2023 Live From The Tree

First sit of the year is in the books on opening day of Ne season. High of 91 with SSE winds.
It wasn’t too bad in the tree with the shade and breeze. This spot has a number of different bucks in the area but the one I am after is this guy.

Had a 6 pointer go by at 20 yards right at sunset.
With 5 minutes of shooting light at a 2.5 year old 8 pointer go by at 25 yards.

Great first sit of the year.

That buck is awesome, best of luck to you in ne. I assume this is all private land

That guy is a stud

Bearcat89 wrote:

That buck is awesome, best of luck to you in ne. I assume this is all private land

Yep this is on private. There are a couple other people down here that hunt it though.
The public can be good in the area as well. One year our private didn’t have much going on so we scouted a piece of public I found coyote hunting. My buddy got this buck off of it.

Last night all I seen was a doe and 2 fawns. One fawn came right to the base of the tree.
Tonight was just as slow. 1 doe and a small buck. Both out 80 yards of better.

Michael Best wrote:

This spot has a number of different bucks in the area but the one I am after is this guy.

Beauty, and would be even cooler to get him in velvet. Good luck!!!

Dang, that is a really early season. Like hunting in the summer lol

gimruis wrote:

Dang, that is a really early season. Like hunting in the summer lol

Only 2 weeks ahead of us. Our weather looks great for archery opener so far. Nothing worse then 90 degrees in the tree

Bearcat89 wrote:

Only 2 weeks ahead of us. Our weather looks great for archery opener so far. Nothing worse then 90 degrees in the tree

Yes, a nice cool off looks like it may be coming. Thankfully

Skipping opener this year. Going to be on muskys instead then come in after all the opening weekend hunters give up and shoot the deer they spooked

Beautiful morning

Good shooting today boys. I’m working this morning but I’ll be in the woods tonight

Not live but first sit in the book. My finger was itchy, but the only deer that came through was a basket 6. First 20 minutes of the season so he got a pass.

Feels good to be back in a tree! Good luck to everyone!

First sit of the Mn season.
Sitting on my food plot. Haven’t gotten a daylight picture of a buck I would shoot in a month though.

I forgot how spooky or ire the pitch black woods walk can be. Just got to my stand. It feels great.
Lots of dog tracks, I’ll have to shift gears and kill coyotes this week

Well it’s an interesting year already. After 8 encounters last year, I am now at 9. Mid day hauling water out to the tanks, there he was, bedded 15ish yard from my stand. Might be a long aggregating season.

Plus he’s toying with me. Shown up at 4 different cams Friday night and gave me front and azz shots

Well watering him and feeding him makes it only a matter of time.
He has a beautiful rack.
I want to figure out a watering hole for the farm. What do you hold the water in randy ?

Only a matter of time before he slips up Randy. Back at it tonight on the other side of the farm. Last night I saw two does and 3 fawns, plus a couple coyotes that refused to give me a shot.

Close to the road tonight, hoping for a fresh Doe. I don’t like calm evenings though.

Bearcat89 wrote:

Well watering him and feeding him makes it only a matter of time.
He has a beautiful rack.
I want to figure out a watering hole for the farm. What do you hold the water in randy ?

Cattle water tanks. We stopped our beef operations, so I located tanks in a few spots

Randy Wieland wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>Bearcat89 wrote:</div>
Well watering him and feeding him makes it only a matter of time.
He has a beautiful rack.
I want to figure out a watering hole for the farm. What do you hold the water in randy ?

Cattle water tanks. We stopped our beef operations, so I located tanks in a few spots

Do you have to clean those tanks ? And if so how often ?

I spoil them all rotten. Lol. I do fresh water about every two weeks in these little tanks. About 3 times a year I bring them up to the barn and wash/bleach them. Not so much for the green algae, but all the larvae and crap that can accumulate. This year with the lack of rain and heat it’s been worse.

I have 55 gallon water drums with a spout I use on a trailer to haul out. Few trips but works.

I fill mine in early June. 40 gallon tubs.
I dump them out once around Sept. 1st. They get a little funky by then. I don’t think that bothers the deer. They drink stagnant puddle water all the time. Just makes me feel better.
I do put the little pucks in mine a couple times in Summer that kills bug larvae, especially mosquitoes. It’s a perfect hatchery for them otherwise. Not harmful to animals.

haleysgold wrote:

I fill mine in early June. 40 gallon tubs.
I dump them out once around Sept. 1st. They get a little funky by then. I don’t think that bothers the deer. They drink stagnant puddle water all the time. Just makes me feel better.
I do put the little pucks in mine a couple times in Summer that kills bug larvae, especially mosquitoes. It’s a perfect hatchery for them otherwise. Not harmful to animals.

Are they legal to hunt over in mn ?
I have a 250 gallon tank and multiple 55 gallon drums to transport water, I have every water pump imaginable. I just need a couple 100 gallon tanks to half bury

I’ve never actually asked a CO and from past experience, they all have their own “interpretation” but from what I read in the baiting laws there is nothing that states the use of watering constitutes bait.
As long as there is nothing added to the water such as food or other “attractants” I don’t see anything illegal about it.

Where I hunt here’s an artificial water hole using a liner for a backyard bubble pool. Right next to it was where a mineral block sat for several years until it was completely dissolved. Water gets put in the hole that deer have dug out also and probably gets more attention than the tub. I’ve watched deer come to get a drink, then they’ll move over to the dirt puddle and eat the dirt.

This year with the lack of rain, the landowner says the deer traffic on the water holes has been super high. He’s had to add water in there about once a week.

I’ve used the top and bottom 1/3 of plastic 55gal barrels as water tanks. Doesn’t get much cheaper. Here’s a fisher at a bear bait with a water tank.

DeerCast is showing good deer movement the first 3 days of next week.
I feel a flu bug coming on. Lol

Michael Best wrote:

DeerCast is showing good deer movement the first 3 days of next week.
I feel a flu bug coming on. Lol

Shucks, I don’t feel good those days either

Pretty sure my boss would just laugh at me considering I just informed him I’ll be taking the first week of Oct off for SD Muleys, and the week before gun season to hunt around here.