NO CO baby!
concerning the wind (which is everything when bowhunting), not all is as it may seem..........keep in mind that just b/c the wind is out of the south doesn't always mean your scent will be blown due north...factors determining scent distribution that i deal w/ are thermals, trees (evergreen or decidious), proximity of stand to "wind swept" field, wind funnels like river, etc......it is one of the only "secret" strategies that most (if not all) trophy bowhunters utilize........i certainly have not earned the trophy hunter title, but i've been fortunate to stick a few wallhangers the last two seasons by using this strategy:

1. locate funnels w/ heavy deer traffic and secure (handshake) agreement for multi-year use
2. the first season -- be a cognitive hunter: observe local wind dynamics, local flora, specific land obstacle or short-cuts
be a mobile hunter: ground blinds and commercial aluminum treestands
3. off-season "scouting": winter-predator calling, spring-turkey hunting, summer-site prep
4. sweet'n the deal: i build platform stands that are comfortable, safe, and easily accessible w/o sacrificing big buck opportunity
(sometimes not possible) and enhance the area: plots, feeders, create (then stay out of) bedding areas like
CRP

the platform stand from the pics was certainly overbuilt (even by my standards)....my dad will hunt this stand primarily and i wanted to create a safe and comfortable platform for him to enjoy for many seasons.......we had hunted this exact location for many years and observed that a south wind really was more like a west, southwest breeze. actually, i have more stands at other plots that favor southwest wind than true south wind stands. (have you ever heard of a westerly wind? meteorologists call it a westerly wind jet -- that's why it takes an hour longer to fly from n.y. to l.a. than it does to fly from l.a. to n.y. this may have something to do w/ my observations in the field or maybe it's just a coincidence)

i had planned to camo the blind using cedar boughs last season (camo netting creates a lot of motion w/ slightest breeze), but never did. might try using cedar this fall to make a comparison, but truthfully it was not an issue last year. i don't blink when deer are alert, i move slowly when deer are feeding or looking the opposite direction and it's amazing what you can "get away" with if you just don't move. IMO-my comfort level determines how still i can sit and how long i can hunt.

here's the old stand dad and i hunted from for years




i'm really excited to see how the deer react to the brush barriers. i've never heard of anyone creating brush barriers, but surely i'm not the first.... deer have a knack for finding ways through "impenetrable" brush, but hedge and locust trees produce wicked thorns that i've been told create an "inflammatory toxin" when penetrating the skin --- i can vouch for the painful welts from gettin' stuck -- very similar to getting finned by a catfish........

here's a bird's eye view from last weekend...........if you look really close, you'll see a doe and two fawns walking along the edge of the bean field (center of pic).




PLANTING 9/12
ladino - all plots i manage are prepped for clover
purple top turnips - 1/4 acre test plot
winter rye - 1 acre test plot