Sparring bucks !!
 

I went out to my "kill" plot yesterday afternoon (after two straight days of rain) to swap cards out of the camera. When I returned home to view the pics, I was tickled to see that my camera was able to take a picture of a ten & eight point who have been visiting this plot together all summer long.



Me thinks the "friendship" is about to go on sabbatical while they begin to think with their other head for the next month or so. :D

Here is the plot as of yesterday- 9/28. The POV of this picture is exactly what I expect the deer to see if they come out of the swamp (behind where I was standing when I took the picture). That's my stand straight ahead- I've constructed a custom blind on the bottom (up to my waist) and the rear of both sides. The material in the front are two separate panels of shoot-thru mesh netting that are hanging from the top outter edge of the umbrella. The mesh netting is extremely light and I can easily brush it to the side, if need be- for a shot.



Season opens 2 weeks from today!

Rob

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Those are great pics! Good luck with one of those big boys.

One question though...why did you put your stand IN the food plot? Why not back it off the plot, 5, even 10 yards to cover yourself better? Just curious.

Good luck man!

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Gotta agree^^^ You are certainly front row center there and not real high.I would've picked a tree with some cover about ten yards inside the field edge. It's gonna be tough to blink without spooking something.

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

They look great. Will look better in the freezer and mounted on the wall. Good huntin'

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

David/IAHunter,
That is what the blind is for! ;) Seriously, when I sit down in the blind, I disappear. I'll simply move when the deer move and have their back to me or are at least quartering away. Also, once the first frost hits & the Wintergreens turns sweet- their heads will be down eating. That's usually the moment I wait for to draw/zip 'em.

This isn't a "field"- rather a hand-tilled/sown kill plot in the middle of thick woods bordering a swamp. Also, the deer should be coming in from the right side of the photo which will afford me the ability to stand, grab my bow & get ready to draw all before they are in a position to defect me.

The prevailing winds blow from where I took the picture to my stand. The deer are in this plot at all hours of the day- they feel extremely safe/comfortable there. At least up until the point I ventilate the 10 that is !! :D

Don't worry- I've been around the block a few times- I know how/when to move when deer are close.

Rob

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

You would know better than the rest of us. Good luck with those two, they are nice ones.

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

I wasn't questioning you knowledge of your hunting practices at all Rob. Just asking. But I see what you are saying. Obviously those deer are used to your stand/blind. Good luck with that big 10!;)

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

David,
No biggie- I didn't thinkyou were questioning my hunting prowess as much as I wanted you to know I feel things are under control. The stand has been up since May & the blind has been up since the middle of August with the final modifications (mesh curtains) going up two weeks ago.

I just hope the deer maintain the timing of their travel patterns.............. :D



Rob

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Those are some dang nice deer.

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Great pics!

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

those are some great deer

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Rob, now all you have to do is wait for the next full moon and he'll walk in the middle of the day again!:D

Good luck with him man.

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Awesome deer!

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

I received some PMs regarding the blind used on my treestand, so I thought I'd share this with everyone. The treestand blind is a custom construct of my own using the following material:

- Tree Umbrella
- ground blind material w/stakes
- shoot-thru camo mesh netting
- burlap camo material
- Safety Pins
- Gorilla tape

Instructions:

1. Set up umbrella over your stand VERY securely. Don't cut corners (be sure you go high enough!)

2. Take the ground blind w/stakes (it's just the 2' high material w/stakes woven into it that rolls up real tight
and will fit in your pack. It usually comes with 3 stakes, so you can form it into an "L" or "V" when using it on the
ground) and take the right most stake (camo facing out) and drop it through the most front/right corner grate hole
on your treestand's platform. When complete, ther should be a thin, plastic stake sticking out the bottom of your platform. Take the center stake of the ground blind and drop it through the most front/left corner grate hole on your platform (don't worry if it's loose/floppy at this point- you'll make it taught later. Finally, take the left side of the camo material and SCREW it into the left side of your tree. You should have now made an "L" with this ground blind material w/stakes. Now you need to put tension on the two plastic stakes that are sticking down through the bottom of the front two corners of your platform. Pulling these tight/taught, will spread the emergent, top portion of the stakes apart- thus creating a nice tight spread in the camo material topside. I used Gorilla tape- multiple strips & tightened them between the two stakes themselves.

3. Take the shoot through mesh netting and create "curtains" that wil hang from the side/front edge of the umbrella. Weight is a significant factor here, so DON'T use burlap or nylon (too shiny) for this step. If you have to- call Cabelas and order replacement shoot through mesh netting for one of their ground blinds. The curtains should be about 4-4.5 feet long and as wide as you feel is "right". You can always trim them up later- once they are hung. Next, place a small, 1" square piece of Gorilla tape (don't skimp, use the good stuff) on the UNDERSIDE of the outer edge of the umbrella at EVERY spot you attach the mesh curtains via the safety pins. This is done to prevent the umbrella material from ripping. Once fastened, use a small piece of Gorilla tape to to seal the end of the safety pin that opens/closes. TAKE THE TIME TO DO THIS, as it will save you much pain/suffering once the season starts and you arrive at your stand to see that the overnight winds have blown the safety pin open and your front mesh curtain is either down or dangling! Put up as many curtians as needed but remember you need to keep one side open so you can get in/out.

4. Take the burlap material and cut a 12-15" wide strip that will act as a height extender to the lower "L" blind you made in step #2. You will need something lightweight to act as "Extender stakes" so you have something to connect this material to. I used paint stirring sticks- lightweight, relatively strong enough & easy to put on. Connect your extender stakes to the top of the existing stakes (I used, you gueesed it- Gorilla tape!) then connect the camo burlap material to your extender stakes. You have now raised the height of your lower "L" blind by 12-15 inches.

5. Optional- To protect against the curtains from blowing in the wind and drawing attention, you can safety pin the bottom of the mesh curtains to the top edge of the "L" blind. The obvious downside of this is that the curtain becomes harder to brush to the side when it's time to shoot, if pinned at the bottom. This is a personal choice.

6. When complete- spray down everyhing with some type of cover scent. This material each carries with it some type of scent- scent that deer aren't used to smelling. COVER YOUR TRACKS !!

That's it..............

Here's one last picture of the ten who's been in this plot multiple times since the final mods on this blind were completed.



Rob

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Here's an update to the sparring picture I posted earlier this week of the ten and an 8 who are now engaged in an all out "turf war" at my kill plot. Well, I swapped cards in my camera today and was psyched when I saw this pic! [8D]



This is like a battle of "terminator" bucks !! Pretty cool, huh?
I have 14 pictures where these two are fully engaged, taken over an hour & a half time period.

Rob

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Here's another shot- taken 2 minutes before the previous picture I posted.
These two guys are really digging in for pissin' rights at my plot. I'm a bit surprised as this seems to be a tad early in these parts for such contentous battles. If I get my way, in the end- whoever wins the battle, will lose the war against my Striker-tipped, Easton Axis FMJ 400! :D

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Those are somereally cool pics....

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

Those are some nice bucks hopefully you get one.

RE: Sparring bucks !!
 

cool pics