# 6 lanes cleared - 3 more marked off



## WrongdayJ (May 22, 2008)

Go Lee!

When I drop by that part of the country. . .I plan on shooting your course first and Treaton's second.


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## psargeant (Aug 1, 2004)

pragmatic_lee said:


> Yes, it is going to happen! A new 14 target Field course in eastern NC.
> 
> Funny thing is, I probably should be out there hunting instead of clearing lanes. After about 3 hours of "clearing the jungle" with the John Deere and bush-hog, I went back to the front to get my chain saw. Wasn't gone 10 minutes and when I came back I got "blown" by a pissed off white-tail. Ran the chain saw about an hour and then went back to the tractor for another hour. Put everything up and walked back to the woods to be sure I had cleared the 60 yard lane far enough. This time I got "blown" by 2 deer not once but twice. Guess they really wanted to get through that part of the wood. :wink:


 Let me know when it's ready for inspection Lee...I got 2 more indoor clubs inspected and signed up yesterday...



WrongdayJ said:


> Go Lee!
> 
> When I drop by that part of the country. . .I plan on shooting your course first and Treaton's second.


Don't forget DCWC (jarlicker) and Stick and Wheel (my course)...All within 2ish hrs of each other


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## RangerRick (May 4, 2009)

*new lanes*

One of these days I hope to stop by while on the way to New Bern to see my kids.
Also, if you have any group work days you could announce possibly a trip could be planned.

RangerRick


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## WrongdayJ (May 22, 2008)

psargeant said:


> . . .Don't forget DCWC (jarlicker) and Stick and Wheel (my course)...All within 2ish hrs of each other. . .


You got it! I'm gonna try real hard to get in all the field courses in that general area. 

Maybe I'll do a big ol' road trip like Treaton did (except I won't bring wind and rain like he did. . .) :wink:

I'd like nothing better than to get out there and shoot a round (or two) with you all.


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

Things are progressing pretty good. The last 4 lanes should be the easiest since 99% of the clearing can be done with the tractor and bush-hog










This is some pretty thick woods and if no one else gets any pleasure from all my work, at least the deer are enjoying their easier walk. :teeth:

All 4 of these rubs were made in the last 5 days. I kinda get the impression that there's at least 1 buck with a rising testosterone level. 




























I'm sure Mr. Buck walked away from this one feeling really good about himself. He managed to push this tree down.


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## archerycharlie (Nov 4, 2002)

Just be sure and tell all when they are out shooting the field range that you have NO 3d targets out here in case they happen to see one.:thumbs_up


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

archerycharlie said:


> Just be sure and tell all when they are out shooting the field range that you have NO 3d targets out here in case they happen to see one.:thumbs_up


 No 3D "deer" targets, but plenty of "fox targets" that I'd welcome a little shooting on. My rabbit population has disappeared. :angry: Oh and never mind the "snake targets" - they are harmless. :shade:


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## Prag Jr (Oct 16, 2008)

pragmatic_lee said:


> No 3D "deer" targets, but plenty of "fox targets" that I'd welcome a little shooting on. My rabbit population has disappeared. :angry: Oh and never mind the "snake targets" - they are harmless. :shade:


Get rid of the Roger Rabbits and I am so there! Now how about you work on an indoor range! :smile:


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## Prag Jr (Oct 16, 2008)

Seriously guys, Prag has worked really hard on this range and it looks great! Prag and I shot the first couple of targets together a couple of months ago and I am very proud of the work he has done. :shade:


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## south-paaw (Jul 3, 2006)

you are dedicated !! 

and, i am jealous... makes me want to buy land just to say i have a range also... great job Lee :thumbs_up:thumbs_up... if i was closer i'd give you a hand !!

heheeeheeeee... and you being a south paw, i'm hoping all the rh'rs will have the poorer positions...


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

south-paaw said:


> you are dedicated !!
> 
> and, i am jealous... makes me want to buy land just to say i have a range also... great job Lee :thumbs_up:thumbs_up... if i was closer i'd give you a hand !!
> 
> heheeeheeeee... and you being a south paw, i'm hoping all the rh'rs will have the poorer positions...


Well I do stand in the "wrong" position occasionally just to be sure the "righties" can at least see through the "jungle".


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

Well all 14 lanes are now cleared - well, almost. Lane 13 liked to have got the best of me on Sat. The area picked looked like a good place, but by the time I got 20 yards into the "jungle" I was met with the worst conditions of any of the lanes. On the other lanes, it was just a decision of using the tractor and bush hog with an occasional "chain saw tree", or just chain saw and a rake. But this one turned out to be "fight my way through the briers" and then cut 6-8 trees (saplings) with the chain saw - rinse and repeat. The lane is still thick with undergrowth that's too small for the chain saw and too big for the string trimmer. Lots and lots of meschede work to do before I can even consider raking. 

To get from 13 to 14 (which is an old logging path) I am faced with pretty much the same thing for this path. Along this path is an old trash pile. Dumping household trash (not garbage) in the woods was not uncommon 25 years ago and there's several trash piles, including a 1958 Ford Fairlane, along this old logging path. As I came upon one of them Sat. I was taken down a path of reminiscing. The first computer I ever owned ($20,000) is in that trash pile along with several other electronic items of generations past, but what got my attention was a pine sapling that had been cut off about chest high. *On the top of it was the head of a baby doll*, which belonged to Prag Jr or her sister as some time. :devil:

Now if that wasn't enough, I spotted something orange about 20 yards from the trash. I had to know what it was, so I continued to mangle my arms fighting my way through the briers. It was an item from Prag Jr's and her sister's past, but how it got 20 yards from the trash pile, I'm not sure I'll ever know. I'm not going to tell you what it is/was - you'll have to come shoot the range yourself and see if you can spot it. That is if you're not skeeeered of a


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## JayMc (Jan 4, 2005)

Sounds like great progress!


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## LoneEagle0607 (Jan 15, 2008)

*Fun*

Sounds like not only hard work but some fun thrown in as well. Looking forward to shooting your new course. It's amazing what you can find in the woods from years past


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

For now, I have to hold up on range "work", so I decided to take some pix yesterday. Still lots of work to do, but (if I do say so myself), I think the Piney Flats field course is shaping up pretty good. 

Once you see these pix, you'll understand the name: "Piney Flats". But as Jarlicker advised, "if all you got is flat terrain, then 'mess" with the footings". :wink:

Targets are only set on a few of the lanes - have some Styrofoam blocks on many of them just to reflect the range finder beam. 

Target 1 "Stump Hole" - 45 yards 









Target 2 "Fence Line" - 30 yards


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

Target 3 "Ditch Bank" - Birdie









Target 4 "Deer Rub" - 65 yards









Target 5 "Lonesome Pine" - 40 yards









Target 6 "Thru The Pines" - 20 yards


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

Target 7 "Cow Pen" - 80 yard WU









Target 8 "Soccer Ball" - 35 yard fan









Target 9 "Property Line" - 15 yard


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

"Welcome To The Jungle"

Target 10 "Twin Oaks" - 60 yards









Target 11 "No Name Yet" - 55 yards









Target 12 "Magnolia" - 25 yards









Target 13 "Heart Attack" - 50 yards









Target 14 "Trash Pile" - 45 yard WU


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## bowhunter_va_28 (Apr 28, 2003)

Looks great Lee. Target 11 looks like a tunnel and I imagine even more so with leaves on the trees (Tunnel Vision, maybe). Just a thought. I can't wait to visit.


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

bowhunter_va_28 said:


> Looks great Lee. Target 11 looks like a tunnel and I imagine even more so with leaves on the trees (Tunnel Vision, maybe). Just a thought. I can't wait to visit.


Yea, target 11 still has a lot of work to be done. That leaning tree is going to be "history", plus I will widen it about 30%. It was on this lane that I developed a hole in the tractor gas tank AND managed to back into an "unforgiving" tree. Now have to do some serious work on the bush hog.


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## montigre (Oct 13, 2008)

Beautiful work, Lee. Are you gonna install a small bridge to get to the Trash Pile target at 14? :wink:


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

montigre said:


> Beautiful work, Lee. Are you gonna install a small bridge to get to the Trash Pile target at 14? :wink:


 Might need to, but we've had more rain in the last week than I can recall in a lot of years, so this pix is not the "norm". But don't forget what Jarlicker advised about the "footings". :wink:


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## archerycharlie (Nov 4, 2002)

I can amagine on some how you got the name for the targets, but how did you come up with the names for the differant lane shots?


Looking good.


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## sl954 (Oct 7, 2005)

This is awesome, I'd love to have my own range. Looks like a lot of hard work but well worth it.


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

The names:

1 Stump Hole: lots of rotted out stumps in this lane that I had to fill up - there was one that I couldn't reach the bottom of with my rake handle

2 Fence Line: This property has been in my family for at least 6 generations. There's remnants of an old fence that my grandfather installed in the middle of this lane. Look closely in the foreground - that's an old fence post that has to be well over 50 years old.

3 Ditch Bank: Beware of the footings here - the birdie markers are on the random piles of dirt from a ditch on the right. :wink:

4 Deer Rub: I've been playing in these woods since I was a child and while clearing this lane I found my first ever deer rub. Since then, now that I know what to look for, I've found lots more.

5 Lonesome Pine: These woods have a large assortment of tree species, but the pines are the only ones that have any real $ value; therefore, the lane locations were based very much on how many pines had to be removed. I liked this location but chose to leave an up and coming pine in the middle.

6 Thru The Pines: Same story here but left 6 nice pines in this relatively short lane (20 yards)

7 Cow Pen: Many, many years ago, I used to have some cows and would raise a yearling every year for the beef. In this lane was where I had my "feed out pen". Only bad part is - when I quit messing with the cows, I didn't clean up everything and I've got a lot of work left to do here to get all the old fence out of the trees that have grown around it. If you look closely, you can see an old metal bed spring. I used 2 of these as the gate. This one has a tree grown through it.

8) Soccer Ball: Have no idea where it came from as I don't really remember my children ever having a soccer ball, but when clearing this lane I found the remains of one. I left a small stump in the center of the lane and keep placing the soccer ball on it, but for some reason, every time I come back it is laying on the ground.

9) Property Line: To the left is the northern property line of my land. 

10) Twin Oaks: There are 2 forked oak trees in this lane. Since clearing this lane the deer have started using it for a major corridor - most like due to the acorns from these oaks. 

11) No Name Yet: 

12) Magnolia: Of all the tree species in the area, Magnolia is not one of them, but at the marker end of this lane is a beautiful Magnolia tree. Back in the late '50s / early '60s a couple of friends and I picked up a bunch of magnolia cones from a tree where we were visiting. We used them as "pretend" hand grenades (back when it was politically correct to play "war"). Only thing I can imagine is that one of our grenades took root. 

13) Heart Attack: I started work on this lane the same day that I "broke" the tractor and had to do a lot of manual chain saw and dragging work (still got a lot to do). It was here that I first began experiencing my current symptoms. :sad:

14) Trash Pile: This is an old logging path that was used for years as a place to "hide" trash that wouldn't burn or was too big to haul off. In fact there's an upside down 1958 Ford along the lane that appears to have had a fox den in the trunk.


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

One thing I did NOT find while clearing the lanes (this was found about 10 miles south of me last week).


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## X Hunter (Jan 11, 2007)

pragmatic_lee said:


> One thing I did NOT find while clearing the lanes (this was found about 10 miles south of me last week).


Hey Lee what the hell is that?????:wink:

I've NEVER seen one of them before!


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## Brown Hornet (Aug 8, 2002)

X Hunter said:


> Hey Lee what the hell is that?????:wink:
> 
> I've NEVER seen one of them before!


Right.....it's probably yours :chortle:

Good work Lee.....you may want to hand out flash lights when the summer is here....that sucker is gonna be dark in there


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

X Hunter said:


> Hey Lee what the hell is that?????:wink:
> 
> I've NEVER seen one of them before!


Hey man, I know where you're from and for you to say you've never seen one of these might be stretching the truth just a bit.


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

Brown Hornet said:


> Right.....it's probably yours :chortle:
> 
> Good work Lee.....you may want to hand out flash lights when the summer is here....that sucker is gonna be dark in there


Lanes 10, 11, & 12 are going to be killers if you happen to catch the sun just right in the morning.  Kinda like the tower at DCWC at around 9 AM. I really don't think "wind" will be a problem. :wink:


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## GOT LUCKY (Apr 30, 2005)

pragmatic_lee said:


> Might need to, but we've had more rain in the last week than I can recall in a lot of years, so this pix is not the "norm". But don't forget what Jarlicker advised about the "footings". :wink:



*YEAHHHhhhhhh RIGHT....THANKS A LOT....*

*Just leave a snorkel and mask for some of us "short-in-stature" then.....*

.


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## thunderbolt (Oct 11, 2002)

Looks like you've done quite a bit of work there. One nice looking home range:darkbeer:


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## LoneEagle0607 (Jan 15, 2008)

*Names of lanes*

Neat how you came up with the names of your lanes. No one can copy those!


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## pragmatic_lee (Jan 19, 2008)

ttt - just got off the phone with a fellow NC archer from the Piedmont area who might have an inside tract for me on some target material. :shade:

If it will every quit raining and SNOWING I'll get back to work out there, especially since the Dr. says my heart is fine.  Got just a little more hand raking to do and that will be behind me. What I've found is if I do a very aggressive hand raking, I can then keep the lane clear with just the blower.

Mac, it's time we get together on some signs. :darkbeer:


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