I've been communicating with Greyfox and Tracker1 with updates on the new farm they will be hunting this fall thanks to the unbelievable donation they made to St. Judes. I thought some of you might want to follow along. It's been a busy summer but I'll try to keep this updated often.
We'll start from the beginning and see where this story takes us...
I sold my old farm in east central Ohio back in 2011 after owning it and managing it for whitetail deer for 4 years. I always intended to move up to a bigger farm in the future but didn't know it would be this soon. I owned the mineral rights and the Marcellus Shale boom hit our area and sent land prices through the roof.
After turning down many offers I received one I could not refuse and tripled my original investment in 4 years. It was hard to let that place go after all the blood, sweat and tears I put into it. My oldest daughter killed her first game animals there and both girls helped me with the chores.
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-Brian
So I found myself in August of 2011, a month before archery season, with no land of my own to hunt. The money was burning a hole in my pocket and I frantically searched for the perfect property. I walked tons of properties and tried to justify all of them and desperately wanted to make them fit into exactly what I was looking for. Thankfully, family and friends tagged along to keep me on track. They knew what I wanted and wouldn't let me settle for a place I wouldn't be happy with.
2012 came and went and the frustration began to set in. Even with my great return on my investment, land prices had sky rocketed and all of the properties that fit my wish list were out of my price range. I was really getting desperate to settle for any land just to have a place to dig up the dirt and plant. Thankfully two of the places I "settled" for did not work out. One had title issues and the other had liens. They were both nice properties, but not exactly what I wanted.
In the spring of 2013, I printed out 3 properties that looked promising. I planned to visit all 3 in one day but only managed to look at two before dark and I was disappointed with both. I almost didn't go look at the 3rd one because it was listed with the same realtor and I figured it would be a disappointment too. My schedule left some free time during the week and it was only 1.5 hours from home so I decided to go look at it.
It was like coming home as I drove the road to the property through miles and miles of corn and bean stubble. I learned not to get my hopes up as terrain can change quickly and turn into junk land but it never happened. I took these pictures the first day I saw it.
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-Brian
Curious Brian, what county if ya don't mind me asking? Thanks! Shawn
I saw the hunt you offered. Man it was right up my alley but the guys who won it were sitting in a richer alley than me.
Great Donations on all parts, I for one will be watching this thread closely. I hope it turns into a great hunt!
Great looking property Brian. Can you remind us how many acres it is?
I remember how excited i was to buy my first OH land in Carrol county in 2009. I got the mineral rights when the contract on the exhisting small well are done. As far as I know that well has not run in 2 years due to a $10,000 fix on a seal or to cap. Wish it would just get capped so rights would be mine. Plus it stinks to the high heavens. Congrats on your land!
The property is in Ashtabula County, the very top NE corner of Ohio near Pymatuning Lake literally just over the Pennsylvania border. Yes, the donations were incredible. I am always amazed at the generosity here. Carrol County is actually closer to my home in PA and I have hunted there before, great area.
I think my daughters were just as excited as me to have a place to get away again. It didn't take long before we were there exploring and putting out trail cameras.
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I am very blessed and thankful that my girls are healthy and my wife and I can't think of any better way to show that appreciation than by supporting those who are not so fortunate as us. I try to never take that for granted and I am thankful for the opportunity to participate in the St Jude auction.
Some of the first trail cam pictures we got
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-Brian
looks good brian..HOPE YOU HAVE LOTS OF SUCCESS THERE!!!
I started hunting in Ohio over a decade ago, drawn from my home state of Pennsylvania by bigger bucks and a much longer archery season. Ashtabula County has produced some great bucks over the years and I hope to make my farm attractive enough to hold a few. Here are a couple of bucks that were taken in this county last year:
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I installed a new gate and graded the driveway in preparation for a building to store some equipment and a roof over my head for a place to sleep.
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I am fortunate to have a great neighbor who farms and I leased 20 acres of my tillable ground to him. I was excited to hear he was planting soybeans this year.
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-Brian
This is awesome Brian.....best of luck with the new place!
Living the dream! I followed that thread and wished I could bid, but watching this will be almost as good.
Thanks for sharing such a great looking place with us all and good luck to you guys this fall.
Great read to see you and your family starting to build this new place. Good work.
Keep us updated on the effort, it's very uplifting.
Great stuff, congrats on the new place
Thanks everyone, things are starting to come together. Beans have really gotten lush since being sprayed. The road my property is on has become a sea of green corn and beans for miles. Lots of food available for the critters.
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I got the foundation for a two story barn staked out and squared up. This will be the first building on the property and will provide a place for equipment/gear storage on the first floor and some comfortable living quarters on the second floor until I build a camp/ house.
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Got the concrete pier holes dug out.
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-Brian
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It's looking really good Brian :thumbsup:
This is going to be good. Thanks for sharing the pictures and progress Brian
I liked the old place a lot, but I think he made the right choice with this one. Very nice, every time I go there with him I like it more. The guys that bid are going to have a great time, it's a beautiful area.
Brian, you have done a great job!! Looks better all the time!! Shawn
NICEWORK Brian,best of luck to you in your new venture i wanna see pics!!
Best of luck for sure. I enjoy following these step by step threads.
Nice place Brian! Between your place and Jim Glimer's (LittleBigMan) beautiful 5 Pine location I'm dreaming of back home in NW Wisconsin.
By the way your helpers are adorable!! Makes me wish mine were'nt all grown up!! Very nice!! Shawn
It's been a busy fall but I wanted to get an update posted since the guys are headed in for the St Jude hunt tomorrow. Progress has been slow on the building but it's been a great first year at the new place. I went out opening morning of the archery season and an hour after sunrise...
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Exactly a week later, on opening morning of my home state of Pennsylvania's archery season, I hunted a creek bottom just down the road from my house and same bat time, same bat channel...
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The freezer is full again so it's time to turn the attention to figuring out some bucks and preparing for long sits on November days.
It hasn't been all play, I brush hogged for the last time this year and hopefully gave those big Ohio bucks plenty of room to roam through the thick stuff.
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-Brian
The farm is in the snow belt above I-80 and I got a little preview last weekend already
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The farmer that leases some of my tillable ground got the beans in late and they were still standing as of last weekend. Thousands of acres of beans have already been cut in the surrounding area so these are the only game in town
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Hopefully the guys will luck out and the beans will still be there for them all week
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-Brian
I got jealous when I saw the dirt from the holes you dug. I was planting trees in rock this week here in Middle TN.
:knothead:
Rut sign is getting heavy and hopefully things will break wide open for these guys
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The 10 day forecast is looking pretty decent also. Now we just need the deer to cooperate
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-Brian
Looks like you have some good goose and duck ground with that flooded bean field.
Congrats on the new place...it's looking really great.
:campfire:
Awesome!
Fred & Burton arrived today. It was a pleasure meeting both of them and showing them around the farm and the area. We took a ride on the Polaris and I showed them my stand sets and pointed out the property boundaries. A lot of the beans in the area have been cut but mine are still standing.
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After leaving the farm we went and got Fred his license, Burton had already purchased his on-line.
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Afterwards, we had a nice lunch at a little cafe and got them checked into their hotel.
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Fred left Jersey at 3 AM but instead of a nap, he was ready to hunt.
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-Brian
One thing you can count on when getting together with Tradgangers is good food. Fred's wife baked some cinnamon bread and zucchini bread and I was lucky to be taking some loaves home. I got into the cinnamon bread when I got home :thumbsup: Great stuff!
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They headed out for an evening hunt and I headed home to take my wife out and catch a Penguins game.
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Pens won 4-2 and I got a text from Burt that he saw a 2.5 year old 8 point chasing two does. Pretty great night for all.
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-Brian
:campfire:
Looking like adventure is on the wind.
:coffee:
I haven't hunted with Burton, but I have with Fred. He is hard core, and those poor deer on your place are in serious trouble! Good luck to all of you and great job on helping St. Jude in the process.
:campfire: :coffee:
Slow weekend, especially with the downpour most of the day Saturday. So far, the guys have seen two young bucks and two does. Seems to be the story in a lot of places, the rut seems close to busting wide open.
I visited Burton and Fred tonight and we had dinner. It was nice to catch up and hear the stories from the first couple of days. I've got a four day work week then I plan to be back up the farm early on Friday. The next few days I'll be relying on phone calls and text messages for updates. Looks like the weather will be in their favor this week. Supposed to get down in the 20s tonight.
Oh, and the zucchini bread was delicious too!
-Brian
This week will be good. Good luck guys and hunt hard.
Mike, I will be over at the farm this weekend. Let me know if you are free some evening for dinner or a beverage.
Burton had to pack up and head home so Fred has the place to himself the rest of the week. I talked with Fred on the phone tonight and he had a decent buck come by just out of range and it hung around for a while.
Some does also came in range but he didn't want to shoot a doe and spook the buck. As luck would have it, the buck never came in range but I could hear the excitement in his voice while he was relaying the story. I got a feeling he's going to have an opportunity on a nice buck before the week is over.
-Brian
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Things still heating up in Lake Co.
This was a couple of days ago at work. He had her pinned down for over 45min. Sorry for the poor pic. Phone camera.
The St. Jude hunt came to an end yesterday, but don't feel too bad for Fred, he's off to Pike County, Illinois. But seriously it was a pleasure meeting Fred & Burton and sharing my place with them. The weather and deer were often uncooperative but I hope they enjoyed themselves regardless. At the end of the day, the St. Jude kids got a few extra necessary dollars and I made two new friends. Thanks to Tradgang for letting me be a part of it.
I'll leave you with a few more pics...deer coming around the corner just minutes after the decoy was set up
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One of the many rubs left by the bucks who loved night time photos but hardly ever showed up much during hunting hours
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-Brian
Nice pics Brian and great on st.judes
Brian and all,
Fred arrived in Pike County Friday night safe, happy and tired. I'll start another thread recounting his hunt here when I return to St. Louis tomorrow. The stars must be aligned because this is first time I've been able to get internet at farm this trip.
No shots yet, but several different bucks seen, including a big one Fred had just out of range last night that he said had stickers "all over". He was really excited and I think he may have zeroed-in on his target.
Any updates?
First let me start out by thanking Brian for the oppertunity to hunt his land . Beautiful country all around . Good deer sign but little if any movement during daylight hours . Heavy rain the first few days put a damper on things .Brian was getting trail cam pics at night but not during the day . Burton seen a couple does and a small 8 pointer at dusk along the edge of the bean field . I noticed tracks every morning heading west but notracks made during daytime . I opted to hunt the rear of the property around a large weedfield which was surrounded by tall timber .I sat in 2 of his stands but didn't see any action so I tried rattling at the crack of dawn when sound really carries and the deer are usually still up . After an hour I tried grunting and later some doe bleats . After 3 days with no response I set up a ground blind after checking out the ariel photo of Brian's place. I picked a spot where a large tract of timber funneled into his property along what I think is the NW corner . I set then blind about 15 yards from the trail and had it tucked in some amongst some small trees and tall weeds . The trail was being used pretty regular . The tracks were heading south but there were a couple rubbed trees showing that at least one buck was heading north. The timber was to the north and the bean field was to the south .On either side of this corridoor the ground was lower and very wet , some places almost over my 12" boots so it was looking really good . First night I saw nothing and I was back in the blind before first light hoping to catch some deer coming back late from the beans , no luck . Next afternoon the wind was good so I sat there again .A decent buck came by east to west just out of range on a trail I wasn't expecting any action on . I waited for him to get a ways off before I grunted when 2 does came up the trail from the south and fed to within about 5 yards of the blind . I figured the buck would come over to check them out but he just looked back once and headed off , the 2 does fed slowly along and I figured I had the best decoys in the woods but nothing else showed up . Next day I cut out a small shooting lane to the trail the buck used and made a mock scrape at the intersection of the trails . Next afternoon the wind blew wrong so I sat another ground blind I made by tucking a stool inside of heavy cover along the weed field overlooking a mineral lick and scrape but saw nothing . I went back to the first ground blind next day and found my mock scrape worked over and another scrape made about 10 feet way ! I had high hopes but it rained again and the ground being so wet the water had no where to drain and I found the scrapes had about 2 inches of water in them . I felt I hunted hard but things just didn't work out , Brian did a great job of planning the hunt but not everything is under anyone's control . That's why it's called "hunting" not "shooting" I had a great time hunting with some great guys in some of the prettiest country with a chance to bag a Ohio Giant . It doesn't get much better then that . I look forward to bidding on this hunt again if it's offered , I big thanks to Brian and good luck with his farm . And it was a pleasure meeting and spending time with Burton and I wish him the best luck with his new property . Even though the kids are the big winners from these hunts I really think I made out big time , thanks to all involved , Fred
Any updates on the Pike County hunt Fred?
Don not to steal Brian's thread I had a great time ! First 3 days I saw several bucks following small does , I think the mature does were all bred . The bucks all looked exhausted . 4th day the weather changed and I woke up to 17 degrees and 25-30 mph winds . Hard time staying on stand , I thought it got cold here in Jersey but the wind with the open fields was almost unbearable . Next morning warmed up to 19 with steady winds again and a covering of snow . I got in my stand before daylight and by 10am I was frozen . I walked to another stand and stuck it out for 2 more hours . I decided to go back to the trailer and get some food in me but on the way back I remembered the field south of the pond had a ridgeline where I had seen a nice buck crossing so I decided to check it out . Moving along the south edge of the field I came to a small rise in the ground and I stopped about 25-30 yards below it and was looking things over plotting my next move when a small doe came runing over the hill .I could see antlers behind her so I quickly dropped to my knees in the wet snow and spread myself as flat as possible . The doe stopped at the top of the rise and then bolted into the woods , the buck came up to where she stopped and he hesitated long enough for me to get a shot off . He had a nice rack with sticker points . All I can say he looked so big I thought he was closer than he really was and I shot under him , in the tall grass I thought I may have hit him low . I went back to the trailer and met up with Darren's father , John, told him the story and together we went back and looked but found nothing , the arrow is probably buried in the tall grass and with the sparse snow cover I could easily follow the tracks for a 100 yards or so with no blood .Next day was the power bar incident and the deer activity dropped off pretty quick .
Thanks Fred. Sounds like tough conditions.
Thanks again Fred, the weather and deer were not very kind to you. But it's been the same story from everyone I talked to around here, high winds, low deer sightings and rain. I think that hunter we talked to at the motel made a good point about the corn.
That huge corn field across the street was still not harvested as of yesterday. It's just been too wet. They took the beans off my place but left a heck of a mess of ruts from the ground being so soft.
The deer have been on their feet during the day a good bit since Veterans Day and I passed a couple more 2-1/2 year olds and some does. Still have not seen any of the bigger bucks while on stand. Looking like another spread out, low intensity rut.
Few more pics, sorry some of them shaky cell phone photos:
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Thank You Brian ! It was a great oppertunity in a great place ! Your land has a lot of potential , best of luck with it . I will be watching the auction again for this hunt , Fred