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deer hunting prep
deer hunting prep

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To hunt a huge buck, you need to think like one

That is our mentality as we drag that target outside each weekend and measure out distance in the snow. For three years, I have been after this huge buckand he has stayed nocturnal.  After this past rifle season ended and Dad stayed in the woods with his muzzle loader, he saw the deer pattern back to their pre-rifle ways. They were back to traveling the paths that we assumed they used and they were coming out earlier and earlier. Dad didn't shoot a deer but he saw the small buck that we had around and a few does. For the first time, it was blatantly obvious that rifle hunters were moving these deer around.  While we had been toying with it, it was clear that we needed to get into archery to try and get the upper hand on those...

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Preparing for deer season 2015

If you have been a dedicated reader, you know that we have built a new treehouse for the 2015 season.  If you are a new reader, do a quick search for T3 and you can see what we have done so far (and why.) When the weather is cool with lots of sun, it's hard to be anywhere but outside.  Since rifle season opens in a couple of weeks, Dad, Hubby and I took to the woods to get things set up and ready for the Oct 31 start. We hauled carpet, plywood, tar paper, canvas and a chair down to T3 to add the finishing touches.  We also brought a limber to get those little branches out of the way of the shooting lanes.  On the floor, we put two layers of the tar paper then the plywood.  The canvas was turned into a gun rent...

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Making T3 invisible

The 4th of July was a sunny and warm day so Dad, Hubby and I headed into the woods at 7am to paint T3 and beat the heat.  We carried down paint, ladders, rollers, another trail camera and some rags.  I was excited to see what deer sign were around since this is the same spot that I shot my deer last year. We needed a weed-wacker to blaze trail! I was so happy that I was dressed the way that I was: jeans, rubber boots, sweatshirt... and enough deet to (hopefully) kill all bugs that came in contact with me. I snapped a few before shots and then grabbed a gallon of paint and climbed the ladder.  My job was to paint as much of the outside as I could reach then paint the inside - specifically what the rain may hit - and then...

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T3 is standing!

No matter what animal I hunt, I always come back to deer.  Hunting predators like bear and coyote are great and I'm eager to check off turkey and moose but I plan my vacations around deer season.  After getting yelled at last season, we decided to build a permanent structure a little further into woods and close to the same property line.  It was hard to visualize what it would look like and Dad had great plans for our third permanent deer stand.  He built it in the barn and we tested out sizes, wall height and visibility.  We were going to put it up in late January but time got away from us and February hit bringing about five feet of snow in four weeks.   So instead, Dad used the snowmobile to bring...

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T3 – the new treestand

After my incident last season, Dad decided that it would make more sense to be hidden in the woods and have more coverage than my treeseat gives me.  This will help me get a better view of the more traveled deer trails and not rely on the deer to come my way.  He wanted to build a permanent structure that would allow us to hunt in all weather conditions. So, Dad has been busy building T3.  He constructed it in the barn to make sure all of the dimensions were right.  Our first treestand was built 16 feet off the ground using a 12 foot ladder.  Not ideal and clearly not built by hunters who knew what they were doing.  The Sky Condo was considerably better with insulation and a tar papered roof.  T3 is...

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And then there were three

There is nothing better on a nice fall day then walking through the woods with Dad and checking the trail cam pictures.  We headed out to check the camera by the Sky Condo and the camera by my tree seat.  That big buck has been hanging around the Sky Condo but if it's the same deer as last year, he made a few trips past my seat and into the bog. After doing some logging on the property, Dad has decided that we will move my tree seat and build another permanent stand.  The plan right now is to move closer to the bog and off to the left of where I sit currently.  This will allow me to sit close to the bog and thickets and if it rains, I can still be around any deer that decide to move.  I am naming my new stand...

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The bucks have arrived

Last fall, we had somewhere between 7 and 10 bucks of all sizes around the treestands.  The biggest bucks we have ever seen showed up a few years ago in mid-August.  This year, we had only does on the cameras.  Sometimes two, three or four but never any antlers.  A few weeks ago, we finally saw some velvet.  But this, is more like it! And check out the time of these pictures. I just hope that we start seeing these types of pictures more often now. I dont know if this is the same spike horn as the first picture or...

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A clothing revolution

I have blogged before about women's hunting clothes, or the lack thereof.  This year, as I prepare to take on turkey season, goose season and my beloved deer season, I am starting to really look at what I wear and what I need to stay warm and mobile.  I'm a still hunter.  I find a spot and sit. I have also been given fair warning by Dad that come November, I should assume that I will be pulling 5-6 hour stints in one spot.  Last year, with my layers (three on bottom and seven!! on top), it was tough to get my gun nestled into the crook of my shoulder and have control.  I realized that I needed better, thinner layers. Photo from Northern Solstice Alpaca's Facebook page. So I was intrigued when I spoke with Robin...

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