I’m Making a List

“ARE YOU COMING THE WEEKEND?” I asked my grandson Jake.

“Got a list of things we need to get done before we get too far into spring,” I told him. “Want to build a new ground blind close to the pond where we keep seeing all those young bucks.

“Plus, want to cut shooting lanes at the creek stand. Then if we have time we’ll see about calling a coyote. Work, work, work, it’s never over. Gotta love working for whitetails!”

Laughing Jake responded, “I can be there after work on Friday. We should have time to mount those new Trijcion AccuPoint scopes on your Ruger Number Ones, sight-in with Hornady ammo, then work on other things throughout the weekend.”

Sounded like a good plan.

I then called one of my other grandsons, Josh. “Jake’s coming this weekend to help to start getting ready for next season, help with habitat work, mount some scopes, do some shooting…if you’ve got time…”

“I’ll be there!”

Even before the 2018 whitetail hunting season closed I had been making a list of things I hoped to accomplish during late winter/early spring on my small place (The Buck Scrape) about 80 miles west of Houston. Years ago I learned it is never too early to start and complete such projects.

I love hunting from ground blinds and wanted to build a blind using cedar posts cut on my property, one that looked like it “belonged there.”

During our work weekend, my two grandsons and I built an eight-foot diameter, circular blind, setting posts side by side. I wanted it big and wide enough to comfortably accommodate a hunter and cameraman for our DSC’s Trailing the Hunter’s Moon television series.

Once the walls were completed, and windows cut, we put old tin roofing on it as well. We built it tall enough so even my six-foot, five grandson can stand up without bumping his head. The height and width allows those inside to stand up comfortably and to move around a bit during all day sits without being detected.

Stand established, we cut four shooting lanes. Rather than make them straight, we cut paths so they were more like meandering trails. We made each about six feet wide and about fifty yards long.

Once cleared, we fertilized each of the shooting lanes with Triple-13 fertilizer. We would fertilize those same strips again in early September.

The new blind was established so the deer would have plenty of time to get used to the structure before we hunt it months later. We also re-opened and fertilized shooting lanes at two other blinds.

Fertilized native browse draws deer and improves the nutritional content of plants as well as the production of forage. During February, I had fertilized the drip-lines of selected oaks and persimmons.

Before finishing our day, we also cast fertilizer around selected individual yaupon bushes, stands of smilax (greenbriar) and small patches of Japanese honeysuckle. These three primary browse species in our area respond quite well to fertilization. Doing so creates natural and highly productive food plots.

As the sun started sinking on an extremely busy and successful day, we grabbed our Ruger Number Ones, now all wearing Trijicon AccuPoint scopes. Then we each grabbed a box of the appropriate Hornady ammo and headed back to do a bit of predator control.

Tomorrow we would continue working on my list…

 

Email Larry Weishuhn at ContactUs@fishgame.com

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