Florida Bow Hunting Report 2012 #1

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Sept. 15, 2012
Major Feed Time: 10:40 AM
Wind Direction: NE (light while hunting)
Time Hunted:  AM:   7:00-9:00       PM: 6:15-7:45
Weather: Partly cloudy, warm, somewhat humid
Humidity:   69-85%
Temp.:       75-84
Barometer: 30.1
Moon phase: New Moon

This was the opening weekend of the Florida 2012 Bow season.

I decided to hunt my favorite stand the first weekend, the "Kill Zone". However, the deer activity was non existent. The only animal activity was a few woodpeckers in the morning.

That afternoon was not much better but I did hear what I believe was a deer pushing thru a palmetto flat behind the stand. However, it never made an appearance. I did not see any critters with fur today.

I did pull the trail camera card there and it had 4 different bucks on it for the past week as well as a number of does and yearlings. However, there was not one daylight picture of a deer?

Sept. 16, 2012

Major Feed Time:
Wind Direction: NNE
Time Hunted: AM: 6:15-8:45 PM: 6:30-7:45 (AT POND)
Weather: Mostly Clear, warm
Humidity:  63-94%
Temp.:       73-86
Barometer: 30.05 steady
Moon phase: New Moon today

I hunted the Kill Zone stand in the morning and again, saw no deer activity. I finally decided to get down a little earlier than I should have but I was just not having the feeling that anything was going to happen.

I pulled the cam cards at the west fence and there had not been a deer there in a week?

When I got to the feeder at the buck block stand a bear had raided it and tore it down. There was bear scat everywhere and the deer sign had vaporized. there were some does and yearlings on the camera but no bucks?

That afternoon I hunted the property but did not see any deer activity there either.

This was one S L O W....weekend!

Larry S.

Barronett Blinds: Grounder 250 Hunting Blind Review

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After turkey season was over and I was all done with my filming I decided it was time for a new blind to hunt and film from. After a lot of research and consideration I settled on a Barronett Blinds-Grounder 250 blind. It is a 5 hub design and the setup and take down is as fast as it gets. You can set the blind up in a matter of a few seconds.

Once the blind arrived and I was trying it out, I realized the window sills were right about arrow hgt. for me when I was in a kneeling position. I am only 5'6" so for a taller guy this might not have a problem with this.

Compared to the coil up blind I was using this 5 hub design is much simpler to set up. You just pull on the tag at the center of each panel until it pops out into place. Pop the roof up and your done!

The blind has one large window on each side with a center vertical zipper that will allow you to just open the left or right half of each window.

One of the major pluses of this blind is its light weight! At 14lbs. it is one of the lightest full size 5 hub blinds you can get. That is important when you consider all the other gear you will also be lugging in.

The blind has tons of room and measures 59" square by 67" tall!

I was impressed with the construction and compares to other blinds that cost much more.

If you want more information on this blinds or are looking to purchase one, just click on the Amazon link below.




Thanks and good luck this season,
Larry S.

Bucks Gone Wild!

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Apparently, deer do some pretty wild things when they think no one is looking!

I pulled this embarrassing photograph off my covertly located trail camera last night. This spike buck, obviously believing he was all alone and while under the cover of darkness was caught having a private moment in the early morning hours.

The rut has just gotten started here but it looks like this buck is already feeling some frustration.

What a party animal!

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American Hunter Bucket Feeder Review

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I recently purchased another hunting product and wanted to share what I know about it with everyone.

I am based in Florida and we are allowed to have feeding stations for deer as long as they are established 6 months in advance.

I prefer to broadcast feed by hand but if there are a lot of deer using the site, they can eat a 50 lb sack of corn in two nights! The other draw back is having to go in so often and leave scent around the area.

I really am not a big fan of feeders and hate the sound of one going off right at daylight when noise travels so well through the woods.

With the price of corn so high and expected to go higher it is more practical to use a feeder to sling out just a little at a time rather than feed "free choice".

This put me on a mission looking for an inexpensive feeder I could throw up and not have a pile of money tied up in it.What I found that seemed to fit the bill was an American Hunter Bucket Feeder that uses a 5 gal. bucket for a hopper and a feeder motor underneath with an abs plastic housing. Like most feeders it runs off of a 6 volt, spring type battery.

I think the best thing about it is the price! For less than $30 bucks you've got a feeder that will keep the deer fed up for you when you can't be there. It will save me a pile of money just in gas.

I think this thing will suit my purposes just fine but I will have to come back and up date the post after it has been in operation for a little while.

Good Luck,
Larry S.

Alps Outdoors - Rhino Hunting Chair Review

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After turkey season was over and I was all done with my filming I decided it was time for a new and better blind to hunt and film from. I decided on a Barronett Blinds-Grounder 250 blind. It is a 5 hub design and the setup and take down is as fast as it gets. You can set the blind up in a matter of a few seconds.

Once the blind arrived and I was trying it out, I realized the window sills were right about arrow hgt. for me when I was kneeling. I am only 5'6" so for a taller guy this might not be an issue.

Of course, if you are going to sit in a blind for any amount of time and be comfortable, you need a chair or stool of some sort. That started me looking for a light weight chair with a back support that would solve all these issues.

I settled on the "Alps Outdoors - Rhino Stool". I guess they refer to it as a stool as it only has 3 legs but I would call it a chair. It only weighs 5lbs. and comes with a lifetime guarantee.

The only minor issue I have about the chair is that the back is pretty straight up. I needed to keep the weight down as the blind is 14lbs it self so a larger more comfortable chair was not really an option and it is certainly way more comfortable than a backless stool!

Other than that, it seems well built, gets my arrow above the bottom of the window opening of the blind and provides a reasonably comfortable seat without excess weight to pack in.

I f you are looking for a hunting chair I would definitely recommend it and here is a link where you can get more information or order one for yourself;

Best of hunts,
Larry S.