24 acre ranch build - raw land to paradise!

[Z7buckmaster]

I think i saw u today driving on 79. I was on a white f150.

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by Z7buckmaster

I think i saw u today driving on 79. I was on a white f150.

Hey man, you did! I was going to post a "sticker sighting" thread but you beat me, haha. The wifey joined me for the first time on a hunt and was a total champ, even in the bitter cold.

When I saw your sticker, I said "ooh! Another TBH'er!", and sped up to wave at ya. My wife was thoroughly confused as to why I would do this since I didn't know you, and I explained to her that all TBH members are friends unless otherwise specified.

[Z7buckmaster]

Originally Posted by Sneaky

Hey man, you did! I was going to post a "sticker sighting" thread but you beat me, haha. The wifey joined me for the first time on a hunt and was a total champ, even in the bitter cold.

When I saw your sticker, I said "ooh! Another TBH'er!", and sped up to wave at ya. My wife was thoroughly confused as to why I would do this since I didn't know you, and I explained to her that all TBH members are friends unless otherwise specified.

Cool man! I was hunting with buddy of mine out in Rockdale. I've been folowing your thread and see ur truck on some pics, I thought what are the odds of two blue tundras with a TBH sticker. So kinda knew it was u, my buddy ask me if i knew you." I said his part of the green screen brotherhood... ". And he was lost. So did u get anything? I missed a spike at 30yrds.

[bughunter]

subscribed

[bwssr]

glad she went and enjoyed the time with you at y'alls place!

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by Z7buckmaster

Cool man! I was hunting with buddy of mine out in Rockdale. I've been folowing your thread and see ur truck on some pics, I thought what are the odds of two blue tundras with a TBH sticker. So kinda knew it was u, my buddy ask me if i knew you." I said his part of the green screen brotherhood... ". And he was lost. So did u get anything? I missed a spike at 30yrds.

I saw absolutely nothing, which was quite a surprise considering this weather we had. On Saturday we had an entire afternoon of no rain and calm winds, and the same this morning.

I did however, walk the perimeter of my ranch for the first time since September, put up more no trespassing signs, and work on learning the lay of the land more. My creek bottom area has some absolutely fantastic shelter for deer and hogs during bad weather, and some trees that are just singing to me to have a ladder stand put in them for some arrow flinging action!

[Z7buckmaster]

Well a bad day in the woods still beats a great day at work. Glad your wife enjoyed. From the pictures looks like a beautiful place you got, congratulations on you accomplishments. May God bless you and your family.

[ThereHeIs]

awespome thread

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by Z7buckmaster

Well a bad day in the woods still beats a great day at work. Glad your wife enjoyed. From the pictures looks like a beautiful place you got, congratulations on you accomplishments. May God bless you and your family.

Thanks a lot for the kind words

It's a heck of a place, and once I finish cleaning up a lot of the yaupons, clean up the creek bed, and get food plots going in the pasture, I'm certain it will start attracting and holding deer like a magnet.

[drop dead fred]

Do you have any pics of deer?

[ernamal]

awesome place, makes me want to buy land right now!!!...i plan on opening up a ranch once i ets from the army

[rbljack]

nice...im following the blind build too.....keep the pics coming. I want to make a nice box blind for our place too. looking for ideas always

[live2hunt65]

Nice

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by drop dead fred

Do you have any pics of deer?

Only a few so far, but as I continue improving the land with food plots, trails and better access to the creek to drink water, they will be a comin'.

Originally Posted by ernamal

awesome place, makes me want to buy land right now!!!...i plan on opening up a ranch once i ets from the army

Thanks, and thanks for your service! You'll be a landowner soon, I'm sure!

Originally Posted by rbljack

nice...im following the blind build too.....keep the pics coming. I want to make a nice box blind for our place too. looking for ideas always

I will keep the blind build pics coming, don't worry. I just Henry had much of a chance to work on it with all the festivities this week.

Originally Posted by live2hunt65

Nice

Thanks !

[Sneaky]

Last weekend the wifey and I camped out at the ranch for the first time, and she spent the whole day with me in the pop-up. This was the first deer/hog hunt he had ever tagged along for, and despite the freezing weather, she was a heck of a trooper. We had the Mr. Buddy, snacks and some Irish whiskey to help keep us cozy. Nothing showed up that day, but I'd stills at the trip was a 110% success!

[Sneaky]

Wife unit

[TXhunter77]

Originally Posted by Sneaky

Wife unit

She looks so thrilled to be there

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by TXhunter77

She looks so thrilled to be there

She actually loved it, despite her expression, lol

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by rbljack

nice...im following the blind build too.....keep the pics coming. I want to make a nice box blind for our place too. looking for ideas always

Well, I hope you're happy - you got me up off my arse!

Left frame complete!

[Sneaky]

Outside

[Sneaky]

Inside

[XBowHunter]

U da man !!!

[Sneaky]

This weekend is going to be another "ranch work weekend" for me.

Projects to tackle:

1. Cutting down more yaupons around some really gorgeous oaks.
2. Checking existing "no trespassing" signs, and putting up more.
3. Buying a roll of barb wire and mending a small area of fence where those darn horses keep coming in from.
4. Setting up my 4x4x8 hog trap.
5. Sitting out at night in the pop-up to hopefully catch some piggies coming in to the pile of apples and big red I'm going to put out for them!

[Texas8point]

following

[Sneaky]

Got the pig pipe built! It's 4' of 4" PVC with one welded cap and one removable cap. I'm starting off with 6x 3/8" holes, and made sure to use swiveling parts so it doesn't twist up. It will be placed on the ground with a steel ring and a t-post for it to roll around. I will be putting a little copper fishing bell on it, and filling it with corn and Pig Out.

Between that, the feeder and the trap I will be setting up, I hope something will give and I'll be taking home the first pork from Soggy Bottom Ranch this weekend, to complement my hard work!

[Sneaky]

Ready!

[DUKFVR]

Looking Good!

[3DW5]

I could not stop reading this, great work, keep it up.

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by XBowHunter

U da man !!!

Originally Posted by DUKFVR

Looking Good!

Originally Posted by 3DW5

I could not stop reading this, great work, keep it up.

Thanks, fellas! I'm gearing up to put in a lot of hard work this weekend (coupled with some relaxation time at night sitting in my ground blind), so expect plenty of pics of my progress!

[Texastaxi]

Originally Posted by Sneaky

Ready!

I got $20 that says that wire won't last a week when the pigs start hitting it.

That little dog collar clamp will be the next weakest link.

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by Texastaxi

I got $20 that says that wire won't last a week when the pigs start hitting it.

That little dog collar clamp will be the next weakest link.

I'm a bit curious to see if it hold also. It's wire fishing leader, so it's definitely not weak. The little dog collar clamp is all steel, so it definitely will not break, but who knows if it might get hit at just the right angle to make it open up. I can always remove it and just use the opening chain link above it by itself.

I'm going to have the other end of the chain attach to a big steel ring, and that ring go around a large T-post I drive down in the ground.

This is definitely my first pass though, and I will be watching closely for any failures of components, then adjust my strategy from there if needed.

[Texastaxi]

The anchored end sounds stout, but a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

You will soon see how destructive hogs are.
Allow some time to search for your missing pig pipe!

[Sneaky]

Originally Posted by Texastaxi

The anchored end sounds stout, but a chain is only as strong as the weakest link.

You will soon see how destructive hogs are.
Allow some time to search for your missing pig pipe!

I think what I'll do, since I'm going to Home Depot in a few anyway, is remove that snap hook, and just the quick link above it, and then replace the wire with a chain. You got me all paranoid now!

[Sneaky]

The snap hook needs to stay since it swivels and is what will ensure the chain does not bind up. However, I have heeded your recommendation and upgraded the wire significantly. I'm quite certain that this setup will be more than adequate against any stresses the hogs jostling of the pipe will place on any of its components. What do y'all think?

[Sneaky]

And so the ranch weekend begins! I set up the trap, baited it with corn, Pig Out, and strawberry soda.

Now, after enjoying a well-earned beer, I'm curling up in a sleeping bag in the back of my truck to get some Z's.

I'll post pics of the trap in the morning, and post before/after pics of this weekend's projects.

[3DW5]

Can't wait to see!!!

[bwssr]

good luck!

[iamntxhunter]

Sneaky, if that fails I would use an eye bolt through the end of your cap next time. Following along and good thread.

[Sneaky]

So begins the photo recap of today's work:

The pig pipe

[Sneaky]

Close-up of the hardware

[Sneaky]

Dead tree, about to become fire wood

[Sneaky]

The trap

[Sneaky]

Man, I sure love my Echo

[Sneaky]

This pic is a little late, but there was a cedar, a huge dead tree trunk, huge vines, and tons of yaupon surrounding this beautiful oak. This is about one hour into the work.

[Sneaky]

Man, I love my tow strap also. That tree trunk weighed a ton!

[Sneaky]

Where I left off for the day.

[bwssr]

looking great

[bhaggie86]

following... great work so far

[Chew]

Originally Posted by Sneaky

Where I left off for the day.

Looks great. I can't wait to do some clearing. Another couple weeks before we get started. It's killing me.

Thanks for the progress updates

[Chew]

Originally Posted by Sneaky

Man, I sure love my Echo

What model/length did u get? I need one.