(How do your plots look?)
Welcome back y'all! It's now time to start getting serious again (like I ever stop being serious about hunting) but it's 8 days until Urban Zone opener. We did a lot of work at our Urban spot this year, we completely changed the way we enter and exit the property as well as moved all the stands. We opened two new 1 acre plots inside the timber for turnip and clover kill plots. We sat down with maps, photos and markers and drew out the typical wind directions, the typical deer travel areas and installed the plots and new trails to hopefully avoid crossing paths with them on our way in and out of the stand sets. Removing brier thickets, trees, poison oak and 6' high weeds is no easy task!!! The big ten point we've been getting photos of has been there for the last two years and he has inevitably been the first deer to show on September 15th each year, only to never be seen again. He actually has a fairly unique set of tracks so I was able to keep tabs on his travel but never could close the deal. He always seemed to know exactly where we were and when we were there. So, to avoid that game again we completely changed everything to try and be more invisible this year. No if's and or but's about it, the stands set are for very specific winds and will only be set if perfect. This year Indiana has changed the Urban rules to help reduce #'s yet again. They have imposed an "earn a buck tag" rule require all urban zone hunters to harvest and antlerless deer first before taking any antlered deer. The plan is to completely avoid "Sneaky Pete's" core area on opening day, we will be hunting the does in hopes of putting fresh meat in the freezer and earning that tag! Plus like I said he has been the very first deer I've seen on the Urban opener in 2010 & 2011, so I don't want that to happen again this year. Follow us mainly @ https://www.facebook.com/OutdoorJones?ref=hl to keep up with the action as our 3 year quest at "Sneaky Pete" begins again.
My favorite farm "Old Faithful" was nothing more than a waste of time and money this summer. It started with a 2.5 acre field being planted in corn with a newly planted clover buffer strip all the way around the outside. With in 2 weeks nearly 90% of the seed was dug up and scratched out from every varmint and bird brain in Montgomery Co. We cut our losses and re-sprayed the field to kill off any remaining corn and weeds. We rented a no-til drill from the Montgomery Co NRCS and drilled in red & white clover. Well that seed went in the ground the end of May, and as you all know we got NO RAIN for 2 months, so needless to say that plot never sprouted. The weeds took over and just to save face we mowed it twice now to give the soil some sunlight and a chance for any seed not dried completely out to sprout. With the last 3 weeks of showers our clover has begun to sprout. The outside buffer strip has exploded, I'm just hoping it can with stand the browse pressure it's getting now and will be getting. If we get lucky the middle 2 acres will continue to grow and we might have enough to draw to some deer late. But our plans there haven't changed much. We continue to hunt the edges of the creek bottom and the inside corners of the field edges. A few of my hitlisters from this farm have disappeared this year. But "sticker 8" now only a massive 7 point is back and will be at the top of the list for me. But I'm taking a new approach to this farm as it's always rocking around Halloween and the first two weeks of November as the bucks use the steep creek bottom to check for does. We will not step foot over there until after October 25th. As hard as this will be for me, I'm going to keep it as virgin as possible until I know the big boys will be on their feet.
I actually plan to take that approach as a whole this year. Instead of wearing myself & camera man out for a month and a half before things really heat up, we're going to go after "Sneaky Pete" early and then back out until later in October. I will for sure be in Owen Co. opening weekend for our annual opening weekend hunt (even though it will take place in a different area now for the first time in 10 years) but I will be following Brian Lewis around with the camera in hopes of an early knock down on one of the new green fields. This year should be fun and just because we are laying back at first, doesn't mean we are going any easier. I hope to bring you lots of good footage and hoping to introduce you to a few new faces this year as I get the opportunity to film a few new hunters this fall. If you haven't seen episode one of season 2 check us out at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqDkvjKjK_0, or become a fan on Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/OutdoorJones?ref=hl , and see this year and last years season.
Stay with us it should be fun!!!
-ASMS
