HUNTING STATS
First I'll start off by saying my land is abundant with deer! Every single time I go hunting I see at least one. But normally it's between four and eight.(And as many as 18!) Now, not all of them are on my property and some that are are too far for me to shoot at. Regardless I enjoy watching them and feel I learn alot about, and from, them.
*Picture of my scope while hunting one very cold morning
All that being said, I have taken seven shots since my last kill, I hit one and was unable to retrieve her...Then I missed the next five, making me very sad and question myself. However, being my first year using a crossbow to hunt I found some very interesting information concerning how quickly a deer can react to a sound. I adapted my targeting technique and I made a couple improvements to my hunting stand based on the information I found. And the last one I shot at I hit. Sadly, the deer all but Dodge the dart and I did not recover her. But after five misses, it felt good and I knew I had fixed the problem I was having.
*I EVEN RECOVERED THE ARROW SO NO LOSS OF MONEY.
A DIY MOMENT AT THE HOMESTEAD(USING LEFTOVER MATERIAL)
So, another thing I learned is that it is not recommended to shoot a crossbow without supporting the end of it on something. So, I grabbed a bunch of the leftover 2x4 pieces from fixing my bathroom and some screws and set out on building me a shooting bench in my stand.
I needed a flat surface to rest my bow on while I took shots however none of my leftover pieces were long enough. So the simple remedy is shown in the picture below.
I just butted two boards together and used a third one to screw those two together. Then I attached an "L" shaped leg to each end of it and it came out looking like this.
After building a second one of these for the other side I shoout out of I attached them to one another and then screwed it all to the floor to secure it. To add to my level of organization in the stand I added a few screws to the contraption to allow me to hang my bow up, along with extra clothes and the range finder. It gives me a lot more floor space and it should help keep me from bumping into stuff at bad times. (Noise is your enemy whenhunting.) After it was all said and done I was really happy with the hour I spent making the improvements.
ON TO SURVEYING
The East property line is in dispute between my neighbor and myself. I believe I own about 180 feet(54 Meters) more then he believes. Since one of the next steps at the homestead will be clearing a site for our home to be placed property, boundaries will have to be set. I have contacted a company to survey it but it is really expensive. I am hoping to recoup the money through selling timber that will be cleared as we prep the homesite and do a little maintenance timbering to help our forests be healthier.(On that note I have found a lumberjack to do this for me)
Thanks again for stopping in and for all those who continue to support my insanity and fun...THANK YOU ALL SOOO MUCH!!!🤗 And until next time I send all my love to you and yours and hope you all have a wonderful weekend!