4 Trees ---- West Plot

[Professor T]

4 Trees is located on the southeast corner of the West Plot. These trees were what was previously known as the Doo Doo Trail. Named after many buck droppings in that area.

In 2007 the West Plot was enlarged so that these and other trees could be utilized for archery stands. In 2007 the stand is located in the fourth tree from the south end of the plot.

West Plot South Stand will be included in this report because the two stands are only 30 yards apart and can be alternately be hunted so the deer don't get used to one stand. It worked very well in 2007-08 season


2007 Season:
Deer Seen:
Deer 9
Fawns 74
Does 45
Bucks 10
7 Spike
1 6 point (2.5 yrs)
1 8 point (2.5 yrs)
Total 138 Deer 28 Hunts

October 6, 2007 Don got rained out.
October 7, 2007 Kevin got rained out.
October 11, 2007 Don saw 2 Fawns and 2 Does
Lost 1 Doe
October 20, 2007 Don saw 2 Fawns and 1 Doe
October 26, 2007 Kevin saw 3 Does and 1 8 point
November 1, 2007 Don saw 3 Fawns and 2 Does
November 27, 2007 Don saw 2 Fawns, 1 Doe, and 1 Spike
November 30, 2007 Don saw 1 Deer, 4 Fawns, and 4 Does
December 1, 2007 Don saw 2 Fawns and 1 Doe
December 7, 2007 Doug saw 3 Fawns and 6 Does
December 9, 2007 Don saw 5 Fawns and 1 Doe
December 17, 2007 Shawee saw 1 Fawn
December 21, 2007 WPS Don saw 1 Fawn and 1 Doe
December 22, 2007 WPS Don saw nothing Rained out
December 26, 2007 WPS Don saw 5 Fawns, 2 Does, 1 Spike
December 27, 2007 WPS Don saw nothing on morning hunt
December 27, 2007 WPS Don saw 3 Fawns, 1 Doe, and 3 Deer
December 28, 2007 WPS Don saw 7 Fawns, 2 Does, 1 Spike
December 29, 2007 Don saw 6 Fawns, 2 Does, 1 Spike
December 30, 2007 Don Saw 6 Fawns, 3 Does, 1 Spike, 4 Deer
January 5, 2008 Don saw 5 Fawns and 1 Doe
Shot Doe but didn't find her until next day.
January 6, 2008 Kevin saw 4 Fawns and 2 Does
January 11, 2008 Kevin saw 1 Deer, 5 Fawns, 2 Does, and 1 Spike
January 19, 2008 Kevin saw 4 Fawns, and 3 Does
January 20, 2008 am Brady saw 1 Doe and 1 6 point
January 20, 2008 pm Kevin saw 2 Fawns, 3 Does, 1 Spike, and 1 8 point
Kevin shot at and missed a doe
January 26, 2008 am Cro saw nothing
January 26, 2008 pm Cro saw 2 Fawns, and 1 Doe

(There were many more deer seen on the West Plot but were seen while not hunting or from different stands.)

2008-09Season:
Deer Seen:
Deer 4
Fawns 1
Does 4
Bucks 1
1 Spike

Total 10 Deer 3 Hunts

November 18, 2008pm Rambow saw 2 Deer, 1 Fawn, 4 Does, and 1 Spike
November 19, 2008am John saw 2 Deer
November 19, 2008pm John saw nothing

[Professor T]

Four Trees Stand
&
West Plot South

In 2007 the west plot was enlarged to obtain more bow hunting stands. In late season of 2006 the southern portion of the West Plot had a good Imperial Whitetail Clover patch. This is where the deer went after entering the plot. The WPS stand has been there for several years and is a lean-to stand only 12’ tall. It is at the very south end of the plot against a water oak that has a lot of poison ivy in it.

Four Trees stand refers to the 4 trees on the east side of the plot near the southern end. This was the area called the Doo Doo Trail prior to enlarging the plot. In 2007-08 season the 4TS was located in the 4th tree from the south end of the plot. Cover in the stand stayed fair all season long. Towards the end of January most of the leaves were gone though. The stand was above 20 feet in the tree giving good protection from being scented.

Many shot opportunities were had from both stands in the 2007-08 season.

Improvents that can be made:
WPS needs to be handled a little different. This would be a great place for a tripod that could be pushed up against the cedar tree near the current location. Other possibilities could be to set the stand further off the plot for more cover. Put a lock-on stand in the same tree but higher.

An alternate stand site for 4TS would be the first tree from the south end of the plot. This would also give great cover and offer shots nearer to south end. Best case would be to use Millennium Stand that could be put only when hunting it. This stand could also be aligned to hunt a section of the road near South Fork. Deer use this section in the evening very often going both directions.


Picture #1 The 2007-08 4TS was located in the 4th tree from the south on the east side of the west plot. The stand is between 20 to 25 high and the stick ladder is on the back of the tree, not visible from the plot.

Picture # 2 From this picture you can see how high the stand is located and the cover behind it. It offers excellent concealment during most the season.

Picture # 3 is taken from the 4TS looking south. The stump where the deer is feeding is an excellent location to bait. Corn can be placed to make the deer face away from the stand while giving a broad side shot. This is a consideration many people forget during a set up.


Picture # 4 is a wider view of the same area. This also shows two of the approaches the deer take coming to the plot. The top left show our road leading to the plot. About 40 yards down this road is an area where I set up one of my trailcams. The area is called South Fork. The top right of the picture is a lane going to my neighbor. Many deer come from that direction also. The middle right shows the bottom of a persimmon tree that I planted several years ago. This tree may eventually help during bow season when the persimmons start falling.

Picture # 5 shows the persimmon tree and also something I never thought of prior to this season. The little bit of brush that was not tilled up while planting the plot is a very helpful tool. I threw corn into this little bit of brush and it was just enough cover to allow me to draw my bow. I plan to leave a little more brush this coming season to see how it works doing it on purpose.

[Professor T]

Picture # 6 shows my feeder. The metal is bent is the reason why it is leaning. They are very hard to move by yourself when half full. Thus the bent metal. If you notice the doe in the background looking at me you will realize that no setup is perfect. She went on to feed that day but knew something was there. This was towards the end of the season. This stand had a lot of hunting pressure.

Picture # 7 is looking north west across the main section of the plot. The little oak tree is 21 yards from the stand.

Picture # 8 is looking north towards the T-Plot. You can see it around the bend through the tree. A lot can be seen but if you take the limbs out you lose the cover for bow hunting.

Picture # 9 shows that this is an excellent stand to photograph from. There is a lot more doe than buck activity here so having your camera makes the hunt a lot more fun.

Pictures # 10 & 11 are two of the arrows shot at deer. Both were does, the first one was not found and the second one was found the next morning after the coyotes and buzzards had their way.

[Professor T]

West Plot South
Picture # 1 shows the view from WPS at the end of 2005-06 season before renovations were done to the west plot. The pecan tree in front was taken out.

Picture # 2 shows the current view from WPS. You can see how much more open the plot is now.

Picture # 3 shows a fall and winter view of West Plot South Stand.

[Professor T]

2010 pictures of the 4-Trees Stand:

The stand has not been taken down from the tree from last year. It wasn't hunted much last year but there was a good buck seen within shooting range of the stand twice while hunting the Lone Oak Stand.