Off-season Projects

Let's hear what some of your off-season projects may be. I'll kick it off: reinforcing blind floor with new plywood, swapping out swivel plate on one tripod blind, switching out 1-2 feeder motors, enlarging feeder pen/s, clearing out some brush from shooting/viewing sight lines. What are some of yours'?

Well, the generator needs fixing, but I’ll hire that out. Fences were fixed a few months ago. I need to clean and wash the fishing boat, because fishing sounds good to me right now. I have to make 5 wooden stools for graduating senior tennis players, and one wooden baby rattle for a brother’s newest grandchild.

Need to split a bunch of wood to refill a depleted wood rack.

Deer blinds and feeders are all good. Game cameras are working properly. No ribs showing on deer on our place.

Happily, I have no big jobs staring me in the face, so fishing and camping are gonna happen soon.

Moving stands and feeders due to getting informed that the Timber Cutters are coming back to finish clear cutting our hunting place.
Going to have to head farther from our parking area into the areas that were cut several years ago. Can't complain too much, we get to hunt it for free and it is close to home. Making me think about getting one of those electric bikes as we can't drive in.

Expanding feeder pen, adding cotton seed cages, adding another game camera or two, maybe adding a tripod, and reinforcing the blind floor.

I'm planning a serious upgrade to my work-shop/man-cave. Clean up & clean out a lot of stuff.

If I can get powder I hope to develop & tune up some loads for several rifles that covid slowed my progress on.

I plan to swage a bucket full of 62 gr .224 RF jacketed bullets.

I need to replace my sprinkler pump that pumps water from the lake (damn zebra mussels!)

Need to move my gun safe (I'll need major help).

Plan a garage sale or two (wife & I both hate doing these).

more....

A long time member of the lease retired so I got the opportunity to “move up” to his spot.

He hadn’t done anything in a long while to his shooting area so I have a lot of brush clearing to do. Bought his old blind from him too, a 4x8 that is in dire need of a rebuild. The frame is tubular steel so the “bones” are good, I think I will try using Smartsiding on the skin.

The feed pen needs cleaning out and maybe enlarging and the cabin/bunk house I stay in can always use an improvement or two.

And as always, doing load development for my rifles even though I have pretty good and proven loads. Always on the lookout for that perfect load…..plus it gives me an excuse to go to the range.

At the family place, the never ending battle against mesquite and cactus continue.

At the lease, not much. Fingers crossed, but not much. I need to get a few hours behind a chainsaw before it gets too hot and keeping the feeders feeding.

Continuing the endless battle against the local hog population.

Some clearing of a shooting lane and trimming roads and killing pigs, coons, and coyotes. Thankfully, I now have all the time in the world to do it or to not do it.

Burn recently cleared cedar piles, work on two new water stations, repair two leaky pipe joints, remove an old deer blind now that a new one has taken its place, continue to shoot the trad bows and get more proficent.

Already done one, cleaned out and enlarged a pond. Also adding a little more game fence in March.

You are already ahead of the rest of us. Do you have any pictures of your finished pond? The last set of pictures were looking good.

Biggest thing I have to do is decide if I’m staying on this lease, would prefer to find another lease, or may give up leases altogether and focus mainly on pigs and coyotes and start going on guided hunts.

Buy a new place, sold mine last month after we've been pushed out by concrete plants. Times are crazy now hope things settle down soon. Holding tight for now.

Swapping out a couple of spinner motors on two feeders. Found a place to buy All Seasons Feeders motors with eliminator plates cheaper than buying them straight from All Season's on line. Also going to replace another couple of feeders spinner plates with eliminator plates- tired of the coons and squirrels getting fat while my wallet gets thin.

Kill pigs. Finalize "Supermax" my newest creation pig corral trap. Hopefully it's my pièce de résistance! Replace the trigger cable on a box trap that a .41 Rem pass-though shot severed.

Currently "supervising" contractors replacing some ancient property line fence and another putting in a new well for wildlife in the south part of the ranch.

Try to thin the resident axis population.

I do not, but I'll get some the next time I'm on that side of the ranch.

Hopefully getting more of my fence built around my land so I will never see another hog or coyote again. My biggest issue is inflation and the struggle with finding materials. Either fencing has become very popular, or they are not making it in the factories to keep the stores stocked.

food plot prep for the birds and the deer.

Add couple blinds on property, replace a feeder, add 2-3 water stations. Start clearing some of the fence line on one side of the property that has not been cleared. Add game hoist, maybe add outdoor shower to the ranch house. Outside of that shoot some pigs, get some axis meat, and try to get some raccoon traps to reduce their numbers.

That is a healthy list right there!

Moving a blind sometime this spring. Also adding a new spot or two.

The only thing we planned for the lease was building some heavier duty cottonseed feeders. The elk can be absolute hell on regular baskets!
We got a couple of them done. The taller holds 1k lbs and the shorter one on the trailer holds about 800.

sure hope they don't mangle these all up to!

Looks great

You go big boy.

Remodel 2 blinds clear some shooting lanes and cut firewood for the lease. Getting the cotton seed program going.

Had mentioned I had sold my 10X30 job trailer quarters since I was able to upgrade to a nicer, recently redone 10X40 unit with two bedrooms which was already on the property. The old unit was good and self contained. I was willing to let it go cheap Second guy I told about it put me in contact with his son and deal done. That was a month ago. I called Tuesday to find out when they were going to come pick it up. He said the transport company would be there at 9:00 the next morning. Of course. We had already cleared the trailer, but had not done the deep clan nor disconnected sewer and water.

Wifeypoo did a solid on short notice and went down there with me that afternoon. We wents about cleaning up the old one, got that done and then proceeded to clean the new one, installed the stove, changed out mattresses & such making it ready to be my new weekend and hunting season abode. Yesterday morning was spent disconnecting the utilities and sending the old sugar hack on its way. The transport guy was efficient, quick & non-complaining - we had doubts how it was going to get pulled out of where it was, but that man made it happen and, in short order.

as it stood -


Sayonara -


The outside of the new place ain't nothing to look at and I prefer it that way, but the inside, well, I kinda feel spoiled. The new unit comes with central A/C which is a definite plus.

Very nice new home away from home Hud!!!

Damn Hudd hunting 5star resorts!!!

You got a jacuzzi tub too I bet!!!

Big trip this weekend. Put up new tower with blind, to be used as a community blind shared by the four of us. Change out timer kit on existing feeder. Clear a good hand corn spot for me at my stand. Load up protein feeders, top off corn feeders. Get DOPE on 3-4 rifles. Pig hunt, eat food, have beverages.

1. Clearing shooting lanes.
2. Fixing feeders.
3. Try to grow food sources.
4. Re-clear shooting lanes.
5. Fix feeders.
6. Clear more shooting lanes.

If I get all that done, I’ll likely just clear the shooting lanes.

most of my offseason projects are honey-do jobs mainly around the house ... got a bunch knocked out this past weekend ... rose bushes all trimmed back, limbs around the yard cut back and hauled off, zip line platform painted, old tractor up and running, unload most hunting stuff out of my truck, cleaned up and put away, home security cameras adjusted, back deck blowed and washed, sprinkler system adjusted and turned back on, etc. But the list continues to grow as we get things knocked off the original list as we come across other things. There are a couple of heavy hitters that will be somewhat costly, like replacing rear deck boards with composite, boat stereo needs some components (head unit, remote control, amp to drive tower speakers, etc.) replaced & re-wired. The list is never ending.

Cut cedar and dig cactus.

Putting ups couple new chicken coups for the ladies

I have just been murdering baby ceder trees!

Working on an 80 year old garage. Turning it into a hunting cabin/bar/hang out area. So far we replaced the roof. Added a door and window. Put in 2 new garage doors. Ran all the electricity. Put in a window ac/heat until. Framed the inside to add tin and wood on the walls. Going to have spray foam done in April.

We’ll open the garage doors when the weather is nice. Going to use the old roof tin for the bottom 3 feet of the inside walls. Then put wood on the rest of the walls and ceiling.

Nice project.

I have been clearing brush for food plots. It is a slow process.





I also finally finished my porch/deck for the hunting cabin.

can't wait to see the final result.
Unfortunately for me, my off season project will be knee replacement #2!

Almost embarrassed to post considering some of the more intensive work being detailed on here, but here goes. Secured a different job trailer as already told. The back side faces the other hunters' set ups and I did not like what was being presented to them. Just went in and put up a little shroud to somewhat help mitigate the "view" from their porches. It also will serve to keep the cows out and prevent them from from stepping on my water line and damaging other stuff back there. Out of sight - out of mind.

Very slick CGB!!!

Gonna be a damn nice place to be!

Damn bro! You are serious about that work now!

What is the attachment connected to your track hoe?

That is a grubber or small root plow. Same as you buy for the 3pt hitch on a tractor. One I had was called a Jones Plow.

That porch is Awesome! Very stout looking! Bet that thing will last forever. I really like the winches on each side for hanging game! 👍

Where is this?

Refurbish a blind we call the outhouse blind. Made out of old fence panels, Need to add battens between the boards to cover the gaps and add new windows. Also raise it higher in the air to shoot over the barb wire on the feeder panel we had to add last year due to jumping cows!

It is a grubber. Attached is a better picture. It works great. You can pop out the mesquites like butter and don't bring a lot of dirt with them. The excavator has a 35' reach so you can make a path through the brush clearing 70' wide as you go. Then when done you can rake and stack the brush with the dozer. I am not sure exactly how much force the excavator can apply but it is a lot. We have a 112hp tracked skid steer with a grubber attachment that can carry 4,500 lbs and brush that it can not even budge the excavator rips out like it is nothing. The downside is when working it hard the display on the dash shows it is burning 7 gallons of fuel per hour.

Dickens county

Thanks. Yes I think it will outlast me for sure. Took a while to finish. My son and I set the posts in concrete the opening weekend of deer season and slowly have worked on it every time we go to the ranch.

I'm hoping to build a new blind, but we shall see. Luber is nuts right now, obviously.
I currently have a pretty decent 4x6 that's fine for 2 people and a bag, but when 2 people, a bag, and adding in a heater, it gets a little cramped. My soon to be 6 year old son is hopefully going to start hunting more this year with me, so I'm thinking a 6x8 box on an 8x8 platform (2 foot porch) would be plenty big. Then if little brother (almost 4) wants to tag along, there's enough room for a 3rd chair. Biggest issue I've been trying to come up with is shelving/shooting ledge for the longer shots.

Our porches are very similar

$500 worth of wood and those two porches or close to it.

If I killed this thread by trying to be funny some MOD please remove it. I was enjoying all that was being done at the different places.

Have patience. More to come.

One of mine.

https://texashuntingforum.com/forum/ubbthreads.php/topics/8553945/deer-cooler-update#Post8553945

Heading down next weekend to hog panel the protein pen, and prep the spring plot for seeding. Will seed it ahead of a decent rain forecast in coming weeks. Then my only project other than maintenance-mowing and stuff is the never ending battle of clearing cedar trees.