Pre-Season Prep

[Five Seasons]

How's everyone doing on prep so far? 

I made it my mission to put in 3 stands on a new property that I just started hunting last year. I wanted to do this in early spring as that's well understood to be the best time. You can still use old sign, you don't overtrim and you're far enough away from the beginning of the season to mess anything up. Alas, I got 1 in and steps in another. So 1.5 left, thankfully one is trimmed for the climber I used in it last year, but the other is a full stand, lane trim. Approach already cut at least.

The heat has been pretty brutal and I like to be pretty much done before September. Wondering who is going in labor day or earlier and if you are bringing a portable pool and a gallon of bug spray haha.

I also purchased 3 browning ridgeline defender cell cams that I'm anxious to get up and running. Still on the fence on how I feel about cell cams from an ethics perspective... but obviously I'm $600 plus tax invested and putting them out there, so there's that haha.

[Swamp_bucks]

I'm pulling a camera Friday. Scouting PA Monday and I have one more spot I want to look at locally but that may be just grab my gear and go for bow or gun.

[Nomad]

Going down tomorrow, pull two cards, weed whack in front of the gate , was perhaps moving a stand,  and  shooting ,but  our friends are up from Tenn. and want to meet up .

[Just Lucky]

I got 2 stands up in the spring,  posted property last month, brush hogged neighbors pasture last weekend.  

 

[Bionic]

I started yanking 2 ladder stands that I had out back, the landowner turned into a complete psychopath, so I will be making more trips upstate to our cabin.  Everything happens for a reason, all good.

[BowmanMike]

All I am doing is scouting. I love not having to put stands up. Last season I never hunted the same tree twice and I am planning on doing the same this year. I got my gear out and am practicing climbing so I have it down when the season starts.

Getting a saddle has led to good things for my hunting enjoyment. I am exploring public land and generally new to me places,some private ones as well. I think I was ready for that anyway,but the saddle has proven to be a great tool for this.

[G-Man]

Got up  another 12 stands up in august, 3 left to do but will wait till logging is done end of month to prevent accidental hits..  3.more cameras to get put out as well.   Pretty.much set for season  , no woods entry after.labor day for atv or scouting..   hard horns should be appearing any day now. 

[Five Seasons]

12 minutes ago, G-Man said:

Got up  another 12 stands up in august, 3 left to do but will wait till logging is done end of month to prevent accidental hits..  3.more cameras to get put out as well.   Pretty.much set for season  , no woods entry after.labor day for atv or scouting..   hard horns should be appearing any day now. 

another 12? wow! And in august to boot!

[rob-c]

Just picked up a new lease in July ,  we put  out 7 cameras a few weeks ago . Just hung up 6 ladder. stands this weekend , with 2 more and 8 ground blinds  planned for next weekend and bought 2 more cameras to put up as well. Very happy with our scouting and where  we hung and plan on putting up blinds. Fingers crossed it will be a good hunting season for us 3 this year . 

Edited August 23, 2021 by rob-c

[squirrelwhisperer]

Finally, some hunting talk, lol. Thanks @Belo

I still have 3 stands to put up (will have a total of 5). I may only put up 2 and use the climber in the 3rd spot. This one is a  new to me spot, 10 minutes from work. Great for the "occasional" Saturday after work (every other). I've only been in there twice and have only a general idea of where to post, so I am thinking use the climber until I am more familiar with this spot. But this raises the problems of trimming and finding the "right" tree in the "right" spot, not to mention the sweating my calzones off after my climb.  

No cameras for me this year. I had them all over last year until 1 disappeared. Going back to doing it the "old fashioned" way.  

[Lawdwaz]

3 hours ago, Nomad said:

Going down tomorrow, pull two cards, weed whack in front of the gate , was perhaps moving a stand,  and  shooting ,but  our friends are up from Tenn. and want to meet up .

Don’t forget fuel and line for the machine.    

[BizCT]

3S (Westchester bow only): Secured access for another season a few miles from Home. Will put a Browning cam there this week from @phade

3N (Putnam): Dad’s land pretty much good to go. Will check cams one or two more times before 10/1.

3G (Dutchess): Brother’s land is a new spot for this year. Also Bow only. Got a hang on up last week and need to add a ground blind into a Powerline where the deer cross and check the 1 cam there in maybe a few weeks.

Bummed about not moving to CT and hunting there but I feel good about the 3 above spots in 3 counties, not even counting the public land spots I hunt.


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[G-Man]

30 minutes ago, Belo said:

another 12? wow! And in august to boot!

I run 30 stands or so a year I start hanging them in july. And take them all down in February. 

[SpacemanSpiff]

Not much to do. Usually just make ton of noise lumbering in and hope for the best! 

[phade]

We have material work left. One property here in NY needs several stands put up and or moved. The others are maintenance - straps, safety checks, and clearing.

Ohio....alot of work left to do there. No stands up and I believe our philosophy is going to set up a few key stands and make moves from there. Two farms with very different terrain and land features. We have ideas of bedding on one but the other is an enigma still. Luckily we can assemble and store stands ready to go at the farm and move with purpose.

Missouri - that is 100% hang and bang. Layout is good for it, and in rifle season, ground hunting has as much promise as sitting in a stand. We only set up four stands there last year and took them down; the second moves for two of them put us in the money. This year, our learning curve should be much shorter.  

[Caveman]

This is the nice part about hunting public land: no preseason work to do. I will find new bedding areas during squirrel season and hunt them during deer season. This will be my first year in a saddle so I'm looking forward to being even more mobile than years past.

I guess that's my only preseason task. Figure out how to use the damn saddle.

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[Swamp_bucks]

Well I had a couple hours today so I went to that spot I wanted to check out.  Found a nice spot with 2 large beds about 100 yards apart.  I think I will still hold and jump in farther once the leaves are down and it's a windy or rainy day.  Found a bunch of rubs but nothing to impressive but I did find a track that was as wide as 3 fingers so something large is living in that swamp.

[bruno1]

5 hours ago, BowmanMike said:

All I am doing is scouting. I love not having to put stands up. Last season I never hunted the same tree twice and I am planning on doing the same this year. I got my gear out and am practicing climbing so I have it down when the season starts.

Getting a saddle has led to good things for my hunting enjoyment. I am exploring public land and generally new to me places,some private ones as well. I think I was ready for that anyway,but the saddle has proven to be a great tool for this.

I’m doing the same thing except using a stand instead of a saddle. What sticks are you using? I’m thinking about pulling the trigger on Beast Sticks, currently running Muddys Pros

[wolc123]

I changed out my two least comfortable stands (a cheap hang-on, and a tiny ladder stand) with roomy elevated box blinds.  Each is equipped with a 3 ft high, weathered barnwood sided wall that serves as a safety rail, gun/crossbow rest, wind break, and cover.

The platforms are made from weatherproof composite decking and all of the structural supports are pressure treated. I have a nice chair for one (shown in the tent), still looking for one for the other, but may use an old plastic swivel chair that I now use on my range if nothing else comes along before early November.  I dont plan any southern zone deer hunting until crossbow opens for the peak 2 weeks of the rut in early November.

I still have a little trimming to do and hope to have that accomplished by Labor day, as well as a couple of wheat/clover plots that I hope to have in by September 10.  I also hope to have the zeros checked on my deer ML's, crossbows, rifles, and shotguns (2 each) by September 10.

My first planned deer hunt will be in mid October on the last Friday of the 3 day northern zone crossbow season, followed by the early ML week, then opening weekend of gun up there.  I have a little time left to finish all the prep.

Edited August 23, 2021 by wolc123

[crappyice]

Moved a few ladders at my buddy’s place, walked the management program property, and that’s about it….I’m WAY BEHIND!!!
Need to spray my clothes and shoot the shit out of my “new to me” bow.
I also need to get my kid shooting his bow more and at more distance…plus getting him in the climber.


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[Lawdwaz]

Not for nothing but, the best bowhunter I know hunts from a climber exclusively.    

 

[cdbing]

I am way behind on my bow practice. I usually practice a bit throughout summer and ramp up in August & September. Will have to step it up from now to 9/30.

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[stubborn1VT]

I have some trails and small clearings to mow with the walk-behind brushhog.  I don't have any stands to move, just trimming and checking straps.  I'd like to make a new brush blind to crossbow hunt out of.  I have one here at the house that I need to check.  Trim the shooting lanes through the honeysuckle and that one will be all set.  I may expand one of my little plots in the woods.  Not much really.  Just shoot a little and wait for the season to roll around.

[Nomad]

2 hours ago, Lawdwaz said:

Don’t forget fuel and line for the machine.    

I “ always “ check my equipment prior . Just put on a full spool and charged the battery, the gate area is an easy five minute job .the farm mows,from the road in a bit, stopping short of the bridge I’ll do tomorrow another guy comes in from the back and does 900 or so,feet of lane way to the gate .

Later on the farm will brush hog the field next to lane way for,me , and around the outer edge 360 .

[BowmanMike]

42 minutes ago, bruno1 said:

I’m doing the same thing except using a stand instead of a saddle. What sticks are you using? I’m thinking about pulling the trigger on Beast Sticks, currently running Muddys Pros

No sticks for me,I never used them. I use a rope to climb. If I go in the afternoon I use a throw ball to get the rope over a crotch,or if it is dark I am learning a way where you move the rope up as you climb.

I think whatever sticks you are comfortable with are good.