Darton & Stan R Were Right!!!!! Pic Heavy

[Darton]

Definitely a skill I do not possess! Great way to spend a rainy weekend

[Booner Sooner]

Since last year we have been working toward attaining the Legacy Lands certification from QDMA. This is the highest certification level offered by QDMA and is only awarded to model properties. Once we are able to meet the 14 standards required for the Legacy Lands designation it signifies that we meet the highest level of land protection, conservation, stewardship, and commitment to the preservation of our hunting heritage. The past couple of weeks have been about putting the finishing touches on things ahead of our inspection, which is scheduled for next weekend. A QDMA inspector is driving in from Kansas and is meeting Darton on our place to walk the property, review and approve our written management plan, and make recommendations.

I’m excited to be able to have a consultation from a pair of dedicated deer pros. Being able to lay out my vision for the property and get recommendations for herd management, timber stand improvement, food plot program, etc. is a rare opportunity!

My quest to remove all the leftover junk from the previous owner marches on...and on...and on. Our 18’ trailer continues to fill up.


While removing some junk from around one of our open sided pole barns I discovered a trespasser.

He was healthy.





To be sure his family doesn’t stay around I did the only thing a reasonable man could to in this situation. [emoji2955]


Nowhere left to hide!

The wheat and clover plot is now overgrown.



Driving the perimeter I can see beds galore! Nearly ran over a fawn on Wednesday evening. Little guy broke and ran as I was stepping off the four wheeler. Had to change my drawers.

That said, fawns are starting to show up on camera.

Based on gestation period I put this doe being bred around October 29th. Still have plenty of does on camera that have yet to fawn.

Also, the blackberries are coming along nicely.


Looks like a bumper crop this year!

And finally, I took some time this week to walk our ridge and flag the trees I plan on taking out to improve the forage and cover. The focus will be on immature post oaks, hickory, and larger elms.



If my methodology is confirmed to be correct I’ll be initiating a timber stand improvement effort this summer. We will see what Darton and the inspector have to say!

More to come.

[DZM]

Burn it down after finding the intruder! I love it. I would have done the same. Place is looking great-

[Booner Sooner]

Burn it down after finding the intruder! I love it. I would have done the same. Place is looking great-

Thank you, Sir. Just seemed like the most logical choice. [emoji6]

[Booner Sooner]

With a few days before the next trip I decided to tackle Mr. Hunt’s shooting bench. I loaded it up and brought it back to the house for refurbishment. As a reminder, this was built by my Father about 25 years ago. We used it for several years before he passed and our place was sold. This has been sitting at our Nashoba lease for around 17 years.






After disassembly and inspection I was impressed as to how well the pipe has held up!


The abrasive wheel took care of the rust in short order!


Base primer should seal her up nicely.



...and two coats of crimson later we are ready to turn attention to the bench and top.

After much cogitation I elected to go back with Mr. Hunt’s original design and dimensions for the top. Went so far as to remove and reuse the 2.5” wood screws from the original top. Used pressure treated 2x6’s reinforced with 2x4’s. In a word: heavy....to the point of being the second place I would go if ever confronted by a tornado. [emoji12]

Due to the weight, the boy and I elected to load the newly painted pipe base onto the trailer and install the top there.


Four pilot holes and lag bolts later the top is secured.....and the family gets the garage back.




Next step is finishing the seat and rounding out the corners. Feels good to breathe life back into something that Dad spent time creating years ago....and knowing that it will be used now on our place for years to come.

More to come....

[Big Lee]

Love following this, also that bench and memories attached is amazing. Keep up the great work!

[3whunt]

Boomer Sooner for the use of OU red!

[Darton]

Awesome job sir She will no doubt provide many more years of faithful service! My only suggestion is that a color change to orange may help with public relations in your neck of the woods

[Booner Sooner]

Awesome job sir She will no doubt provide many more years of faithful service! My only suggestion is that a color change to orange may help with public relations in your neck of the woods

No doubt we are squarely in OSU country here! I want to be able to hit what I shoot at when zeroing the rifle which is why I chose this color. If I painted it bright orange it would likely just develop a pattern of getting me excited but not finishing, and if I painted her burnt orange I’d definitely have to overhaul her every couple of years. [emoji12]

Love following this, also that bench and memories attached is amazing. Keep up the great work!

Thank you, Sir. I’m honoring a legacy.

Boomer Sooner for the use of OU red!

Yes Sir! Same as the Adirondack chairs...thanks for following along.

[Booner Sooner]

The inspection for our QDMA legacy lands certification took place yesterday. Inspectors Tim Donges and Jay Cassels met me at my property at 8:00 am and were a wealth of knowledge. I was very impressed with their detail and the depth of the discussion which 100% focused to developing my property in such a way that we absolutely maximize our potential.

From the evaluation of site maps (surface, contours, infrared, soil type, etc.) to reviewing herd management (deer density, sex ratio, fawn recruitment rate, age structure, etc.) to reviewing and making recommendations regarding habitat and hunter management they left no stone unturned.

We walked the property and I was able to discuss our challenges and paint a picture of what we want to accomplish here. The encouraging news is that both Tim and Jay believe that we can achieve our goals with time and hard work. It is incredibly rare to have advisors of this caliber place their full focus on your property, give you honest feedback, and make recommendations based on research, science, and years of experience. These men are in regular conversation, learning from the foremost wildlife biologist in the world that specialize in whitetail deer (Dr. Harper, Dr. Miller, and others). Based on their intimate knowledge of my property when they showed up it was clear that they invested a lot of their time in leaning and talking about my property ahead of time. The five hours we spent together reviewing data, walking the property, and discussing what needs to be done really flew by. I guess that is what happens when you are immersed in conversation on a topic that you are passionate about.

Tim and Jay provided recommendations that, although challenging, are quite feasible when taken in steps. Next week I’ll be in contact with the Oklahoma Forestry Service. I’ll set up a meeting with a state forester on our property to set up a timber stand improvement plan. If there is enough marketable timber on our place I’ll want to let a lot of the heavy lifting be done by a logging company.

Regardless of how much marketable timber there is and the attractiveness of the timber our first step is to begin removing trees. We are going to use three modes of action including physically removing (chainsaw), herbicide application, and prescribed fire to set back one of our primary hunting areas to an early successional stage. This 12 acre ridge top is currently dominated by hardwoods. We are going to start the process of taking out enough of the trees so that we are getting about half of the forest floor bathed in sunlight. This will occur in August. I’ll primarily girdle the trees and use a herbicide to kill them as quickly as possible. Some of the smaller diameter trees will be felled but the majority will be girdled. By girdling I’ll kill the tree which will achieve the objective of getting light to the ground and the tree will just deteriorate over time rather than be on the ground impeding movement and growth. Before the spring green up I’ll come in to this ridge top and use prescribed fire to eliminate the deadfall and leaf litter from the ground, setting the stage for an explosion of forbes and woody stems. In short, next spring and summer should be a bonanza of food and cover, unlike the local deer herd has seen.

After this we will turn our focus to enhancing our two sanctuaries (~10 acres and ~5 acres) by hinge cutting and girdling both. This will achieve much of the same objectives as in our ridge top but it will be much thicker. I’ll post up more about this as we get closer as both are scheduled for next year.

With my baseline herd data, existing habitat documented, and a solid plan now in place, we begin! Although I am going to be aggressive, this process takes time. My hope is that we see a marked improvement in densities, recruitment, harvest weights, and age structure within three years, however it may take a little longer. Either way, we are investing for the long haul.

In closing I’d like to say a special thanks from me and my family to Tim and Jay for their time and effort. When people genuinely care, you can tell because you can’t fake it when dealing with people who have passion for this sport. These two men have it in spades and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with them.

Thanks for joining us in this journey.

[SFAbowhunter]

The inspection for our QDMA legacy lands certification took place yesterday. Inspectors Tim Donges and Jay Cassels met me at my property at 8:00 am and were a wealth of knowledge. I was very impressed with their detail and the depth of the discussion which 100% focused to developing my property in such a way that we absolutely maximize our potential.

From the evaluation of site maps (surface, contours, infrared, soil type, etc.) to reviewing herd management (deer density, sex ratio, fawn recruitment rate, age structure, etc.) to reviewing and making recommendations regarding habitat and hunter management they left no stone unturned.

We walked the property and I was able to discuss our challenges and paint a picture of what we want to accomplish here. The encouraging news is that both Tim and Jay believe that we can achieve our goals with time and hard work. It is incredibly rare to have advisors of this caliber place their full focus on your property, give you honest feedback, and make recommendations based on research, science, and years of experience. These men are in regular conversation, learning from the foremost wildlife biologist in the world that specialize in whitetail deer (Dr. Harper, Dr. Miller, and others). Based on their intimate knowledge of my property when they showed up it was clear that they invested a lot of their time in leaning and talking about my property ahead of time. The five hours we spent together reviewing data, walking the property, and discussing what needs to be done really flew by. I guess that is what happens when you are immersed in conversation on a topic that you are passionate about.

Tim and Jay provided recommendations that, although challenging, are quite feasible when taken in steps. Next week I’ll be in contact with the Oklahoma Forestry Service. I’ll set up a meeting with a state forester on our property to set up a timber stand improvement plan. If there is enough marketable timber on our place I’ll want to let a lot of the heavy lifting be done by a logging company.

Regardless of how much marketable timber there is and the attractiveness of the timber our first step is to begin removing trees. We are going to use three modes of action including physically removing (chainsaw), herbicide application, and prescribed fire to set back one of our primary hunting areas to an early successional stage. This 12 acre ridge top is currently dominated by hardwoods. We are going to start the process of taking out enough of the trees so that we are getting about half of the forest floor bathed in sunlight. This will occur in August. I’ll primarily girdle the trees and use a herbicide to kill them as quickly as possible. Some of the smaller diameter trees will be felled but the majority will be girdled. By girdling I’ll kill the tree which will achieve the objective of getting light to the ground and the tree will just deteriorate over time rather than be on the ground impeding movement and growth. Before the spring green up I’ll come in to this ridge top and use prescribed fire to eliminate the deadfall and leaf litter from the ground, setting the stage for an explosion of forbes and woody stems. In short, next spring and summer should be a bonanza of food and cover, unlike the local deer herd has seen.

After this we will turn our focus to enhancing our two sanctuaries (~10 acres and ~5 acres) by hinge cutting and girdling both. This will achieve much of the same objectives as in our ridge top but it will be much thicker. I’ll post up more about this as we get closer as both are scheduled for next year.

With my baseline herd data, existing habitat documented, and a solid plan now in place, we begin! Although I am going to be aggressive, this process takes time. My hope is that we see a marked improvement in densities, recruitment, harvest weights, and age structure within three years, however it may take a little longer. Either way, we are investing for the long haul.

In closing I’d like to say a special thanks from me and my family to Tim and Jay for their time and effort. When people genuinely care, you can tell because you can’t fake it when dealing with people who have passion for this sport. These two men have it in spades and I am blessed to have had the opportunity to work with them.

Thanks for joining us in this journey.

Awesome stuff! Can’t wait to see it transform!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Booner Sooner]

The rejuvenated shooting bench made the journey North and has found a new home on the hilltop.

I’ll let the pressure treated top and seat fully dry before hitting it with a stain and sealer.

Her final resting place will likely be on the South side of the property but I have yet to clear this area. Once this occurs I will build a cover to keep her and the shooters out of the elements.

On another note the newly completed chairs fit nicely on the porch until the next campfire.

[Darton]

I feel fortunate to be a part of the process and the journey Look forward to all of your projects yet to come

[Booner Sooner]

Darton & Stan R Were Right!!!!! Pic Heavy

During this past week’s trip to the Hilltop I took the opportunity to begin clearing the 12 acres on the ridge. I know it isn’t August yet but the three elements (Fueled up chainsaw with freshly sharpened chain, time, and energy) came together. This was a good chance to make sure the saws were up to task to come.


The state forester has yet to get to us for the timber cruise and timber stand improvement plan but it shouldn’t be too long.


After a few hours of work I was encouraged. 12 acres, one man, a set of chainsaws seemed daunting but it is definitely manageable!




My focus was primarily felling the smaller diameter trees but I practiced girdling.

A minor height adjustment to the trophy rock cedar pop cedar tree, new trophy rock installed, and we are ready for another year.

...and yes, I was wearing matching shorts and muck boots.

Mom lives in Medford, Oregon and this was her first trip to the Hilltop. She wanted to see the entirety of the place and we were glad to show off! At 64 she prefers the kid four wheeler.


The top to the shooting bench sufficiently dried out so she got a couple of coats of stain.


We are heading back to the Hilltop this weekend and another step will be taken. Next weekend Molly and I are registered for a burn school through the Oklahoma Prescribed Burn Association. After learning about the awesome benefits of prescribed burns through QDMA’s Deer Steward-I course we are going to learn how to do it safely. More to come...

[HuntingTexas]

A great read and a great place you’re creating. Kudos sir.