National Hunting Blind Set-Up Day
If that’s not an official holiday, it oughta’ be!
Well! This is it! Saturday is October 1st. The time of year every hunter has been waiting for. In New York State, October ushers in the opening of bow season, fall turkey and duck hunting, as well as most small game seasons.
As every seasoned hunter well knows, proper hunting blind set-up is not really accomplished in a day. It’s a year-round commitment of planning, preparation, dedication, attention to detail, hard work and passion.
I spend my entire summer planning and preparing for my fall hunt.
Hand sculpting new ponds
Planting clover
Strategically planting wildlife friendly trees
Putting in wildlife food plots.
From clover (everybody loves clover too!)
to crabapples,
I try to provide a variety of wildlife food sources.
Hickory & black walnuts, I’m even trying to grow chestnuts & hazelnuts!
Wild Grapes, black currants, bush cranberries
This year I added soybeans to the mix!
All to provide varied wildlife friendly food sources for the years, like this year, when the acorn crop won’t be quite so abundant.
Doing some planning with my son RJ, then strategically deploying our array of game cameras.
All done to support and enhance our carefully chosen ground blind hunting locations
All of my ground blinds are in carefully pre- selected & prepared spots.
For Tri-Ponds I hauled in 20 wheelbarrow loads of crushed stone for elevation & drainage,
topped with ten bags of mulch for camouflage & stealth.
All to support a properly oriented hunting blind set up on pre-prepared shooting lanes overlooking my array of ponds, clover & food plots.
“Tri Ponds”
What they see:
What I see:
“Outpost”
What they see:
What I see:
In addition to my two all-weather ground blinds,
I also set up two “old school” ground blinds using brush.
“Middle” Ground Blind
What they see:
What I see:
“Oak 2”
Old School Ground Blind
What they see:
What I see:
In addition to my two all-weather ground blind and two old school ground blind options, I have 8 tree stands and an elevated all-weather hut. All carefully hand crafted and installed. I built the tree stands with inclined ladders, so that I can safely climb in and out of them as my legs get older.
“Oak 2”
Tree Stand
What they see:
What I see:
“Oak 1 Tree Stand/Hut”
What they see:
What I see:
So, there you have it. Four Ground blinds, eight hand crafted tree stands, and one elevated hut. Thirteen hunting blind options, all supported by carefully planned and created trails, ponds & food plots. A lifetime of effort!
Each blind offers its own unique hunt. I choose each hunt’s spot based on a variety of factors; wind, weather, sun, time of day, what the game cameras have showed us, my moods & hunches, and the prey I am after.
All in the hopes that at some point during the season’s legal shooting hours, someone like this guy shows up!
I think all that time, planning and effort deserves its own holiday! Don’t you?
**********
Until Our trails Cross Again:
Good Luck this Hunting Season!
Be safe out there!
ADKO
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About The Author
rdmonroe5
Lifelong NYS resident. Raised in Saranac Lake. Cornell graduate(ROTC). Army veteran, Airborne/Ranger qualified, 10th Mtn Div, stints in Honduras and with JTF VI. 3rd degree Black Belt; 3x cancer survivor; published writer with several featured stories in Adirondack Life Magazine. Residing in Watertown NY with wife Robin & our 3 adult children. Loving Life. Living in the Day I am in.