Ok Bill, the haunted shack needs a restoration and you and Jordan need to both harvest a big one from the old home stead. Give her a shine and make her a Cadillac blind! Stay the night, fire off some coffee and slip over to the window and hunt! This is a must for the property and the show! Heck I will drive and spent a weekend helping with demo and getting that roof in order! 23’ blind Bill, get it on the books!!!!😎😁💪🦌
Boy, that thing is well beyond repair. I found out recently, as I was trying to get some history on that building, that it was once an old church and that it was brought in there and set up on blocks by the previous owner. Not sure how many years ago. It served as the party shack according to my source. Now it is just a part shack for raccoons and probably mice and snakes. It is falling apart on every level and needs a match. Rebuilding a new one there would be an option, but there is no fixing this one. It is too far gone.
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the great sport of bowhunting. You will never get it out of your system once you start, which I am sure you know by now!
I love how you are educating your daughter. My Dad my best friend hunting partner passed away just before deer season Nov 22. I missed him so much during the hunting season but I got my 2 biggest deer ever, because of the knowledge that he passed onto me.
Thanks Bill and Jordan for taking us along for the ride throughout different parts of the farm. My opinion, that shed needs bulldozed and a new shed 10’ off the ground in its place. Thanks for the educating pointers on hunting the top side of the property.
I can definitely agree that it needs to be bulldozed and I think having another cabin there would be cool. I just don't know if I want to spend the money right now to rebuild it when I can just wheel a Redneck Blind in there on a trailer and be set up immediately. Thanks for the input and have a great day.
I have not been called a kid for a long time. You must be about 90 years old to think I am a kid! Thanks for the support and the comment. I really appreciate it.
I have always enjoyed your shows, especially when you were a part of Chasing November. But this season with a new farm, new format and having your daughter with you learning…. It has become my favorite. I am always learning, but you guys bring things to the next level. Keep up the great videos and I look forward to your off season. Thanks and God bless.
Agreed, but the whole thing is sitting precariously on blocks. I think I would have to make a new foundation under it before doing much else, and that means probably a new floor and that would lead to new walls, etc.
The older I get i enjoy scouting and putting the puzzle pieces together almost more then the hunt/kill itself. Ditches are a great funnel, and the tops are for sure the places where most deer cross. However I have noticed a pattern of mature bucks using crossing points a little lower then main top crossing especially if the top one is more open. More so on pressured public but even the private farm we hunt. I like to walk up those cuts and mark crossing points and look for the biggest tracks. like you say though the wind can be schetchy down the ridge, and maybe that why mature bucks use them as a scent advantage. Great content as always Bill!
That is a good point Matt. I have always gravitated to the top one because that is the only one I feel that I can hunt with a consistent wind. I have also hunted those with the wind blowing up the slope and then I set up on the uphill side and approach through what is normally a field above. That is OK, but then if you are going to leave the same way, you are bumping deer all the way out. Some creative thinking related to exit would help there, like a way to move the deer off more naturally so you can sneak out across the field. Good luck.
Agreed. I think she enjoys this process of learning. She is very smart and once she grasps something all the pieces fall into place. That is why the post season scouting is so good for her - the perfect way to learn what deer do and how to hunt them.
My wife and I have been the parents of a total of 6 Golden Retrievers over the years, and we have found them all to be nut jobs at some point in their lives, but we loved them all.
They are definitely goofy. This one loves the outdoors. He lays on the ice, even sleeps on the ice. The colder the better. It is pretty amazing. He can't get enough attention from people either. You are right though, they are very lovable.
Dave, I bought them from a seed/acorn collector here in Iowa. I started with the list of private foresters I found on the Iowa DNR website and then started calling them until I found someone who knew someone who collected and sold acorns. There are at least two in Iowa, but probably a lot more that I have not found yet. Good luck.
Have to admit I have a love-hate relationship with ditches. I have always found the best places to hunt intersect at a ditch but the winds almost NEVER cooperate. Heck, even when I abandon the ditch and go up the hill I still have frustrating winds. As if hunting big bucks isn’t hard enough, right? All a learning experience. I now keep detailed notes on wind direction and speed on my OnX maps. invaluable app...Will you be posting TSI vids on those ridges over winter and before Spring green up Bill? Interested to see how you would strategically do your cuts to move deer and create bedding. Thanks for another great and humorous video!
Thanks for watching Steven. Yes, that is what I am doing right now. I am at the farm getting ready to meet with a biologist related to cost share to create "ruffed grouse habitat". I love ruffed grouse and grew up hunting them, but they are in big decline here in NE Iowa compared to my boyhood. The good news is that ruffed grouse habitat is the same (more or less) as whitetail habitat so the two programs intersect very nicely. I am not very focused on moving deer. That is just my preference. I love to create the best habitat possible for them and then just hunt them on their terms. That gives me the most satisfaction. I know a lot of people who drop trees strategically to created trails, etc. I just drop them where I know there needs to be thicker cover and let the deer decide how they will use it and then I react to that. So, that is what I will be doing. I am going to create a new series related entirely to land management. Look for that in the next few weeks. As relates to ditches, I have had my best success hunting the very top with the wind blowing my scent back over the ditch. That is not always foolproof, but works more often than any other method. Also, blinds are a possible solution in those killer spots with bad winds. Have a great day.
A buffer of milo with a fall mix interior would also be a good food source. Could use the milo as a screen. Deer hammer milo late September-Early October before the first white oaks begin dropping. They will still feed on the heads late season... and on warmer days the interior fall mix would have greens.
I've always thought it would be super cool to have a tunnel system that goes under a food plot to avoid spooking deer. Would be perfect for your water hole spot lol
Yea, now you are talking. Once you get it laid out let us know how it worked! You are right though, bulletproof access is the name of the game. Good luck.
Great information again but getting to enjoy an episode with you and Jordan and the dogs just makes all fathers watching smile and appreciate even their own relationship with their kids. Thanks Bill and Jordan. The haunted shack with a little love looks like a great place to sleep 👻
@@bill-winke yeah you'd have to have a hazmat suit,respirator and that's alittle too much i.m.o . Match seems appropriate though😏. Thanks for the laughs!
The scouting piece is probably my favorite part of chasing white tails. This video was awesome for a Dad to see you and Jordan enjoying the woods and having fun. Thanks for the story and not editing out out the “real stuff”! Look forward to more Bill! Thanks!!!
One of my fav aspects of all shows, esp yours, is the off season and what is needed to prepare. I can't wait for March / April to do TSI and revise plots. There is so much that can be learned during this time
Agreed. I definitely enjoy the management part (the connection with the land) more than the hunting now. I still love to hunt, but I love the land even more. Good luck.
Ha ha haha 😄, that haunted shed is just too 5 stars of an accommodation. I think the better choice is to put a grate over the farside of the culvert & put a groundblind on 4 foot stilts uphill of the other end of the culvert. As long as the blind isn't in the thermal hub u will be fine. I once built a shed about 10 feet up in a big redoak that forked. However, I did it postseason cuz this was former cattle pasture, woods & fields & the best way was to bring in the supplies on a sled on top of 2 feet of snow. I was able to bring the floor & walls up on a pulley system. Never got to sleep in it once. That summer a lightning strike struck the 🌳. Within the next year another storm brought it down. The idea was right. Human intrusion & leaving @ night & returning in the morning are 2 things that wreck most hunts b4 they start. Can't wait for my one month reset where I take my one month off of deer to get projects done b4 my post season scouting starts. We have far too much snow to do anything now in MN. I'm setting up an old custom recurve with new limbs & arrows now. The traditional legend Mr. Asbell made the bow & he passed earlier this month. Sure am looking forward to a better 2023. Keep upgrading your new spots which I'm sure are awesome to walk for the 1st time. Will catch u later on some of your future upgrades. Take care.
Joseph, that shack is a negative five stars! You are definitely right about that tube. We would have to do something to prevent unwanted "visitors" during the night. Thanks for the great input. Have a great day.
This is great information and I have a new property to hunt that has plenty of ditches. I needed this. Thank you. And well done have such a great relationship with your daughter.
That would take a lot of work, but it would be really cool when it was done. Unfortunately, where it sits now it would be too far from most of the bigger trails and main feeding areas to bowhunt from, but it would be an awesome gun blind. Thanks for the input and thanks for watching. Have a great day.
That shack is in really sad shape. Roof falling in, floor boards rotten. No telling how many coon have lived in there! I bet you could make that tube too hot to stay in with a heater. I bet even without a heater if you blocked the ends it would be 50 degrees in there even in November.
Excellent content as always, Bill. I love the new format that brings a very personal element to the show. You mentioned slowing down on videos and your reasoning is sound. You did a great job last season showing some of the habitat improvements you have done and I was surprised to learn that the bean plot was something you planted and that it was in ground that was pasture immediately prior. I am attempting to do something similar this year and can't find much content on the subject. I am using old farm equipment like it seems you are and am attempting to create something between a poor-man's plot and a production field that is purely for hunting. I think there may be a good opportunity for content there. How can you create a small-ish 3-10 acre plot from scratch. Thoughts? Keep up the good work!
This is something I can dive into later, but for now, the key is to have something that you can use to get the seed into the ground without tillage. It is pretty easy to do with small seeds like clover and brassicas (turnips/radishes etc.), but not so easy with larger seeds like soybeans and corn. With the small seeds you can just spray to kill the plot in early to mid April and then burn it off in late April and broadcast the seed and fertilizer and lime (as needed) then. But that doesn't work with the larger seeds, they won't take as easily and soon the small animals (and deer) and the birds will have your seeds and the game is over. To plant the grains you need some kind of drill that you can make do as a no till drill. There are lots of no-till drills on the market, but they are expensive, even used ones. But if you go to a few auctions and buy an old school grain drill you can likely make it work as a no-till drill by piling some concrete blocks or even small logs on it to give it some down pressure. You will wear out the discs quickly that way, but you also will buy these things for next to nothing compared to a no-till drill. You wouldn't want to plant a commercial field with this setup, but it will work well enough for a food plot. In my case, I bought an old used 6 row no-till corn planter and used that for planting my beans. Have a great day.
That was a fun video! I love searching for next years spots right after the season. And I’ve wondered about sleeping in a culvert too. I always thought the raccoons would mess with me in the middle of the night.
Aaron, I do think you would have to plug the ends, maybe a grate across them that you can lift and crawl in. I might not need one on the downhill side since the tube sticks out so far, but I would definitely want one on the uphill side. Have a great day and thanks for the support.
You could but going out the back way would be a long trip back to the cabin, roughly a mile, and that is a lot of walking through the timber making noise and disturbance. There is no simple way to hunt most of these bluff country farms because there is very little road frontage and that means most of the hunting is well off the beaten path and you have to push through deer any time you do that.
Bill I ran into you at the ATA a few weeks ago, enjoyed our small conversation, you are a lot taller than I thought before meeting you. As always enjoy the content and look forward to many more, Ryan in Michigan
Hey Bill ... how much emphasis do you place on scent control (soaps, shampoos, gums, lozenges). I used to be a hawk with wind direction and scent awareness.
I used to do more when it was just me in the tree to the point where I never even touched my outerwear with my bare hands, only with clean gloves. But when there are two of us up there, it is almost impossible. So, I just pretty much forget about the scent elimination strategies and 100% play the wind. It is another reason I don't like having my hunts filmed.
Bill, is browse an anticipated problem on the acorn planted oaks? A hardwood seedling in my neck of the woods will be perpetually browsed, stunting growth and setting back any real establishment for years and years.
Yes, for sure. That is why I wanted to do it right away while the deer density here is still moderate. In time, there will be more deer here and the small oak seedlings will be browsed even harder. I did this a number of times in southern Iowa and the deer density was much higher there. It should take those oaks about six years, roughly, to get above the deer so they can't nip the top off any longer. On that farm in southern Iowa it took about 10 or 11 years. But eventually the small oaks made it past the deer. Good luck.
We put a camera in our ditch crossing this year and found our target buck walking the ditches instead of crossing. Slept in the blind this year and it didn’t pan out. That being said I am going to try it again this year. But sleeping ink a culvert, lol No Way.
Russ, that culvert will be cozy since it is basically underground. If you can keep the cold air from coming the ends it would be like a nice warm cave. Who doesn't want to sleep in one of those!
We will see. I would definitely do it without any second thought, but it would make more sense to just pull a blind up there and hunt from that to contain scent and then just sleep in the blind and be ready to hunt there again the next morning. Good luck.
Now big is your farm? 50 deer sounds like a very good concentration. Here in the east...30 deer per square mile (640 acres) is a very good concentration. Also...could you clear a trail on the border of your property to "get behind" deer in your fields...using electric vehicles? Just a thought. Might keep you from having to camp on the mountain...;)
We have 625 acres here and can hunt a couple of the neighboring farms. It is all about the same as far as topography, cover and deer density. You could definitely find ways back to the cabin without going past the fields, but in some cases that route would be very long and go up and down a couple of those steep bluffs. The way you need to exit is usually different from the way you need to enter and that is the real problem when it comes to pulling it off consistently. Sleeping in a blind or even a culvert, would be better than taking the long way back to the cabin. Good input. Have a great day.
The stinky brothers are having fun !:) It seems like over the years I’ve witnessed Deer using ditches (or dry Creek beds ) as emergency exit points(mostly when I’ve bumped them or they winded me.)
I have not seen them do that here. Many of the ditches here are really steep and narrow. They don't use them for travel, but if pressured, I can see where they would use them for escape routes. Good luck.
No, I think if it was warm she would be OK, so it might be a mid-to-late October thing. I do think if there was a blind there she would be more likely to sleep over. That culvert might have been too far toward the Jeremiah Johnson mountain man approach to suit a young lady.
@@bill-winke I keep buying as much land as I can. I'm at 150 acres, but Iam looking to add 80 this summer. Because of buying land, I don't have money to do all the things I want to do to it. So I will stop buying this year, and next year I will finally be able to get it set up
Agreed Ryan. In its day, I am sure that cabin was a cool spot. That Golden Retriever is very goofy. He definitely keeps us laughing. I think he is three years old now, but still acts like a pup. Have a great day.
I would have to block out the upper entry if is were to sleep in the metal tube just incase coons or bear happens to crawl in at night.. thanks for the info n just being out in the woods makes it enjoyable, love your show, contents..
That's the kind of spot I have.... You need to cross the entire farm and through 3 food plots to hunt the best location on my farm. So my plan is to make a blind that is 10' x 8' on a 5' platform. (replacing the 5x5 there now) Then Hunt 3 days locked in the blind. Drop off supplies a few days in advance with an atv, then hunt the best 3 days of weather, or opening weekend of gun season. Thinking if I clean the ATV well and put metal sides under the blind, and a tarp hanging at one end, I could park the ATV under the blind. to store a battery and propane tank, then just do a hookup of gas line, and battery clamps before heading up for a 3 day set. The bottom of the blind would also hold a bucket and cat litter for bathroom. As it sets now with a small box blind in that location you have about 3 hunts before the deer have your number and its over. So I would probably have about the same number of hunts, but those 3 hunts could be 9 days of hunting time.
That will work and it sounds like the Taj Mahal compared to what I am thinking for my farm! Actually, a simple Redneck Blind is very good for overnights. I have slept in them many times. If it gets cold, you have to have more insulation between you and the floor on any elevated blind because the floor stays cold all night. It doesn't warm up as you sleep on it like the ground does. A cot would be another great addition if it is cold out.
@@bill-winke The plan is bunk beds and full home style fiberglass insulation in walls roof and floor. My 10 year old daughter is thinking it would be fun so long as she can have a set of headphones, and an Ipad. But I have seen some plans with set up with camping hammock's and under quilts that look good also and save valuable floor space.
Jim, for some reason, this part of Iowa is overrun with wild apple trees. The previous owner of one part of this farm literally grubbed them out by the hundreds with a bulldozer just to keep them from overrunning his pasture. There are hundreds of apple trees here already, but we will plant a few this fall by just getting a few bushels of wild apples on the four wheeler and randomly digging holes and dropping them in. I think we will have 200 to 300 apple trees here once the openings recover from the cattle grazing. Otherwise, I definitely would plant some.
Great episode summarizing the benefits of ditches, I see where that can be a powerful access tool if the start point is favorable. If this whole bowhunting thing doesn't work out you could be a used car salesman with that pitch to get Jordan convinced the tube is sleepable! So entertaining
I am not sure how well my pitch worked. I think she was agreeable as long as it seemed that she was in a spy movie, but not sure how that would play about dark on a cold November day! That tube might be a Plan B and having a blind there to hunt from and sleep in might have to be Plan A. That was a funny segment though when she crawled in there.
@@bill-winke I can't say it enough, really enjoy what you guys have put together! I was thinking a redneck up at the mouth of that ditch could be very useful if you're able to get it up there and the stem count wasn't so high that it would make blind hunting difficult.
@@alexpinnow6509 That is the only downside of hunting from blinds in the timber - visibility and the chance to prepare for the shot before the deer is right there. Tree stands are much better for that. But a blind near that little water hole might be a killer setup.
Yes, I hope so too. I think she will, but time will tell. She is one of the main reasons I am even doing this again. I tried to just hunt the most obvious fringe stuff this past year but in the process I over-hunted some areas. I think we will fringe out and hunt some public land and some permission spots while resting this farm more in 2023. That way it can improve faster. Have a great day.
Hey bill. Do you ever watch grant woods from the ozarks. He has some grad management to build up the soul all no till. Growingdeertv on youtube. He just sold his place and bought a third size next to it to improve.
Yes, I know Grant very well. I have known Grant since about 1995 when I started interviewing him for the magazine articles I am writing. Grant is an expert on the programs he promotes. They are good for some situations but not all of what he promotes will fit into my approach. His system is very interesting and I have considered using some of those principles, but just getting it started is the hard part. I think once it is rolling it will work fine. Plus, I want to grow corn in many areas and that just doesn't fit into Grant's rotational program.
Agreed. Those things are really nice - already insulated and completely sealed. In the summer you could bring a generator and run the outlet so you could make coffee and watch TV in there! Very cool little setup for the price. Have a great day.
Ok Bill, the haunted shack needs a restoration and you and Jordan need to both harvest a big one from the old home stead. Give her a shine and make her a Cadillac blind! Stay the night, fire off some coffee and slip over to the window and hunt! This is a must for the property and the show! Heck I will drive and spent a weekend helping with demo and getting that roof in order! 23’ blind Bill, get it on the books!!!!😎😁💪🦌
Boy, that thing is well beyond repair. I found out recently, as I was trying to get some history on that building, that it was once an old church and that it was brought in there and set up on blocks by the previous owner. Not sure how many years ago. It served as the party shack according to my source. Now it is just a part shack for raccoons and probably mice and snakes. It is falling apart on every level and needs a match. Rebuilding a new one there would be an option, but there is no fixing this one. It is too far gone.
Love the Stinky Brothers!!
Those two are pretty funny. They definitely don't lack for personality.
Great content, really enjoying your channel.
Thanks Jacob. We appreciate the support.
Tube is sleepable, 100%. I enjoy watching you and your daughter get out together, explore, and hangout. The world needs more of it.
I agree with you on both counts: the tube being sleepable and the need for more family time. Have a great day.
Nice skylight effect in the whistle tent lol
Yes, a good natural skylight. Might not be very waterproof, but hey, you can't have everything.
Love Jordan’s adventuresome personality! Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for the comment Patrick. We are having fun doing this. Have a great day.
Bill this past shotgun season here in Illinois I had two deer go up a ridge that I sit next to.
Thanks for the input Nate. Have a great day.
Love the doggos. I love Golden Retrievers.
So, sneak up the ditch, set up in a tree at the top and hunt the ridge at the top of the ditch?
Yes, that is a very good formula. Usually, with the wind blowing from ridge toward the direction of the ditch. Thanks for the support.
So much educational content in this one Bill. As a newer hunter myself, talking through the thought processes with Jordan truly helps
Thanks for the comment and welcome to the great sport of bowhunting. You will never get it out of your system once you start, which I am sure you know by now!
I will continue to watch even if the view goes down.
Thanks Mai. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
I love how you are educating your daughter. My Dad my best friend hunting partner passed away just before deer season Nov 22. I missed him so much during the hunting season but I got my 2 biggest deer ever, because of the knowledge that he passed onto me.
I'm sorry for your loss Brenda. Congratulations on the deer I'm sure your dad was looking over your shoulder.
I am sorry for your loss too. It is great that you are continuing his legacy.
Thanks Bill and Jordan for taking us along for the ride throughout different parts of the farm. My opinion, that shed needs bulldozed and a new shed 10’ off the ground in its place. Thanks for the educating pointers on hunting the top side of the property.
I can definitely agree that it needs to be bulldozed and I think having another cabin there would be cool. I just don't know if I want to spend the money right now to rebuild it when I can just wheel a Redneck Blind in there on a trailer and be set up immediately. Thanks for the input and have a great day.
Great stuff kids. Love it. 👊🏻🦌
I have not been called a kid for a long time. You must be about 90 years old to think I am a kid! Thanks for the support and the comment. I really appreciate it.
@@bill-winke lol. About your age I think Bill. It’s your enthusiasm and sense of adventure that the “Kid” reference applies to. 👊🏻🦌
I learn something every time I watch you Bill. I look forward to sharing similar times with my daughters. Those times together are priceless.
Thanks and you are right about that. Time spent with good friends and family is priceless. Have a great day.
I have always enjoyed your shows, especially when you were a part of Chasing November. But this season with a new farm, new format and having your daughter with you learning…. It has become my favorite. I am always learning, but you guys bring things to the next level. Keep up the great videos and I look forward to your off season. Thanks and God bless.
Thanks VaRedDirt. We really appreciate your support and the comment. Have a great day.
Wouldn’t take much to reroof the haunted shack make nice little camp
Agreed, but the whole thing is sitting precariously on blocks. I think I would have to make a new foundation under it before doing much else, and that means probably a new floor and that would lead to new walls, etc.
All fun and games sleeping in that culvert until a skunk decides he want to as well!! 🤣🤣
Yes, or even a raccoon. Not sure I would enjoy either of them at 1:00 AM.
Great to see you and your daughter enjoying the facets of scouting directly after the season! Keep up the good work
Thanks Allen. I appreciate it. I hope you have a great day.
@@bill-winke You too Sir be blessed👍
My viewership wont drop off! Love the Winkie's!
Thanks. We definitely appreciate it. Have a great day.
Great series and advice Bill.
Thanks Mitchell. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
The older I get i enjoy scouting and putting the puzzle pieces together almost more then the hunt/kill itself. Ditches are a great funnel, and the tops are for sure the places where most deer cross. However I have noticed a pattern of mature bucks using crossing points a little lower then main top crossing especially if the top one is more open. More so on pressured public but even the private farm we hunt. I like to walk up those cuts and mark crossing points and look for the biggest tracks. like you say though the wind can be schetchy down the ridge, and maybe that why mature bucks use them as a scent advantage. Great content as always Bill!
That is a good point Matt. I have always gravitated to the top one because that is the only one I feel that I can hunt with a consistent wind. I have also hunted those with the wind blowing up the slope and then I set up on the uphill side and approach through what is normally a field above. That is OK, but then if you are going to leave the same way, you are bumping deer all the way out. Some creative thinking related to exit would help there, like a way to move the deer off more naturally so you can sneak out across the field. Good luck.
Jordan has come so far over this winter. She has really came out of her shell and is doing a great job.
Agreed. I think she enjoys this process of learning. She is very smart and once she grasps something all the pieces fall into place. That is why the post season scouting is so good for her - the perfect way to learn what deer do and how to hunt them.
My wife and I have been the parents of a total of 6 Golden Retrievers over the years, and we have found them all to be nut jobs at some point in their lives, but we loved them all.
They are definitely goofy. This one loves the outdoors. He lays on the ice, even sleeps on the ice. The colder the better. It is pretty amazing. He can't get enough attention from people either. You are right though, they are very lovable.
My daughters are only 3 and 1.5...but I hope this is me some day.
I hope so too Matthew. Thanks for the support.
Useful and entertaining! Keep ‘em comin’!
Thanks Drew. I appreciate it.
One of my favorite things to do scout the woods.
I love it too. I love just being on the land. I guess hunting is just an excuse to see what is around the next bend.
Really great video. I love watching you two. It is helping me reevaluate my hunting lease property.
Thanks for the comment Ed. I appreciate it. Have a great day.
Where do you get your acorns from
Dave, I bought them from a seed/acorn collector here in Iowa. I started with the list of private foresters I found on the Iowa DNR website and then started calling them until I found someone who knew someone who collected and sold acorns. There are at least two in Iowa, but probably a lot more that I have not found yet. Good luck.
Have to admit I have a love-hate relationship with ditches. I have always found the best places to hunt intersect at a ditch but the winds almost NEVER cooperate. Heck, even when I abandon the ditch and go up the hill I still have frustrating winds. As if hunting big bucks isn’t hard enough, right? All a learning experience. I now keep detailed notes on wind direction and speed on my OnX maps. invaluable app...Will you be posting TSI vids on those ridges over winter and before Spring green up Bill? Interested to see how you would strategically do your cuts to move deer and create bedding. Thanks for another great and humorous video!
Thanks for watching Steven. Yes, that is what I am doing right now. I am at the farm getting ready to meet with a biologist related to cost share to create "ruffed grouse habitat". I love ruffed grouse and grew up hunting them, but they are in big decline here in NE Iowa compared to my boyhood. The good news is that ruffed grouse habitat is the same (more or less) as whitetail habitat so the two programs intersect very nicely. I am not very focused on moving deer. That is just my preference. I love to create the best habitat possible for them and then just hunt them on their terms. That gives me the most satisfaction. I know a lot of people who drop trees strategically to created trails, etc. I just drop them where I know there needs to be thicker cover and let the deer decide how they will use it and then I react to that. So, that is what I will be doing. I am going to create a new series related entirely to land management. Look for that in the next few weeks. As relates to ditches, I have had my best success hunting the very top with the wind blowing my scent back over the ditch.
That is not always foolproof, but works more often than any other method. Also, blinds are a possible solution in those killer spots with bad winds. Have a great day.
Love the series Bill and Jordan!
Thanks Lonnie. Much appreciated.
Good advice and love ur dogs.
Thanks David. Much appreciated. The dogs are a laugh.
A buffer of milo with a fall mix interior would also be a good food source. Could use the milo as a screen. Deer hammer milo late September-Early October before the first white oaks begin dropping. They will still feed on the heads late season... and on warmer days the interior fall mix would have greens.
That is a good plan Usernamehere. I appreciate the suggestion.
I've always thought it would be super cool to have a tunnel system that goes under a food plot to avoid spooking deer. Would be perfect for your water hole spot lol
Yea, now you are talking. Once you get it laid out let us know how it worked! You are right though, bulletproof access is the name of the game. Good luck.
Great information again but getting to enjoy an episode with you and Jordan and the dogs just makes all fathers watching smile and appreciate even their own relationship with their kids. Thanks Bill and Jordan. The haunted shack with a little love looks like a great place to sleep 👻
Shane, the haunted shack will take more than a little love - unless you consider love a lit match! Have a great day.
@@bill-winke yeah you'd have to have a hazmat suit,respirator and that's alittle too much i.m.o . Match seems appropriate though😏. Thanks for the laughs!
🔥😂
How old you to that bill always dream big when I get to 12 pointer
Good luck John. I hope you get him this season!
The scouting piece is probably my favorite part of chasing white tails. This video was awesome for a Dad to see you and Jordan enjoying the woods and having fun. Thanks for the story and not editing out out the “real stuff”! Look forward to more Bill! Thanks!!!
Thanks for the support Wes. I really appreciate it. Have a great day.
One of my fav aspects of all shows, esp yours, is the off season and what is needed to prepare. I can't wait for March / April to do TSI and revise plots. There is so much that can be learned during this time
Agreed. I definitely enjoy the management part (the connection with the land) more than the hunting now. I still love to hunt, but I love the land even more. Good luck.
Ha ha haha 😄, that haunted shed is just too 5 stars of an accommodation. I think the better choice is to put a grate over the farside of the culvert & put a groundblind on 4 foot stilts uphill of the other end of the culvert. As long as the blind isn't in the thermal hub u will be fine.
I once built a shed about 10 feet up in a big redoak that forked. However, I did it postseason cuz this was former cattle pasture, woods & fields & the best way was to bring in the supplies on a sled on top of 2 feet of snow. I was able to bring the floor & walls up on a pulley system. Never got to sleep in it once. That summer a lightning strike struck the 🌳. Within the next year another storm brought it down. The idea was right. Human intrusion & leaving @ night & returning in the morning are 2 things that wreck most hunts b4 they start. Can't wait for my one month reset where I take my one month off of deer to get projects done b4 my post season scouting starts. We have far too much snow to do anything now in MN. I'm setting up an old custom recurve with new limbs & arrows now. The traditional legend Mr. Asbell made the bow & he passed earlier this month. Sure am looking forward to a better 2023. Keep upgrading your new spots which I'm sure are awesome to walk for the 1st time. Will catch u later on some of your future upgrades. Take care.
Joseph, that shack is a negative five stars! You are definitely right about that tube. We would have to do something to prevent unwanted "visitors" during the night. Thanks for the great input. Have a great day.
I think I would burn the haunted shack...
Agreed. That one needs a match!
This is great information and I have a new property to hunt that has plenty of ditches. I needed this. Thank you. And well done have such a great relationship with your daughter.
Thanks for the support. We appreciate it. Have a great day.
The haunted shack needs to be converted into a hunting blind. Sounds like a Winke edition Redneck Blind!!
That would take a lot of work, but it would be really cool when it was done. Unfortunately, where it sits now it would be too far from most of the bigger trails and main feeding areas to bowhunt from, but it would be an awesome gun blind. Thanks for the input and thanks for watching. Have a great day.
Wonder how warm that tube would get if u blocked the ends off and had your Lil LP heater, and clean that shack up that's a keeper no matter what lol
That shack is in really sad shape. Roof falling in, floor boards rotten. No telling how many coon have lived in there! I bet you could make that tube too hot to stay in with a heater. I bet even without a heater if you blocked the ends it would be 50 degrees in there even in November.
Get it done sir, another level
Got a couple 4 legged hams with ya! Lol too funny
Those two are really funny. Have a great day.
@@bill-winke 🤣
Excellent content as always, Bill. I love the new format that brings a very personal element to the show. You mentioned slowing down on videos and your reasoning is sound. You did a great job last season showing some of the habitat improvements you have done and I was surprised to learn that the bean plot was something you planted and that it was in ground that was pasture immediately prior. I am attempting to do something similar this year and can't find much content on the subject. I am using old farm equipment like it seems you are and am attempting to create something between a poor-man's plot and a production field that is purely for hunting. I think there may be a good opportunity for content there. How can you create a small-ish 3-10 acre plot from scratch. Thoughts? Keep up the good work!
This is something I can dive into later, but for now, the key is to have something that you can use to get the seed into the ground without tillage. It is pretty easy to do with small seeds like clover and brassicas (turnips/radishes etc.), but not so easy with larger seeds like soybeans and corn. With the small seeds you can just spray to kill the plot in early to mid April and then burn it off in late April and broadcast the seed and fertilizer and lime (as needed) then. But that doesn't work with the larger seeds, they won't take as easily and soon the small animals (and deer) and the birds will have your seeds and the game is over. To plant the grains you need some kind of drill that you can make do as a no till drill. There are lots of no-till drills on the market, but they are expensive, even used ones. But if you go to a few auctions and buy an old school grain drill you can likely make it work as a no-till drill by piling some concrete blocks or even small logs on it to give it some down pressure. You will wear out the discs quickly that way, but you also will buy these things for next to nothing compared to a no-till drill. You wouldn't want to plant a commercial field with this setup, but it will work well enough for a food plot. In my case, I bought an old used 6 row no-till corn planter and used that for planting my beans. Have a great day.
That was a fun video! I love searching for next years spots right after the season. And I’ve wondered about sleeping in a culvert too. I always thought the raccoons would mess with me in the middle of the night.
Aaron, I do think you would have to plug the ends, maybe a grate across them that you can lift and crawl in. I might not need one on the downhill side since the tube sticks out so far, but I would definitely want one on the uphill side. Have a great day and thanks for the support.
i don't blame her i not much for sleeping out either !! thank you for all the work
Yes, Nelson, that was a tough sell. Thanks for the comment. Have a great day.
Enjoying the shows , don’t slow up , keep em coming !!!
I d be happy to help u clear in exchange for that cedar wood don't just burn ot please
Let's do it Dean. Where are you located? Dropping them really isn't the hardest part. Getting them out is the real snag, literally and figuratively.
@@bill-winke hey Bill I live in northern IL poplar Grove. Next Thursday I have a 7 day stretch off of work.
That cedar would make great paneling for your new addition in the shop
Could you hunt the evening and follow the ridges out beyond the food plots before dropping down to the valley?
You could but going out the back way would be a long trip back to the cabin, roughly a mile, and that is a lot of walking through the timber making noise and disturbance. There is no simple way to hunt most of these bluff country farms because there is very little road frontage and that means most of the hunting is well off the beaten path and you have to push through deer any time you do that.
Bill I ran into you at the ATA a few weeks ago, enjoyed our small conversation, you are a lot taller than I thought before meeting you. As always enjoy the content and look forward to many more, Ryan in Michigan
Thanks Ryan. It was a pleasure. I appreciate the meeting and the note here. Have a great day.
Hey Bill ... how much emphasis do you place on scent control (soaps, shampoos, gums, lozenges). I used to be a hawk with wind direction and scent awareness.
I used to do more when it was just me in the tree to the point where I never even touched my outerwear with my bare hands, only with clean gloves. But when there are two of us up there, it is almost impossible. So, I just pretty much forget about the scent elimination strategies and 100% play the wind. It is another reason I don't like having my hunts filmed.
Bill, is browse an anticipated problem on the acorn planted oaks? A hardwood seedling in my neck of the woods will be perpetually browsed, stunting growth and setting back any real establishment for years and years.
Yes, for sure. That is why I wanted to do it right away while the deer density here is still moderate. In time, there will be more deer here and the small oak seedlings will be browsed even harder. I did this a number of times in southern Iowa and the deer density was much higher there. It should take those oaks about six years, roughly, to get above the deer so they can't nip the top off any longer. On that farm in southern Iowa it took about 10 or 11 years. But eventually the small oaks made it past the deer. Good luck.
Keep them coming , funny falls , dogs , crazy camp ideas , maybe a blooper reel lol
Don, everything we do is a blooper reel! Have a great day.
We put a camera in our ditch crossing this year and found our target buck walking the ditches instead of crossing. Slept in the blind this year and it didn’t pan out. That being said I am going to try it again this year. But sleeping ink a culvert, lol No Way.
Russ, that culvert will be cozy since it is basically underground. If you can keep the cold air from coming the ends it would be like a nice warm cave. Who doesn't want to sleep in one of those!
That’s dedication if you sleep in that
We will see. I would definitely do it without any second thought, but it would make more sense to just pull a blind up there and hunt from that to contain scent and then just sleep in the blind and be ready to hunt there again the next morning. Good luck.
Sounds like Bills about to start doing some bushcraft 😂
I need to watch those TH-cam videos where those guys are making all kinds of underground shelters. Have a great day.
Anyone finding any sheds yet ?? Nothing in North Illinois yet for me...
I have not started looking yet. Normally, I don't get too fired up until around mid-February.
Now big is your farm? 50 deer sounds like a very good concentration. Here in the east...30 deer per square mile (640 acres) is a very good concentration. Also...could you clear a trail on the border of your property to "get behind" deer in your fields...using electric vehicles? Just a thought. Might keep you from having to camp on the mountain...;)
We have 625 acres here and can hunt a couple of the neighboring farms. It is all about the same as far as topography, cover and deer density. You could definitely find ways back to the cabin without going past the fields, but in some cases that route would be very long and go up and down a couple of those steep bluffs. The way you need to exit is usually different from the way you need to enter and that is the real problem when it comes to pulling it off consistently. Sleeping in a blind or even a culvert, would be better than taking the long way back to the cabin. Good input. Have a great day.
The stinky brothers are having fun !:)
It seems like over the years I’ve witnessed Deer using ditches (or dry Creek beds ) as emergency exit points(mostly when I’ve bumped them or they winded me.)
I have not seen them do that here. Many of the ditches here are really steep and narrow. They don't use them for travel, but if pressured, I can see where they would use them for escape routes. Good luck.
Snoring might be an issue in that tube!
It would echo through the hills!
Jordan not liking the camping overnight idea too much. Lol
No, I think if it was warm she would be OK, so it might be a mid-to-late October thing. I do think if there was a blind there she would be more likely to sleep over. That culvert might have been too far toward the Jeremiah Johnson mountain man approach to suit a young lady.
Do you hunt and own the whole 625 acres?
Great episode thanks for the valuable info
Thanks Hunter. We own part of it with my sister and her husband. We couldn't swing the whole thing.
@@bill-winke I keep buying as much land as I can. I'm at 150 acres, but Iam looking to add 80 this summer. Because of buying land, I don't have money to do all the things I want to do to it. So I will stop buying this year, and next year I will finally be able to get it set up
It’s a shame that shack wasn’t kept up! What a cool little spot to spend time.
Your long haired dog acts like a pup! 🤣
Agreed Ryan. In its day, I am sure that cabin was a cool spot. That Golden Retriever is very goofy. He definitely keeps us laughing. I think he is three years old now, but still acts like a pup. Have a great day.
I would have to block out the upper entry if is were to sleep in the metal tube just incase coons or bear happens to crawl in at night.. thanks for the info n just being out in the woods makes it enjoyable, love your show, contents..
Thanks Aim True, no bears here, but I definitely would not want a coon walking across me at 2:00 AM. Have a great day.
That's the kind of spot I have.... You need to cross the entire farm and through 3 food plots to hunt the best location on my farm. So my plan is to make a blind that is 10' x 8' on a 5' platform. (replacing the 5x5 there now) Then Hunt 3 days locked in the blind. Drop off supplies a few days in advance with an atv, then hunt the best 3 days of weather, or opening weekend of gun season. Thinking if I clean the ATV well and put metal sides under the blind, and a tarp hanging at one end, I could park the ATV under the blind. to store a battery and propane tank, then just do a hookup of gas line, and battery clamps before heading up for a 3 day set. The bottom of the blind would also hold a bucket and cat litter for bathroom. As it sets now with a small box blind in that location you have about 3 hunts before the deer have your number and its over. So I would probably have about the same number of hunts, but those 3 hunts could be 9 days of hunting time.
That will work and it sounds like the Taj Mahal compared to what I am thinking for my farm! Actually, a simple Redneck Blind is very good for overnights. I have slept in them many times. If it gets cold, you have to have more insulation between you and the floor on any elevated blind because the floor stays cold all night. It doesn't warm up as you sleep on it like the ground does. A cot would be another great addition if it is cold out.
@@bill-winke
The plan is bunk beds and full home style fiberglass insulation in walls roof and floor.
My 10 year old daughter is thinking it would be fun so long as she can have a set of headphones, and an Ipad. But I have seen some plans with set up with camping hammock's and under quilts that look good also and save valuable floor space.
I find this very helpful. Please spend some more time explaining bedding and and entrance/exit trails when you have time.
Will do. Thanks Takur. Have a great day.
are you doing some fruit trees?
Jim, for some reason, this part of Iowa is overrun with wild apple trees. The previous owner of one part of this farm literally grubbed them out by the hundreds with a bulldozer just to keep them from overrunning his pasture. There are hundreds of apple trees here already, but we will plant a few this fall by just getting a few bushels of wild apples on the four wheeler and randomly digging holes and dropping them in. I think we will have 200 to 300 apple trees here once the openings recover from the cattle grazing. Otherwise, I definitely would plant some.
@@bill-winke very cool!
How many acres is the farm?
625 acres.
Great episode summarizing the benefits of ditches, I see where that can be a powerful access tool if the start point is favorable. If this whole bowhunting thing doesn't work out you could be a used car salesman with that pitch to get Jordan convinced the tube is sleepable! So entertaining
I am not sure how well my pitch worked. I think she was agreeable as long as it seemed that she was in a spy movie, but not sure how that would play about dark on a cold November day! That tube might be a Plan B and having a blind there to hunt from and sleep in might have to be Plan A. That was a funny segment though when she crawled in there.
@@bill-winke I can't say it enough, really enjoy what you guys have put together! I was thinking a redneck up at the mouth of that ditch could be very useful if you're able to get it up there and the stem count wasn't so high that it would make blind hunting difficult.
@@alexpinnow6509 That is the only downside of hunting from blinds in the timber - visibility and the chance to prepare for the shot before the deer is right there. Tree stands are much better for that. But a blind near that little water hole might be a killer setup.
@@bill-winke it sure stands a good chance especially with you pulling the strings behind the setup. Have a great weekend Bill!
Good stuff. I hope Jordan will hang around for the next season. You had some serious self control not walk all over that farm after you bought it.
Yes, I hope so too. I think she will, but time will tell. She is one of the main reasons I am even doing this again. I tried to just hunt the most obvious fringe stuff this past year but in the process I over-hunted some areas. I think we will fringe out and hunt some public land and some permission spots while resting this farm more in 2023. That way it can improve faster. Have a great day.
Hey bill. Do you ever watch grant woods from the ozarks. He has some grad management to build up the soul all no till. Growingdeertv on youtube. He just sold his place and bought a third size next to it to improve.
Yes, I know Grant very well. I have known Grant since about 1995 when I started interviewing him for the magazine articles I am writing. Grant is an expert on the programs he promotes. They are good for some situations but not all of what he promotes will fit into my approach. His system is very interesting and I have considered using some of those principles, but just getting it started is the hard part. I think once it is rolling it will work fine. Plus, I want to grow corn in many areas and that just doesn't fit into Grant's rotational program.
One of those Redneck cabins would workout real good back there.
Agreed. Those things are really nice - already insulated and completely sealed. In the summer you could bring a generator and run the outlet so you could make coffee and watch TV in there! Very cool little setup for the price. Have a great day.