First off, thank you to Terry and all of the TradGang for their time, donations and bids for the St. Jude Auction. The good Lord blessed me with two beautiful, healthy daughters and I couldn't even begin to imagine what the St. Jude families have to go through. But I try to keep that in perspective every day and not take my blessings for granted. Me and my family are humbled and honored to be a part of this auction every year and we hope the sharing of our blessings brings some comfort to some hurting families.
Congratulations to habujohn and his brother Dan on winning the hunt. Just from a few e-mails and photos I have exchanged with John, I can tell he is a passionate bowhunter and all around good guy, like most of the TradGang I have met over the years.
We're going to update this thread throughout the summer with food plot growth, trail cam pics of growing bucks and just about everything else leading up to and through the hunt itself. I'm looking forward to sharing another chapter with you all. So stayed tuned, take care & God bless.
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Way to go Brian! Glad to see you share this generous offer again this year and I am looking forward to watching the thread :clapper:
This is a great idea! I'll be following this thread too. Sounds like it's going to be a good hunt and thanks for donating it to the auction. I bid on it early but it quickly got out of my reach (financially). Keep the pics coming :archer2:
:thumbsup: :campfire:
This should be a great thread! Eastern Ohio produces some monster bucks and there's some superior bowhunters headed that way . :campfire:
I am humble to have been the high bidder on this hunt and so happy that we are helping the kids of St Jude's. My brothers and I have carried a stick bow in the woods since the 60's and Dan and myself are so looking forward to this hunt with Brian. We hope to represent Tradgang with honor and friendship. Thank you Brian for your donation to the kids.
I was at the farm to get some mowing and planting done. Here's a few pics.
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Clover plot leading into the new orchard then into a food plot. There's goldenrod where I did not mow so that will be a 6 foot screen between all the plots by the end of summer. This a secluded field in the back of my property with very little disturbance.
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My daughters wanted to start growing their own Christmas trees this year. Pretty impressive growth, they did a good job planting them.
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Two weeks ago, I made a day trip to the farm to get the beans in before family vacation. The weather fought me again but I did the best I could to get the beans in on wet ground.
Basically it was too wet to get my tractor and tiller in for 2 weeks. With the window closing on getting beans in, I got creative & scratched up the ground with a drag/spike harrow, broadcasted the soybeans and dragged to cover them.
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I'm headed to the farm tomorrow, hoping all the rain has helped the soybeans more than it hurt.
The rain has been tough this year for sure. I hope those beans take good for you. I am enjoying this thread. :campfire:
Thanks Muzzy. After stressing about all the rain and my unorthodox planting method, I was happy to see the Real World soybeans up and doing good.
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Good Deal! :clapper: What type did you plant?
:campfire:
Glad they germinated for you Brian. I am loving this thread.
Muzz we tried Real World Soybeans this year. Very impressed so far.
Here's an update of what's going on at the Double A.
Getting the fall brassica and grain plots mowed and ready to till:
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Been struggling with my dirt driveway in the spring after snow melt and rain so I got it all graded and prepped for stone delivery later this week:
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The deer herd is in pretty good shape this year, all the rain in June and early July has provided a ton of natural browse for them.
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They are loving the tall clover.
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I think John and his brother may find something they want to shoot at.
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Wide bases and a big belly...healthy, mature deer.
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We still have another month plus of antler growing so it will be fun to see what these guys end up with.
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It's been a beautiful couple of weeks worth of nice weather. Here's my buddy Roger and my pup Cody enjoying a fire and beautiful NE Ohio sunset.
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I traded for some tin for the barn overhangs and got a metal shed in the deal. We got that put up and got some gravel inside and out. We spread the rest in front of the barn and shed for a dry, mud free area around the buildings.
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Brian the farm is looking really nice. I love the deer pictures too, some impressive bucks for sure. Shooting daily and getting excited for fall to arrive. Thank you!
Great thread Brian. Hunted Ohio myself for a few years, good hunting. Will keep an eye on this one. Good luck to John and his brother.
Looking good :thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Brian, all your improvements will be paying off this fall. The Bucks are looking real good. Hopefully the weather will work out and John and his brother will have a great hunt this year.
Thanks everyone. Fall food plots are in and germinated but we've been doing the rain dance here. Can't seem to get on a normal weather pattern here. Last fall my plots struggled with too much rain. This year it's been dry as can be. Thankful I don't depend on crops for a living. Neighbor texted me that we got a good rain this week so I'm looking forward to seeing how they're doing tomorrow.
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The bucks should be rubbing the velvet off soon, here's a few different ones hanging around now too.
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I saw some bear tracks on my place last year and this year. Finally caught one on camera. Date is wrong, was Aug 7th, time is correct.
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Here's some pics of the field when I planted it on August 10th.
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I planted a strip of a mix of turnips, radishes & beets in the back field also.
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Very nice setup. Great stewardship
Got the first round of base stone done on the driveway too. This dry weather has been good for getting projects done anyway.
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My daughters got the shed painted to match the barn too.
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that is awesome! glad everything is coming together. I look forward to seeing some results!
The place is looking great Brian
Nice!!!
Looks like it's going to be a success. ..... :campfire:
Wow Brian, you've done a great job! I let this one go in the auction but I'll be in again next year if it's on the docket. Best of luck to John and his brother. Can't wait to hear the story!
Thanks everyone. I managed to get a couple days of work in at the farm this week. The clover plots were cut and the orchards were weeded and mowed. I also brush hogged the trails through the woods hopefully for the last time. Now it's time to let the farm rest until I get back from my SD mule deer hunt at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct.
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looking good brian!!!Best of luck on your mule deer hunt!Hope to see some success pics when you return
Looks great, man! Best of luck to you and your guests this year!
Looks Good Brian!
Cool thread!
Like having a part time job isn't it?!
Nice work, your effort looks to be paying off. Up to the hunters now...
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Boy Brian, you are sure getting your money's worth out of the tractor.
The farm is shaping up nicely. It's cool your kids are helping out and planting their Christmas trees.
The deer are looking very healthy and that Bear is a good one. Thank you for sharing.
Lucky Dog.. I have been trying to get a bear on one of my trailcams for two years. Sighting all around me and zero pics.. Looks like your place is coming along.
Brian my brother and I are both really excited to be coming to Ohio for this hunt. We are having a lot of fun practicing in anticipation of this hunt. Thank you for all the hard work you are putting in at the farm. Hopefully we can do our part come November. Good luck in SD on those mulies.
Nice to see the recent rains and cool temps have really blown up the radishes and turnips. Glad to see there will be bulbs available to the deer through winter.
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Getting some day time pictures of bucks post velvet which is always nice to see.
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My buddy remodeled his kitchen and asked if I wanted the old Pergo flooring. Why not, free creature comforts for camp are always appreciated. I also used some reclaimed metal sheathing as a wainscoting of sorts. Some donated slate tile worked great under the wood stove and camp is ready for cold, overnight trips again. Should have everything wrapped up and cozy in time for your hunt John.
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Awesome job. Looks great.
Getting down to about 10 days before John and Dan arrive for their hunt. Things are looking great and if the long term forecast holds, they should have a great week.
I don't put much pressure on this farm, in fact I hunted it for the first time last weekend. Trail cams and personal observation revealed several doe family groups still using my property regularly. Lots of scrapes & rubs have showed up lately too and I just moved my cameras over the most active scrapes. Should have some great pics this weekend when I pull the cards. The table is set!
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Looks like it will be some good huntin.
:campfire:
You guys are in for a treat! Brian has a nice place there! In the few days I was there last year I saw a few bucks cruising through that field then we got pounded with snow and cut the hunt short!
Have fun and be safe!
I am impressed with all you have done to that farm. I remember you posting stuff when you first started there. Looks like you have yourself a great place. What a blessing. I'm sure the St. Jude hunters will have a lifetime experience there. I'll be watching for updates.
Just got home last night from the farm. John & his brother Dan arrived Sunday afternoon. Incredibly nice gentlemen. I showed them around the farm and got them all squared away in camp. I got to hear some good stories over a few cold ones and chicken wings at the local watering hole.
These guys are the real deal and they timed this hunt perfectly. I hunted the farm all day Sat & Sun morning and starting to see the first signs of chasing by some of the younger bucks.
The guys had a slow start Monday morning but things picked up for the afternoon. John saw quite a few deer and a few chasing sequences from some younger bucks.
It seems the weather is always a struggle. Normally we have west to north winds this time of year but the guys were handed an east wind for their first day. Hopefully things will get back to normal and the deer continue to cooperate.
Stay tuned...
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Good luck!
Bisch
Have fun boys shoot straight and hopefully one of those Ohio brutes will step in front of you soon.
good luck. Looking forward to the stories.
Good luck fellas! Shoot straight.
:campfire: I'll be checking back.
Good luck guys.
Great thread Brian. Wow, you have done a great job on that place. I love the paint job on the shed too!
This should be a great week, despite some rain in the forecast. The bucks were definitely on their feet in the middle of the day in Guernsey County 11/8-11/10.
The camp and farm look great! Excellent work.
Well, the weather became a major issue once again. In 5 days of hunting I think they had 2 days of semi-normal weather. Lost Tuesday to heavy down pours all day. Yesterday and today were windy, over 25+ mph and gusts over 40. We had pretty great weather from July to October, I figured our luck would run out...and of course, it would during the rut and the St. Jude Hunt. I'm sure John will be checking in here with some stories so I'll leave some room for him.
Thanks Joe.
Figured you would be tagged out already Chisler. Good luck buddy. Thanks, I think the girls enjoy the place more than I do. I have your arrow from my target butt, don't forget to remind me.
Well we made it home safer and sound. Brian has done a great job of setting up his hunting property. It was too bad that the weather would get so bad that we lost the last two days of our five day hunt. Saw some beautiful farm country and lots of sign that there are some big bucks around Brian's place. I did see a few smaller bucks and does while on stand and had a buck check a scrape behind me. We had an east wind and when he directly down wind to the west he turned west and walked off. Leaves on the trees prevented me from seeing his head gear.
Brian is a great host and it was so nice meeting him and sharing a camp with him. Sorry no pictures but did not have a water proof camera with me.
I should have mentioned that day one and two were great days for hunting and we even got in some stump shooting. I also had a chance to see how well my first light rain gear would hold up and can say that it preformed very well in both keeping the rain out and breathing well. Rubber boots were a must.