I recently wrote about the significance of preparing for deer season early. Having joined a lease late in the fall, I had little time prior to opening day. Scouting was minimal, and I did not benefit from the luxury of building a stand.
My friend Billy Amos graciously showed me a couple of locations where one might experience success. And I would grow even more acquainted while roaming around during the season.
As planned, the muzzle-loading hunt was dedicated to mostly traipsing through the woods and making mental notes of locations that I might revisit when the modern-gun season rolled around.
I cinched an old lean-up stand I had owned for years to a tree overlooking a saddle a couple weeks before modern-gun season started. I cleared a couple of shooting lanes at another location where I could scale a tree with my climber and easily see across a large flat located at the base of a steep hill.
There simply was not enough time to get much more done. Luck, however, certainly proved on my side. I bagged a huge buck on the third day, put another buck on the ground during the second week and filled my tags by season's end.
Although I certainly have no complaints about last year's harvest, the anticipation for the upcoming season is far greater.. I certainly have a better understanding of how the land lays. And as a result of recent labors, I'll ease into the woods on the opening morning of season with an assurance that I didn't experience a year ago.
Why this herald of good things to come? It began last February when a friend and I doodled armloads of building materials over a ridge. When the project was complete, I could effectively hunt a large flat from my new stand.
I saw slews of deer from this spot the year prior while sitting on the ground. It only makes sense that the odds of going unnoticed increase exponentially from a stand.
Although the lean-up stand I hunted from last season proved effective, this location, too, could stand an update. So I embarked upon yet another building project a couple of weeks ago.
I was satisfied with the design and dimensions of the stand I had built several months prior and would resort to the same general plans. But with a little thought, I concluded that my approach would differ. Yes, this structure would also be perched high on the face of a steep hillside. But rather than build onsite, I could prefab this stand at home, resulting in fewer ascents up the steep mountain and ensuring my walls remained perfectly square.
Inside my garage on a rainy day, I built the roof, floor and walls within a couple of hours. With help of my wife and a friend, we had the snazzy structure standing on the hillside in less than a day.
After clearing shooting lanes, I stepped back and admired the fruits of our labors It was a well-built structure where I could remain comfortable while savoring a favorite outdoor activity day after day.
Sports on 08/28/2016