Treestands and Girlfriends at Camp

This past weekend was a busy one for our camp. Originally, this was supposed to be a simple trip with Moose coming down on Saturday to help me set a few deer stands. Angus then decided to help out. By the time it all netted out, Moose’s and Angus’ new girlfriends decided to show up, and then some of Moose’s friends from high school came down for some shooting. It was quite the scene. It all culminated in a massive steak dinner and a campfire out back under a full moon.

Amid all this, we did get quite a bit of work accomplished. I had a couple buddy stands that I’d refurbished. The first went to Blackberry Patch to replace a rusting stand that had been out there for several years. On Sunday, we got the second stand placed at The Hundred Acre Wood. Blackberry Patch is a hunting venue that was first used back in 2002, in Mooseboy’s first Yute Hunt. I detailed this in the previous post. It is an island out in the middle of the western pasture. The first year Angus hunted as an adult, he was still a bit leary of treestands, so I set out one at Blackberry with only two sections of ladder. He has hunted out of it ever since, and taken several large bucks from it.

As far as deer hunting goes, Hundred Acre Wood is a new venue for us. However,its history goes all the way back to the origins of our camp. This was the nearest bit of woods close to the house, and it was the first place I took my sons squirrel hunting. It is actually less than 5 acres in total, but the kids thought it must be gigantic, hence the name. There are numerous old white and red oaks, and the deer regularly use it in the fall. It has taken me 18 years to finally figure out the best place for a treestand. The big old oak is right on the fence line, just behind the pond. It commands a good view going down the hill to the creek. Diagonally it has a good view of the whole open area at the top of the ravine under the canopy of oak.

I stole an idea from an item in Sportsman’s Guide. They had a contraption that cost close to $60 that used a boat winch to pull treestands into place. For $20, I got a boat winch on Ebay with a 25 foot strap and mounted it to scrap wood. When placed at shoulder height, it neatly lifts a 80lb+ buddy treestand into place without a whole lot of fuss. It still ends up being a 2-man job, but it requires far less heavy lifting and it is as safe as any method I’ve tried.

Moose’s new squeeze helped with the treestand erections. She really likes it at deer camp, and she fits in quite well. Angus’s friend was able to get in on some of the hiking and the feast on Saturday night. However, prior commitments had her only showing up for a short time on Saturday and leaving Saturday night. My guess is we’ll see her again. Both women seemed to enjoy themselves.

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