Deer Hunting:
 2014 - 2015 |
 2015 - 2016 |
 2016 - 2017 |
 2017 - 2018 |
PREP WORK in Alabama for
My Third Deer Season!
(2016-2017)
| OPENING DAY | Randolph County, AL | Alabama DCNR regulations .PDF |
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| for
stalk hunting in Randolph
County, Alabama: Saturday, November 19, 2016. For Roanoke, Alabama, Tim and I certainly re-tooled our methods, this time... |
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 CAUTION: The file is LARGE! (18.1 Mb) |
Alabama also does mandatory game checks.
Tim and I built a PERMANENT HUNTING BLIND.
We are placing the blind in an area overlooking
openings in the pine grove down below.
This is the view on July 2 from the pine grove,
looking back up the sloped meadow.
I chose this particular site because my trail cameras spotted
deer many times down there, even with no feed present.
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| This time, we are
using natural
cover in some trees which obscures the view from the pine grove below |
Additionally, we can
easily drive
to the site of the blind, because it at the corner of an old field |
This is the hunting blind as of September 24, 2016.
I managed to tack up the loose hanging roofing (seen in the left photo).
The stairs were mostly completed by July 30th.
This is the hunting blind as of October 14, 2016.
We did plan to do the walls and the floor by October 9, but had to postpone.
The fold-down windows and a door will happen possibly in November.
Later, it will be painted with various camouflage splotches.
To prepare the blind for hunting, much needed to be cleared to provide
a clear line-of-site into the pine grove clearings across and down the meadow.
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| October 14, 11:38 a.m. CDT View towards right from inside the blind before cleaning up the vegetation |
October
14, 1:25 p.m.
CDT View towards right from inside the blind after cleaning up the vegetation |
but leaving just enough to obscure the base of the blind itself.
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Click here to see the evolution of the blind's construction.
Originally, I was going to plant a FOOD PLOT, but it was not feasible this year.
So instead, I invested in a Boss Buck deer feeder and placed
it in a clearing at the north end of the Pine Grove.
Pine Grove Area #1 (north end)
Even before I set up the feeder, my trail cam showed that deer
were attracted to this site as early as February of this year.
This absolutely shows how valuable trail cameras can be!
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| Cabelas
had only two of these, and I managed to snag one
before they sold out |
Assembly of the Boss Buck feeder
inside the hunting shack |
When
I was about to move the feeder to the field, I was
accosted by the donkey sisters |
Additionally, a large mineral block and small mineral rocks were
laid out in the same vicinity as the deer feeder.
| view from southwest | view from west | view from north |
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| the
hunting shack is behind at left 6:28 p.m. CDT April 9, 2016 |
the
blind is on hill to the left 6:29 p.m. CDT April 9, 2016 |
the trailcam is on middle tree 6:29 p.m. CDT April 9, 2016 |
| mineral rocks facing trailcam |
trailcam view of rocks and feeder |
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| the
deer love to
eat these
rocks 4:31 p.m. CDT April 30, 2016 |
my
daughter loves
this place 4:32 p.m. CDT April 30, 2016 |
Deer have been munching at this site all year!
As of September 24, I placed some
Deer Cane Black Magic and I refilled the deer feeder with Big Tine corn feed.
The intent here is to bring back the large bucks
which have not been on the trailcams in over a month.
As of mid-October, I have gotten rather luke-warm results.
Pine Grove Area #2 (south end)
We now have the tree stand installed
as of Saturday, September 24!
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| This
stand
has
comfortable seat
cushions. |
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| The
mineral block is seen at the left. View is from direction of trailcam. |
I added the blind canopy on October 9th.
Also, another large mineral block on September 5th
was placed near the stand. On September 24th, I spread out the
deer attractant "DIRT BAG" by Evolved Habitats around the block.
This is an attempt to get the bucks to come back to the area
after clearing the weeds and placing the tree stand.
However, as of mid-October, mostly does are drawn to this (but not so many bucks).
http://inner-redneck.com/