MGH_PA

Haven't been on here as much lately as I've been busy this summer with mowing hay, bow work, hanging stands, all that coupled with my satellite internet acting up. A few weeks ago I hung my first stand, cut shooting lanes, and made an exit/entry trail. What a great feeling to finally be back in a tree (although the 85 degree weather didn't make it quite feel like hunting season[8D]). I thought I would share some pictures of my setup to get us all a little more anxious for the upcoming season. Here's an arial map of the spot where I hung the stand:



I chose the southern most red dot for my stand site, and then cut a sneak trail that you see in red running through the "finger" of woods to exit/enter the stand.

Here's some shots of the stand:



Corn is much higher now (and doing very well). This is the inside corner of the western corn field. When I was setting the stand up, a nice sized doe came out into the corn and fed for a bit. I think it should be a good spot!

Here's a shot of the area behind me.



The ridge that the deer bed on is just out of sight at the top of this picture, but you get an idea of how thick the area is. Overall, I'm pretty happy with the setup, and it was great to finally get up in a tree again. Hope you all are enjoying your summer.

doc098

What is the white? Deer trail? Man made trail?

virginiashadow

Best of luck MGH...your spots looks fantastic and it sounds like you are putting in the hardwork..its gonna pay off.

MGH_PA

White are deer trails.

Thanks. This is a spot I've always had my eye on, but never hunted it (for various reasons). I'm pretty excited about it.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Looks great Matt, Just for research sake, what lead you to this spot?

twildasin

Looks very promising matt! I will be looking forward to your post's about some great encounters in the month's to come!

MGH_PA

Thanks, Rob. For one, this wasn't much of a spot I really considered until I took a look at my arial (I'll admit I never scouted much throughout my short bowhunting career, but now I do). I went in last winter, and did some scouting. I found an old sheep fence (most of which is still somewhat standing (that's identified in the map above with the green line). The fence runs right along a ridge, and it's down in one spot, and the deer are crossing there heavily. So, I took it upon myself to cut some trails leading out from that point (indicated in white) to the two corn fields, hung a trail camera in there, and noticed pretty consistant deer movement. They're also now utilizing the trails I cut readily, and they can move from their bedding area (on the backside of the ridge), and into either the western or eastern corn field using my trails while still maintaining security with the heavy cover. You also notice the first few rows on the inside corner of this corn field is absent of any corn, which allows for a nice shot window as the deer enter the standing corn. I know they really hit the corn hard on our property, and this spot allows them to enter TWO corn fields without ever stepping foot into an open field.

Now, that's my long winded theory, but who knows what will happen once the season rolls around[8D]

Thanks, Tim. The lefty thing is working out very well for me, btw.

twildasin

Glad to hear you like the southpaw way of shooting a bow!

jmbuckhunter

I remember you posting a few questions about this spot a couple of weeks ago. I think you got a good looking trap set for the deer coming out to the corn field.

You should have some interesting afternoons in that setup.

Rory/MO

looks like an awesome spot, good luck