Frank's outdoors...

Deer season ended with a bang

2012-01-19T15:34:00.000-06:00

Sorry I am so late on this post, but nevertheless here it is...

My brother and I sat in the stand on Saturday morning for the final weekend of black powder season in our neck of Texas. As my brother doesn't currently own a black powder rifle, he was borrowing one of my very generous friends Thompson Center Omega with open sights.

We had agreed beforehand that we wanted to take a single doe (or my brother would take a legal buck if the opportunity presented itself). So, the first one to have an opportunity would shoot and we'd be done.

Well, we got to the lease around 5:45am, and it was a brisk 30 degrees, that quickly dropped to 26 degrees at sunrise (according to weather.com). I didn't see a single thing all morning, but my brother was surrounded by action. He had 2 small 4 points eating under the feeder for about 45 minutes, including a bit of sparring. They eventually moved on, and around 7:30am some does came out. My brother decided to take a shot at the biggest doe that had come out. The shot was about 80 yds, and with the smoke and steam it took an eternity to see the outcome. I heard the shot and immediately texted him to confirm it was his. He replied "Yep!". So, since we had agreed we were done after the shot, I called him. I asked if it was lying there, and he said he couldn't tell, but he thinks it ran off. I told him to come pick me up on the 4-wheeler and we'd go give it look. We looked for 30-45 minutes without finding a drop of blood, or a spec of hair.

Conclusion: he missed. Open sights, black powder, gun he had never fired. No harm there, but wish he'd have gotten it.

Either way, it was a beautiful final morning, and I got to spend it with my brother. Can't wait for my kids to grow up and be able to start hunting with me!

Black Powder season is on in Texas!

2012-01-04T11:40:00.000-06:00

So the black powder season started on Monday (1/3/2012) in Texas. Pretty much you get one shot during the sit in the stand. I went out on Monday evening, and had a pretty exciting sit. I have my Thompson Center Pro Hunter that I got for Christmas last year. Around 5:15pm, 3 does shot out from right beside my blind and went every which way in front of me. Not sure if they caught my scent or heard me move from inside, but they blew out from beside me. After a bit of snorting, they re-entered the field from all sides, and there were 5 in total. I saw a doe (or yearling) that had an injured front hoof, and was waiting for an opportunity to take her. Unfortunately, it never presented a shot opportunity. I had MANY other shots I could have taken, and in hindsight I probably should have. Either way, it was an exciting evening hunt, with lots of deer activity on my food plot.

After the hunt, I gathered my SD card from the camera, and saw some interesting photos as well! I captured photos of deer, hogs, coyote, and bobcat all pacing the field on the spot where the buck was taken and lay. The blood was a major attractant.

Food plot definitely a success

2011-12-21T20:53:00.002-06:00

I got on my lease real close to the start of last season. As I sat in my tripod one morning and looked over my barren field, I started making plans for the NEXT season on how I would prepare the field. The challenge lay before me in acquiring/coordinating getting the work done. I don't live near my lease, and don't have any equipment. So basically, borrowing, renting, etc. was going to be the course of action. As with everything else, life takes over and the season was upon us before I knew it. I still had been planning but the execution and coordination was becoming the bigger challenge. Throw in the fact that we hadn't had ANY rain for months and it was looking like it was going to be another barren field...

Well, I blogged in the past about how it all came to be... the purchase of the drag harrow, and laying the seed in the first rain in months, etc. etc. etc. Well, I turned my game camera towards the plot the week leading up to my taking the big buck last Saturday. The pictures do all the talking! I only wish I had turned the camera more to the open field. I will take care of that this week and see what we get. Enjoy:

Buck's broken antlers

2011-12-17T20:47:00.000-06:00

Was looking at some pics of this buck from the game camera prior to him breaking off a few of his tines. Pretty cool to see how it has changed.

Big buck is down!

2011-12-17T07:40:00.001-06:00

After sitting in the stand and hunting hard since the season opened, I finally got a nice deer on the ground. He made me earn it for sure!

The Details:
I was in the stand by 5:45am, with sunrise at 7:15am. It was a half moon, but overcast with slight fog so I had moderate visibility. It was still dark around 6:40am. As usual, my eyes are playing tricks on me with the fog and waiting for the sunrise, and I see something flicker behind the feeder (about 100yds away). I grabbed my binoculars and there he was rubbing his antlers in the brush back behind the feeder. I watched him for a minute or so, then grabbed my rifle when he started to walk towards me to the food plot. He was starting to head to the left (where there is a game trail that heads back into the woods). I put the cross hairs on him and landed a perfect hit behind the shoulder with him right at the edge of the food plot. I was shocked and thrilled! 6:45am, 30 min to sunrise, and a deer on the ground. I let him sit for a bit to make sure he was done, then walked over to have a look. He has broken 2 antlers since my game camera last took photos! So, there is some late rutting activity going on as suspected.

I then grabbed the SD card out of the game camera which has been watching the plot all week... and there are deer EVERYWHERE on it on the plot! There is even an action shot of this buck fighting a much younger buck!

Nice big doe in the food plot this morning!

2011-12-10T07:14:00.001-06:00

What a cool thing to watch. My brother took this photo from my front stand.

My buddy took a real nice buck this morning

2011-12-09T09:40:00.001-06:00

My buddy Mark sat in the stand this morning at our lease. He has a blind that is less than half mile from my back loop blind. Around 8:10am a doe walked out and started acting skittish. A few seconds later this bruiser walks out and gave Mark about 5 seconds to pull the trigger. He pulled wasn't sure if he hit the deer at all. He waited a few minutes to begin looking for blood and tracking. No blood. There is a trail that leads away from the feeder toward a creek bottom, so he thought that potentially the deer may have headed there for cover. Sure enough, he was piled up 30-40 yds down that trail!

Nice shot, Mark! I am jealous that you now have meat in your freezer!

UPDATE: I think I got a picture of this boy a few days before Mark took him. Take a look:

Huge coyote on camera!

2011-12-07T16:04:00.001-06:00

Sat in the stand on Saturday evening in the rain. Saw some does right around 4pm. It was the perfect evening to be sitting in the stand. Picked up my SD cards on the way out, and saw this monster coyote on film! Huge!

Annual Thanksgiving Goose Hunt

2011-12-02T10:48:00.001-06:00

For almost ten years now, my family has a tradition of going on a goose hunt the day after Thanksgiving. A couple of things caused us to have to do this on Saturday this year. Well, I'll cut to the chase, the hunt was an absolute bust (from a hunting perspective). Its ALWAYS a good thing to get out with your friends/family and spent time outdoors.

We got to Eagle Lake around 5:30am and were in the field and setup by 6:15am. By 7 the RAIN was coming regular and steady. It was raining hard and the wind was blowing. The birds were there but they were certainly not coming to this field. We saw lots of flocks and they were moving and even in the wind and rain they were still flying pretty high. With the front moving through and the cold temperature setting in with the soaking rain (and the fact that we hadn't shot a bird), we called it a day at 10am. Quite discouraging to say the least. It is also probably the wettest I have ever been while hunting anything! Side note, turned out my truck had a leak in the 3rd brake light on the cab of my truck, and it soaked and stained my leather but that is getting fixed.

This is me BEFORE the rain really started coming in.

Cousin Tom eagerly waiting

My older brother Tony, ready for the onslaught

I let my brother use my gun (Remington 870 Express pump) and I was using my usual Benelli Super Black Eagle (left-handed). After the hunt, the amount of water, mud, and rice seed from laying in the pasture that was caked in these guns was surprising. A nice overhaul and they are good as new!

We have been hunting with Butch's Guide Service (Butch Waggoner and his son Ryan Waggoner) for years, and they are an excellent outfit. We didn't take a single bird that morning, and only 3 of us (out of 8) even fired a shot! Regardless, Ryan offered us an immediate rain check and we are going again over the Christmas holidays. So, I am very much looking forward to that!

Daughters first hunt and the food plot is looking strong

2011-11-29T10:17:00.001-06:00

So I went out the day after Thanksgiving, and took my daughter on her first hunt. We were really just there to sit and watch deer, we didn't even take a rifle. I wanted her to experience sitting in the blind, see what comes out, enjoy the serenity of being quiet in the woods, and enjoying my time her! For a 6 yr old, she did very well. We were only going to sit for about an hour and a half, and that was just the right amount of time. She started to get a little bored, so I let her play a game on my phone. As it turns out, we didn't have anything come visit the field that evening other than an owl and quite a few doves. Either way, she asked a lot of good questions, and was actively looking for action. Although, as with any youngster, the question "So, when are the deer going to come?" made me laugh... as I ask myself that a lot! :)

Also while there, I noticed how well the food plot is coming in! Lots of greenery, and thanks to the rain we have been getting, it is well over a foot tall in several places! There is a lot of track going in/around it. I am going to relocate my trail cam to see what is getting on it.

Kansas Pheasant Hunt

2011-11-18T13:33:00.001-06:00

Thanks to my father-in-law and some of his ol friends, I had the opportunity to go pheasant hunting for the first time in Glen Elder, KS. We hunted with Don's Guide Service, and it was TOP NOTCH! Don and his wife, Cheryl, had us on birds all week, and they were great to hang out and hunt with. Good people.

Don and his wife have 13 German Shorthaired Pointers that work the field like pros. Seeing those dogs on point was a thrill. When the birds flushed, hearing the roosters crow as they take off was a heart pounding experience I'll never forget! We hunted 3 days, and took limits (4 per person and we had 6 hunters) 2 days, and on the third day I only hunted half day in order to get to the airport, but I assume they got another limit.

I took a Browning Silver Hunter automatic and a Fausti over-under. Don quickly told everyone to put the over-under back in the case. You can take the plug out of your autos and hunt with 5 rounds, which makes follow-up shots on multiple birds that much quicker. Less time spent reloading, and more time hunting. Since pheasants are not migratory birds, the plug is not required.

On the morning we were leaving, my father-in-law and I could only hunt the morning hunt, so we went to the field. It was COLD at around 27 degrees and the wind blowing. Not long after we started the hunt, the flurries began. By the time we left the field it was snowing pretty good. I took a few photos when we got back, but the snow was really coming down.

What a hunt! If you ever have the opportunity to go pheasant hunting, even more so in Kansas, I can't recommend it enough. Great experience, particularly hunting with Don's outfit.

Deer Season - Opening weekend 2011

2011-11-18T12:53:00.001-06:00

Opening weekend for rifles in Texas was a great weekend filled with lots of activity. We saw a lot of deer. The biggest issue we experienced was that the deer were constantly moving and appeared to be in the early stages of rut. With the exception of the spikes and small bucks, the bigger bucks were actively moving and not stopping to feed. Opening morning was cold, around 35 degrees. I was sitting in my culdesac blind and had a nice 6 point buck come out and walk 5 yards out of the woods, turn around, and head back into the woods. About 10 minutes later, I could see him coming through the woods again, and he walked right on out and turned and went to the side and into the woods via another trail. I could see another buck behind him about 10 yds. I grabbed my rifle, pulled it up, and by the time I saw the buck in the scope, I only had a side view, and couldn't tell if it was a legal buck. I had about 2 seconds to shoot, and I couldn't pull the trigger without knowing for sure. I am pretty positive it was legal, but without knowing, it wasn't worth the risk. It was darn exciting though!

I took my brother opening weekend also hoping he would get on a buck, but the opportunities he had was a tough, risky shot. He saw a nice 10 point come out and walk straight away from him. There was a few seconds where he could have taken a quartering away shot, but gain, not worth the risk for him.

Bottom line, we were seeing deer activity and that is ALWAYS good!

My brother after morning hunt

I was happy to see that my food plot has started showing real signs of growth (primarily the rye/clover seed mixture from Throw & Grow). The Whitetail Institute seed has also started sprouting, however it was not nearly as evident, but the lack of rain is to blame there. Opening morning, I had several does feeding on the Whitetail Institute forage on my culdesac blind.

Does on my food plot

More does on food plot

Food plot with real green rye/clover

I hunted a ground/chair blind from Ameristep one time (as did my brother). My brother had a spike come out 10 feet from the blind and walk to the feeder! This spot is new, and has a lot of potential.

View from inside the chair blind

We haven't taken a deer yet this season, but we plan to spend much more time in the field over Thanksgiving!

2011 Deer season (rifle) in Texas is 1 week away!

2011-10-27T15:36:00.001-05:00

So, what rituals and things do you do to prepare? Here is my breakdown of things I have been doing this month to get ready for the season (in no particular order).

I have been going out every week or so to pull SD cards from my cameras in anticipation! Trying to figure out when the deer are coming/going as well as WHAT deer are coming/going. It certainly hasn't helped my buck fever.
Sighted in the guns. My brother and I went to the range and made sure all the guns were still on target. We each shot the 3 rifles we'll use this season to ensure we are both seeing the same results. We are using:

Marlin .30-30 with a Leupold VX2 4-12x40 scope. Real nice brush gun, but I want to put a 3-9x50 scope on it. I have shot maybe 2 deer with this gun.
Remington 700 ADL .270 with a Leupold VX2 3-9x50 scope. My first gun, and it has been a solid rifle for years. I have taken MANY deer with this gun.
Remington 700 SPS .308 Left handed with a Nikon Monarch 3.5-10x50 scope. This is my newest rifle and it is fantastic. This gun has a bull barrel and I used it last year to take my first deer with it. This gun is very accurate and comfortable to shoot.

Washed my clothes in the Scent Killer laundry detergent and dryer sheets.
Got my Thermacell all set in my backpack to ward off mosquitos.
Got my game cleaning "kit" to make sure I have sharp knives, gloves, zip ties, and the like for after a harvest.
Feeders on the lease are set to run twice a day
Corn has been loaded
Food plot has been planted and and fertilized.

I am sure there are more, and I will add them... but I am curious what other people might do to prepare for the season?

Pics from the other day:

Is the rut starting early?

2011-10-16T21:55:00.001-05:00

Got some interesting pics of a nice buck running some does...

Food plot is set for the season and new blind is ready!

2011-10-11T09:34:00.002-05:00

Alright, we are 4 weeks from opening day of rifle season here in Texas, and I have everything ready. I went out to the lease on Sunday afternoon during the first major rain in over 6 months! Finally got my Polaris "muddy".

On Friday, my buddy Mark and his friend Gary took a tractor and brush hog and cut down my field at a finishing cut length, which looked fantastic. On Sunday, when I got there I took my new harrow, dragged it over the field with the needles down to really scratch the wet, muddy dirt/sand mixture. It was a lot muddier than I thought. I believed it was primarily sand, but the amount of soil is quite surprising and a pleasant one at that. After that it was seeding time. I used the Whitetail Institute - Imperial Whitetail Extreme seed and that covered half of my field. The other half I covered with Evolved Harvest Throw & Grow. Both of these I picked up at Gander Mountain. Now it was time to fertilize. I picked up a lime/fertilizer mixture from Gander made by Biologic but I can't remember the exact name. I spread this over both sides of the field. Lastly, I flipped over the harrow to smooth the field and ensure the seeds had a solid contact with the ground. All the while the rain continued to fall. It was more of a heavy drizzle at this point, which helped quite a bit.

For the seed, I was using a hand spreader, but for the fertilizer I used a Scotts Speedygreen spreader... this basically sucked and justified a future purchase of a 4-wheeler spreader or something...

The end results:

In this last picture, you can see my new Shadow Hunter 4x6 2-man blind. This thing is awesome. I can't wait to take the kids with me to see "what happens".

Now, let's just make time pass quicker!!!

Finally some bucks... and some coyotes

2011-10-07T08:50:00.002-05:00

Below are some pictures of a couple bucks I have on camera...

Nice buck 8 or 10 pt

Spike, similar to other spikes we've seen on this property


Another real nice buck

And the coyotes...

Mineral lick is getting some work

2011-10-01T15:20:00.001-05:00

The mineral lick I put out at the Culdesac blind is getting some attention! Pretty cool, I always wondered if they would go near these things... Proof is in the pudding:

Food plot and and shooting lane preparation

2011-10-01T15:17:00.000-05:00

My buddy Mark and I spent all Saturday morning working on my back blind setup today. The goal was to get the "rough" food plot done by using the drag harrow, spreading seed, and laying fertilizer as well as preparing some shooting lanes.

When we got out there, we got straight to work opening up the main viewing lane down to the feeder. It was grueling work. Lots of vines, baby yaupon trees, and oak saplings. There were several areas where the trees have bent completely over and other trees and dead brush have continued to fall upon them forming a natural bivouac or lean-to shelter. These things were upwards of 10 feet tall and took us a long time to break down.

Food plot and widened view to the feeder

You can see in the food plot picture that there is a significant difference from the way it was originally. It is very dry and dusty, so we'll need to some rain to get growth for sure. Also, I put down some lime/fertilizer mixture to enhance its chances. Using Whitetail Institute - Imperial Whitetail Extreme as my seed, and Biologic fertilizer and lime mixture.

Clearing out left window of blind

View from blind to feeder

View to the right of the feeder

Drag harrow to assist preparing my food plot

2011-09-30T08:22:00.002-05:00

One of the things I wanted to get done this year was to prepare a "poor man's" quality food plot. I don't have a tractor, I don't have a disc, I don't have a [fill in the blank]. I can't remember if I posted this previously, but I found out about a device called the "Plotmaster". You can buy one of these bad boys for around $4K, but that is not the route I wanted to go for sure. I figured I would be able to rent of these from the local rental agencies (US Rental, Allied, Sunbelt, etc.) but none of them had even heard of such a device.

So, my plan has been focused on how to reasonably prepare my foodplot. Last year, I had to do a major overhaul on my field as it was overgrown with tall grass and pine tree saplings. This year, I intend to mow the grass short, possibly till it, then use a drag harrow to level and smooth the seed into the dirt. The cost of renting a tiller/mower compared to purchasing is a no brainer at the moment, however acquiring a harrow for ownership is affordable. Again, in vain, no one in the Houston metroplex has a drag harrow... with the exception of Brookside Equipment Sales in Spring (the John Deere retailer). They had an old, parted out harrow that they acquired several years before. I offered them $50 and they sold it to me.

I have a harrow.

So, I called my good neighbor who lives behind me who is the consummate suburban redneck. He has every tool under the sun, including welding equipment, grinders, and know-how. With a quick trip to Home Depot for some chain, eye bolts, and attachment links, we grinded and welded the harrow into a functional implement.

The harrow will attach to the eyelets on my tow hitch (will update with a picture on Saturday), or can be looped around the hitch ball or a ring or something of that affect. I like the eyelet contact to keep the harrow straight behind me while towing. The whole harrow weighs in around 100 lbs thanks to the heavy gauge harrow linkage and the 3" square pipe... its a beast. It is 4' wide and 3' long.

[UPDATE - 10/1/2011] Drag harrow in action at the lease. Towed it behind my Polaris, and you wouldn't have known there was anything back there. It was great for raking and scarring the surface, but you really need some kind of cutting device (disc, tiller, etc.) to really get at the ground.

Another big hog, and the deer are looking healthier

2011-09-27T22:34:00.000-05:00

I have been feeding all year round. I was feeding twice a day during the rifle season last year, and switched to just a morning drop for the rest of the year. In the next couple of weeks, sometime in early October, I'll change the timers on to add the second (evening) feed session, but for now I just have the feeders running at daybreak. From the looks of the pictures on the camera, the deer are looking much better than before, and there are even a few fawns in the pics.


2 does and a fawn


Doe and a fawn

On my other camera is a big black hog. This one is different from the hog that has the white patches on it. Looks like an evening hunt is in order to take care of this bad boy...


Big Texas Boar

I am not sure this pig is as big as the black/white one, but he is a haus and needs to be cleaned out.

First tree rub of the season

2011-09-25T12:52:00.000-05:00

Spotted my first tree rub of the season. Pretty cool, looks like a big chunk was taken out of the tree. The great thing is that this particular rub is right between 2 of my stand locations.

The "rub"

It was right on a major trail that leads to one of the only water sources left on my property. There are quite a few creeks that run through our property, but none of them hold water throughout the year, particularly not when its a dry season.

When I have time, I want to walk this trail and look for other rubs.

Hog near the trap... but not in it.

2011-09-23T15:02:00.002-05:00

Alright, so we pulled the pictures from the camera that is keeping an eye on our hog pen. This particular pig is all AROUND the trap, but has yet to enter as far as the camera has shown. We know that the coons are in there picking on the corn, but the boar remains on the outside.

Bacon - rear view

Bacon - side view

Dang 'coons.

How do we get this booger in the pen?!?! We are open to ideas here. We (my buddy Mark and I) are thinking of making the pen significantly larger and changing the gate and its closing mechanism. Given the drought, I am thinking a trough of water might be a catalyst...

Some hog temptation, Pig Liquor!

2011-09-20T08:50:00.000-05:00

In an effort to improve our chances of catching a hog in our trap, I picked up a jug of Pig Liquor to pour on the corn/ground inside the trap. My buddy Mark has a game camera watching the trap now, and all of the pics show the pigs all AROUND the trap, but certainly not in it. We have had the trap setup now for over 2 months, and not a thing in it. Our property is not riddled with pigs, but there are some whoppers on camera as I have posted before.

This Pig Liquor bait has a rather sweet aroma but I hope it will attract the pigs into the pen. I poured it over the corn, the ground, and slung some onto the tree. WE have tried quite a few things, including souring the corn, and broadcasting it up and down the trail. Again, seeing activity, but nothing in the pen other than raccoons and a deer. I am going to get some pictures from the game cam and post them here.

Picture of Pig Liquor, looks like blood on ground/tree

Preparation has officially begun... Part 1

2011-09-17T13:54:00.002-05:00

So I went out to the lease to get ready to start the preparations for November. I took out 16 bags of corn, fresh feeder batteries and one of my game cameras (and a few suprises below). Spent about 2 hours getting the corn loaded and batteries changed out. The biggest thing I noticed was how dry it was. I mean, the trees look like they are already in the late Texas winter (Jan/Feb)... all the leaves are brown, crispy, and falling to the ground. As I write this, my house 30 min south of my lease is getting rain, so there is hope.

I was at Gander Mountain looking for some food plot help, and they had some mineral licks on sale. So, I picked up 2 twenty-five pound blocks to put at my main feeders. I also setup my game camera on the front feeder aimed right at the mineral lick with the feeder in the background. Now, knowing that there isn't water is a factor, but we'll address that later.

I took some pics of my 2 spots where I setup with filled corn, batteries, and mineral licks.

Front Feeder (blind #1)

Back Feeder (blind #2)

You can see in both pictures above how dusty it is. The hogs that have been visiting have stomped it out pretty bad, and the lack of water has only made it worse. Its also noteworthy that I haven't had a raccoon issue since I upgraded the varmint guards on my feeders... so SCORE.

Next up,

Getting the new game cameras out in the field. I am going to wait until the heat dies down some more before I do that. Also, returned for repairs my Bushnell Trophy Cam and Wildgame Innovations IR4C.
Figuring out how to accomplish the food plot on my front stand where I have about an acre field.
Another blind? Right now I have 2 permanent blind locations at feeder #1/#2, but I have a hanging feeder as well as 3 or 4 other spots that I could setup a tree stand or use my climber or ground blind. I do want another box blind however... [sigh]

Deer season around the corner!

2011-09-12T12:48:00.000-05:00

Alright folks, deer season is just around the corner, and preparations are well into the works. I wanted to give a breakdown of what I had done last year (my first year on the lease), and what I am doing differently this year. I will be heading out to the lease this week/end to take some pictures and do other prep in a follow-up post.

Last year
I started the season with single "permanent" tripod stand at the front of my acreage. I moved it up into the trees and added a camo skirt to it for extra concealment, and that worked out quite well. I also got a tripod cleaning station so I had a place to clean game. I picked up just the thing from Sportsman's Guide. I had bought from Academy the Low Boy feeder, and that thing is a beast. I love everything about it, except that the battery and timer unit are in a separate box from motor. The raccoons hanging on it caused all kinds of issues and I have had to do some reinforcing. I had bought a Wildgame Innovations IR6 game camera to capture pictures, and saw many deer/hogs throughout the season. This camera has since died on me and won't take pictures. We mowed down the field between the feeder and the tripod, and I threw down some "Plant Easy Deer Food Plot Seed" from Outside Pride. Without much rain, the food plot barely grew anything, but some low clover did finally start to come through. I did see several deer nibble on the clover, so it wasn't a complete loss, but hardly a major food supplement. I shot a doe from the tripod during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The only other setup I had was a 5-gallon Moultrie hanging feeder in a spot another 3/4 mile walk up the main trail into my lease. Without a 4-wheeler at the time, I knew hunting there would not be as frequent. I have had a Summit Viper SS climbing stand for quite a while that I knew I could use at that location. Towards the end of the season, Academy had some Shadow Hunter blinds on sale, and I picked one up JUST before muzzleloader season began, and put it on the trail that overlooked the Moultrie hanging feeder. At Christmas, I got a Bushnell Trophy Cam 8gb, to capture pics/video and had it setup at this feeder. It started out fine and gathered some great pics/video, but turned out to be of very poor quality. The LCD didn't work anymore, and now it flat out won't turn on... very disappointed. Anyway, I hunted the Shadow Hunter stand during muzzleloader season without taking any game.

This year
In May, I picked up my 4-wheeler. It has been a huge help in setup/preparation as well as fun. In addition to that I got a Polar trailer on father's day. It has already carried plenty of corn out to the field and hopefully a deer and a hog or 2 this season. I am working with customer support of both Bushnell and Wildgame Innovations since neither camera works... in the meantime, I have bought 2 new Moultrie M-80 cameras from Cabelas to start the season. I will put them out at the end of September when the heat dies down.

For forage, I have purchased 2 bags of "Throw & Go" seed. I intend to lay this out there in the next few weeks as well. I also purchased an Moultrie 30-gallon hanging feeder (also from Cabelas) and another Academy Low Boy. The Moultrie 30-gal is way in the back of the property, and the Low Boy replaced the old 5-gallon hanger in front of the Shadow Hunter blind. I can use either my chair blind or my climber stand for now to hunt this location, but I intend to pickup/build/etc a box blind for this location.

Several times last season, sitting in the rain in the tripod was a strong reminder of how spoiled I was hunting out of box blinds out in Llano, and how much I took that for granted especially when considering the cost and time to get those setup! Regardless, the last week has brought some cool mornings, and I am excited about the upcoming season.

Hopefully, the Texas drought and wildfires danger will change soon, and we (and the game) can get some much needed rain. I am not sure, honestly if I will pull the trigger this year, as I have been quite concerned about the health of the animals out there. Not a lot of food, almost no water, I can't even imagine. However, I look forward to getting out there and spending time in the outdoors again.

Side note: anyone else besides me think I should be a sponsor for Cabelas, Academy, or Moultrie???