to not mess up their hunts.  While we were waiting we heard another shot.  After it got too dark to hunt, we headed back out to the trucks.  Turned out that one of the guy?s in the group had brought his wife and she got her first deer that night as well.  It seems the deer were moving! 

Below is the video of the hunt? sorry for the low-level production, but I?m still figuring all this video stuff out

It was a great hunt and I got some good footage.  Looks like Mr. Puette can get it done with turkeys and deer and the type of firearm doesn?t seem to matter either!  Next time I?ll be sure to video and document how he puts the load into the Muzzle loader.  We had a great time and Mr. Puette told me that I brought him good luck, but I?m not too sure about that?I think he?s just a good hunter. 

Also, I got a feeling we?ll be filming a bow hunt before too long because Mr. Puette is also a bow hunter!  I bet he?s good at that too?

Regards,

Clint
 


Scent Control and Deer Hunting
  WeHuntSC.com - Clint Patterson with 8 point buck harvested in early 2010 season
  Me and the post-hunt pic

As you know, we?ve been working a lot on the Tecomate Seed Food Plot Journey over the course of the past year.  Most of the time when we?re out working we are talking about deer hunting and optimistically dreaming up scenarios where huge bucks come into the food plots or into shooting lanes and how we would position ourselves, etc.  I?m sure you may have had similar experiences.  Many times when Adam and I have been out working and having these conversations he kept bringing up the subject of scent control.  I have known your scent was important, but I?ve never really thought about it, or taken it to, the level at which Adam does.  What level is that you may ask? the level of spraying down when going to check game cams, washing your clothes in odor reducing detergent, taking showers with scent free soap, looking up which direction the wind is blowing before hunting, etc.  Initially to me, that was a bit much, but hey?everyone has their own style of hunting.

This season we?ve been using the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag as well as Atsko?s products to work with our scent management.  This is a regular routine for Adam, but for me it?s a whole new ball game, so I figured why not try it out and see what happens.  So, as you know from previous blog entries, I?ve been using the McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle bag to fuse earth and pine scent into my hunting gear.  I mean I?ve been putting everything in the bag?my clothes, m boots, my smaller bag, even my Thermacell, and this past week I also stuck my video camera?s tripod in there too!  Literally everything in the bag smells like dirt now.  So I?ve got my hunting gear taken care of and smelling just right. 

I?ve also started testing out and using some of Atsko?s scent reduction products.  Atsko has a 4-pack (the same one that someone is going to win this year) of scent reduction/UV killer products.  I put the N-O-Odor soap in my shower and put the N-O-Odor spray right beside my McKenzie bag.  I was eager to test all this out because in this early season heat, anything I can do to reduce my scent is beneficial since I sweat a lot and it?s been very humid.

###

Ok?jump back in time to one week ago?

A week ago (when we put down lime and seed) I also went out and put some corn out at an area where we?ve had an old stand forever, but that hasn?t been getting hunted out of much lately.  We have a feeder out there that hasn?t been working for a while too (you?ll see it in the video).  Since I had some time, I took a game camera out and tied it up on a tree and put some corn out in front of it.  I didn?t know what to expect or even know if any deer were in the area, but I figured I?d try it out.  I put it out and really just forgot about it.

When I came back home this past Friday, I went out to check the game camera.  I put a new chip in and brought the chip that was in the game camera back to the house.  Looking at the chip I could see that deer had been in there all hours of the day and night.  In one week I had 268 pics on it. That answered the question as to whether there were any deer moving in that location.  There were a lot of does on the camera, a small 4 point, a small 6 point, and every once in a while an 8-point came through and paused for the camera and ate some corn.  I guess I had the game camera really close or something because the majority of the pics were close-ups like these:

WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic
WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic
WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic WeHuntSC.com - Game Cam Pic

 

With so much activity going on in that location, I figured I?d go and sit there the next morning to see what would happen. 

###

   WeHuntSC.com - McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag
  The McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle Bag

I knew I was going to go sit in this stand on Saturday morning and I was thinking about my scent-game-plan.  I let my McKenzie Scent Fan Duffle run all day Friday and all night Friday night while I was at the game and even while I slept.  After the game (Eagles dominated Chesterfield again!) I came home and took a shower and used Atsko?s odor eliminating soap.  I planned to use it that night and also in the morning.  And yes, when you use it?you can?t smell anything.  I sat the odor eliminating scent spray near my McKenzie bag to spray my shorts (the shorts that I wore under the camo) and socks down.

So the game plan was this?take showers using odor eliminating soap, put on regular underclothes (shorts & socks) and spray them down with the scent eliminating spray, and then wear the camo and take gear that had been getting scented all day and night with the earth/pine scent.  This would hopefully reduce any human scent and/or bacteria that deer smell that may have been on me and then cover-scented my gear with a natural smell.  Doing all of this really felt extreme and out-of-the-ordinary for me, but again? I?m just giving all this scent management stuff a whirl.

I executed all scent management steps and set out to the stand.  This stand is a very small, old, wooden stand located in a thick forest area.  Due to this scenario; I didn?t take the tripod, but was set to MacGyver a way to video or either get busted by a deer moving around trying to video.  It was going to be so tight in the stand that I wouldn?t have room for the tripod.  I knew this would hurt me in some way, but I just wasn?t sure how.

WeHuntSC.com - Atsko Scent Elimination Products   
Atsko Scent Elimination/U-V Killer 4-Pack  
Though I didn?t want to be, I was very loud on the way in.  It has been so dry these past few weeks that something crackled and crunched with every step I took.  I finally made it to the stand and climbed up (skipping the broken step on the way) and got situated.  I had my Thermacell strapped to one of the wooden braces on my left and was mosquito free.  It turned out that the stand is leaning to the right.  Luckily, this stand is leaning at just the right angle for the video camera to steady on it and be looking right over the corn pile.  I slowly chambered a shell, made sure the safety was on, and took some deep breathes to try to slow my heart rate some to help me cool off.  The moon was full and some of the trees were casting shadows.  It was early and I just sat there in silence as some beads of sweat rolled down my forehead. 

I sat for a little while and my vision was slowly getting better as the sun was starting to rise.  Shortly thereafter I heard something moving behind me in the woods.  If you?ve hunted before then you know the sound of a squirrel running through the leaves?they?re loud and go in spurts.  This sound wasn?t like that, but rather was a slow pace and sounded like a deer rummaging through the forest floor as it walked.  Due to the high activity of game cam pics, I felt sure it was a deer.  This sound started out behind me?what would be 6 o?clock on the clock-face and it was extremely close.  I was frozen in my stand and wasn?t budging.  I knew that however many deer were back there were close and that any movement would leave me busted and hearing deer blowing at me as they ran away.  My heart beat was escalating with every step that the deer took.  It got closer and closer and was coming up my left side.  I was looking to the left in my peripheral vision as much as possible, but didn?t see anything initially.  I didn?t want to turn my head and just kept looking to the left.  I looked until my eyes started hurting from straining them so much looking so hard trying to find what was making this sound.  I?m sure this may have happened to you before as well. 

It was still a little dark and tough to focus clearly. Then I finally saw movement and it was about 10 yards away from me!  It was heading toward the corn pile.  I wasn?t moving for anything as the deer walked right beside me, but my heart started pounding because I saw antlers!  The trail I walked into the stand had me coming into the stand in the same path that this deer was walking toward?i.e. his path was going to intersect the path I took and he would be smelling right where I walked as he crossed my path.  I knew I did all this scent stuff, but I also knew I was sweating some.  I really didn?t know what to think. 

   WeHuntSC.com - Deer Walk Diagram
  Diagram illustrating the path the deer walked

As the deer passed around my left side he went behind some brush.  If I was going to turn the camera on with any structure in between us, that moment was the time to do it.  I reached over and cut the camera on and it started recording.  Keep in mind that, due to size constraints, I didn?t bring the tripod and the camera was not secured to the stand, but rather just sitting on top of the side of a 2 x 4.  I was nervous that I would knock it off, but I had to get it turned on.  After I got the camera turned on I moved my gun a little, cut the safety off, and got my body in position.  The deer kept walking and I could hear him getting closer to the corn as he moved.  Finally he popped out at the corn pile and was broad-sided, giving me the perfect shot. 

Something neat happened when the deer got over to the camera.  Obviously the camera sensed movement and starting taking some pics.  I was looking through my scope and also looking through the camera at the same time.  I was going back and forth with my eyes again from the scope to the camera.  Out of my right eye I saw a really bright light flash, but I didn?t see it out of my left.  From what I could tell, the video camera picked up on the infrared flash, but my naked eye obviously was unable to and apparently the deer?s eye couldn?t pick up on it either.  This may be common knowledge, but when it happened to me in the stand it kind of startled me at first because my initial reaction was that the deer would be spooked.  You?ll easily see the camera flashing in the video.

As it got lighter I watched this buck eating corn for what seemed like forever.  I mean I had the best case scenario from the moment that he arrived at the corn pile.  I let him go for a few minutes without pulling the trigger.  I wanted to make sure that this buck was not a 6 pointer because I?m trying to let the deer get to a decent size in this area.  I looked and looked and finally counted 8 points, but even then I still debated not shooting this deer.  I could tell he had a good sized body, but I just went back and forth in my mind about letting him walk and shooting him.  Then I finally decided to shoot.  (This is why you see me let him eat the corn for a while and not take the shot until late)  The deer was eating corn and I had the perfect angle, but at the moment I decided to shoot he kind of gave me a quarter shot.  I waited a few seconds and he raised his head up quickly and his body tensed up.  I thought he sensed danger and was about to bolt?so I took the shot.  When I took the shot I knew I hit the deer because his back legs jumped up in the air.  The bad news was that when I pulled the trigger the camera fell off the ledge of the stand ? the good news is that it fell back in the stand rather than out of the stand!  I caught it in my lap.   I heard the deer go down about 20 yards away so I didn?t think it would be a tough deer to trail.

I always sit in the stand after I make a shot just to calm down some and gather myself.  I want to give the deer time to die and also want to make sure that I get my safety back on my gun and that I don?t get in a hurry and leave anything or hurt myself somehow.  On this specific day all my hunting buddies were not around and were out of town or were working.  So I put the call in to my parent?s house and told them that I shot a deer and that I was going to start dragging.  They said they would come out to help.

WeHuntSC.com - Deer on the tail gate pic

After a couple of minutes I got out of the stand and walked over to the corn pile and shot some post game footage.  I walked a little bit and then saw the deer lying down about 20 yards away.  I knew I had made a good shot.  I went over and started dragging.  My parents showed up not too long after I had started dragging the deer.  My dad has been having some trouble with his knees lately and just walking the terrain of the land was killing him?so what does any good mother do?that?s right?my mom helped me drag the deer out of the woods!  Talk about unconditional love.  So to the people around Pageland reading this?if you see my mom tell her that you heard she?s dragging deer out of the woods in her slip-ons!  I felt bad as one time she fell down when we were pulling the deer across a dried up creek, but she soldiered up right on through it and kept pulling.  We had to stop 2 ? 3 times, but soon enough we had the deer to the edge of the woods.  My mama has always told me ?They don?t make them like me anymore? and after last Saturday I have to say that I definitely believe her!

That was how the story of the hunt went.  Reflecting back on the hunt, I have to tell you that I really think the measures I took of scent control played a big part in my success.  The reason is because that deer started out behind me and came full circle all the way around me at a very close range and even walked across the path that I walked in on.  The deer ended up in front of me and was clueless that I was even in the woods.  If I would have smelled then he would have winded me a couple times over and fled the scene, but you already know how the story went.  Needless to say, I?ll be covering my scent and paying more attention to it in all my upcoming hunts.  Maybe the deer was dumb or couldn?t smell, but you have to "dance with the one that brung ya" right??? So I?ll keep focusing on my scent and see how the rest of the season goes.  Maybe Adam?s scent management techniques aren?t too extreme after all!

After all this I got all my scent control products together and took some pics with the deer.  The deer ended up being 8 points, 155lbs.  He?s not a monster, but he was a decent buck.

WeHuntSC.com - Clint Patterson with 8 point buck harvested in early 2010 deer hunting season

Here?s the video of the hunt?sorry the camera fell, but we don?t have a camera-arm sponsor yet?lol!  So next time I?ll take some rubber-bands or start saving my money up for a camera-arm.  Also, you?ll notice that my video edits aren?t great?but I?m a web guy?not a video guru so this will have to suffice.

Be sure to bump the resolution up a little in the bottom right-hand corner of the video where it says "360p"

Something else neat occurred to me later that morning?when I was hunting the camera was flashing right?  I sat there and thought to myself? that pic will have the deer in it and also have me in it (if it could see that far out).  So I journeyed back out to the stand again to get the chip (that had only been out there for one day) again and see what the pic looked like.  I was surprised to have over 80 pics just from the past 24 hours.  Those deer were out there all night long again!  That 8 point was there in the middle of the day on Friday and there were even deer at the corn pile at 5:45 am?the same time when I started walking to the stand.  I probably scared them off on my way in.  Anyway, I found the pic of the deer at the corn-pile right before I shot and you can see me in the background, but it?s kind of blurry.  You can make out my head, the gun barrel, and the dark area where the camera is.  Check out the pic

WeHuntSC.com - Reverse Game Cam Pic

So I sweated a lot dragging the deer and even got some blood on my camo and what did I do?that?s right? I put them in the washing machine and washed them with Atsko?s odor eliminating detergent.  I dried them and then stuck them right back in the McKenzie bag.  I think the stars aligned just right for me on this day or something.  I?ve only been in the woods hunting 2 weekends and have harvested 2 deer.  This season has been a success whether or not I get any more deer this year?and I?m just fine with that, but I?ll still be out trying to videotape!  If you made it this far, thanks for reading all this.

Regards,

Clint
 


Fall Planting Season
   WeHuntSC.com - Jon Charles of River Oaks Wildlife Management
  Jon Charles of River Oaks Wildlife Management

As mentioned in the summary, this is a guest blog entry written by Jon Charles of of River Oaks Wildlife Management

Fall planting season is here!! I know some of us are a little late on planting certain types of plants, but we all know it?s been hot and dry in parts of the south.  It?s time to get started. One of the most frequent questions that I get asked is ?I planted a food plot and the seed did not come up...Why?  That seed must not be any good.? There are a few simple reasons it did not come up:

  1. Did you do a complete soil analysis?
  2. Did you plant at the right time, depth?
  3. Did you amend your soil correctly (Solu-Cal, lime and the right type of fertilizer?
  4. Did you plant to deep; did soil harden and crust after a rain?
  5. Did you roll or pack your soil type too much?
  6. Was there herbicide residue in the soil?
  7. Did you inoculate your seed and use the right type of inoculant?

1. Soil Analysis
The first step anyone needs to do before planting any type of seed is have a complete soil test done. Not just test for pH but also check levels of micro and macro nutrients. If your soil is void of the right balance of these minerals it can have a negative effect and you will not see the results you?re looking for.  Please get this done first and save yourself the headaches, money, time and labor you went through and take $20 to $ 30 dollars and do this first. Missing minerals can be added into your fertilizer for as little as $6.00 per acre. There are also several types of managers you can add into your fertilizer like Nutrisphere N, Avail, and Wolf tracks. These products can save you money and produce higher amounts and higher yields in your field or plot.  Use the right type of lime and remember ag lime takes 4 to 6 months to correct the PH in your soil so if you planting in the spring you need to have added lime the previous fall. Another great product we use at River Oaks Wildlife Mgt is a product called Solu-Cal. A 50 lb bag of solu-cal is equal to 300 lbs of lime and starts correcting soil in weeks not months and will last a lot longer. You should check it out. 

Next avoid the ?Farmer Brown? syndrome. What is the ?Farmer Brown? syndrome you ask? It?s the guy down the road that is Mr. Know It All. They use outdated methods, the same methods their dad and granddad before them did. All they know is 400 lbs of 10-10-10 per acre and 2,000 lbs of lime and that?s all you need to plant any seed you want. WRONG!!!  Farmer Brown will get you in trouble and will cause you a great waste in your time and planting.  Stay away from Farmer Brown folks!!! Listen to qualified wildlife mgt consultants or agronomists, not the guy working in the back of local feed store or the farmer down the road that has not evolved or is not practicing modern productive methods of planting. Remember we are planting for wildlife.

2. Time
Make sure you read the seed bag and recommended planting times for your zone.

3. Soil Amendment
Please after getting your soil test back amend your soil correctly using the right type of fertilizer and add in the correct fertilizer mgrs to assure you positive results.

4. Depth
When planting make sure when getting the seed in the ground by either broadcasting, using a plotmaster, or drilling, make sure you plant your seed at the right depth. Small seeds like clovers, alfalfa, and brassicas (like any seed) need good seed to soil contact. 

5. Packing Your Soil
If you?re broadcasting, drag your seed over lightly and compact your soil lightly. Do not get out and take the truck or tractor and drive over the plot as a lot of times this compacts the soil to tight?especially in clay soils! If you get a rain and the water runs off the top it can crust over and harden up. These small seeds need a lot of energy to push through the soil and reach the surface. With small seeds only cover over lightly or plant about ÂĽ inch deep. Larger seed like Lab Lab, soy beans, peas should be planted about ½  to 1 inch deep and NO deeper .

6. Herbicide Residue
Make sure your soil has had time to deplete itself of chemical agents (Roundup etc.) I have seen guys plant too early after spraying and till in grasses and weeds before a complete burn down only to have the seed get contaminated with herbicide residue and not come up at all. Believe me, I have seen a few properties that were hit with ?Farmer Brown? syndrome or just too anxious to hurry up and get it planted. So, please, if you spray for invasive grass or weeds, give the area time to dry out and burn down. This is usually at least 14 days minimum.

7. Inoculants
This is something that most frequently gets overlooked. Please take the time and inoculate your seed with the right type of Rhizobium bacteria. Check your seed labels and see if it was pre inoculated and always plant before the expiration date.

Blow is a list of the different types of Inoculants needed for different seed types.

  • Clover types Alsike and Ladinos
    • Rhizobium type L B
    • Trifolli,code B
    • Arrowleaf  code  O
    • Crimson and Berseem code R
    • Subterranean type WR
  • Alfalfas and most sweet clover
    • Code A
  •  Alice clovers joint vetch, Iron clay peas, Cow peas, Milgarra butterfly, Lab Lab, etc
    • Inoculant Bradyrhizobium spp code  EL
  • Austrian winter peas, Sweet peas, & Flat peas
    • Inoculant type Rhizobiun IB Vicaea code C
  • Soy beans
    • Dradyrhizobiun Japonicum code S

This should get you going for now. Make sure when inoculating your seed that you follow the directions.  It?s a living bacteria and you should keep it in the fridge or in a cool place until it?s time to apply. You can add water and make a slurry and wash your seed in it and then spread your seed out on a tarp to dry, but not in direct sunlight or you can dry mix it in a bucket and coat your seed this way, but please follow the directions.

If you go down the check list above you should eliminate most of your concerns about getting a good food plot started. Remember it all starts with your soil. Your plants act as transfer agents that transfer the nutrients in the soil to the deer that you are trying to reach. Treat your soil right and it will treat your deer right allowing them to get the best nutrition possible.

In the next blog entry, we will discuss the different soil types and talk about supplemental feeding and minerals. Also stay tuned in for The Real Deal On Seed For Wildlife coming next month.

If you have mgt questions or need professional consultation we can be reached at email [email protected] or phone at 919-341-9659.

For question on Solu-cal go to www.solu-cal.com or call 508-295-1533 and ask for Craig Canning at ext 230. Let him know how you heard about the product!

Thanks again folks and remember to use best management practices and introduce a kid to the outdoors any chance you get. 

Jon Charles,
River Oaks Wildlife Mgt
 


It?s Better to be Lucky than Good
   WeHuntSC.com - The view over the remote food plot
  The view over the remote food plot

In the midst of football and all the food plot work, I was able to go hunting some this past weekend.  The first two times I went, I sat over the remote food plot hoping to catch something coming through, but nothing stopped by.  Though, on my second trip in I did have one blow at me just as I was getting situated in the stand.  I was not happy to spook a deer and give away my location, but at least it was a good sign that deer are in the area. I?ll have to be quieter the next time I go in there.

As you know, it has still been really hot and humid out there which equals sweat which equals mosquitos.  All I can say is ?Thank God for Thermacell?.  I sat out in the heat 3 times this past weekend and didn?t get one single mosquito bite!  Thermacell is definitely a must-have product.  If you?re reading this and have never used a Thermacell, then you?re missing out.

What can I say?Derek has inspired me, so this year I?m carrying a video camera with me which gives me something else I?m trying to learn how to do!  Hopefully I can get some good shots of deer without spooking them by knocking the camera over or clicking any buttons.  Already I?ve learned that you have to have your ducks in a row to carry everything you need for your hunt + the camera & tripod out to the stand in one trip.  It?s just one more thing to carry, but when you do get deer on camera it?s really worth it to be able to share the videos with everyone because people always ask ?Did you see anything? and instead of trying to explain the setting to them, I just show them the video now!

WeHuntSC.com - Camo Ninja  
The "Webneck Camo-Ninja"  

The first two hunts I went on this past weekend were in the morning and I went out to the remote food plot.  On my last hunt of the weekend I chose a different scenery and went out to a freshly cut corn field.  My hunt over the corn field was an afternoon hunt.  The corn field is so big that sometimes you can see deer and not be able to shoot them due to their distance.  I hoped to get a deer, but more so, I just hoped to get some footage.  You know how it is when you try something new?you?re all gung-ho about it, so I was fired up about getting any kind of footage.

I got to the stand and found a small wasp nest and a ton of ants waiting on me.  After fending all that off the best I could, I got situated and ready.  I sat for a long time and was texting my friends seeing what was going on with them.  The sun slowly started to set and as it did the light was just slapping me in the face.  I had to squint and sit awkwardly for a while just to keep the sunlight from blinding me.  After the sun went behind a cloud and got a little bit lower, I was able to sit normally and see clearly again.  It was ?that time??you know the time when you expect deer to walk right as the sun starts to set.

I was scanning the field and way off, I mean way off, I saw a flicker.  Instant pulse-rate increase.  It was a deer and it was about 350 yards out.  I zoomed in with the camera and could barely see it due to the remaining corn stalks, crests of the hills, and distance.  I was excited to see some activity, but disappointed that it was so far off that I couldn?t get any decent film or shoot.  The deer browsed the field a little then returned to the woods.  Shortly after that, I noticed something brown moving through the field to my left.  When I looked up I saw a whole group of deer walking out about 200 yards from me.  I tried to zoom in and out in the video to demonstrate how far out they were.  The group had about 5 ? 6 deer in it and I went to grab my camera and position it to video the deer then CLANK?some kind of metal piece on the tripod dropped off and hit the bottom of the stand.  I just knew that I had blown it, but luckily the deer didn?t hear anything.  I had to re-gather and get the camera in position.  In a few seconds, I got the camera up and zoomed in to see the deer.  At this point my gun was still across my lap.  The deer were so far out that any touch of the camera made the camera bounce and become difficult to see.  It looked to be a group of does and so I filmed them for a little while.  I was debating on trying to pull a shot off at that distance, but decided to film them for a little while first. 

After filming them for a little bit, I finally decided to shoot.  I thought about it and I had my doe tags and everything so why not give it a whirl.  I put my gun up and was looking through the scope.  The whole time I was trying to pick out which one had the biggest body.  The last thing I wanted to do was shoot a young buck or a small doe.  At that distance, it was challenging to figure out which one had the largest body.  Also, I knew I would have to aim a little high if I was going to have a chance because the deer were way out and the bullet would drop at that distance. Side note: I?m shooting a 243. 

   WeHuntSC.com - Clint and the doe
  We stopped for a quick pic at the house
So I had my gun up right beside the camera and was going back and forth in between my scope and the camera.  It was kind of difficult to do both at the same time.  The deer were spreading out and it was difficult to keep them all in the same shot and it was also hard to know that if the deer I was looking at in the scope were the same deer in the camera.  Being zoomed in so far in both the scope and the camera was enough to give you motion sickness.  You can see in the video where I bumped the camera several times trying to move it over.  Sometimes I was looking in my scope when I bumped the camera and other times I was actually looking at the camera.  So I didn?t have a good feel for what was actually getting filmed and what wasn?t.

These deer were walking and browsing and, to my surprise, some of them started lying down in the middle of the field.  I had never seen this before and was kind of amused by it.  I thought maybe the first deer was lying down to scratch her back or something, but then another laid down too.  I didn?t know if they all planned on lying down, but I figured I better not waste any more time.  I went back into the scope and picked out the lead deer because it had the biggest body.  I aimed high and pulled the trigger.  I saw the fire come out the end of the gun and then the remaining deer scattered.  You can see them jump up in the video.  I chambered another shell and watched the others run from the field.  I sat there for a little bit, calmed down, and then went walking to see if I could find any blood.  I really didn?t expect that I could hit a deer from that far out. 

I walked over to where I shot and didn?t see anything and then I walked a little further and saw a doe lying on the ground.  I couldn?t believe I hit the deer at that distance.  It turned out that my shot was high indeed as I hit the doe in the neck.  We weighed the doe at the processor and it weighed exactly 100 lbs, but dragging it all the way across that field I could have sworn that it was heavier. 

The video turned out to be darker than it was in reality of the setting.  I guess the lens of the camera couldn?t pull in all ambient light, but nonetheless, you can see in the video that the light source began to lessen as I filmed the deer.  If you watch towards the end, you can see the deer lying down and then you can hear the shot (at the 10:40 mark of the video) and see them jump up and scatter.  The deer I shot was actually out of the frame of the video.

In the end it was good to get a doe and get on the board.  Last year I missed a doe broad-sided at about 30 yards out and this year I got one a little over 200 yards out with the same gun? it?s better to be lucky than good any day!

Regards,
 

Clint
 


The Pee Dee Deer Classic
   WeHuntSC.com - Pee Dee Deer Classic Website ScreenShot
  A Screenshot of the Pee Dee Deer Classic Web Site

The Pee Dee Deer Classic is an annual event that is put on by the guys at Moree?s Hunting Preserve in Society Hill, SC.  The Pee Dee Deer Classic is South Carolina?s largest deer hunting expo with tons of exhibitors, displays, merchandise, and information.  This is the 17th year of the event that brings deer hunters from across the state together.  Though, this event is not only for SC deer hunters, but for deer hunters everywhere.  So all you NC hunters that look at the site feel free to come on down.  It?s just a hop skip and jump down 95 right to Florence.

Event details

Name: Pee Dee Deer Classic
Host: Moree?s Sportsman?s Preserve
Event Website: http://www.moreespreserve.com/deer_classic.html
Admission at door:  - Adults $8.00
                                - Children 7 ? 12 $3.00
                                - Children 6 and under ? FREE
Location: Florence Civic Center, Florence SC Create directions to the Florence Civic from your location
Parking: - Free
Event Layout: If you?re interested in you can view the booth layout.  From the looks of the diagram it looks like there is going to be a bow tournament of some kind outside. 

WeHuntSC.com - Pee Dee Deer Classic Logo   
   

Some of the WeHuntSC.com crew will be attending the event and, as we did with the Sportsmen?s Classic, we will give a post-game-review blog entry of the Pee Deer Classic here on the site.  So if you can?t attend we?ll try to give you a glimpse of what it?s like on the inside.

Regards,

Clint

 


The Smoke House Grill and Some Remote Food Plot Work

If you?re from a city around South Carolina that isn?t close to Pageland, then you may or may not know about the legendary Smoke House Grill.  The Smoke House Grill is a buffet that is located on Highway 151 right outside of Jefferson, SC.  The Smoke House Grill attracts people from everywhere and is really good, so if you?ve never heard of it or tried it out, you may want to make the trip! 

Some of the WeHuntSC.com gang met up to eat breakfast at the Smoke House and of course Hoot was there early (with dogs loaded on the back of the truck) and he called me at 5 minutes til 8 because he thought I had overslept. I reminded him that we had 5 minutes left on the clock and I arrived at 7:59!  We all sat around and ate and then Hoot left to run the dogs again.  He?s hard at it 24/7/365! 

Lem and I left and went to do some work on the remote food plot that I?m trying to install in the middle of some planted pines way deep in the woods.  Hopefully this time I didn?t catch any poison ivy.  If it?s like it was last time, I should know here in a day or two!  Anyway, we worked hard cutting trees, raking pine straw, and getting the area ready for Adam Smith and the GroundHog MAX to come to do some work.  When this happens, I?ll try to get some more footage and post on the blog about it.

After the morning work, Lem and I went and picked up our supervisor Sam Mungo to take him to lunch.  Sam is the hardest working Mungo in his family and motivated Lem and I to continue working hard throughout the remainder of the day.  

I just wanted to post this blog to give you a look at where we are in the hopeful installation of this remote food plot.
 


The post-game interview with Sam 


2009 Deer Hunting Competitions Winding Down
We?ve got some pretty good deer in our online competitions for this hunting season.  Those guys (and gals) from South Carolina are coming across some nice deer!  If you think you?ve got a good buck and a good picture, then be sure to post it into one of our competitions before January 1st!  Winners of the competitions will receive:
  • A $50 gift certificate to Bass Pro Shops
  • A case of Wildlife Energy Drinks
  • A Thermacell with a carrying case
  • A Vinyl WeHuntSC.com sticker for your car/truck
I know some of you have been holding back because you think your deer isn?t the biggest on the page, but keep in mind that the biggest on the page doesn?t mean they will necessarily win!  We?re judging according to many factors, one of which is the quality of the picture!  So submit your photos regardless of if your deer is the ?biggest? on the page or not!
 
Regards,
 
CBP

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Wintery mix & an 8 point
This past weekend a big winter storm covered the east coast.  With such a strong rain I wasn?t sure if I should go hunting at all, but I did end up venturing out in the wintery mix.  It was raining and very cold and in some nearby towns there was ice, sleet, & a little bit of snow.  Though, I think in Pageland it was mostly cold and raining.  Since it was wet and cold I opted to sit in a box stand where I would be shielded from elements.  I stuck the camera out the window to give you an idea of what I was seeing and hearing.  
 
 
Even though I was inside, I still somehow managed to get cold.  I sat in the stand until I couldn?t really see much more and then I headed out.  It rained the entire time I was there and, at moments, the rain was coming in sideways.  I was set to go duck hunting the next morning and so I was really hoping that the rain would stop before we went out to the swamp the next morning.
 
     
  The swamp as the sun was rising
So, early the next morning I met my fellow duck hunters over at the shed.  Luckily the driving rain from the previous day had stopped and we weren?t going to get soaked while we were out on the swamp.  Marty, Josh, and I were in the boat and Roger was posted up out on a point.  Marty and Josh and I went duck hunting 2 weeks ago (in my previous blog post about duck hunting).  This time we had an additional hunter with us.  Roger is a duck hunter from waaay back and I once saw him drop a mallard that was a country mile away!  So, leaky waiters and all, we were all ready to have at it!
 
The sun started rising and we had 2 mallards come in on us very early.  They landed in an opening just behind us, but we were unable to get a shot on them.  Not too long after that, random groups of wood ducks started coming in.  I would say that we saw in between 16 ? 25 wood ducks all together. Now that may not seem like a lot to you, but it is a whole lot better than only seeing 2 like we did last time!  We were only able to get decent shots off on one group of wood ducks.  Josh and I both shot twice at that group and one wood duck went down.  Time passed and a few more groups of ducks came in and landed in distant locations in the swamp.  We could see them, but we were unable to shoot at them. We stayed a little while longer in hopes of seeing some geese fly in.  We didn?t see any geese and when we went to get the wood duck, we couldn?t find it!  We had feathers everywhere, but no duck.  Though, I?m sure you?re probably saying it to yourself? but that appears to be about par for our course with duck hunting so far!  Have no fear though; we are working on some platform-based duck blinds.  If we get those successfully installed that should give us better looks and shooting lanes over the swamp.
 
Now switch gears to that afternoon and deer hunting?
 
Over the course of the afternoon Jason (the camera guy) came down because he was going to attend an engagement party (my engagement party) later that night.  If there was going to be a party, we might as well try to get some footage beforehand.  We went back out to the bean field because we needed to be able to make a quick exit if we were to make it to the party on time.
 
It was still cold and the rain from the previous day had left a lot of damp & muddy areas in the field.  We sat and waited for a good while.  So far it has been ?Murphy?s Law? that if we take the camera in the woods, we never get a deer on tape.  Also, when we take the camera there always comes a point to where we are unable to continue filming.  This, of course, is the best time to see a deer? right before it gets dark.  
 
  
  The box stand
Right as it was getting dark, 3 deer came out of the tree line.  If you hunt with a good scope, then you know that you can see better with the scope than you can with your naked eye right as it gets dark.  It was so dark by this point that you had to be looking through the scope to see them and even at this point it was still difficult.  While watching the group of deer for a few minutes 2 more came from the woods and one of them had a big body.  It took the bigger deer a while to continue up the tree line towards the other 3 deer.  As the deer continued walking, it was easy to tell that it was a good buck.  It took (what seemed like forever) until the deer got broad sided.  The anticipation was killing me..then BOOOOM? the first shot rang out and startled the group of 3 deer, which we think were does and they quickly fled the scene.  The white tails in the air were still visible even though it was getting dark.  The big buck ran about 15 yards and stopped momentarily.  I don?t know if he was hit or just startled, but it was just enough time to get another shot off at him and then he seemingly ran off into the darkness.  Let me back up here and say that these deer were at about 175 to 200 yards out and with it being very close to dark, it was really difficult to see or make out what was going on.  
 
Jason and I (with our hopes up) stomped through the mud all the way down to the tree line to see if we could find any blood.  On a side note, I looked at my phone and it was right at 6 o?clock and we had to be showered and at the/my engagement party at 7.  It was lining up to be a fun evening all ready ? My fiancĂ© would be frustrated if we were late to our own party (because of a dumb deer as she would say) At the same time, the hopes of finding a big buck were running through my mind all at once.  Holly had previously told me that if I knowingly went deer hunting before this party then I was indicating to her that deer hunting was more important than she is!  Can you feel my predicament?   Too much to juggle at one time!  I told Jason that we really had to be in a rush.
 
We walked down the tree line for a good 50 yards looking for any sign of a hit when I saw a white stomach.  I told Jason ?I think that?s a deer? and we both walked closer and sure enough, a nice 8 point buck was lying right there in the edge of the tree line!  It was a good sized deer?that was the good part? the other side of the story was that we had to drag him 200 yards through a very muddy field, get out without getting the Blazer stuck, somehow get him to the processor, and make it to the party all within an hour.  The excitement & stress both came at the same time.  We grabbed horns and started moving.  I?m glad we had some adrenaline helping, but even so we had to stop and take breaks about every 50 yards.  It was freezing out there and I was pouring sweat.  I was pushing to ?keep on keeping on? because in the back of my mind I knew that Holly was waiting on me at the house and she probably wasn?t as happy about the deer as we were.  We kept on pulling and dragging through the mud.  As we got closer to the box stand, my chest was getting heavy and I could feel my legs starting to shake?and I mean the kind of shake you get when you are out of shape and you start getting the ?shakes? when doing a strenuous exercise.  When we lift weights and get light-headed?we like to call it ?going green?.  I was definitely winded, light-headed, heavy-chested, sweating and shaking by the time we made it to the Blazer.  It took us about 25 minutes to drag the deer and get out of the field because we got back to the house around 6:35.  The Blazer, Jason, and I were all covered in mud.  Let?s just say that there was no ?Hey honey how are you doing hug? when we arrived back to the house.
 
Jason said he would take one for the team and take the deer to the processor (a whole different mission in itself since he?s not from Pageland) and in doing so would arrive late to the party.  So Jason snapped a few quick pictures of the deer while I headed for the shower with multiple women in my family looking at me with stern looks on their faces!  Here is the best pic of the deer.
 
 
I hurried up the stairs and got clean, dressed, and back downstairs within a few minutes.  I was dressed and still sweating because of how worked up I got dragging that deer.  We arrived at our party at 6:59 and it started at 7.  I was still hot and, in the back of my mind, I was worried as to whether Jason was going to make it or not.  If you?ve ever heard of Angelus, South Carolina, then you probably know that you can?t get there from here.  I sent Jason, a Charlotte, NC native out via GPS trying to find Angelus Deer Processing.  We were at our party and for the first hour I was worried about him finding the processor.  Somehow he found the processor, shot some quick videos, and made it back to the house in time to get cleaned up and make an appearance at the party.  All of these exciting events made for a memorable day/engagement party.  Even though we weren?t able to get it on tape (due to darkness) it was still a good overall hunt for us.  
 
  
  A view out of the box as the sun went down
For those of you who gave me a hard time last week, let me go on record and say that I did go to church on Sunday so that you are aware that you can go hunting and go to church within the same day!  Since we were exhausted from the previous afternoon/evening?s events we slept in on Sunday morning.  I went back out on Sunday afternoon and was hoping to have 2 deer at the processor on the same weekend, but it didn?t work out.  This time I was able to take the 4-wheeler in and let me tell you that it is a lot easier to get a 4-wheeler across that muddy field than it is a Blazer!  However, let me also say that it is a lot colder riding it back than it is riding in a Blazer!  I think it took my knuckles 15 minutes to thaw out once I got back.  I guess it?s always good to have a good, thick pair of gloves around if you ride 4-wheelers in the cold? I learned my lesson.
 
And that was the weekend recap.  This coming week is Christmas week and I should be able to get a few more hunting trips in.  I?m planning on doing both duck and deer hunting again.  Right here at the end of deer season, you never know what can happen!
 

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Christmas parties, Fog, & Deer

This past weekend I didn?t get to hunt but twice due to the Christmas season activities? i.e. Christmas parties & a cantata.  This is fine though because it was cold and wet all weekend and I enjoy seeing everyone during the Holiday season.  So this blog post will be relatively shorter.
The first time I went in the woods this weekend was on Sunday morning (yes we hunt on Sundays!).  Sunday morning it was pretty cold.  It was also very foggy and raining.  I put on as many layers as I could and by the time I got to the stand I was sweating a little. It didn?t take long for me to cool down in this weather though!  I went to the stand that Jason (the camera guy) and I put out last Thursday.  I can tell you from the walk in that the deer are definitely back eating corn again.  Man they had every cob cleaned except for one! I took a 360 view when it got light enough so you can see the setup.

It was so cold that I was literally hunched down in the stand just trying to stay warm.  This is a 12 foot ladder stand hooked to an oak tree that is overlooking a small open area in the woods.  The tree that the stand is on backs into a downhill slope, so directly behind me is a small valley.  I had been sitting there and I wasn?t moving at all when I heard something jump, run, & gallop away very quickly.   This sound came directly from behind me.  I never moved and never even saw the deer, but I believe it was a buck as this deer was traveling solo and sounded heavy as it took off.  That deer had to have smelled me or something because I wasn?t moving at all.  He sounded to be about 20 ? 30 yards behind me coming up that small slope.  I wish he would have been to his left about 50 yards because I may have had a chance at him.  Anyway, that?s how it goes sometimes.  They come from everywhere that you can?t see!  As the deer ran off it blew 2 times.  It sounded like it paused and started blowing again.  So I took Adam?s advice and I blew back at the deer twice.  Sure enough? the deer stopped blowing at me.  Obviously this didn?t help me get a shot or anything, but at least it got that deer to be quiet.  As I think about it now, this is the second time that I?ve been in there and heard deer blowing around me.  If this happens one more time I may move the stand to a different location in there to see if it helps.  Maybe sitting out on that hilltop allows my scent to spread more.  Who knows?  If you?ve got any insight on this, respond to this post!  So about 2.5 hours was all I could take of the cold and wet and I went back to the house. 
This same morning my dad had gone down to the hunt over the soy bean field.  They just started cutting the soy beans this week and so the visibility was a little better.  He said he saw 4 deer in the field at about 350 ? 400 yards and he could tell that one was a good sized buck.  Though, he said when he put his scope up that he couldn?t find the deer.  It was so foggy that he said he thinks the scope was reflecting light or something off the mist in the air and it made it difficult for him to see anything (at that distance) in the scope.  So while he could see them with his bare eyes, he couldn?t find/see them in the scope.  Has this ever happened to you?

So Sunday afternoon I, like any good son, went back down to the soy bean field to see if I could see any deer!  I did a 360 view of the bean field on my way in so you can see the setup.

 
   

 

 

 

I walked through the muddy field and ended up at the box stand underneath the tree.  I like this stand because it provides a good wide area to look at, but it also makes it hard because you?re inside the box and have to move to see out of the corners.  There are 3 windows in the box stand and in order to see the areas where the windows aren?t you have to move around a little.  I usually like this stand early in the season because I can sit in there without getting torn up by mosquitoes!  Then as the season changes and leaves fall I get into the woods more.  This box stand is heavy and is constructed out of thick lumber.  Getting it down under that tree was no easy task!  Here?s what it looks like.

 

 

 



Once in the box stand I shot a video so you can feel the ?boxed in? feeling that you get from sitting in the stand.

I sat and sat and watched it rain and text messaged etc for a while.  I then began to wonder if I could look through the scope and see the other end of the field with the mist & fog everywhere still.  I put my scope up and I will say that it seemed cloudy inside of the scope.  If you?ve ever looked through and old scope or a cheap scope you know that it isn?t clear or if it has let moisture in the scope then it looks somewhat foggy.  This is the feeling I had when I tried to look long distances.  I also wondered if the IPhone camera could look through the scope.  I put it up and it can see through the scope, but it is hard to hold it still enough to do it.


 

Then right as it was starting to get dark, I saw movement of brown way down in the left corner about 350 yards (the same place my dad had seen the deer earlier that day).  I put the scope up and dialed it all the way to 9.  I watched the deer for a while hoping that a big buck would come out.  It was getting really close to dark and it was getting more and more difficult to see the deer.  I could have pulled the trigger, but it wouldn?t have been a good shot + I had to hurry to get to the Christmas Cantata at the church.  If I would have shot at the deer I know I would have looked for blood for at least 30 minutes!  So, even though I did have my safety off and wanted to, I didn?t force the shot.  I sat there for about 15 more minutes and then left.
That?s the weekend recap and next weekend will consist of both deer & duck hunting for me.  Hopefully I can get some better footage next weekend.
 

Regards,
 

CBP

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