Part I continued

I’m starting with the north central property location. I’m not disclosing the exact location to protect the land owners. Above is the aerial view of the property I’ll be hunting. Below is the topo map for the same piece.  Please note that north is the top of the picture, south is the bottom, etc.

Some things to consider here are:

1. The lake

2. The stream in the bottoms

3. The place where three stream fingers come together

4. Crop locations

5. Bedding locations

6. Wind summary

7. Neighboring property influences

8. Types of food sources

Below is the historical wind data for the last year. This graph represents the month of October 2008. On new pieces of properties, I like to go back at least 5 years but I didn’t want to clog the space here with images.

To make this project truly interactive, I’m going to stop right here. I could give you my input now but that would turn this into nothing more than a “Read and do” lesson rather than an interesting way to be a part of it all. Please give me some ideas on where you would hunt if you were hunting here. There is no right or wrong answer here, so don’t feel intimidated! I’ll chime in later!

Please note that the elevations are mostly flat with the exception of a 20 foot (total) drop in the gullies. The surrounding properties are flat with crops to the east and north. To the west is timber and to the south is a combination. The elevations are also the same as the property I’ll be hunting on. If you have a hard time seeing the aerial view in detail, you can save the image on to your desktop and then zoom in on it. 

More of Part 1: Finding the big buck

In continuation of part I, I’ve decided to make this thing in real time, so to speak. I’ve located 2 pieces of properties, one in North Central IL. and one in Southern, IL. I’ve had offers to hunt both of these places, so I’m going to take advantage of these offers. I’ll get the topos this week along with the wind data, etc. and post them here. We can kind of go through this together and make it interactive! It should be fun.

I’ve never been to either of these properties, so it will truly be a fresh start. I think both places have ample ingredients to grow monster bucks, which is what I’m after. I’m told both places have plenty of does also, so I’ll plan on taking a doe or two while I’m there. I’m going to try for an October harvest but will continue hunting through the rut if I need to.

I love hunting new spots as it makes it interesting and challenging. I’ll get some maps soon and post them right here in the next couple of days. I’ll be open to all comments as I like to see and learn what other hunters do when trying to locate big bucks on fresh pieces of properties! I’ll also post some pictures of the places when I get a chance to see these properties. Topos come first!

Thanks to all our Vets!

I wanted to take this time today, not to talk hunting issues but rather to thanks our vets for the great job they’ve done keeping our country the best place to live in all of the world!

Despite issues with this or that, the bottom line is we wouldn’t have this luxury of debate without the dedicated individuals who have protected this country for the last several centuries. Leaving Church today, I was reminded to thank the vets that have served our country as they all too often get their service taken for granted. I’m ashamed to admit, even though my family served through several wars, I also take our freedom for granted.

So, to all of our vets, I say “Thank you very much” for the years of dedication that we took for granted! I hope you are able to enjoy the very freedom you fought for this memorial day weekend!  For those of you that care, there is a great organization called Disabled Veterans Of America ( http://www.dav.org/ ) that needs your support in any way you can. These are the disabled veterans that were the very people who fought for us but now need our support.

Marc