If  you’ve ever spent any time on any type of hunting forum, or even if you’ve sat around a campfire listening to hunting stories, I’m sure the subject of wind, and the effects it has on deer, has come up a few times.  This subject is actually quite controversial sometimes as well, and why that is I’m not sure, but the opinions really tend to vary on how the Whitetail handles high wind situations.

I think the overall consensus among hunters is that high winds will limit the amount of time that deer are on the move.  High winds tend to hurt the Whitetail’s ability to detect movement, and also effect his sense of smell, so it seems obvious that in high wind situations the Whitetail would tend to limit the amount of time they’re  the move……..you would think.

Other people have the opinion that high winds will actually make some Whitetails nervous, and because of that, it makes them move in order to detect danger more easily.  They have the opinion that deer will get nervous sitting in one spot during high winds, and get up in order to ease their anxieties a little bit.

Normally I don’t even pay attention to either side of this particular issue.  Unless the winds are dangerous – in the 30 plus mph range and I feel unsafe in a treestand – I still hunt regardless of wind conditions.  In the beginning I relied to heavily on the opinion that deer didn’t move in high wind and got burnt – I went home on two different windy days, Jeff went hunting, and he came home with a deer.

Also, I think that the timing of the wind plays a big part as well.  If you’ve been experiencing 30 plus mph. winds for two days, and today they’re down into the 25mph range, it’s probably a good idea to be in the woods.  Any break in the wind at that point is more than likely going to trigger deer movement.  Deer have to move in order to survive, so at some point they will be on the move again……….and sitting at home, regardless of weather conditions, is never going to end in a successful hunt.

It has been windy here for the last couple of days, but even though those winds are continuing today, I will still be heading out this evening.  After 5pm the winds are suppose to subside a little, and you can bet that I will be in a treestand waiting for an unsuspecting buck to come strolling by. After all, he’s probably been bedded up a good portion of the last few days, and will be anxious to find some food.  What time is better than now to catch him off guard?

Bottom line:  If you can hunt safely in windy conditions, do it.  You can never shoot a deer from the couch.

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I am not a farmer; and anyone who knows me knows that to be true.  I couldn’t keep a green thing alive for any length of time if my life depended on it.  Heck, most of the time I would forget that I even owned any plants, and would never water them.  My wife can attest to that since she always left plants in my apartment when she was still in college; the only time they ever got watered was when she did it.  So, after sharing that, all of you know that I am not a plant expert and I’m definitely not a farming expert.

I thought I knew one thing, though:  that farmer’s normally rotate crops.   Usually if the field is planted with beans one year, then the next year it will be planted with corn.  And if the field is planted with corn this year, then more than likely it will be planted with beans the next year.  I thought that was the rule.  Apparently I was wrong, though.

After Jeff and I got done checking on our treestands the other night, we drove around the backside of the property to see what crop was planted this year…….and it was beans….for the third year in a row.  I thought that was odd since I knew some of the benefits to crop rotation – improved soil structure, improved soil fertility, pest control – but the evidence was right there in front of us that not all farmers believe in crop rotation.

With my interest peeked I started to check around to try and figure out what the reasons were behind this farmer’s decision.  Apparently, monoculture – the process of planting the same crop in the same place over an over – does have some advantages according to Encyclopedia Britannica:

First, if different kinds of soil exist on the farm, a monoculture system may permit each crop to be grown on the soil best suited to it. Forage crops, for example, could be confined to steep land to minimize erosion; intertilled crops could be planted on the better soils with gentle slopes. Wet areas could be used continuously for crops not requiring early-spring field operations, while dry soils could be used for drought-resistant crops such as sorghums or winter small grains.

Second, the fertility level of the soil can be adjusted to fit one crop more precisely than it can be adjusted to fit all the crops in a rotation.

Third, where continuous cropping is practiced and perennial forage crops are used, regular reseedings are avoided. This is an advantage, because each seeding is accompanied by the possibility of failure.

Fourth, systems based on monoculture usually offer greater flexibility in planning the system to meet year to year changes in the need for various crops. Part of the acreage can be shifted from one crop to another without upsetting the total farm cropping plan.

Whatever the reasoning behind the farmer planting beans three years in a row, Jeff isn’t very happy about it.  I don’t think it will affect the deer movement in our area much, but it would be nice to see a different crop in that field next year; it would be interesting to see if having corn planted there really affected the deer movement patterns at all.

This year we just have to get used to the beans…..again…..and move on with our lives.  And my light research into the subject at least proves that the farmer knows more than Jeff or I ever could about his own land.

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About this time every year Jeff and I head out and do some final prep work on our treestands.  Normally we would try to schedule this outing for early in the morning, but for various reasons – work schedules, crazy weekend schedules, etc. – we went and did some of the treestand prep work last night;  and I have two words to describe it:  hot & mosquitoes.

“It’s 100 acres that hunts like 4.”

We did get through most of the work, but I can’t say that I wasn’t completely soaked with sweat when we got back; and the mosquitoes were absolutely horrible; they were everywhere – buzzing your ears, clinging to your back, and landing on your face.  We toughed it out, though, and managed to check on 3 stands – made sure they were still secure, and in good workable shape – and put out two of our trailcams.  We even managed to find a new stand location, and one of the trailcams is set up there and is doing some “scouting” for us before we actually move a stand to that location.

One thing that really struck us last night is how much property can change from one season to the next;  this particular property doesn’t look anything like it does in the fall, and you wouldn’t even recognize it as the same place if you walked through it in the winter months.   Plus the property is so thick – at all points of the year – that it makes it a real challenge to scout and hunt; as Jeff said last night, “it’s 100 acres that hunts like 4″.  The property is so thick that you can only pattern certain parts of it, and can’t watch from afar like you are able to in many hunting locations.  I’ve had properties in the past where you could pick a stand location, hoping it was the right one, and then sit on watch to see where the deer moved through from your perch.  If you were wrong, you simply moved your stand to where you seen the activity; not so on this piece of property.

This year will be the fourth year that we’ve hunted this particular property, and for some reason I have a pretty good feeling about the outcome.  I think we are starting to get a “feel” for the place, and I think it is going to pay big dividends this year.

I hope the possible new stand location pans out, and that the trailcam that is in the area produces some pictures of some heavy-antlered deer.  We will be checking that camera – and another camera that is in an area where Jeff has one of his stands – this weekend; and we will be sure and share the results.

How many days until season?

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It appears we might be in for a little “warm” spell this weekend.  Of course that warm spell can’t come without some serious wind associated with it.  But at least its a warm up, regardless of some drawbacks.

Hopefully – if the weather does cooperate – I am going to manage to get outside a little this weekend.  Nothing major, because I’m sure with the wind and rain, that everything is going to be quite messy.  But either way we are going to do something outside.  We need to change our recent SimplyIndoors way of life to SimplyOutdoors again.  I thought all of you (you know who you are), who have been calling us that, would appreciate that little reference.

The wife and I are planning on heading to the main property we hunt and checking it out.  And to be honest, I left a pop-up blind setup out there at the end of least year, so we are going to go see what condition it is in.  I’m hoping that it is okay, and I’m going to be kicking myself if it isn’t.  Sometimes life just gets in the way of taking care of those things.

With the warm up we are also hoping to maybe find a few sheds.  I have never found one before, so this year is hopefully the year.  We’ve contemplated taking Abby, but that is going to depend on how “warm” it gets.  Otherwise, she might be staying at Grandma’s house for a little while.

Finally some outdoor activity this weekend.  You have no idea how much I am looking forward to it.

Go away snow.  We are seriously sick of you!

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After bickering last week about the lack of pictures on my trailcam, it finally came through for me this week. 

We had quite a few does on the cam, which is good, because where there are does, there will eventually be bucks.  And we also captured this little guy as well.  I know he is young, but for a young buck his rack is already growing quite nicely.  A few more years, and you never know what he could turn into.

I was pretty happy to see some positive results from the new area’s where we put stands.  We did move the camera away from them for now, though, so that they have some time to settle down before season finally arrives.  I so cannot wait for opening day.

On another note-this past weekend Jeff and I practiced up a bit for our Cinder Block Smash that is coming up this weekend, as well as for our 3-D shoot, that will take place a week from Saturday.  I’m happy to report that the practice session went well.  And you can see the positive results in the two pictures. 

These shots were from 25yds, and I was pretty happy with how I shot.  I’m sure, that come the moment of truth, it will be a little different story.  But I feel pretty good about my shooting capabilities at this moment in time.  Not that they can’t be humbled a bit when the shoots actually take place.  It’s all about having fun anyway, right?

Things are really starting to pick up speed in our outdoor world’s.  Throw a new baby arriving into the mix and we have a pretty exciting time coming up.

Stay tuned!

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