Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Birth of a deer camp

HEY ND, that stand looks pretty good for ma! if'n you need some good nailin' advice i know just the little feller that i would get to do it. I came home from fishing friday and he pulled my new stand into my yard, now he needs to come and help fix it. its a 12'x12' that i built over at the neighbors land a few years back and never got to side it. now i started siding it. it was 12' up and now it'll be on a hay rack so its a more mobile gunship! talk to you soon!!

12' by 12' hay wagon gunship loaded with busch light & ammunition, sounds perfect.

ha, yeah i'll hope to see you guys soon.

Dave,

ma's stand looks good. deer killer for sure. You probably don't need much for windows to stay warm. I have used a blanket in my blinds, and my stand, none have roofs on them. Really something to keep the wind off helps more than anything I found. a heater would be nice though.

don't sell yourself short on the camo netting or burlap or landscape fabric, whatever. I have some geo-grid fabric from a highway project I was on and it works great. It is about a 1/2" thick and keep the wind down great, and it's quiet.

You guys don't hunt in wisconsin do you?

that stand sounds like a few guys I know.

Doh! You're right. Shoulda gone to Marvin's first, that a way, you could'a built a stand that looks like a ski lodge in CO!

Craig

Dave, Ive noticed that the killing of elk has seemed to rein in your normal pre season crazys.

I was south of hibbing in 178 hanging stands on sat and sunday and saw a good number, 8, trash can lid sized scrapes. seems a little early but got my blood pumping!!

you're right, I'll see what I can do about that...

Good to hear about the sign. I haven't been to the camp since the small game opener. The landowner had heart surgery, so he hasn't been in the bushes much, so I have no report to get excited about.

Now, with yours....oh boy. I got the scruffy beard goin' already. I'll know it's time when the beer cans turn orange...

have you seen orange cans yet? don't hold out on me!!

I need some of those!!

No man, I haven't.

Even checked on my way to work this morning. Nothin' yet.

Didn't see em last year until the week before the season.

Hope they come out soon. I have door duty on Halloween...

Hey nice stand Ma! You gonna be comfier..er than heck in that thing! I might have to thumb wrestle you for it during smoke pole season though!

Well last saturday I fixed my wheeler and went and did some scouting. I only found three scrapes in the entire woods when normally its tore up by now. It shouldn't be long though!

I bowhunted a spot on Sunday evening west of my place and saw 5 deer. I passed up a doe at 8 yards and a 6 point buck at 20. Both were directly down wind and smelled me but didn't get out of their mind scared. Just a tad nervous and they both continued on the way they were heading after a few nervous tail flicks etc. I do believe that Dead Down Wind stuff works. Like anything, it won't totally elimintate human odor but so far my experinces with it have been pretty good. What do you fellers and mrs fellers use for scent control?

I use that Scent Killer spray stuff. The one in the yellow spray bottle. I think Wildlife Research makes it.

I believe it works, to some extent anyway. Seems to work like you say. If the deer are down wind, the know somthings up, but not out of their mind scared.

WAY cheaper than scent lock too. I'm still on the fence about that stuff.

[quote]I only found three scrapes in the entire woods when normally its tore up by now. It shouldn't be long though![quote]

Same here. The "experts" say it'll be a few weeks yet before it's hot and heavy.

gut pile.

I roll in gut pile to kill scent.

oh no.... it's taking over my mind already... the madness.

don't forget the intestine jump rope...and the wind pipe banging against your face while you clinch it between your teeth.



Your back....damn glad your back!

i'll do it ya know, it aint pretty!!

I know...that's the scary part.

Wow, I've read this thread and it seems like you guys out in the upper midwest arealot like us here in Northern Pa. We have a camp,about 65 acres that borders another 300 we have access to hunt. no electric no indoor plumbing ourfacilities. and a woodstove and four acre pond. Our members are policemen, truck drivers, factory workers, and elderly retired brothers from Maine. We don't typically kill alot of deer, and even fewer big bucks, but to me I feel more at home their than my own place. from going to supper Saturday night when everyone arrives to the Sunday afternoon "hill" dinner, where we invite landowners, and neighboring hunting clubs and we all get together to meet each other and catch up on what's been going on the past year. we have two young hunters who everyone in camp ahs sort of adopted and we make sure that they have someone who is willing to forgo his hunt in order to take one of those kids hunting if their dads can't get off work. Last year one of the founding members was fighting cancer, we knew it was going toprobably be his last year hunting. He got a permit to hutn from the truck beause he wastoo weak to walk far, but he still wanted to hunt from his stand, so a couple of us moved our stands closer to his incase he fell or needed help in a hurry. that member passed away in January of this year, going to camp will be tough this year with out him. it's like loosing part of the family.
Norther Dave, I have greatly enjyed reading your story about your deer camp. I hope it provides you, your family and many generations to come a place of comfort, security and enjoyment.
God bless.
John Raub

Great post and welcome to the insanity phase of the year, there are a ton of great folks here.

John,

Welcome to the fire. They way it sounds, you'll fit in just fine.

Most of the year were normal folks, but this time of year...well you know the drill.

[quote]no electric no indoor plumbing ourfacilities[quote]

hell, this time of year, I don't even use indoor plumbing.

welcome John, thanks for the kind words, sorry for your loss.

I'll tell you what most guys will & probably have told you. Continue on as you would, as he would have you do.

easier said than done, i know it. But that's where I'm at this year. My goal is to get back on track & invest myself in the fun & the experience of deer camp.

We did very good last year to build the cabin & settle into a new camp with each other & become comfortable amidst the loss of our loved one. But this year I aim to do what I couldn't fully do last year, I'm going to do my cousin/best friend proud by really relaxing, really enjoying myself, laughing hard, playing hard, hunting hard. I�m gonna follow through fully with what he would have liked for me to be able to do so well last year.

I hope you can do the same.

Dave