If only it could talk........

[First-light]

what a story it could tell.............

[XGX7PM]

One can only dream my friend.

[crappyice]

https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/52935/abandoned-farmhouse

 

I just taught this poem today and it seems appropriate for this pic

 

Something went wrong they say....

 

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[turkeyfeathers]

Thought the same this past year 

[Four Season Whitetail's]

52 minutes ago, First-light said:

what a story it could tell.............

Whenever i find something like that on places like Letchworth my stand goes somewhere in the same area. Most times those places turn out to be winners years later 

[crappyice]

Whenever i find something like that on places like Letchworth my stand goes somewhere in the same area. Most times those places turn out to be winners years later 

You are not relying on someone else’s knowledge are you? I would think you know better than all else who hunted prior to you


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[Jamoke]

I know what story it would tell if someone dared to go up it!

[turkeyfeathers]

If buckets in the woods could talk ! This one was near a funnel between two woods and on a shelf. I’ve killed deer from same area 

[helmut in the bush]

Old tree stands tell stories, there's a reason someone built it there, trails, scapes, rubs?

[rachunter]

One of my best spots for hunting and sheds



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[Nytracker]

When we got our property it was clear cut.  Very few trees left standing.  The stands that were left behind  made the trees not desirable.  After 26 years of hunting the poplar trees have grown up thick and have started to choke each other out . The old logging roads I have done my best to keep open .  It is so thick the deer travel the logging roads . I have no stands near  the old ones . I have 6 ladder stands  and they are all on logging roads . I have cleared small spots  around  trees that were big enough to support  stands.  My favorite  stand I have killed over 50 deer from it . It's on its  2nd ladder stand in this time.  I accidentally let the first one grow into the tree. Can't get it out . I use the seat part that's left to hang my day pack. Funny thing I have let multiple  people take my spot  and i can't recall a single person killing a deer from it  other than me . Guess if my old stand could talk ....

[sbuff]

I once found a stand like that , it had carve marks  out for the number of deer taken

[Nytracker]

I use to hang all the spent shotgun shells on the branches . There was quite  a few until the neighbors  grandkids  collected them all up. I dont leave the brass as I reload .

Edited February 9, 2019 by Nytracker

[grampy]

We have a few of the old "permanent" stands scattered around the farm property. Some were built by us back in the 70s. 

There are places where those that hunted before us are still evident. My life long friends, fathers favorite spot. Bill made a seat, made by arranging the rocks in a stone wall fenceline, in the corner of a lower pasture, that overlooks a pinchpoint between two woodlots. 

Eddie's favorite spot was about six feet up, on the first limb of a huge ancient white oak tree. Just a foot long 2x10 was all he needed for his stand. He was the first hunter I ever knew to hunt from a tree. But he got his deer every year, even though he took a ribbing from his peers. That tree has been down a few years now. 

Ray's spot was just an old milk crate along the edge of what was once a hay field across the dirt road from where he lived. The pieces of the old milk crate are still there today. There was a swamp and hemlock grove behind his spot. And the deer he shot would be coming from there most times. 

Bill, Eddie, and Ray have been gone for many years now. They each killed deer from "their spots" most every year. And we have killed some there too. 

I make it a point to sit these places, at least once each season. To remember the men that took a fatherless kid under their wing, and showed him how to deer hunt. And gave wonderful examples of how a man should be.

My ashes will be scattered around "the shale bank", as I've killed most of my best bucks, and so many deer within it, and close to it. My grandson will hunt with his grandson in my "spots" along it's oak and hemlock ridges.

Yeah.......if those old places could talk. The stories they could tell....

But if you go there, on a cold November morning, listen to the NW wind. As the sun peeks over the trees in the east. You can still hear the whispered voices. And probably see a deer sneaking through. 

[wolc123]

That picture brings back memories of a few of my old stands, which I lost over the last few years, due to the emerald ash borer.   The first one was built by my older cousin,  years before I was old enough to hunt.  l remember killing my first antlered buck from that one, more than 35 years ago.   He used white oak boards, for most of the steps.  A few of those 40 year old steps were still good when I cut the supporting trees a couple years ago.    I added lots of nails over the years when they loosened up.  I am still finding those on occasion, in the ash bucket when I clean our wood stove. 

Pressure-treated lumber came along, by the time I built stands of my own.   They still loosened up in the wind or as the trees grew, requiring inspection and repair, prior to every hunting season.   The lumber used to make those stands was resistant to rot, but the supporting trees were not, after the emerald ash borer got into them.  About half of the trees on our farm were ash, but I am very happy to see them go.    I don't think they do much good for the deer (other than formerly providing sturdy platforms to help us to keep their numbers in check), compared to oaks and maples. 

 I also like those other species better for firewood, because they don't require the ashes to be cleaned so often (that must be where the ash tree got it's name).   Most of all, I am thankful that none of those old, high stands ever collapsed while I was in them.   One of the best things about getting older, is that you learn how to kill deer from the ground, or a lot closer to it.  Some day, hopefully soon,  I will sing, to the tune of that old Roy Clark song: "Thank God and emerald ash-borer they are gone".                    

[moog5050]

On 2/7/2019 at 11:05 PM, Four Season Whitetail's said:

Whenever i find something like that on places like Letchworth my stand goes somewhere in the same area. Most times those places turn out to be winners years later 

Agreed.  Those old stands often are spot on.    

[turkeyfeathers]

Ever see a curbside mattress and think what it’s seen ? Ya , me neither 

[Daveboone]

A lot of the time when I see a scrap wood stand like those, I cringe. I had spent way too much time in poorly maintained old stands and several times had near falls....

I frequently find old stands when I am out looking for new stand sites, and frequently they are in good spots. I have found many partial manufactured stands hanging. It looks like the owners removed the lower part to keep others from getting or using them. (or maybe someone else looted the lower section).

[rob-c]

14 hours ago, turkeyfeathers said:

Ever see a curbside mattress and think what it’s seen ? Ya , me neither 

That’s just wrong , in so many ways. 

[steve863]

I don't know.  Some of these old stands saw less action than one thinks.  I know for a fact that hunters in general shot way less deer than they do today.  Seems like more and better bucks get taken these days compared to years gone by and bag limits are more generous in many parts of the state compared to when you had party permits to shoot at a doe.  I think for those who have the time to devote to it, the good old days of hunting are today.  Some aspects of hunting were definitely better back then, but for the odds of actually killing deer, things are way better today in my opinion.

[crappyice]

I don't know.  Some of these old stands saw less action than one thinks.  I know for a fact that hunters in general shot way less deer than they do today.  Seems like more and better bucks get taken these days compared to years gone by and bag limits are more generous in many parts of the state compared to when you had party permits to shoot at a doe.  I think for those who have the time to devote to it, the good old days of hunting are today.  Some aspects of hunting were definitely better back then, but for the odds of actually killing deer, things are way better today in my opinion.

This is an Interesting thought that I happen to agree with. I started hunting 25 years ago with my college roommate who hunted with his father and grandfather from when he was a boy. They had four guys who hunted opening week and the weekend after thanksgiving and it would be a banner year if 1 of them brought home ONE deer-hunted up by the Esopus River. my buddy’s father still can’t get over that we shoot 4-6 deer regularly between the two of us (many since adding the bow to the mix).

The small game seems better back then but the deer today in density and quality seem greatly improved IMO.


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