We received some feedback on the last post with the aerial and topo photos and were pointed to two areas. I marked the aerial photos with red dots for stands that are pretty much guaranteed and aqua dots for a possible stands. Of course, nothing is set in stone until they are scouted from the ground and the miles are put on the boots, but they appear pretty promising.
Given the fact that Oklahoma has had 37 of the last 45 days over 100 degrees, getting out to scout has been tough. We scouted two weeks ago starting at 6am and by 9am, we were soaked in sweat. The things we are willing to go through for scouting...As soon as I can get some time away, we will be scouting the area with both video and pictures to provide y'all with feedback as to what the spots you chose look like and we'll continue to work with you guys in the placement of the stands and execution of the hunts.
I was sitting at home last night thinking about how to get our readers and followers more involved. That's when it dawned on me, why not post aerial photos and topographic maps of a location that we've been considering hunting, and have y'all choose our stand locations, entry points, etc. and tell us why you would choose that spot? We want your feedback and to involve you in our hunts and adventures. I have scaled down some of the aerial photos so as not to disclose the location as we do hunt public land.
First, let's start with the topo map. The horizontal line is the property line between the public and private land. The blue lines are creeks that have 15-25 foot banks that are straight up with no crossing points that we've seen. Spend some time looking at the topo prior to moving to the aerial so as not to taint your viewpoint on the area with anything other than the topo data.
These are the aerial photos. Now we have several spots that we like, but again, we don't want to taint your view. I want y'all's first opinions.The first is a zoomed out view with the 2nd through 4th going from left to right of the zoomed out view.
We will post a follow up blog with the locations that we had picked prior to our reader's input as well as the locations that y'all picked. Also, if it's easier for you, feel free to save the map/photo, add your own markers, then email it to us (makeithappenoutdoors@gmail.com) and we can compile the responses that we get then post the results.
Over the last couple of weeks, we've been busy getting things ready for the hunting seasons right around the corner. I recently picked up a dozen GoldTip Hunter Expedition 5575 arrows at Oklahoma Archery. I enjoy using Oklahoma Archery due to their small size and expertise. They're a great help, just know that if you go within a month of bow season starting, you can't expect them to chit-chat with you all day, as they get swamped with business.
I also purchased a new sight. My old one had all of an inch of fiber optic for each pin and was not very friendly to make small adjustments on, plus, the pins disappeared at prime shooting time. After looking for a few months, I settled on the TruGlo Carbon XS sight. What attracted me to it is the fact that it has .19 pins which assist with better accuracy and do not cover the target so much at greater distances. It has roughly 6-7 inches of fiber optic cable per pin as well as a screw-in UV light that illuminates the pins like the noon sun. My groups have gotten significantly tighter since adding the sight and it also allows me to shoot at dusk when it's cool outside but low-light conditions. I highly recommend the sight to anyone looking to upgrade. In fact, my brother-in-law just added one to his new bow this year.
A video camera was acquired by myself as Matt already has one, but we did not want to stick ourselves to having to hunt together all the time in order to get footage. While figuring it out, I also used my digital camera and filmed a quick bow shoot that I had at dusk one night last week. Here's how it turned out.
I was pretty happy with the results. The camera does lack some low-light functionality which may come back to bite me during the season, but you do what you can when you can afford it. Let me know your thoughts on the video.
Matt and I also got out and did some scouting on Sunday at 6am trying to beat the ridiculous heatwave we've been under. We finished at 9am, and were already dripping sweat. We only saw 1 doe and a fawn, but were just looking at a new location for possible stand placements. We found a few areas of interest including a cedar tree on a small hill with a roughly 60 yard in diameter over grown field that butts up to a fence line providing somewhat of a funnel. We did locate a decent scrape from last year as well. Here's a quick video of some of our scouting.
We put in the work now to Make it Happen Outdoors this Fall. This scouting is for the Huntography - 2011 Deer Tour
Ever since we started our journey in the outdoors as children, Matt and I have always wanted to make our own hunting and fishing videos. We started this realization a few months ago by starting this blog, our twitter account, and YouTube channel. Currently, we only hunt and fish on public land, however this may not always be the case. The previous name, Public Hunting Only, would be constrictive in future growth should we have opportunities to hunt and fish private land whether that be through leases or through our friends and contacts. We needed a name that would truly convey our goals and aspirations for this "dream".
Our friends, @Huntography and @JoshDickerson7, provided valuable insight and inspiration to create a name that we can own and be proud of. I've never thought that simply coming up with a name would be so difficult. After a couple of weeks of batting around ideas, the name came to us out of no-where. Make it Happen Outdoors was born. MiHOutdoors is our true passion. With only having access to public land currently, you really have to make it happen for yourself when it comes to being successful.
We have a couple of things in the works for the next couple of weeks for the blog and are currently working on video editing and everything that encompasses it. Until next time, Make it Happen when you're Outdoors.
