My father and I headed up to our property in northwest Georgia to scout and set feeders for the fast approaching up coming season. Our main goal was to find a centralized area to place our home-made feeders, and to set trail cameras to see how big the bucks are becoming as they grow their antlers. Along the way, we input GPS coordinates and took pictures of food sources such as White Oaks, Red Oaks, Water Oaks, Muscadine vines and Persimmon trees that were in full bloom. We input these coordinates on a map to see which was the best rout to approach these areas. We also used technology like Google Earth on my phone to find funnel areas where the deer are most likely to travel and possible areas for stand locations. This was only our second visit to the property, so we tried to absorb as much information as we could gather to be successful. Welcome to the never ending fun of scouting.
Let’s recap! We sat down back in May when we decided to move forward with this property to draft a well thought out game plan. The first step we made was to get topography maps and tree surveys to see how the land was laid out. We tagged certain areas that looked potentially great so that when we are there, we can actually walk them out. We built some feeders for supplemental feeding to keep the deer accompanying those areas. In the state of Georgia, by law, you have to be 200 yards and out of sight of any areas that are baited, so placement is key. Once the feeders were placed, we then went out 200 yards with our GPS units and flagged trees to be in compliance with the law. We now know where we can and can’t walk when we are setting up our stands.
We have chosen to get deep in the back part of the property where most others will not travel in hopes that the deer are less pressured and more abundant. During our scouting we found a lot of good signs including deep trail ruts, some old sheds, deer waste, and old rubs from the previous year. While we were searching in these bottoms, we saw some deer and were blown at on several occasions, which was promising that deer are in the area.
Feeder #1 we put in the ground was a tough one. We placed this one exactly 374 yards next to a creek bottom where two massive hills came together. We found areas where the deer have been bedding down, so we figured this would be the best fit. They weighed about 100 pounds a piece (just the frame), but were more bulky than anything. Along with hauling the feeder back there, we had to haul 120lbs of corn, post hole diggers, the drill with srews and nails, the trail camera, and of course a machete just in case. The payoff will be priceless when I am holding a massive rack of the ever so smart mature white-tailed deer. It was a challenge to get it done, and just proves that you must to be in shape not just during the season but all year round.
Feeder’s #2 and #3 were placed in bottoms as well, but to get to these two areas, we had to travel down a 150-200 foot steep slope to get there. We placed these two feeder next to creeks that were lined with multiple tracks. Now, they have exactly what they need to survive: food, water, and shelter. We are very confident there will be some big bucks taking some dirt naps along these funnel systems this fall.
[cincopa 10681590]
For each feeder we built, we took two 8ft 4×4’s for the post, 3 2×4’s with one to attach the roof on and the other two for the half barrel to sit on for support, a 4ft by 4ft piece of plywood for the roof with tar paper, a 55 gallon drum cut in half, and some camouflage paint. That’s it! We buried these posts in the ground approximately 2 1/2 foot with post hole diggers, put the roofs and barrels on and filled them with whole corn. We placed the barrels high enough so that the hogs could not get access but the deer can. It worked in our previous property, so we figured if it works, don’t fix it. On our last property the does would stay within the areas where the feeders were and once they went into heat the bucks would cycle through running the does to mate.
As the season approaches, we are just taking one step at a time to properly prepare for success. The more we step into the woods to learn them along with the pattern of the deer, the closer we get to harvesting a mature deer. The process of scouting is never ending, constantly questioning the whys. Why did the deer come from that way? What they are eating? Are they grazing or on a mission? As the season progresses, their patterns will change too, so we will have to make a journal of what we saw on each hunt and what the deer were doing. We can’t wait to get back up there to set our stands and to see how big the bucks are getting. “The difference between a good hunter and a great hunter, is DESIRE.” Hunt Strong, Train to Hunt! Stay Tuned.