Sunday, July 06, 2008
Dreaming Ahead To Bow Season
Opening days, and last days, are a continuing part of the cycle that is bow hunting. We no more than end the 2007 hunting season, and are now looking forward to the Oct. 1 opener nearly three months away.
There never seems to be enough time to get everything done that we need to do before the next season opens. This past year was spent building or refurbishing new hunting coops.
These new coops are almost completely air-tight until a shooting window is opened. The stands have a solid floor underfoot, and can be a bit noisy but I’m hoping to carpet the floors and walls to muffle any possible sound.
I suspect we will build two or three more coops, and that will make a big difference because it will enable me to put stands in a few places where they are needed but where no stands currently exist. Each year we find two or three key locations where deer move but where there are no elevated or ground blinds available.
We’ve got to solve another issue. The north end of my property produced very few deer this past season. It’s almost as if the animals moved away from that end. At this point, I can see no conceivable reason why there weren’t as many deer there, but hunting success at that end was very low this year.
I suspect many of the deer moved south and west because it seemed as if there were more deer in that area than before. Further studies need to be done to determine how many animals are living in the northern part of the ranch.
Another issue that must be addressed is placing a drain tile along a new road that we constructed last year. By the time we wanted to place a drain tile for the creek to flow through, heavy rains had come, and the ground became too soft to work on.
Once everything freezes solid, we may go in, insert the tile, and try to fix the road. This trail is needed to connect two major hunting areas, and perhaps during the winter or the summer may be the time to finish this job. Everything depends on the weather, and available time, but in this case I’ll have to make the time to complete it long before the season opener.
Several other existing blinds will require some work, and hopefully we’ll be able to get this job done. New coops can be placed anytime before the season opens, and they are much nicer than some of the original ground blinds.
Fixing other ranch roads is always necessary, and it is a costly project. Adding gravel to these roads helps keep them from developing major ruts, but when the rain is as extensive as it was this past year, it is doubtful whether adding more gravel will help. The ground holds too much water, and it doesn’t drain well. The result is rutted and sometimes impassable roads except on a four-wheeler.
There is always plenty of work to be done on a deer ranch. Fences must be mended if a tree comes down across it in a wind storm. More than one ranch has lost most of its animals if the fences aren’t mended promptly.
Maintaining a deer ranch means much more than hunting deer, managing doe levels, and providing food to deer. There is a great deal of hard work required to make stands safe, and locating them in the right locations for a shot. In fact, I keep a list of things to do in my head, and rarely are there free days when nothing must be done.
It may be hard work, but for me, it fulfills a lifetime dream of raising my own deer, producing large bucks, and satisfying those who wish to hunt here. It may be hard work, but it is fun.—The Whitetail Wizard