# Farm house build



## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Basement being framed


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## Tonto79 (Feb 13, 2011)

that's going to be great hunting


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## Mathias (Mar 21, 2005)

I really enjoy looking at these pics from different areas. Where are you located?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Two views of the framing


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## snoodcrusher (Jul 9, 2007)

Very nice!


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

It looks awesome Ernie. When is the completion date so we can check this thing out with some "finished" pics?


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## pope125 (Dec 11, 2013)

Good luck with the build!!


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## PutnamCountyHunter (Aug 22, 2011)

Sweet!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ohiobooners said:


> It looks awesome Ernie. When is the completion date so we can check this thing out with some "finished" pics?


One more month to go for it to be livable but I'm not sure if the landscaping will be done by then.


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## IrregularPulse (Sep 22, 2012)

Holy gorgeous views batman!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's more updated pictures. Sorry for stringing this out but I couldn't get them from my Mac till now

































Thanks guys for the nice comments


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## Bowtecher24 (May 30, 2012)

very nice! looking amazing!


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## IrregularPulse (Sep 22, 2012)

Love the build style. I wish I could have gotten my wife to go for a pole barn style, new build. Instead we ended up with a 150 year old farm house.


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

Hmm, you need to check your pulse. I think maybe you have died and gone to heaven! Tell God I would like him to send me ohhh......... about a 175 double drop tine this year at about 15 yards, sometime in real early Nov. Maybe the first week that way I don't have to leave my stand when my wife's water breaks this time! :thumbs_up


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Funny. I'm the spender in the family. I would have spent my last dime 20 years ago if it wasn't for my wife. I actually wanted a log home but a friend of mine built one in pike county and regrets having spent so much for such little family use. 
I built this hoping we can spend more time together as a family and hopefully start a tradition of spending part of the holidays all together


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

wacker stacker said:


> Hmm, you need to check your pulse. I think maybe you have died and gone to heaven! Tell God I would like him to send me ohhh......... about a 175 double drop tine this year at about 15 yards, sometime in real early Nov. Maybe the first week that way I don't have to leave my stand when my wife's water breaks this time! :thumbs_up


Wacker,
God hear ya. I'm still hoping for a big boy to walk in front of me. This ehd epidemic has thrown us back to square one but were still hopeful


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

Maxemus said:


> Here's more updated pictures. Sorry for stringing this out but I couldn't get them from my Mac till now
> 
> View attachment 1918371
> View attachment 1918372
> ...


Its awesome Ernie. I would have to imagine you get a pretty good bang for your buck when it comes to converted pole barns and sq footage. Its gonna be beautiful man.


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## wv hoyt man (Feb 17, 2012)

Looks real nice.


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## MOBIGBUCKS (Aug 12, 2006)

Dang man!! Living the dream!! That place is going to be amazing for the years to come.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something 
I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

Maxemus said:


> My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something
> I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


Wowza....you sure they didn't run one of those ducts to the outside or something? lol


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## mn5503 (Feb 21, 2006)

Looks great:thumbs_up


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## dhom (Jun 10, 2008)

Looks like a great place and a great spot. Congrats!


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## 2nd_Shot (Feb 24, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something
> I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


What State are you building in? If you have electric furnace it can add up depending on insulation. I have been running an Outdoor Wood Boiler for 2 years now. Heat with wood and use electric furnace fan push the heat to rooms. Cool system.

Furnace sits outside. Load it with wood, it heats water and pumps it to the house underground, a coil is added to you duct. When you furnace fan blow over the coil it heats the air. You can turn off the heater on you electric furnace and just use the fan. Heats my 4000 sqft house just fine here in Missouri. There are many makers of the OWB just and option.


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## wipy (Oct 11, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something
> I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


im a plumber from se wisconsin and we do alot of geo. the cost vs. return you would never see in your lifetime though. our average geo job is around 150000. and personally id never put it in my house to many issues. but a cool idea of using the earths energy.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

2nd shot and wipy. Since we don't live there everyday I decided to go with electric and never gave much thought to the geo option nor did I price it out. I wouldn't have been able to spend 150k on it any way so I guess I didn't wasted time going down that route. Here's what I have done though
Step 1 was to call the electricity coop who went out and did not find any irregularities. It may just have been that the contractor was running heaters to dry the mud in the peak of winter. 
Step 2 is if this persists we will be putting in a second meter at a reduced rate to run the furnace and the water heater. 
Hopefully with the house devoid of workers and with normal usage it should drop substantially.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Oh forgot to mention the farm
Is in west central Illinois.


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## mn5503 (Feb 21, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> 2nd shot and wipy. Since we don't live there everyday I decided to go with electric and never gave much thought to the geo option nor did I price it out. I wouldn't have been able to spend 150k on it any way so I guess I didn't wasted time going down that route. Here's what I have done though
> Step 1 was to call the electricity coop who went out and did not find any irregularities. It may just have been that the contractor was running heaters to dry the mud in the peak of winter.
> Step 2 is if this persists we will be putting in a second meter at a reduced rate to run the furnace and the water heater.
> Hopefully with the house devoid of workers and with normal usage it should drop substantially.


I thought about geo also but the return was about 20 years. Not worth it to me at the time. With propane going crazy this year it made me think about my decision...


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## azmeatwagon (Feb 4, 2014)

Nice nothin like shootin em off the back porch.:wink:


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## Jesse Schultz (Sep 11, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Here's more updated pictures. Sorry for stringing this out but I couldn't get them from my Mac till now
> 
> View attachment 1918371
> View attachment 1918372
> ...


Is that vertical metal siding or is it vinal? I didn't even think they still made metal siding. Or at least you can't get it around here. Actually I think we can get it for commercial buildings


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## kspseshooter (Aug 6, 2010)

That is ag metal like you would put on a barn/shop


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## kspseshooter (Aug 6, 2010)

Sweet house OP


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Jesse Schultz said:


> Is that vertical metal siding or is it vinal? I didn't even think they still made metal siding. Or at least you can't get it around here. Actually I think we can get it for commercial buildings


Yes Jesse. Metal. Most buildings around here have this.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Was finally able to get all my pics passed from Mac to iPhone so here's some more in chronological order








Basement family room. Planned this area so that when I have grand kids they can have an area to wreak havoc upon








Bull dozed all the cedars blocking the view of the pond down the hill. I still need to remove about 100 yards of trees that block the view of the rest of the pond









Septic tank and drain field area









Initial layer of driveway fill. Plan on putting a beige colored rock mix as the final layer









Sample of what the floor will end up looking like


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

That's incredible man!


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## kohner54 (Nov 30, 2011)

Thats an awesome looking house...if you dont mind...what was the $ amount for the house alone? Looking at doing something like that when I can find the right piece of property.


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## Scotty C (Dec 21, 2006)

2nd_Shot said:


> What State are you building in? If you have electric furnace it can add up depending on insulation. I have been running an Outdoor Wood Boiler for 2 years now. Heat with wood and use electric furnace fan push the heat to rooms. Cool system.
> 
> Furnace sits outside. Load it with wood, it heats water and pumps it to the house underground, a coil is added to you duct. When you furnace fan blow over the coil it heats the air. You can turn off the heater on you electric furnace and just use the fan. Heats my 4000 sqft house just fine here in Missouri. There are many makers of the OWB just and option.
> View attachment 1918485


This is how I heat my house here in North Eastern PA. Haven't had a heating bill in five years. Burns about 5 to 6 cords a year. One drawback for you would be that you don't live there year round. The water jacket in the furnace would freeze. You could put a special "furnace antifreeze" in with the water for when you leave and shut it down. 

They are great if you have access to free firewood and way less expensive even if you don't. Top $ around here for a cord of wood is $200. Still only about $1200 for the entire winter. Outside wood burner are very easy to maintain. Upfront cost is about $7 to $8,000 but you will recoup that easily.


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## Skeptic (Dec 11, 2005)

Maxemus said:


> My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something
> I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


What state is this in? We built last year and did 3.5" of cellulose insulation with radiant heat and a woodburner. Living in the camper the year before we had $270 electric bills and in the house, while still heating the camper with wood our highest bill has been $270 this winter. It's been a rough winter too.


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## Skeptic (Dec 11, 2005)

Maxemus said:


> Oh forgot to mention the farm
> Is in west central Illinois.


Just now saw this.


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## buckjunkey (Mar 22, 2010)

Very nice pad Maxemus. So when are you having a AT house warming party?lol
Maybe 2nd week of November? HAHA


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## WVDXT (Jan 20, 2008)

Really nice..


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Looks great, man! Be thankful for what you have (I'm sure you are). There are a lot of hard working guys who would never be able to swing that as a home, never mind a second place. 

I'm close enough, let me know when you want to break it in - id be glad to keep a few stands warm for ya. .


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

dblungem said:


> Looks great, man! Be thankful for what you have (I'm sure you are). There are a lot of hard working guys who would never be able to swing that as a home, never mind a second place.
> 
> I'm close enough, let me know when you want to break it in - id be glad to keep a few stands warm for ya. .


Thanks DB. I absolutely thank God for everything I have. Life is random sometimes but when you work hard and sacrifice sometimes it pays off. In my case I pretty much gave up any semblance of normality for the better part of 25 years. Hardly saw my kids grow up but in the end I gave them a better life I suppose. Now I get to do fun stuff and less work


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## Skeptic (Dec 11, 2005)

dblungem said:


> There are a lot of hard working guys who would never be able to swing that as a home, never mind a second place.


I disagree with that. I know a lot of those guys and they have different priorities and always say "I'll never be able to afford that". They are the guys that only work 3-4 days a week, take off a month for deer season unpaid, go on a couple elaborate family vacations every summer, smoke a carton a week, and drink a six pack every night. Most of them I'd say definitely could afford it if they weren't affording so many other things. Come to think of it them and their wives all have separate vehicle payments too. To each his own I guess, I just get tired of guys with differing priorities complain about not being able to afford land.


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## kansasboi (Oct 19, 2007)

That's a farm house alright. Looks great man!


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Is that stained concrete for the floor?


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## JWP58 (Mar 21, 2013)

I want to build a metal building like that for a home (not a second).

Looks great. Enjoy!


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## MOBIGBUCKS (Aug 12, 2006)

How many acres you on Maxemus?? That place is going to be like an outfitter lodge! Great hunting place.


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Skeptic said:


> I disagree with that. I know a lot of those guys and they have different priorities and always say "I'll never be able to afford that". They are the guys that only work 3-4 days a week, take off a month for deer season unpaid, go on a couple elaborate family vacations every summer, smoke a carton a week, and drink a six pack every night. Most of them I'd say definitely could afford it if they weren't affording so many other things. Come to think of it them and their wives all have separate vehicle payments too. To each his own I guess, I just get tired of guys with differing priorities complain about not being able to afford land.


I certainly see my fair share of them too, but I also see some guys with good heads on their shoulders that work their tails off just to be able to afford a "normal" house in town...never mind buy ground, build, etc. I certainly don't disagree with you tho - some guys sure put themselves into a corner with car payments, elaborate vacations, credit cards, etc. 

I'm also a huge believer in exactly what Max has done - work your tail off, make sacrifices and achieve your goals. His ground and farm house should be an inspiration to a lot of guys.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

MOBIGBUCKS said:


> How many acres you on Maxemus?? That place is going to be like an outfitter lodge! Great hunting place.


Getting close to 1000 if I can swing 1 more piece right now it's a total of almost 900


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

dblungem said:


> I certainly see my fair share of them too, but I also see some guys with good heads on their shoulders that work their tails off just to be able to afford a "normal" house in town...never mind buy ground, build, etc. I certainly don't disagree with you tho - some guys sure put themselves into a corner with car payments, elaborate vacations, credit cards, etc.
> 
> I'm also a huge believer in exactly what Max has done - work your tail off, make sacrifices and achieve your goals. His ground and farm house should be an inspiration to a lot of guys.


Thanks DB. That's a great compliment. You have no idea how much I had to sacrifice and for how long till I got to a good place. My parents came to this country dirt poor and my dad caught pigeons to eat for a time.


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks DB. That's a great compliment. You have no idea how much I had to sacrifice and for how long till I got to a good place. My parents came to this country dirt poor and my dad caught pigeons to eat for a time.


Hey pigeons aren't too bad if wrapped in bacon with a good dose of brown sugar lol. Especially if you just eat the bacon!


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

Hmmm 900 acres around here is pushing a minimum of $5,000,000. I know guys that have that much but they purchased it before the spike. It seems like nothing sells around here either. I am dang happy to have the 50 acres that I do have. I am not sure how you acquired what you have but I applaud you for it!


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

Maxemus said:


> My biggest regret so far is that I did not go the geothermal route and my electrical bills the last two months have been north of 800 dollars. I'm hoping it was due to the unnaturally cold winter we had and that the builders had the doors open or something
> I went all out on the insulation and did 2 inches of sprayed foam and the fiberglass cladding on top


the framing didn't allow for all out. all out would allow a thermal break. Geo thermal is great when the temps are +5 degrees, lower and an electric heater kicks in. picture 10 1500 watt heaters all going full tilt at the same time. they are very expensive and require a feed almost double what an entire house uses, they don't us it unless...

beautiful area


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

wacker stacker said:


> Hmmm 900 acres around here is pushing a minimum of $5,000,000. I know guys that have that much but they purchased it before the spike. It seems like nothing sells around here either. I am dang happy to have the 50 acres that I do have. I am not sure how you acquired what you have but I applaud you for it!


I'm a value investor which means that rarely would I pay retail for rec land. I only paid market on two small pieces that I needed to buy to make a legal dispute go away. The farm I just bought was a distress sale so I came in and got a great deal on it. Walked the other day and was blown away with how beautiful it truly is. I have it leased to Hadley creek for two more years and although it's a bit far away from pike the boys know its a whooper of a big buck farm.


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## wipy (Oct 11, 2011)

thats for sure a il septic system... sch35 sticking up.lol sorry plumber from wi we make fun of il plumbers. probaly stone and pipe and cast.


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## Wade B (Jan 8, 2014)

Maxemus said:


> Funny. I'm the spender in the family. I would have spent my last dime 20 years ago if it wasn't for my wife. I actually wanted a log home but a friend of mine built one in pike county and regrets having spent so much for such little family use.
> I built this hoping we can spend more time together as a family and hopefully start a tradition of spending part of the holidays all together


your wife and friend were right. Log houses stink unless you love working on your property (buildings) and spending a ton of cash on maintenance. My parents built a 5000 sq/ft log home out of Canadian White Pine 12 years ago. It is an amazing looking place but the upkeep costs are insane. A lot of work to. 















Looks like you guys dropped a butt load of cash on this property? Is this a second property? Did you do a lot of the work?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This is the house under snow conditions









Partial view of the main floor before they poured the composite









View of where the kitchen will go after they poured the floor now it gets painted


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## Miked989 (Jul 11, 2013)

Looks awesome!!!!!!! In Michigan we call them a finished pole barn. Very nice!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Wade
That house is gorgeous. The one my buddy built in pike is spectacular and he spent 800k without extras. He obviously regrets it as he is basically using it a few weeks of the year


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This is the log home I was referring to. It's gorgeous and the farm is spectacular


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## Wade B (Jan 8, 2014)

They are great looking. The problem I have is after helping to build and maintain one I can see past the beauty and recognize the money/time/effort involved. 

It is a beautiful place though.


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## catkinson (Jul 17, 2007)

:greenwithenvy:


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Wade B said:


> your wife and friend were right. Log houses stink unless you love working on your property (buildings) and spending a ton of cash on maintenance. My parents built a 5000 sq/ft log home out of Canadian White Pine 12 years ago. It is an amazing looking place but the upkeep costs are insane. A lot of work to.
> 
> Looks like you guys dropped a butt load of cash on this property? Is this a second property? Did you do a lot of the work?


I will second that log homes are a lot of work. I live in one and they aren't cheap - beautiful, but not for the budget minded. I had the exterior corn blasted 3 years ago, re-stained and seal coated....$21,000. The previous owners did t do their part and let it go to far. I'm constantly filling checks in logs, re-sealing windows, etc. they are awesome, but do have their draw backs.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

My dream was always to build a log home on a Colorado farm. I'm working my way up that dream. If it ever happens it's going to be an amazing feeling for me to be able to accomplish that.


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

Miked989 said:


> Looks awesome!!!!!!! In Michigan we call them a finished pole barn. Very nice!!


same here and known for and energy sucking monster. Decades ago I worked for a company that built a home for the head of Hospice. For some reason he wanted a Texas hurricane proof home here in Ohio, crazy but it was the wide open space he was after; it was red iron construction (pole barn on roids). After it was done I'd heard the energy consumption was so great the system couldn't keep the place warm, another was added. 

I don't think the energy costs are out of line with this home, small price for what's there. Big places require big overhead. Reminds me of an Indian joke, "White man build big fire, sit way back. Indian build small fire, sit up close".  The Indian obviously wouldn't need so much to keep warm while the white man would require a lot.


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

dblungem said:


> I will second that log homes are a lot of work. I live in one and they aren't cheap - beautiful, but not for the budget minded. I had the exterior corn blasted 3 years ago, re-stained and seal coated....$21,000. The previous owners did t do their part and let it go to far. I'm constantly filling checks in logs, re-sealing windows, etc. they are awesome, but do have their draw backs.


yep, woods like that, if each log shrinks even 1/2" that's a lot added up, in a climate that changes a lot it's always moving up and down, in and out with certain sections moving more than others. The day it's finished is the last day it's right, all changes from there.

Maumee Bay State park was the largest wood structure a friend ever built, he was in charge of the carpenters (120). The state had to have a cedar siding exterior put on a certain way. When the company explained the problem they wouldn't listen. Every joint opened up 1/4", the state wanted it all redone, good thing the company had every detail along with objections in writing. Wood exterior is beautiful, just not a good option in almost every where hunters want to be, unless your a back woods type.  

Log cabin and low maintenance are 2 phrases never used together, but everyone else appreciates the work people do on them as they drive past enjoying the view to their fairly maintenance free homes.


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

Curiosity makes me wonder why the metal building homes are so energy efficiency handicap? If the insulation is properly done wouldn't the R rating increase and compensate? I've built my last 3 homes but all were your typical frame homes.


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## Wade B (Jan 8, 2014)

nodog said:


> yep, woods like that, if each log shrinks even 1/2" that's a lot added up, in a climate that changes a lot it's always moving up and down, in and out with certain sections moving more than others. The day it's finished is the last day it's right, all changes from there.
> 
> Maumee Bay State park was the largest wood structure a friend ever built, he was in charge of the carpenters (120). The state had to have a cedar siding exterior put on a certain way. When the company explained the problem they wouldn't listen. Every joint opened up 1/4", the state wanted it all redone, good thing the company had every detail along with objections in writing. Wood exterior is beautiful, just not a good option in almost every where hunters want to be, unless your a back woods type.
> 
> Log cabin and low maintenance are 2 phrases never used together, but everyone else appreciates the work people do on them as they drive past enjoying the view to their fairly maintenance free homes.


Well, they don't ever shift that much after they settle. Most the white pine in my parents place are to big to hug. They shrunk enough that the ceiling dropped approx 9" over 10-11 years. Now they hardly shift. There is 3300 pounds per sq/in of pressure on the logs.


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## Wade B (Jan 8, 2014)

ohiobooners said:


> Curiosity makes me wonder why the metal building homes are so energy efficiency handicap? If the insulation is properly done wouldn't the R rating increase and compensate? I've built my last 3 homes but all were your typical frame homes.


They shouldn't be. Especially with spray foam insulation. As long as there is enough spray foam, they should be fine. I know of a number of Morton Buildings up here that are not inefficient.


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## longbeard02 (Aug 7, 2009)

Tagged for later


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## Marvin (Feb 17, 2005)

I wish I had 900 acres and worried about an 800 dollar electric bill. .


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just got some pics of the finished main floor. I know it looks different from pic to pic but it's the lighting that's affecting the look


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Fireplace is complete


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## The Sentinel (Mar 28, 2010)

:greenwithenvy:


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## cornfedkiller (Feb 16, 2008)

That whole place looks awesome, but I REALLY like that fireplace!

Congratulations on the place..it sounds like you worked hard for it! 

If you dont mind me asking, what line of business are you in?


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Maxemus is joining the short list of guys I wanna be like.

-Winke
-Maxemus
-Tommy Lee

Hahaha, keep the pictures coming! Awesome thread!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> Maxemus is joining the short list of guys I wanna be like.
> 
> -Winke
> -Maxemus
> ...


Lol mark. I want to be like winke too. One of the nicest guys in this industry I have communicated back and forth with him on some wildlife issues and he's always willing to help out.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> Is that stained concrete for the floor?


Yes on basement concrete floor. Main floor is composite but looks like stained concrete


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## Skeptic (Dec 11, 2005)

My folks did the log house thing in their early 30s. Now at almost 60 they wish they had vinyl siding.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Kitchen cabinets got installed yesterday


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

ohiobooners said:


> Curiosity makes me wonder why the metal building homes are so energy efficiency handicap? If the insulation is properly done wouldn't the R rating increase and compensate? I've built my last 3 homes but all were your typical frame homes.


it has to do with the transfer of energy, metal being a good conductor (concrete is just about as good). You can do your own test next winter. Take a piece of thin metal, an aluminum can cut up flat. Open a window and stick half outside, close the window and see what happens.

Guy selling aluminum framed windows at a trade show (years ago) setup early. Another guy selling vinyl windows was next to him. When he came in and saw the other guy he left and returned with a bucket of dry ice and a hunk of extruded aluminum sticking it in the bucket of ice, in minutes, ice completely covered the metal. The aluminum salesman opened a book a read the rest of the day. The vinyl salesman was busy. 

If a break from the outside is made it's good. Doing it right would have 2 2x4 walls on the exterior with the studs not stacked against each other but stepped off, both walls insulated, the break accomplished and a candle to heat the home. It would also be very cool in summer.


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

Wade B said:


> Well, they don't ever shift that much after they settle. Most the white pine in my parents place are to big to hug. They shrunk enough that the ceiling dropped approx 9" over 10-11 years. Now they hardly shift. There is 3300 pounds per sq/in of pressure on the logs.


9" is a lot, I know they're built to shift. Interior wall are on pins so when it does drop it just shifts with it. Knots don't shrink like straight grain and why the shrink is uneven and moves constantly, doesn't swell like straight grain either. The pressure isn't consistent obviously, lot of weight that's for sure, but those logs weren't dried so all the moisture in them was there when it was built and now isn't. Big weight lose.

In residential construction for almost 30 years, wood is problematic. Customer just asked about a porch and showed me some they liked, all wood. I asked how much time they'd like to spend maintaining it and showed them one I did that was very low maintenance, but very attractive. They like that one.

Anybody who's ever had a wood deck knows what wood does and why most decks these days are composite. Treated lumber is yellow pine, much better pine outdoors than white. Picture a house that needs maintained like a wood deck, that's a job. 

Log homes also aren't a good resale and after they take on repair me mode, even less so.


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

nodog said:


> 9" is a lot, I know they're built to shift. Interior wall are on pins so when it does drop it just shifts with it. Knots don't shrink like straight grain and why the shrink is uneven and moves constantly, doesn't swell like straight grain either. The pressure isn't consistent obviously, lot of weight that's for sure, but those logs weren't dried so all the moisture in them was there when it was built and now isn't. Big weight lose.
> 
> In residential construction for almost 30 years, wood is problematic. Customer just asked about a porch and showed me some they liked, all wood. I asked how much time they'd like to spend maintaining it and showed them one I did that was very low maintenance, but very attractive. They like that one.
> 
> ...


Wet logs take forever to dry, if they ever do. I'm a furniture builder by trade - I had a 130 yr old beam from a warehouse on the woodmizer (huge band saw mill) yesterday. The massive beam (18"x18") had 8% greater moisture content in its center than it did on its exterior. A log will basically rot ever before it fully dries to ambient moisture content. 

My brother has gone thru nearly 30 windows on the gable end of his log home due to shrinkage. They hardly ever stop moving.


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## icemanls2 (Mar 15, 2007)

Wow! Talk about home on the range!!!! That is Beautiful Maxemus. Talk about an open floor plan and a view, Congrats! :thumbs_up Maybe a house warming 3D shoot with a long range over the pond shot???? lol


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

icemanls2 said:


> Wow! Talk about home on the range!!!! That is Beautiful Maxemus. Talk about an open floor plan and a view, Congrats! :thumbs_up Maybe a house warming 3D shoot with a long range over the pond shot???? lol


Thanks Iceman.


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

dblungem said:


> Wet logs take forever to dry, if they ever do. I'm a furniture builder by trade - I had a 130 yr old beam from a warehouse on the woodmizer (huge band saw mill) yesterday. The massive beam (18"x18") had 8% greater moisture content in its center than it did on its exterior. A log will basically rot ever before it fully dries to ambient moisture content.
> 
> My brother has gone thru nearly 30 windows on the gable end of his log home due to shrinkage. They hardly ever stop moving.


Yep  White pine isn't a good wood to begin with, rots easy but grows fast and straight. I'm sure that beam weighed a lot more when it was first cut. I've worked on a lot of buildings that old. Just moved a beam like that myself, couldn't if it was fresh. My home has hardwood floors and trim made from the woods I built it in. Hickory, oak, cherry. 

Been cutting trees for most of my life.


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Looks like a GREAT place to hunt..will have to save my money maybe I can hunt there some day...


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## Mallardbreath (Dec 7, 2007)

Looks amazing! Great job!


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

Ya know the crazy thing is that his other trophy room is even nicer! haha.


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## Kansas Bruisers (Dec 14, 2006)

Every hunter should have a place like that, it's pretty awesome!


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## outdrsman11 (Feb 6, 2010)

OP, are the builders of your home a national company or are they local? We just got moved in to our new home last August and it is a metal building as well. Very simple, open layout which makes for great entertaining. Congrats on your new place! Love the fireplace. Ours is also similar, just not quite as grand with the stone (stuff isnt cheap!!). Enjoy.


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## ruffme (Aug 4, 2005)

Is this going to be an outfitter lodge?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks guys. 
Builder is local. 
This is NOT an outfitters lodge but I have the ability to market it as such in the future when I or my kids decide to sell.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just got the quote for sod. Almost 20k. I must have had a sign on my forehead(fool) when I met the landscape guy. Looks like we're going to lay down seed instead lol


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## ruffme (Aug 4, 2005)

Seed it with short native prairie! No watering/maintenance!


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## Dthbyhoyt (Dec 4, 2004)

Thats dang nice ...


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## golfanddeernut (Sep 11, 2012)

Looks good Ernie, I got to follow this when you were my team mate this season on AT on team thwack. I am sure that will give you a lot of enjoyment in the coming years. How much time do you think you will be spending there? It must be hard to adjust to the cold coming from Miami.


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## ILbowhunter79 (Mar 15, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> Just got the quote for sod. Almost 20k. I must have had a sign on my forehead(fool) when I met the landscape guy. Looks like we're going to lay down seed instead lol


Plant winter wheat and clover instead


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

golfanddeernut said:


> Looks good Ernie, I got to follow this when you were my team mate this season on AT on team thwack. I am sure that will give you a lot of enjoyment in the coming years. How much time do you think you will be spending there? It must be hard to adjust to the cold coming from Miami.


Hey buddy. Thanks. 
I usually spend close to two months out of the year at the farm. Not consecutively but mostly in the fall. 
I actually enjoy the cold. I was there during the polar vortex last year and had 13 inches of snow overnight. Temp got to -28 or so with the wind chill. I remember having over two dozen deer around me that day. It was brutally cold


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

redruff said:


> Seed it with short native prairie! No watering/maintenance!


The problem is that this quote was just for the area around the house. I have plans to put fruit trees and switchgrass in other areas.


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## MN Slick (Feb 10, 2003)

Truly amazing place, congratulations!!!!


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## SPANKEM (Oct 30, 2013)

The house looks great! I've enjoyed following the progress. 
When we bought our first piece of property there was a large metal building in place. We didn't make any cosmetic changes to the outside.......left it looking like an old metal building. We insulated ceiling/walls 
and then basically built the lodge inside.....exterior walls and all. It was stand alone and not connected to the building and shared no walls. There was enough room else where in the building to keep our four wheelers and other gear. Needless to say it was no first class log home!


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Its beautiful! Ive loved all the pictures along the way! Congrats on your accomplishments, it looks like its paid off!

I built a similar place in 2010, 32x40 2 story with electric heat pump and boiler for floor heat. My average heat and electric bill is usually around 150-175 total. I also have the same insulation as you. I do however have concrete siding, not metal. I think you will be very happy with it! My bills were much better once the workers were out of there!!! Enjoy!


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## whiskeyonsunday (Aug 24, 2011)

very nice sir!!! luck guy; hope you and your family enjoy it for years to come.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas. Were trying to get this livable for turkey season. Fine tuning as time and budget allow. I just asked for a 20x20 slab for a fire pit.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thinking of putting one of these. What do you guys think?


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## onlyaspike (Apr 16, 2007)

THe House looks BEAUTIFUL man !!!! Id love to have something like that.....Big Open living area with a Large front/back porch for watchng the wildlife.


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## Southpaw43 (Jan 13, 2008)

You are a blessed man whose hard work has paid off. Congrats its a beautiful place.


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## Flagstaff Bound (Mar 29, 2007)

Maxemus, any chance you have a link to info on the composite flooring you used upstairs? Thanks man!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Custom made dining room table just got delivered today


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Been close to a month since an update so I figured I would chime in

The wife and I just spent a week up there to organize the home and outfit it. There was a lot of activity going on with many of the trades coming and going but we worked through it and had a blast. I know this is archery talk so I hope no one gets offended but I took a nice bird with my beretta and I figured I would show it on here 









Called in another just like it for a buddy but he whiffed. 

Anyway back to the house;
















Two pictures of the main area. I sent out a crate of surplus mounts I had at home to decorate and give it a hunting lodge feel. We are missing several pieces of furniture including dining chairs, tables for the sectional, stools etc etc. Wallet is on fire so I gotta take it easy for a bit lol















Here's the mud room in its initial stages. I didn't have time to careful plan out what I want to do yet but the idea is to get dressed and undressed down here only so the house stays cleaner and the clothes won't smell of food. The other pic shows the double door into the mud room. I put a hose bib on it to wash the mud off the boots prior to entry.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Got three rooms that look exactly like this one. Each room has its own bathroom. 1 each for my two sons and another as a guest room. 









Threw an extra slab at the entrance to connect the driveway to the door. The driveway and grading will be done by next week hopefully. Putting brownish rock to continue the look of the house









We were able to throw the slab for the garage finally. Here's how it looks in relation to the house. Would have liked to have it further away but the layout just wouldn't allow for it.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's two views of a sidewalk and the pad I made for the fire pit. It's behind the home enough so that the prevailing winds shouldn't blow smoke into the terrace. 

Here's what we did this morning. There's a drainage ditch that flows into the pond down the hill. I should say there was because we brought it down today. My next project will be to deepen and widen the pond also I want to create a man made stream by circulating the water up to the top of the hill and letting gravity bring it back down. 

Here's a before and after















And here's a view of the house from the bottom of the hill


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Man, that looks awesome! If I knew you were looking for a table, I would have been glad to make you one - it's what I do. 

I can't wait to see the finished project - going to be a beautiful place!


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## mn5503 (Feb 21, 2006)

Coming along nicely! Looks great man.


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## sIllBowtech (May 10, 2007)

Where are you located in Illinois?


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> I'm a value investor which means that rarely would I pay retail for rec land. I only paid market on two small pieces that I needed to buy to make a legal dispute go away. The farm I just bought was a distress sale so I came in and got a great deal on it. Walked the other day and was blown away with how beautiful it truly is. I have it leased to Hadley creek for two more years and although it's a bit far away from pike the boys know its a whooper of a big buck farm.


How do you find 900 of continuous distresseds property???????????


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

wacker stacker said:


> How do you find 900 of continuous distresseds property???????????


Where you get in trouble is when you pay full retail for rec property. If the situations worsens then you would end up taking a hit in case you need to sell. As long as you abide by that philosophy and are open with the seller you would be fine. 
In my case I started with a partner on one piece and bought it at 10% below market. Then added two separate pieces for which I did pay retail but they were small so it didn't bring the average up too badly. Years later I was able to add a large contiguous piece at a substantial discount. Just luck I guess


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## Outdoorsman63 (Aug 22, 2011)

Looks great! I really enjoy following this thread.


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## ILL BUCK (Oct 25, 2002)

Outdoorsman63 said:


> Looks great! I really enjoy following this thread.


Me too!!!


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## Huntin Hard (Aug 8, 2011)

ILL BUCK said:


> Me too!!!


Add me in there too lol. This is awesome


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## Tonto79 (Feb 13, 2011)

That place is absolutely gorgeous ! I cant wait to see more pics


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## Nosdog2 (Sep 28, 2003)

Great place! Looks like your hard work is paying off, I will be there one day as well. Congrats and keep the pictures flowing.


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

Ernie,

This place is looking amazing! Congrats to ya brother. It would be hard to pull yourself away from that place to go "home". Amazing job man, it looks awesome.


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

wow thats amazing, congrats


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## wacker stacker (Feb 2, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> Where you get in trouble is when you pay full retail for rec property. If the situations worsens then you would end up taking a hit in case you need to sell. As long as you abide by that philosophy and are open with the seller you would be fine.
> In my case I started with a partner on one piece and bought it at 10% below market. Then added two separate pieces for which I did pay retail but they were small so it didn't bring the average up too badly. Years later I was able to add a large contiguous piece at a substantial discount. Just luck I guess


Ya luck always helps but there is no such thing as below market value here. Everyone bids it up to market and then 10% more so they get it bought. I can't complain I picked up a 40 for a great price and it opened up two land locked 20's which in my opinion we got a great deal on. 19 months ago I never though I would find ground and then Bingo it happens! I just planted an acre of corn this morning and took a little walk before work. My dad retires next May 1st and will be able to use it all the time as it is only 12 minutes from home. It is the most rewarding thing I have and probably ever will accomplish. To anyone who thinks they can pull off picking up some ground, do it!
It tends to take hunting to a different place. Instead of ,"hey there's a deer", shoot it"! Most of the time I don't even pick my bow up off the hanger now. It is already rewarding enough just see it all come together. I can't wait until my little boy and the niece and nephews are old enough to hunt!


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## huntnfishnut (Jan 12, 2011)

Looking really really good.


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## kynknwl (Apr 30, 2010)

ohiobooners said:


> Curiosity makes me wonder why the metal building homes are so energy efficiency handicap? If the insulation is properly done wouldn't the R rating increase and compensate? I've built my last 3 homes but all were your typical frame homes.


They aren't if done right. I live in one that's total electric, and the electric bill is super low. It has the normal "barn" insulation on the roof and walls, then spray in on top of the ceiling and between the walls and metal.


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## ohiobooners (Mar 31, 2008)

kynknwl said:


> They aren't if done right. I live in one that's total electric, and the electric bill is super low. It has the normal "barn" insulation on the roof and walls, then spray in on top of the ceiling and between the walls and metal.
> View attachment 1949146


Was the spray insulation pricey?


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## kynknwl (Apr 30, 2010)

ohiobooners said:


> Was the spray insulation pricey?


Ya, I wouldn't call it cheap. It was several years ago, but it was quite a bit more than the regular stuff. I think it is well worth it though.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

heres a question for you guys.
the basement was significantly colder than upstairs to the point that it was uncomfortable but if I were to put on the heat then it gets hot upstairs. I closed all the vents supplying air to the basement but im not sure that is wise or not. the other thing is that when I turned on the heat, the room downstairs next to the mechanical room got outright hot to the point it may be impossible to sleep in. any of you fellas know how to resolve this?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

The wife took me furniture shopping tonight. We ended up getting these for the farm house

View attachment 1953261

4 counter height for the kitchen and 8 for the dinner table 
View attachment 1953262

I love rocking chairs so I got 2
View attachment 1953263


Two tall lamps for the master bedroom


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## KS Bow Hunter (Nov 22, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> heres a question for you guys.
> the basement was significantly colder than upstairs to the point that it was uncomfortable but if I were to put on the heat then it gets hot upstairs. I closed all the vents supplying air to the basement but im not sure that is wise or not. the other thing is that when I turned on the heat, the room downstairs next to the mechanical room got outright hot to the point it may be impossible to sleep in. any of you fellas know how to resolve this?


Assuming you have two levels, basement and first floor, and a single HVAC system? If that's the case, you will need to balance the system through dampers and vents to get the right flow to each floor and room. You should also make sure that you have the right number of returns, with the right surface area. Often, a single return is put in a single story building...that's not good. Ideally, you have a return in each room, with at least one vent per room. The exception is you do not want a return in the bathrooms and the kitchen.

I also put a variable speed fan in all my houses now, and leave the fan on all the time. The house I'm in now for 11 years, the fan has never been off. That keeps air flowing, being filtered, and evens out hot and cold spots. I use heat pumps with two stage heating units...

That's all I got without being there...good luck...get a good HVAC guy to look at it...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks KS


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## maximus4444 (May 27, 2011)

Wow, this place is awesome. Maybe someday....


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## SBXT29 (Aug 9, 2013)

I sure hope this "Farmhouse" is real and we don't find out that Maxemus is using pictures from Country Living magazine.

Seriously, great place.


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## Cornbread (Mar 13, 2003)

SBXT29 said:


> I sure hope this "Farmhouse" is real and we don't find out that Maxemus is using pictures from Country Living magazine.
> 
> Seriously, great place.


Could be in a high fence gated community. 

Awesome place. I've really enjoyed looking at the progress.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Funny fellas. Unfortunately my biggest is a 160 and died by ML. Lots of big deer killed around me but I guess I'm a buck repellent


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## trails end (Dec 16, 2010)

Hi Max! Will see you this fall at Ma and Pa's. Very nice sir!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

trails end said:


> Hi Max! Will see you this fall at Ma and Pa's. Very nice sir!!


Hmmmm. Thanks. Who are you ?


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

SBXT29 said:


> I sure hope this "Farmhouse" is real and we don't find out that Maxemus is using pictures from Country Living magazine.
> 
> Seriously, great place.


I was waiting for that one!

Place is amazing.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Well, progress has slowed a bit but we've managed to get the front graded. You can also see the landscape
Island in the middle of the driveway has been done and sculpted. We will be waiting till August to put in all trees and plants. 

Getting a wing wall put in soon to allow a better approach to the barn door for tractors and such. Once that goes in then the rocks for the driveway go in.


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## maxx98 (May 10, 2010)

That place is awesome. If I was you I would plant a annual rye grass ASAP. It germinates quick and it should help hold in the soil. Then you can come back over it with a bluegrass mix. You want to get something holding the soil. After 3 years on my 5 acres I am still fighting this. 

Basements tend to always be colder. If you have people sleeping down there you can toss them a bunch of extra blankets or/and put a little electric space heater down there. In the Sumer I don't do anything because the basement feels great when it is hot out. In the winter I will turn the space heater on and it does a great job our basement is 2000 sqft. 

A little late for you now but I also have in floor heating in the basement but I haven't spent the money on the boilers yet. We put it in our garage also and I can't wait to have it hooked up.


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## Berdo (Dec 21, 2013)

Beautiful looking place!!!! Will be a great place to spend time with family and friends.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

maxx98 said:


> That place is awesome. If I was you I would plant a annual rye grass ASAP. It germinates quick and it should help hold in the soil. Then you can come back over it with a bluegrass mix. You want to get something holding the soil. After 3 years on my 5 acres I am still fighting this.
> 
> Basements tend to always be colder. If you have people sleeping down there you can toss them a bunch of extra blankets or/and put a little electric space heater down there. In the Sumer I don't do anything because the basement feels great when it is hot out. In the winter I will turn the space heater on and it does a great job our basement is 2000 sqft.
> 
> A little late for you now but I also have in floor heating in the basement but I haven't spent the money on the boilers yet. We put it in our garage also and I can't wait to have it hooked up.


Thanks max
I'm right on top of a hill so there shouldn't be too much of a problem with erosion between now and aug when they will plant the grass. I'm hoping to put a good size area into fruit trees and another into switch grass.


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## dstreet (Jul 14, 2008)

Man that place is sweet. Looks like you built a place your family can enjoy for awhile. Awesome!


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## benkharr (Dec 20, 2011)

Awesome place!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks guys. The wife and I really enjoyed the week we spent up there and can't wait for the boys to come see it. Finally got it insured this week which is a load off my mind. Hope to have some more pics after the first week of June


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## DavidBLingo (Nov 24, 2008)

Beautiful place!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Driveway rock got there yesterday. Heading there today to see the progress


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

There's a locust plague that I haven't seen before. So I had to spray the apple trees.


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## _rj_ (May 23, 2014)

Awesome place. I'll be over next weekend


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Turkeys in my driveway.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This curious young buck came right to me tonight. Why can't they behave like that in November?


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## Scotty C (Dec 21, 2006)

Cool thread man...
My highlight of the year is when I get to Illinois in November. 
It's a dream of mine to buy the piece of land that I lease.


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## Mathias (Mar 21, 2005)

keep em coming…...


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## archeryninja (Jun 18, 2012)

Really beautiful place Maxemus


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

looking good man!


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## Kansas Bruisers (Dec 14, 2006)

The property is looking good. These type of threads are my favorite.


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## jamms (Apr 27, 2014)

Awesome progress! Enjoy the house and I look forward to more pictures.


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## floridacrackr (Feb 15, 2013)

Looks like your having fun....all that work will pay off come October/Novemeber!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had to get the driveway rolled today. Too much loose rock


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

I think that middle section needs a big elk statute or a fountain with a bunch of bears playing in it.


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## floridacrackr (Feb 15, 2013)

Im sure he has something up his sleeve...lol


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

DaneHunter said:


> I think that middle section needs a big elk statute or a fountain with a bunch of bears playing in it.


Lmao. I'm going conservative and only putting shrubs and trees there. I wanted to put a bear statute in the middle of my driveway back home, even had an artist do a rendering to see what it would look like before i commissioned it but at the end I decided against it.


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Lmao. I'm going conservative and only putting shrubs and trees there. I wanted to put a bear statute in the middle of my driveway back home, even had an artist do a rendering to see what it would look like before i commissioned it but at the end I decided against it.
> View attachment 1970805


That was your old house?? Where was it, Spain?


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## Toonces (Dec 16, 2008)

Maxemus said:


> Lmao. I'm going conservative and only putting shrubs and trees there. I wanted to put a bear statute in the middle of my driveway back home, even had an artist do a rendering to see what it would look like before i commissioned it but at the end I decided against it.
> View attachment 1970805


Nice spread! You should have done the bear statute and printed "The World is Yours" underneath it.


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## honker22 (Jul 24, 2012)

Congrats on the awesome home and farm house! I'm not supposed to be jealous of "Thy Neighbor", but this is testing me.


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## CamoCop (May 19, 2009)

where's the helicopter pad?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

DaneHunter said:


> That was your old house?? Where was it, Spain?


No but I built it to look like a Spanish/Italian villa.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Toonces said:


> Nice spread! You should have done the bear statute and printed "The World is Yours" underneath it.


Hmmm I love that movie but the similarities end at the ethnicity angle


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## 4X4HD (Jun 11, 2008)

Looking great!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Ohh totally forgot to let you guys know I wAs able to bring cell phone signal into the house. As you may know that the steel buildings pretty much prohibit signal from entering. 
We put in this system from SureCall and after much trouble shooting I got it to work.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Looks amazing!!! You won't want to be anywhere else


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Garage being framed.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Garage is sealed up and doors got out in last week. Happy to say the new tractor fits inside.


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## kentwood1 (Jul 5, 2009)

Very nice!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

More updates








Drained the pond now were going to let it dry out and get to work on making it deeper and wider









Gathering pot got delivered. Outdoor furniture still to come as well as landscaping around it









20 light lamp installed. Took well over two months to arrive. 
















South and north side staircases being built for access to backyard from main floor. All made from composite except for the supports


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Looking good!


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Looks amazing...hope you will get some time off to enjoy it


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks guys. It feels like it's taking forever but eventually it will be done. Can't wait to really sit down and enjoy it.


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Geez, Ernie that cabin is sure looking good. It better be ready by Oct. 1st. Just around the corner, you know.


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## ILbowhunter79 (Mar 15, 2011)

I need gps coordinates for this house so I can inspect it in person, have a feeling this place isn't more than 30 minutes from me....looks good!


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## Schnitzer21 (Mar 10, 2013)

Really looks nice! My brother is building what he's calling a "shouse" (shed-house) starting here in a couple of weeks!


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## Bullhound (Feb 5, 2004)

very cool thread! really neat to so your progression. Great job!!!


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Looks great. Will my room be ready for November?


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## Junglekat (Sep 7, 2006)

Looks great.Starting to buy lotto tickets.


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## Assassin73 (Apr 18, 2011)

I just read this whole thread, your place is beautiful. I hope I can end up with a place like that someday.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the kind words.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Garage insulation, wiring, and lights done. Next trip up I'm organizing it.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Looks like a great place to gather and relax


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

I don't know why I open this thread. Masochism I guess...

Looks awesome! 

Where's the walk in cooler/processing area?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> I don't know why I open this thread. Masochism I guess...
> 
> Looks awesome!
> 
> Where's the walk in cooler/processing area?


Captain
We have a walk in cooler on the other side of the property so I'm not putting one in this garage. 
Next up is the pond rebuild, grass seeding, landscaping, soil prep for the frost seeding of the switch grass in the winter, aerial spraying of the invasive honeysuckle, and finally the orchard on dec 1st. After that I'm done. My wallet is screaming at me to stop


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## Victory357 (Oct 21, 2012)

No offense, but this thread is starting to remind me of ohiobooners. 


"I found a 1951 chevy with 1500 miles on it"

"I had an artist do a rendering of my spanish villa"

"Here is a picture of my wife's huge rack while she is shooting a bow"

"I'm leasing to Hadley"

"Check out my double droptine buck and ripped blue jeans"

"I delivered my Africa head mounts from my third house to my second house, I hung them up over my custom made table"

"Here is a picture of the crippled doe I just killed; had her aged at 16 years old"


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Victory357 said:


> No offense, but this thread is starting to remind me of ohiobooners.
> 
> 
> "I found a 1951 chevy with 1500 miles on it"
> ...


There aren't many people on this site that I feel are genuine but I think Max is one of them. He obviously has a great deal of money but he seems to only be showing pictures of his house, which is more about being proud than bragging.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

DaneHunter said:


> There aren't many people on this site that I feel are genuine but I think Max is one of them. He obviously has a great deal of money but he seems to only be showing pictures of his house, which is more about being proud than bragging.


Thanks Dane 
What i have most is an undying love for this sport and a severe hatred for anything that in my opinion is degrading the sport but lets not get into this now. 
Yes there are better performing investments out there but I figure this provides me with more enjoyment compared to say... Buying an apartment building. 
I was born poor as dirt being sons of immigrants having menial jobs. I had mentioned before that my father had to hunt pigeons for food for a while. The Miami of the early 60's was not always a very welcoming city. My parents worked many jobs just to provide me with a better education. 

At the age of 14 I started working under a false work permit bc I needed to start helping my parents. At the age of 21 I got married and had a mortgage but I was technically under the poverty line. Yet I knew that with an unrelenting desire to succeed and endless hard work I too could make my dreams come true. Thankfully it has, and now I can do cool things but I never take anything for granted. I thank god every day for the opportunities he's given me. 

There have been those that have disagreed with me on AT and some of them have been bitter and vindictive but I take it all in stride. Nothing they can say will take away the smile I wake up with and the pleasure that I live with every single day. I wish everyone the fortune of being able to reach their goals whatever they may be. 

As Dane brought up I did not start this thread to brag. I felt that perhaps I could paint a picture of what's possible if you dedicate yourself to making your dreams a reality. I could only hope that if I inspire 1 person on here to reach for the stars then it's all worth it.


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## hooiserarcher (Feb 20, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks Dane
> What i have most is an undying love for this sport and a severe hatred for anything that in my opinion is degrading the sport but lets not get into this now.
> Yes there are better performing investments out there but I figure this provides me with more enjoyment compared to say... Buying an apartment building.
> I was born poor as dirt being sons of immigrants having menial jobs. I had mentioned before that my father had to hunt pigeons for food for a while. The Miami of the early 60's was not always a very welcoming city. My parents worked many jobs just to provide me with a better education.
> ...


For every critic you have dozens of supporters. Enjoy what you have and feel free to share it with as many photos as you like.


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## snapps (Jan 25, 2009)

Hey Max, Nothing wrong with being proud of your place I have really enjoyed this post so keep us posted. Oh yea, that Ol' saying "The more $ you put into it, The more $ you will get for it."


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## tanna114 (May 2, 2005)

I love the updates as well. Keep em coming!


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## Victory357 (Oct 21, 2012)

hooiserarcher said:


> For every critic you have dozens of supporters. Enjoy what you have and feel free to share it with as many photos as you like.



"Supporters"? He is some dude building a house, why does he need supporters? 

Of course a lot of people occasionally posts pictures of stuff they are proud of - a big deer they've shot, a new truck, their new bow, or their man cave. But there comes a point where gratuitous self-congratulating is conspicuous. Here is an artist rendering of my second home, oh and here is my custom made table, oh and here is my new tractor, oh and by the way I'm leasing to Hadley, oh and my avatar is a picture of my bicep, and on and on.... 

Just callin it like I see it. If you don't like it I'll give you a full refund.


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Victory357 said:


> "Supporters"? He is some dude building a house, why does he need supporters?
> 
> Of course a lot of people occasionally posts pictures of stuff they are proud of - a big deer they've shot, a new truck, their new bow, or their man cave. But there comes a point where gratuitous self-congratulating is conspicuous. Here is an artist rendering of my second home, oh and here is my custom made table, oh and here is my new tractor, oh and by the way I'm leasing to Hadley, oh and my avatar is a picture of my bicep, and on and on....
> 
> Just callin it like I see it. If you don't like it I'll give you a full refund.


Its okay, everyone gets a little jealous every now and then.


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## Victory357 (Oct 21, 2012)

Man are you clever. How did you come up with that so quickly?


Keep sniffin quivers Dane. I'm out.


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## hooiserarcher (Feb 20, 2011)

Victory357 said:


> Man are you clever. How did you come up with that so quickly?
> 
> 
> Keep sniffin quivers Dane. I'm out.


There are a LOT of people that enjoy Max's posts. Maybe supporters was not the best word. I hope one day to own some ground of my own and in the mean time I am enjoying seeing someone else living the dream. If you don't like the thread don't click on it. Simple as that. No sense letting the A.T. community seeing your jealousy.


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## Huntin Hard (Aug 8, 2011)

You don't like what he's doing or saying then don't click on it. There's alot of threads I don't agree with and I don't click on them. I for one like it and think it's awsome.


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## wademiller (Apr 16, 2006)

The place looks amazing. I am all for the steel buildings.


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## YBSLO (Nov 3, 2005)

Nice man! Real nice! 

Get you some whole house surge protection at the main panel and a couple lighting rods at the roof top!

Is this west of CP?


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Victory357 said:


> I'm out.


Thank you, we appreciate that.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's an update on the pond remodel. Had to halt work due to the 6 inches if rain we had last week. It's a muddy mess but here are the pictures on how it looks at the present. 






























Were moving the dirt up hill to lessen a drainage ditch so we can plant the orchard next.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Let me know when the doe-shoot kicks off! I'll pack me bags!

You gonna hold a BASS Tourney in that sucker? Looks sweet!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's a view from the back porch


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Last update till the orchard gets put in. Pond got finished and there's just a couple of hours left of dozer work to smooth out all the soil that got moved up the hill. The first batch of fish is coming in at the end of the month and bass in 2016 to give the prey fish some time to get established. 








This is where the bulk of the fruit trees will be going. We will be adding two buffers of Real World seed switchgrass on the north and south in order to provide bedding area for deer. 








This is the view from the east where all the Norwegian spruce will be planted to add a privacy wall.


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## Huntin Hard (Aug 8, 2011)

Awsome man! Totally jealous of your farm!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thought I'd share what I have done so far in the mud room. 
One of the greatest obstacles any of us have is keeping odors away from our hunting clothes and gear. I debated on how I could minimize odors at the farm house as I did not plan on getting dressed in the field. Doing that may be ideal but it's just not for me so I turned my focus to trying to minimize and control the flow of air around the house. 
Originally I specified I wanted a magnum exhaust fan. Something that would literally suck your eyeballs out. What I got was far from what I thought i had ordered and despite having the builder putting in a fresh air vent it has under performed sadly enough. This being said I'm not too concerned because as poorly as it works I've been lucky that no odors seem to get to the mud room. So I turned my attention to getting dressed completely in that room. Designing it in a way that works has been challenging and I've had to scrap many ideas along the way. To keep it simple I'm showing my latest attempt at a no odor room. 
Originally I wanted to hang clothes so I started with a Kobalt track system from Lowes. It works ok I guess if all I wanted was to hang a few garments but I need a system so after some intense research and with some insight from a fellow AT member I purchased two scent master boxes. The reason for buying two is because there just is not enough space for all my gear in just one and buying the scent master locker was out of the question. My initial thoughts is positive. I do think it does in fact minimize odors. The downside is the damn noise they make. It's like having a leaf blower in your house for crying out loud. 
Then I realized that I needed something to keep all my clothes contained in one place. I thought about cabinets or plastic boxes etc but the wife found these 4 foot canvas covered garment racks in the container store that I thought would work great. I didn't realize how strong new canvas smelled so I decided I would try to air it out and see what changed. Happy to say that after two days of hanging from the terrace it no longer smells strongly. Since I have so much crap I've accumulated over the years I wisely bought two. Now I have all the big stuff hanging and I placed the smaller pieces in clear plastic boxes below but in the same rack. 
I got distracted doing chores today and left some bread toasting. Next thing I know the fire alarm went off. Turns out the thing was broken and the whole main floor filled with smoke. Odor reached the basement but didn't penetrate the door leading to the mud room. Seems it's working so far. Any way here's a few pics of the project

Well for some reason the pics won't load. Will do it in the next post


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)




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## Okie X (Dec 3, 2005)

*nice digs*


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

The burnt toast test lol...

Continues to look amazing.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Not exactly related to the farm house but I figured I'd share it with all of you.
Throughout the summer this guy has been living between the neighbors draw and my place. Early on he was quite visible and as the summer got long he started getting more and more nocturnal to the point where he would only come out on film after 9 pm.
He's no monster but definitely mature. 

Early summer pic















Then he started getting completely nocturnal















In late September he shifted he started venturing further from his normal bedding area and I stopped getting pics of him in one food plot altogether but I noticed a distinct pattern to his movements. After 12 days of hunting I had yet to see him in either of two travel routes I had identified he might be using. It all changed on the 28th which was the coldest morning of the year so far. 
The stand I was using has a rape food plot behind me and an oak stand in front so the wind is iffy depending where they come from. Deer started coming by after 8 am with a spike pushing the does around a bit. Then I spot the first 11 pointer which I discarded as a shooter so I grab my video camera and start taping. When he turns to leave I turn off the camera and threw out a series of grunts to try to bring him back. He disappeared behind some bushes but came right to me. To my surprise the bigger 11 was right behind him and came to point blank range. I had to jam my video camera in my pack and pick up the bow in a hurry. The shot was so close that I spined him and had to put in a second shot to kill him. The pictures don't do him justice and I've yet to score him but we are all estimating him to be somewhere in the 150's. 








I can't begin to describe how grateful
I am to be able to put so much into my farm and see the fruits of my labor pay off. I know there's bigger bucks out there and henceforth I will be setting the bar a little higher but I'm going to enjoy this one for a few days.


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## Boilers (Sep 10, 2013)

Dang man. Congratulations. That's a trophy for anybody. Now it's time to start decorating the house with some horn! 

Also, I don't know if this has been asked recently, but how is your wife doing? Feel free to pm me if you want.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Boilers said:


> Dang man. Congratulations. That's a trophy for anybody. Now it's time to start decorating the house with some horn!
> 
> Also, I don't know if this has been asked recently, but how is your wife doing? Feel free to pm me if you want.


Thanks boilers. She's doing better. She has good days and bad ones but she's a fighter. Thanks for remembering


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## BigDeer (Aug 9, 2005)

Very nice setup and congrats on a great buck. Keep the updates coming, I've enjoyed this thread.


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## Boilers (Sep 10, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks boilers. She's doing better. She has good days and bad ones but she's a fighter. Thanks for remembering


Good to hear! I will keep her in my thoughts and prayers. I know several people who suffer daily from a various array of illnesses. I can't begin to understand what it's like to go through, but I know it takes a real man to stand by his wife and family in a time like this and I highly commend you. Keep pressing on!

God bless you


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I may have gone a little overboard with the blue color for the pond 








So planting day finally arrived and the crew for here after a 3 plus hour drive from effingham Illinois. With yesterday's rain the hillside is a muddy mess so we're planting the other tree plots first and hoping this strong wind will freeze some of the mud over night. 
I'm a patient man but since I prefer to have fruit sooner rather than later we opted for 15 gallon trees for the orchard. We're hoping to have some drop this coming year. 
First order of business is to create a visual buffer to protect the deer from the being spotted from the road so i planted 50 Norway spruce in an offset row in order to have them grow into each other. It might take several years to get that accomplished but that's the plan at least. 








Here's a pic of some of the trees being planted over the next few days. I will try to get good pics of how they look when all planted. In total were planting close to 200 trees


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Forgot to add this so you can see the relative size of the majority of the trees being planted


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## honker22 (Jul 24, 2012)

Looking good Maxemus, I tried to create a similar buffer at my place in MS, but on a much smaller/cheaper scale. In this particular region, the forest is 99% hardwood, so my buffer trees were pummeled by bucks looking for fresh, odiferous, sappy stuff to rub. Yours are a good bit larger than mine, so maybe they will be spared. I just didnt feel like enclosing mine, and I learned my lesson. Oh yeah and awesome buck!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

honker22 said:


> Looking good Maxemus, I tried to create a similar buffer at my place in MS, but on a much smaller/cheaper scale. In this particular region, the forest is 99% hardwood, so my buffer trees were pummeled by bucks looking for fresh, odiferous, sappy stuff to rub. Yours are a good bit larger than mine, so maybe they will be spared. I just didnt feel like enclosing mine, and I learned my lesson. Oh yeah and awesome buck!


Thanks honker 
Ultimately I don't know for sure if these norways are going to survive but all the research I did led me to believe that this particular variety of cedar is the most resistant to blight and the least likely to be molested by deer. Time will tell but I sure hope they survive.


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## TauntoHawk (Aug 25, 2010)

Awesome thread, you've built your dream on hard work and I couldn't respect that more. Hope it brings years of enjoyment and memories to you and your family.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

TauntoHawk said:


> Awesome thread, you've built your dream on hard work and I couldn't respect that more. Hope it brings years of enjoyment and memories to you and your family.


Thank you for the kind words. 

Orchard should be finished tomorrow so pictures will be posted then. The driveway is a mess. Shouldn't have put on this fancy rock that doesn't settle. I've tried everything from rolling it to adding smaller pieces. At this point I have to live with a bad decision but well don't we all sooner or later?


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## catkinson (Jul 17, 2007)

Maybe some screenings on top of rock? 
It might settle down in between rock and create a compacted surface. 
Also, time for some food plots out there in the spring/ summer!


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## florida life (Sep 28, 2014)

Man I am jealous that is like my dream house and property haha!

Gratz man!!


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## floridacrackr (Feb 15, 2013)

Looking good my friend!


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Great looking place and I love how you are developing the land! My family and I are almost ready to start our own build and I check your thread often as it's an inspiration to me. 

Good luck on your continued efforts.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas. Here's a partial update. 
Allow me to expand on this so you can know the whole story 
So last year we planted dunstan chestnut trees that we got from Farm King in macomb. We placed them on one side of the hill and had pears and apple trees on the other side in between these we placed a 15 foot ******* 6x6 tower. Unfortunately this rookie(me) killed half the chestnuts and the fruit trees seem to have died from being choked out by the tall grass. 
On my other farm, the previous owner had done two tree plots and those suffered tremendously from drought and weed competition. 
So this year I decided to remake the hill behind my house and as I had said before I took out a wooded ravine that had crap trees and left four walnut trees. The turning point from dream to reality was when I contacted Justin Roepke from Www.wildlifemanagementtrees.com. Justin and Steve Neiberg his business partner also belong to wWW.team-radical.com and are no strangers to killing big bucks. Justin drive three hours to meet with me and guide me with my goals. I seldom expound on laying down praise but I'm going to in this case because it's more than well earned. These two young men have gone above and beyond in helping me establish these tree plots. I highly recommend them. Their plan is to create a fruit drop that will provide wildlife from summer through February. This design was accomplished by placing different varieties in a specific pattern that would have fruit dropping lower along the hill as the season progressed. Careful thought was put into placing pollinators in areas where they benefitted other varieties and clover will be sowed underneath all fruit trees to prevent competition and To also help in nutrient retention and to spur further pollination from bees. I tell ya what I've learned from these two fellas in the last few months is worth every penny. Today was cloudy as can be and it started snowing an hour after these pics were taken so I will update these in a sunny day with all the cages being up and such but till then here's some pics 

Hope you all have a fabulous thanksgiving holiday and I wish you all happiness


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Chestnut replanting that I must have killed by round up drift last year. Lesson learned lol








This is one of two tree plots on my other farm. I had a hunter in the woods in a field with the other tree plot so I did not take pics of those 

Both of these tree plots were terribly hurt by the droughts of 2012 and 13 with over 3/4 of the trees dying. Our plan calls for careful scheduled watering and weed barriers to minimize competition 
















This plot is behind my house as you can see in the background. I don't have the final tally yet but we have over 150 fruit and chestnut trees. I decided to spend a bit more and buy 15 gallon trees in order to lessen the waiting time till fruit production. 

Next project is in February when we will be putting in several acres of switchgrass to create bedding cover.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Oops both pics look the same. Here's another for perspective








I have another 35 trees along the southern part that don't appear in the pic


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## tim2970 (Jan 10, 2010)

Wow! Very nice!


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Can't imagine what that will be like in 5 years or so. Heck of a spot, for sure. I can't wait to take a look around when I see you in the spring.


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## MI1 (Apr 10, 2013)

Bump


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## Disco14 (Jan 14, 2010)

Awesome farm- enjoyed seeing all of the progress throughout the thread. It must be rewarding enjoying all the "fruits" of your labor. Congrats.


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## mckbcat2000 (Feb 6, 2005)

Nicely done Sir.


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## BigDeer (Aug 9, 2005)

Looks great, thanks for the updates!


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## bacon27 (Jul 11, 2008)

Maxemus said:


> View attachment 1967651
> 
> 
> There's a locust plague that I haven't seen before. So I had to spray the apple trees.


OK Max, forget the house, I want to see this 200 acre orchard you mentioned in another thread. I know you won't be spraying that yourself. 

I see you have posted some trees you planted but that aint 200 acres! What type of trees and things do you have in those orchards? Did you plant them according to Drop times, what rootstock did you use for your fruit trees. Are these for commercial, personal, or deer use? :wink:


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## Hunt4Jesus (Jan 12, 2006)

With God ALL things are Possible!!!! Max that is a beautiful place and I can only pray that one day that I am blessed to own a place like that. You have set up a place exactly how I have dreamed up one in my mind. Enjoy every piece of it.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

bacon27 said:


> OK Max, forget the house, I want to see this 200 acre orchard you mentioned in another thread. I know you won't be spraying that yourself.
> 
> I see you have posted some trees you planted but that aint 200 acres! What type of trees and things do you have in those orchards? Did you plant them according to Drop times, what rootstock did you use for your fruit trees. Are these for commercial, personal, or deer use? :wink:


Oh boy, I meant to say 200 tree orchard. A 200 acre orchard would have caused my wife to immediately divorce me. 
We planted a variety of apples, a few pears, persimmons, and chestnuts. All designed to drop from around the house then further from the house as the season progresses. It was strictly for wildlife except for four fig trees. 

Total acreage for the orchard is about 6 acres.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Hunt4Jesus said:


> With God ALL things are Possible!!!! Max that is a beautiful place and I can only pray that one day that I am blessed to own a place like that. You have set up a place exactly how I have dreamed up one in my mind. Enjoy every piece of it.


Thank you very much.


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Subscribed, finally found it!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Heading out tomorrow to the farm to do some chores and plan out my food plots for 2015. I made a deal with the fellas on my lease whereby I would put in all food plots in exchange for them letting me hunt the new farm alongside them. It's going to be fun just to get to hunt a new piece and start the learning process all over again. Hope to have some sheds to show you all soon but with 8 inches of snow on the ground it's going to be iffy at best.


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## KS Bow Hunter (Nov 22, 2013)

Great thread...


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## PutnamCountyHunter (Aug 22, 2011)

Victory357 said:


> No offense, but this thread is starting to remind me of ohiobooners.
> 
> 
> "I found a 1951 chevy with 1500 miles on it"
> ...



Funny how people can be a total jerk and think it's okay because they start out with "no offense"...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

HNTRDAN said:


> Funny how people can be a total jerk and think it's okay because they start out with "no offense"...


Dave
There will always be ninnies, haters, and even folks that just flat out had a bad day. It's all good in the end. 
Ernie


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

It's a great thread and I love watching the progress! 
Good job to you for building the opportunity to do this project.


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## PutnamCountyHunter (Aug 22, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> Dave
> There will always be ninnies, haters, and even folks that just flat out had a bad day. It's all good in the end.
> Ernie


You're right!!


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## buck thwacker (Aug 29, 2014)

The place looks great Maxemus! Keep up the good work and updating the thread, I've been living vicariously through your pictures since I don't have the $$ to start my own project just yet


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Are you accepting friend applications? I have references.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

you will always be my first buddy lol


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## STILLxSTALKINGx (May 23, 2012)

Awesome stuff Ernie!!! Hopefully we can meet up again this coming November!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

STILLxSTALKINGx said:


> Awesome stuff Ernie!!! Hopefully we can meet up again this coming November!!


Pleasure was all mine Joe. Looking forward to seeing you again pal


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## 270Bowman (May 20, 2012)

Nice place. I've enjoyed following this thread.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks to all you guys for the kind words. I feel fortunate and blessed beyond words to be able to have this. I will continue this thread as long as you all enjoy following along. 
The past few months have been extremely difficult for my family and I and its made me realize how we are here one day and may be gone the next. Nothing is guaranteed so enjoy every moment like its a treasure.


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## Putt4Doe (Sep 2, 2009)

Loving following along in this thread. Keep up the good work!


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## Nativetroy (Oct 3, 2014)

Your place looks awesome, Ernie. Congrats, I'm sure it's been a journey getting it built and set up.


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## John-in-VA (Mar 27, 2003)

Maxemus I say keep on posting .

This is the first time I have posted on it .But I would hate to see you stop posting updates we all need to see you finish it up .


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

I might have missed this but how many acres?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

hockeyman474 said:


> I might have missed this but how many acres?


House is on 50 which is separated from the main farm by a couple of hundred yards then there is a total of 900 acres


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## scrub1 (Feb 4, 2008)

That is truly a great set up that a majority of us could only dream of. I can only imagine the hard work that you have invested to be able to afford it.


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## BCU_Archer (Oct 9, 2006)

Maxemus, I have followed this thread and must say that it is truly refreshing to see somebody work harder than anybody knows and make the sacrifices necessary to live out and follow their dreams. It is great motivation for a lot of people like myself to keep growing my business so I can one day do the same. Being able to see things like this shows that it is possible, which goes a long way. Congrats to you!


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## Camp (May 30, 2010)

Sweet


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> House is on 50 which is separated from the main farm by a couple of hundred yards then there is a total of 900 acres


Sounds like paradise!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BCU_Archer said:


> Maxemus, I have followed this thread and must say that it is truly refreshing to see somebody work harder than anybody knows and make the sacrifices necessary to live out and follow their dreams. It is great motivation for a lot of people like myself to keep growing my business so I can one day do the same. Being able to see things like this shows that it is possible, which goes a long way. Congrats to you!


Thanks bud. I never had anything given to me other than opportunities that I had to earn. That being said there's a lot of hard working people that still need a little luck to make their dreams come true. If I can do it anyone can. I'm glad I can inspire some of you guys to reach for your dreams.


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## 07commander (Dec 22, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> House is on 50 which is separated from the main farm by a couple of hundred yards then there is a total of 900 acres


Is any of the 900 acres farmland? Or do you have it all in trees .


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

07commander said:


> Is any of the 900 acres farmland? Or do you have it all in trees .


130 of it is fields and crp


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Seriously, have you touched base with Winke ever? Similar ratio. He's on 800 with, I believe, under 200 ag if I recall correctly. What's the topography like? Flat timber? Rolling hills?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> Seriously, have you touched base with Winke ever? Similar ratio. He's on 800 with, I believe, under 200 ag if I recall correctly. What's the topography like? Flat timber? Rolling hills?


Mark
I have communicated with bill at times. Very gracious man. Offers good advice. 
Ernie


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Less talk, more pictures.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

DaneHunter said:


> Less talk, more pictures.


Will try tomorrow jason.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Well it's a bit cold now but we're expecting it to warm up over the weekend 








Once we got to the farm house the fire alarms were chirping that dreaded low battery signal. Went to the garage to get a ladder and both doors are frozen shut. Lol. First World problems 

Hopefully we see some sheds in the fields. Idk between the squirrels and the locals I hope I'm not too late.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

There's still some snow on the ground so here's a pic from the terrace over looking the orchard. 







South side








North side


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## Mathias (Mar 21, 2005)

Looks great :thumbs_up


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Pretty place. Lots of hard work in those pics.


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## honker22 (Jul 24, 2012)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks to all you guys for the kind words. I feel fortunate and blessed beyond words to be able to have this. I will continue this thread as long as you all enjoy following along.
> The past few months have been extremely difficult for my family and I and its made me realize how we are here one day and may be gone the next. Nothing is guaranteed so enjoy every moment like its a treasure.


Preach Brotha!


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Looks like the making of your own personal ice rink the back of that North side pic


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Look at the paths going into my standing corn


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## bow ben (Mar 15, 2012)

Maxemus said:


> Look at the paths going into my standing corn
> View attachment 2177420


I'd be shed hunting that corn and the trial going to it.


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

good luck on the hunt, in for the updates


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## Houston (Jun 6, 2005)

Follow


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## DMAX-HD (Jan 30, 2005)

Sweet look'n shack Max


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks guys
Just brought back the turkey I shot here last year. This was the first turkey I ever called in to a set so I'm pretty happy about him.


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## jrandres (Mar 5, 2010)

The place is coming together! Looks awesome.


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## ILbowhunter79 (Mar 15, 2011)

Find any sheds at all?

I'm itching to get out, little touch snow for my liking, I've found a few glassing fields. Did see a big set laying outfitters field like 15 yards off the gravel. Was a 170 class rack. Kinda hoped the guy that runs the place would have at least given me 1 half of the rack after I called him about it, no dice though


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## jschins (Apr 1, 2010)

very nice play, good luck shed hunting


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## orarcher (Jun 3, 2006)

Wow is all I can say !!!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ILbowhunter79 said:


> Find any sheds at all?
> 
> I'm itching to get out, little touch snow for my liking, I've found a few glassing fields. Did see a big set laying outfitters field like 15 yards off the gravel. Was a 170 class rack. Kinda hoped the guy that runs the place would have at least given me 1 half of the rack after I called him about it, no dice though


No luck. Just rode my ranger around been doing chores all day plus the snow is making it hard to see very well. It's going to be sloppy tomorrow so once this is snow is gone I hope to find some. Seen quite a few deer in the fields tho.


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## ILbowhunter79 (Mar 15, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> No luck. Just rode my ranger around been doing chores all day plus the snow is making it hard to see very well. It's going to be sloppy tomorrow so once this is snow is gone I hope to find some. Seen quite a few deer in the fields tho.


It will be a bloody mess next couple days. I receive permission to shed hunt one farm with my kids, it's a massive deer sanctuary. 300 acres that hasn't been hunted since I've been alive and she plants stuff for the deer. Last year me and my 2 oldest found 90 sheds in one day. Kinda felt like I was on the kisky or lakosky farms. I did see a field last night with over 80 deer in it, not one had antlers so I'm guessing most have shed by now


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

ILbowhunter79 said:


> It will be a bloody mess next couple days. I receive permission to shed hunt one farm with my kids, it's a massive deer sanctuary. 300 acres that hasn't been hunted since I've been alive and she plants stuff for the deer. Last year me and my 2 oldest found 90 sheds in one day. Kinda felt like I was on the kisky or lakosky farms. I did see a field last night with over 80 deer in it, not one had antlers so I'm guessing most have shed by now


???????? Oh man! Sounds like Shangri-La for sheds! 90? Wow!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had visitors today. The guys from Team-Radical paid me a visit and we rode some of the fields. These guys have eagle eyes and picked up quite a few sheds just driving around


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## hedp (Dec 20, 2011)

nodog said:


> it has to do with the transfer of energy, metal being a good conductor (concrete is just about as good). You can do your own test next winter. Take a piece of thin metal, an aluminum can cut up flat. Open a window and stick half outside, close the window and see what happens.
> 
> Guy selling aluminum framed windows at a trade show (years ago) setup early. Another guy selling vinyl windows was next to him. When he came in and saw the other guy he left and returned with a bucket of dry ice and a hunk of extruded aluminum sticking it in the bucket of ice, in minutes, ice completely covered the metal. The aluminum salesman opened a book a read the rest of the day. The vinyl salesman was busy.
> 
> If a break from the outside is made it's good. Doing it right would have 2 2x4 walls on the exterior with the studs not stacked against each other but stepped off, both walls insulated, the break accomplished and a candle to heat the home. It would also be very cool in summer.





Any pics of what these two walls look like?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Friend of ours took a yote today. I saw two and one was huge.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Weekend is coming to a close. The big thaw has begun and well...its a muddy mess as you can imagine. 
Had the pleasure of showing the home to the man that owned this farm when he was 20 years old. He shared some great stories about how he, his dad and grandpa farmed the area.









Found a decent up and comer shed today and scouted some awesome spots for this year.


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

saw 3 mature bucks this evening in Northeast Ks with 5 of the 6 antlers still attached. I haven't checked cams lately but this wasn't what i was suspecting


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## KS Bow Hunter (Nov 22, 2013)

Nice turkey mount!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

KS Bow Hunter said:


> Nice turkey mount!


Thanks KS


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Pre turkey hunt update and table is almost finished

Heading out tomorrow to try and take an Osceola on the Florida farm. I'm all packed and will be leaving straight from work. Haven't been on the farm in quite a few years but my friends tell me there's a boat load of turkeys on it. If I take a nice one I'm planning on sending it up to the Illinois farm to get mounted. It would be nice I think, if I could eventually get the slam and have all of them represented there. 

On another topic our AT good friend Gary known to all of you as dblungem has done us a favor of building us an outdoor dining table and is planning on delivering it himself on April 20. Here's the pic of the unfinished cedar table that Gary built us














Gary does phenomenal work and my wife and I are honored to have one of his pieces of art in our home. I will post some pics once it gets delivered to see how the finish came out


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## Shoofly09 (Oct 3, 2013)

Thats great that you two got to connect. Our barn in north central Oregon has carved engravings starting from 1908 - 1911 on the beams. A year ago some folks dropped by and wanted to look around. Their great grandparents had built the barn. Pretty cool experience to speak with them....


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## Mathias (Mar 21, 2005)

Awesome thread, thanks for the continued updates!


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## Stringster (Aug 12, 2014)

I would love to live in a house like that! Congrats!


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## hoyttech13 (Feb 3, 2010)

Why would you send the bird out of Florida to get it mounted?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Did some grunt work today. Cleaned up around the trees and fertilized them. Need to prepare for the hot dry summer by buying a 500 gallon tank so we can water them once a week. Survival rate has been great. Over 95% so far on the ones planted last fall. 







Before







After


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## zmax hunter (Aug 21, 2006)

Looking great Max, thanks for sharing.

Something you might find possible to do with your build.

We have small town restaurant which has a walnut bar,..the interesting part is , it has numerous bullets which had been shot into the tree and as it was ran thru the mill it exposed them to be seen in the large plank, makes for a great conversation piece.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

zmax hunter said:


> Looking great Max, thanks for sharing.
> 
> Something you might find possible to do with your build.
> 
> We have small town restaurant which has a walnut bar,..the interesting part is , it has numerous bullets which had been shot into the tree and as it was ran thru the mill it exposed them to be seen in the large plank, makes for a great conversation piece.


Thanks Brian. That does sound like a hell of a conversation piece. Got any pics?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had the pleasure of meeting of one of the nicest guys on AT. You all know him as Dblungem. Gary made us an outdoor table for the back porch out of reclaimed telephone poles.


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## Camp (May 30, 2010)

Sweet


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## DaneHunter (Jul 6, 2013)

Outdoor??? That's nicer than my dining room table!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

DaneHunter said:


> Outdoor??? That's nicer than my dining room table!!


Thanks Jason.


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## Jack The Ripper (Dec 24, 2011)

Congrats man. Everything is turning out amazing.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Jack The Ripper said:


> Congrats man. Everything is turning out amazing.


Thank you sir


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Ernie, great to meet you and your wife today - great people! All I can say is that you have an absolutely amazing place. I hope it brings you and your family a lot of happiness and relaxation for many years to come. Congrats, sir.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

dblungem said:


> Ernie, great to meet you and your wife today - great people! All I can say is that you have an absolutely amazing place. I hope it brings you and your family a lot of happiness and relaxation for many years to come. Congrats, sir.


Thanks Gary it was a pleasure to meet you as well. Great to put a face to the name after all this time.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had an incredible morning today. Birds coming in from all directions. Had one sitting on my DSD hen decoy for over 20'minutes. Ended up taking a decent bird. Next one will hopefully be a bow kill


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## HuntIL2 (Sep 16, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Had the pleasure of meeting of one of the nicest guys on AT. You all know him as Dblungem. Gary made us an outdoor table for the back porch out of reclaimed telephone poles.
> View attachment 2212923


I like that! That's really mice! I have a bunch of old electric/telephone poles on my property. I'll have to keep that in mind.


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## BOE_Hunter (Jul 29, 2005)

Ernie
That place is really looking awesome. I am not sure how you can leave the place once you get there.

Boe


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Looking good! Nice table, nice bird!


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Nice bird, Bro. Your making Turkey hunting look easy. Damn beginners. Lol


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks Boe, hockeyman, and Gary.

Gary,
You should have seen these birds. My DSD hen had the paint peeled off her back from a jake. He was on top of her for over 20 minutes. I had her standing but by the time I got to her she was flat on the ground.


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## H20fwler (Apr 1, 2014)

Maxemus..the whole project is flat out ............AWESOME!
Looks fantastic, thanks for sharing.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Way to go Ernie!


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Had the pleasure of meeting of one of the nicest guys on AT. You all know him as Dblungem. Gary made us an outdoor table for the back porch out of reclaimed telephone poles.
> View attachment 2212923


ewwwww stay away from him.


I kid. cool table.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Spring is in full swing and we've had adequate moisture so far. Seen decent amount of deer the past two weeks and the two extra turkey tags I have seem to be dying to end up as book markers but have enjoyed the chase nonetheless. 
Spent quite a lot of time doing field work and mowing around the house. I even managed to make my own version of crop circles lol







Before 








Gotta be honest our history with trees hasn't been the best but I think I've hit my head against the wall enough times where I may have gotten the message on what it takes to grow these things now. 

Next step is careful round up spraying around the circles to further reduce nutrient loss. 

Seems that we lost all the figs I bought from Stark nursery as well as 5 Dunstan chestnuts so far.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Headed up to the farm to hang some new sets, do some mowing, put out some cameras, and basically hang out for a week. 
Rain has prevented us from planting our beans and the local farmers are having a hard time with all this moisture as well. Our window for landing soybeans is still open but it needs to dry out enough to be able to plant. At least my trees are getting all the moisture they need.


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## ONEiiSHOTiiDROP (Oct 18, 2007)

Do you not live at the farm? I couldn't imagine building such an incredible place and not live there.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ONEiiSHOTiiDROP said:


> Do you not live at the farm? I couldn't imagine building such an incredible place and not live there.


Thanks buddy but my business and family are in south Florida so all I can do is try to be be here as much as possible. As it is I probably spend over three months altogether at the farm throughout the year


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

Sounds like you need a caretaker. I am not cheap but I am good..

:cocktail:


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

You got a hell of nice piece of heaven over there.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

zap said:


> Sounds like you need a caretaker. I am not cheap but I am good..
> 
> :cocktail:


I've got one Marty and he's as ornery as you :wink:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Brian811 said:


> You got a hell of nice piece of heaven over there.


Thanks Brian. 
Look what was waiting for me in my driveway when I arrived


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Going to try to bring you all up to speed as best I can but from the looks of it there's not going to be a whole lot of news other than many hours of mowing for me. Rain had been above normal for this time of year. We're trying to plant beans but so far it hasn't dried up enough in order to get them in the ground. We were able to put down the Plot Blocker strip from Frigid Forage and that seems to be coming up nicely. Here's a pic of that


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

That's a mighty fine coming home gift there my friend


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BGagner said:


> That's a mighty fine coming home gift there my friend


Thanks BG. Saw quite a few deer milling about last night as I was driving around. Including a bachelor group of bucks. It looks like it's going to be a good year.


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks BG. Saw quite a few deer milling about last night as I was driving around. Including a bachelor group of bucks. It looks like it's going to be a good year.


That's great news! I haven't seen any in awhile in my rural driving. I have never even seen a bachelor group! Awesome


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## MIbowhunter49 (Aug 5, 2010)

Glad to see the tree pro tubes working. I bought about 50 in February, and have them around the trees at my house. So far, so good.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Deer are coming out to my clover during mid day


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

Really enjoyed reading this thread. 

What fertilizer did you use on the trees?

How long is the travel between houses? Do you drive it?


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## Wild-Lines (Dec 30, 2014)

nice.

how many acres?


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

Wild-Lines said:


> nice.
> 
> how many acres?


Did u read thread? 900 total


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Charman03 said:


> Really enjoyed reading this thread.
> 
> What fertilizer did you use on the trees?
> 
> How long is the travel between houses? Do you drive it?


13-13-13. Glad you enjoyed it. 
Houses are 5 minutes from each other


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> 13-13-13. Glad you enjoyed it.
> Houses are 5 minutes from each other


I meant when you travel from Florida


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Charman03 said:


> I meant when you travel from Florida


2:30 hour flight plus 3 hours driving.


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## jrandres (Mar 5, 2010)

I love coming back to this thread time and time again to read the updates.


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## archeryninja (Jun 18, 2012)

Great thread, Thanks


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had 2.25 inches of rain last night so the pond has come up quite a bit. You guys can see the water level compared to an older picture. 








I'm having an issue with some of my trees. Seems like the tops are burning up. Especially on the pears. Can't seem to find any bugs on them and they've had plenty of water. I'm stumped! Any ideas fellas?














The clover that we planted around the trees is spectacular tho.


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## CAS_HNTR (Oct 28, 2009)

Maxemus........looks alot like fireblight to me.......can be a real problem and one that keeps comming back depending on your chosen tree type as some are very sensative, others not so much. What variety of pear or apple are they?

Check out this link.....
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7414.html


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

CAS_HNTR said:


> Maxemus........looks alot like fireblight to me.......can be a real problem and one that keeps comming back depending on your chosen tree type as some are very sensative, others not so much. What variety of pear or apple are they?
> 
> Check out this link.....
> http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7414.html


Thanks for the info I read the link and will monitor this closely. Damn ...I tell ya there's always something to entertain me around here lol.


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## CAS_HNTR (Oct 28, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks for the info I read the link and will monitor this closely. Damn ...I tell ya there's always something to entertain me around here lol.


Yeah, best of luck. Depending on the variety of tree, it may be a losing battle......don't mean to be a downer, but sometime you can't stop it. I know a guy that yanked a dozen 10+ year old trees out of the ground because he constantly battled it with that variety and had finally gave up. Best of luck and hope its a minor blip on the radar, not a persistent headache!! Keep me posted.


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## BluMeanie (May 5, 2014)

CAS_HNTR said:


> Yeah, best of luck. Depending on the variety of tree, it may be a losing battle......don't mean to be a downer, but sometime you can't stop it. I know a guy that yanked a dozen 10+ year old trees out of the ground because he constantly battled it with that variety and had finally gave up. Best of luck and hope its a minor blip on the radar, not a persistent headache!! Keep me posted.


Same-same happened to my Dad's trees many years ago. I _heard_ later on that trees "made" from grafts are more susceptible to disease and the like. I thought that was supposed to be opposite (i.e. using a hardier, more common tree for the root system and the "exotic" for the leaf system). However, I do not know the first thing about it, really.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks to Cas_hntr for calling the fire blight infestation. Unfortunately I jumped into the problem head first without careful thought and may have done more harm than good. I read that copper sulfate was what I should spray on them and did not read the parenthesis following it. Bottom line is that I sprayed the trees with straight CS instead of as an ingredient in a fungicide. I may have killed the trees after all. Oh well...now I get to look for blight resistant varieties 
Here's a pic of the canker afflicting the trees








I filled 4 industrial sized garbage bags with everything I cut off and took them to the city for disposal. Apparently this bacteria is rather resilient and must be removed from the area in order to minimize further spreading.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

On a good note I'm encouraged to have seen several buck bachelor groups this past week and plenty of deer overall. Not quite what it was before the EHD outbreaks but we're getting better. 
It's been raining so often that all the fields are wet so I'm hoping the rain stops soon and dries up enough for us to get our beans in the ground. 

Did a few house keeping chores. Just to prove how low my IQ actually is, it suddenly dawned on me that I didn't have to continue to bump into walls and furniture every time I go down to the basement. I put LED night lights. Miracle
It only took a year to figure that one out !!!!








That being said, I did have two decent ideas that id like to share with you all. I hate flies inside the house. As you all know, I had spray insulation put on the house because I thought it would prevent bugs from entering so I drive me nuts to continue to find them still getting in. The problem seemed to be centered around the windows so I concentrated on that. After caulking the windows the flies were still getting in so I finally noticed there were these tiny holes in each window and filled them with dental wax. Problem solved!!!







I also realized that keeping the doors on my ranger during the summer was the equivalent of riding in a sauna so I had 4 brackets made to hang them on the wall of the garage. If I had left them leaning on something instead I know for sure I would have tipped them over and broken the windows


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

A friend of mine took some pictures of a bachelor group just off my farm for feeding in the afternoon. Hope you all enjoy


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Looks like you will have some awesome hunting come this fall, good luck!
I have been away at some training so I haven't seen our field for a few days but from what I am hearing from back in the Midwest this year might be better switching to rice instead of beans.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> Looks like you will have some awesome hunting come this fall, good luck!
> I have been away at some training so I haven't seen our field for a few days but from what I am hearing from back in the Midwest this year might be better switching to rice instead of beans.


Yeah no kidding. Got two more inches of rain Saturday. It's crazy wet here. It flat out needs to stop soon or the beans aren't going in


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Some nice bucks. Is that one an albino?


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

catscratch said:


> Some nice bucks. Is that one an albino?


Thinkin' the same thing! Is he?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Yes he is. He's lived on the farm since birth. In Illinois he's untouchable and quite frankly he's never had much of a rack either way. Cool to see him every year tho. We appropriately named him ******


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## Fullstrutter (Jul 8, 2008)

Awesome albino in your recent bachelor bucks pics!

Real REAL nice farm and property you've built Ernie. I'm really excited to hear how you guys make out hunting this year. 

I just moved to Kansas with my fiancé last week, realizing one of my life long dreams...and I'm still a lil jealous of what you've built! Maybe someday we will get a chance to share deer camp together, I'll look forward to that if we can ever make it happen. 

Here's to hoping we all tags giants this Fall! :thumbs_up


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## 07commander (Dec 22, 2010)

I think I need to find a spot in Illinois.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Fullstrutter said:


> Awesome albino in your recent bachelor bucks pics!
> 
> Real REAL nice farm and property you've built Ernie. I'm really excited to hear how you guys make out hunting this year.
> 
> ...


Thanks Scott. Best of luck on the move to Kansas. There's nothing like living in deer country


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## ksgobbler (May 25, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> There's nothing like living in deer country


They started digging our basement today. Hopefully by this winder I will be able to see turkeys in the buckwheat and deer in the oats/clover from my back porch.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ksgobbler said:


> They started digging our basement today. Hopefully by this winder I will be able to see turkeys in the buckwheat and deer in the oats/clover from my back porch.


Congrats gobbler. Keep us posted. Enjoy the process


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## fragmag (Jul 16, 2013)

Once you done and if you get bored, you can always build me one of these in PA. I'll gladly help out!


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## zmax hunter (Aug 21, 2006)

Thanks for sharing Max, 

not sure if you sealed the long hole in the bottom of the window pic, that is a weep hole to let water out. Tractor supply sells several different flytraps, maybe try a few of those to also help.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

zmax hunter said:


> Thanks for sharing Max,
> 
> not sure if you sealed the long hole in the bottom of the window pic, that is a weep hole to let water out. Tractor supply sells several different flytraps, maybe try a few of those to also help.


Kind of what I was thinking. Sealing those holes might cause water damage in the future. You could always glue some window screen over them to make them bug proof but still let water out.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

zmax hunter said:


> Thanks for sharing Max,
> 
> not sure if you sealed the long hole in the bottom of the window pic, that is a weep hole to let water out. Tractor supply sells several different flytraps, maybe try a few of those to also help.


Brian
I left those lower ones open. for the life of me I couldn't figure out the purpose of these other holes so I plugged them. It has reduced the fly problem significantly. Another issue I'm having with flies is inside the tower blinds for which I'm definitely putting up fly traps this year. Thanks


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> A friend of mine took some pictures of a bachelor group just off my farm for feeding in the afternoon. Hope you all enjoy
> View attachment 2361129
> 
> View attachment 2361137
> ...


These are awesome pics! You are going to have a great hunt this year. Let me know if you need some buck population control! (kidding) I have never seen a bachelor group! :cheers:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just heard from my caretaker that they have had 8 inches of rain since I left and consequently my pond is full. I can only imagine the ruts on my hillside aaaaargh!!!!
Who knows when this rain will end but if t doesn't soon I'm going to have to reconsider what to plant in my food plots this year. It's downright too wet to plant beans and I don't see it drying out any time soon.


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## hockeyman474 (Jan 7, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Yes he is. He's lived on the farm since birth. In Illinois he's untouchable and quite frankly he's never had much of a rack either way. Cool to see him every year tho. We appropriately named him ******


Well that's definitely a tease! A young kid shot a huge albino in Michigan last year and while most people praised him for a once in a lifetime trophy, others sent death threats...there are no rules protecting "special" deer here in Michigan.


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## bwhnter4life (Jul 25, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> Just heard from my caretaker that they have had 8 inches of rain since I left and consequently my pond is full. I can only imagine the ruts on my hillside aaaaargh!!!!
> Who knows when this rain will end but if t doesn't soon I'm going to have to reconsider what to plant in my food plots this year. It's downright too wet to plant beans and I don't see it drying out any time soon.


Plant your beans later in the season anyway...that way they are at their sweetest growth period during hunting season, when the deer like to eat the tops off. You would also be surprised how quick that 8 inches will dry out. Should start getting some wind which will help. We got 7 here and it seems like most of it ended up in the creeks and rivers it rained so hard.


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## CAS_HNTR (Oct 28, 2009)

I had to chuckle when I read about the straight CS.........I have killed a few things accidentally as well! 

How are they looking? It's been a good year thus far with rain, so maybe they will be OK.

If you need any thoughts on "other" tree varieties to look into, let me know.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

CAS_HNTR said:


> I had to chuckle when I read about the straight CS.........I have killed a few things accidentally as well!
> 
> How are they looking? It's been a good year thus far with rain, so maybe they will be OK.
> 
> If you need any thoughts on "other" tree varieties to look into, let me know.


What can I tell ya!!!! I get so used to telling my people to provide me solutions rather than problems and to jump on issues quickly as opposed to putting them off so I did the same thing with the fire blight. Sooner or later I will learn


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## concepthomes1 (Jul 2, 2012)

Loving the continual updates.. Quick question: have you seen more settling than normal because of either the heavy snowfall or more than normal rainfall from this year?

How is this house settling compared to your home built in South Florida?


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## IndianaPSE (Nov 11, 2009)

Love the thread, Ern. Cheers!


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## ksgobbler (May 25, 2010)

Keep them coming. Our contractor just called. THe basement they poured is currently a swimming pool. He wanted $45/hr to pump it out. I went a rented a pump for $48/24 hrs and we are headed out right now to get the water level down so the plumbers can get their rough ins done.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

concepthomes1 said:


> Loving the continual updates.. Quick question: have you seen more settling than normal because of either the heavy snowfall or more than normal rainfall from this year?
> 
> How is this house settling compared to your home built in South Florida?


Concept 
That's something I haven't really looked at. As you can see I have stone albeit manufactured stone around the lower portion of the outside and the builder stopped about 6 inches from the soil. Something about the snow and water. I can't recall exactly. So I guess what I am saying is that it's difficult to ascertain if there has been settling. 

Most of south Florida is built on a reclaimed swamp and the houses are built over monolithic slabs so there is quite a bit of settling in some instances. In my previous home I built a 6 foot security wall around the rear perimeter and the soil around it did lower by about 4-6 inches over time. Perhaps that was the soil settling and had nothing to do with the foundation idk. 
In my current house there was some cracking in the tile but we decided to fill in the cracks instead of lifting all the tiles that were affected. It all Looks the same anyways so why go through the trouble. I know I haven't answered your question so I guess I will look into it upon my return next week.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

IndianaPSE said:


> Love the thread, Ern. Cheers!


Thanks Kel.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ksgobbler said:


> Keep them coming. Our contractor just called. THe basement they poured is currently a swimming pool. He wanted $45/hr to pump it out. I went a rented a pump for $48/24 hrs and we are headed out right now to get the water level down so the plumbers can get their rough ins done.


This rain had been a nightmare. We're still trying to wait it out but it's getting to be late for beans. 
Ksgobblers do you think this will happen again?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Got an email from Starks Nursery today saying that my fig trees had shipped. Called them and reminded them they weren't supposed to ship till November. I have to say it's refreshing to deal with a company that stands behind their products. Luckily I will be there next week and will plant them myself. Now just watch it stop raining once I plant them lol
Does anyone have any idea if deer eat figs? I planted them for my mother in law that loves figs but I don't know if perhaps putting them in those plastic tubes may have contributed negatively to them having died.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Ohhh almost forgot. Heard from my caretaker that some of the pears that we sprayer with Copper Sulfate haven't died yet. Finger crossed


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just got this picture today from one of my neighbors. Over the last two weeks we've had an enormous amount of rain. One of the benefits had been that my pond is now full. We had thought it would take 3-4 years to fill it and it happened in less than 1. 
All the fields are flooded and my food plot plan is now officially dead and being rethought. It just has to stop raining eventually for something to happen. This is getting downright absurd.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Didn't you build a bridge or a crossing last year IIRC? Is that intact?


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## BigBrian (Jun 15, 2013)

It refuses to stop raining in Fulton County which I believe is in the general same part of the state as you. 13 inches last month and already 3 this month. The June average in a little under four inches and July its just under 2 at the Peoria airport. Its got me pretty concerned. Heading down to where I hunt on Friday to do a little work, it should be interesting to see what it looks like.

Seems like you get down there a fair amount, do you have to fly into Chicago or St. Louis or do you get flights closer to your slice of heaven?


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## MI1 (Apr 10, 2013)

What state..?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> Didn't you build a bridge or a crossing last year IIRC? Is that intact?


Negative Mark. I wanted to but it would have cost a fortune so I sloped both sides of the creek with a bulldozer instead. Took out the muck and sand and laid down several layers of gravel. It's worked well so far although we constantly have to clean it out


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BigBrian said:


> It refuses to stop raining in Fulton County which I believe is in the general same part of the state as you. 13 inches last month and already 3 this month. The June average in a little under four inches and July its just under 2 at the Peoria airport. Its got me pretty concerned. Heading down to where I hunt on Friday to do a little work, it should be interesting to see what it looks like.
> 
> Seems like you get down there a fair amount, do you have to fly into Chicago or St. Louis or do you get flights closer to your slice of heaven?


I fly into the Lou and drive up from there. I come quite regularly actually thinking I'm going to get caught up and always seem to be behind the 8 ball with chores. It's always something but hey why complain when I'm there and not stuck behind a desk right?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

****** seems to be basking in his "untouchable" glory and becoming fearless. 







Same neighbor sent this tonight as well


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## hedp (Dec 20, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> ****** seems to be basking in his "untouchable" glory and becoming fearless.
> View attachment 2470170
> 
> Same neighbor sent this tonight as well







Can't you shoot albinos there?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

hedp said:


> Can't you shoot albinos there?


Negative.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Put a radio collar on him so the second he keels over from natural causes you can take him to the taxidermists! He's awesome!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

As I have said a few times before we have had an enormous amount of rain in Illinois this year. I noticed many fields completely barren without having been planted as I drove through Missouri and Illinois. The effects of this will be felt this coming winter I believe as there will be less food for wildlife. It rained again today and several of my food plots are too wet to plant. Things getting seriously late for beans already so it would appear that I have to come up with an alternate plan for all my plots. Debating options now. 
This past weekend we had a wind storm. I hear that wind gusts were upwards of 65 mph. All my trails have fallen trees so I've been on the chainsaw quite a bit today as you can imagine. I don't know if I should laugh or shake my head but it got pretty windy in my terrace it would appear. Never a boring time up in the Midwest. What are the odds of this happening?






















Been seeing quite a few deer including this bachelor group today. Sorry fellas for the screen shot but I'm not too advanced with computers 








Put up one set today and cleared up several shooting lanes. Putting up another tomorrow if time permits. Also, fertilized most of the trees and found some of the trees that I pruned again with that hated fire blight disease. Received the 4 replacement fig trees from stark brothers. Got them planted as well


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## IndianaPSE (Nov 11, 2009)

Saweeeet bach. herd


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Been trying to catch up on putting out cameras but every time I do I find something more important to do. Look at the damage that all the rain caused 














Clogged culverts all over the place and three hours later;








Have to give john at Trailcampro a special shout out. One of my cameras wasn't taking night time pictures at all. I called him and two days later a replacement camera arrived special delivery. Now that's service!!!!


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Maybe you're on to something Ernie...


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Just picked up on this thread Ernie. Looks like somebody died and went through the pearly gates. About as Sweet as it gets.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Just picked up on this thread Ernie. Looks like somebody died and went through the pearly gates. About as Sweet as it gets.


Thanks buddy. I'm very thankful


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Painted some yardage markers today. Used some fluorescent spray paint I bought at Home Depot. Want to put them out early do the deer get used to them.


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## CAS_HNTR (Oct 28, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Painted some yardage markers today. Used some fluorescent spray paint I bought at Home Depot. Want to put them out early do the deer get used to them.
> View attachment 2520386


Good idea......my father and I have been using surveyor ribbon for YEARS to mark trees at 20, 30, and 40 yards from the stand. It helps for sure!

How are your fruit trees looking?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

CAS_HNTR said:


> Good idea......my father and I have been using surveyor ribbon for YEARS to mark trees at 20, 30, and 40 yards from the stand. It helps for sure!
> 
> How are your fruit trees looking?


The pears were the ones that got hit the hardest with the fire blight. I saw more evidence of burnt tips so the disease is still active. Chances are I may have to replace those that are sick (39 trees) if I recall correctly. There are some apples that have fruit this year. The chestnuts are a bust and I will have to replant most of them again in the fall. We've been unable to keep the bugs away due to the constant rain. You spray today and get a downpour the next day so what can you do? The good news is that the fire blight issue has been seen only in the orchard behind my house and the other three tree plots are doing well. I'm glad I headed the advice of the guys that sold me the trees as they suggested to plant clover in the areas around the trees because it's doing very well and deer are there every night. No bucks tho just does for now.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Was looking last night through my old pics and came across this one of my 2010 buck. Thought I'd share


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This thing with the weather has reduced our ability to put forth the kind of food plots we usually do but nevertheless my caretaker has been making steady process on getting them planted. We finally scrapped the plans to plant beans for this year so we went to a mix of rape , turnips, Sugar beets and radishes. Most of our plots are now done with some logistical work left on one other farm where two of my tree plots are. 
There a promising buck or two in the hit list so that has got me laser focused, pictures coming next week


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## BOE_Hunter (Jul 29, 2005)

Ernie
So which stand is your wife goint be in with her crossbow? Sorry, had to do it. The farm is shaping up nicely and I know I am jealous--and not afraid to admit it. On a teachers salary I would have to win the lottery to have a place like that. You should be proud of the hard work you put in to put yourself in a position to have a place like that.

Good luck this season. Hoping to be on your Deer Contest team again. Lots of good guys on here.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

I feel for you on the culvert washout. I had a nice crossing with a 48in culvert pipe laid out with concrete, gravel and dirt over it. Last week's rains here in Iowa completely took it out. I have never seen the creek like that before. Where I had a nice crossing that even a large tractor could safely cross I now have some reinforced 4X4's until we can figure out what to do.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

The rest of the place is beautiful though. I am blessed to have the family ground here in Iowa that I do, but am in awe of your layout.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BOE_Hunter said:


> Ernie
> So which stand is your wife goint be in with her crossbow? Sorry, had to do it. The farm is shaping up nicely and I know I am jealous--and not afraid to admit it. On a teachers salary I would have to win the lottery to have a place like that. You should be proud of the hard work you put in to put yourself in a position to have a place like that.
> 
> Good luck this season. Hoping to be on your Deer Contest team again. Lots of good guys on here.


Hey Boe 
Nice to hear from you. Thanks for the nice complement and it would be great if we could be on the same team. Really enjoyed that group. Best of luck to you this year 
Ernie


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> I feel for you on the culvert washout. I had a nice crossing with a 48in culvert pipe laid out with concrete, gravel and dirt over it. Last week's rains here in Iowa completely took it out. I have never seen the creek like that before. Where I had a nice crossing that even a large tractor could safely cross I now have some reinforced 4X4's until we can figure out what to do.


You don't know the worse part. There's another that got mangled even worse. And to top it off we're starting to have difficulty in getting replacement sand. Pretty soon were going to start bringing in from outside the farm $$$. I am
Now reduced to one iffy crossing to get to my north 40


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> The rest of the place is beautiful though. I am blessed to have the family ground here in Iowa that I do, but am in awe of your layout.


Thanks bud. I'm beyond blessed that God has granted me the ability to do this. Hopefully he can continue helping me out with my family's health. They are good now but it's always like a ticking bomb


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

The next couple of days are going to be brutal. Going to have to remove all the cages from two tree plots and try to carefully disk around the trees so I can get the clover planted. 3 t posts per tree x 50 trees more or less. This is definitely the non glamorous part of owning your own place.


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## bhunter23 (Jun 8, 2012)

enjoyed reading this thread, nice farm


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## Nativetroy (Oct 3, 2014)

It's looking good, Ernie. Nice to see the work paying off, it looks like there's enough to keep you busy until season. 
These progress reports make me want to get out and get to work. Keep it up!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Ernie: If ya don't mind, what do you do for a living to be able to afford such a nice place or did you win the lotto. lol Beautiful so far.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Ernie: If ya don't mind, what do you do for a living to be able to afford such a nice place or did you win the lotto. lol Beautiful so far.


THM just got lucky that I had opportunities at a relatively young age and worked my butt off to make them succeed. Don't know about tomorrow though so just enjoying the moment until the bells start ringing.


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## ksgobbler (May 25, 2010)

For tree protection I have these going
http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/Products.asp?mi=16231&itemnum=17141

My trees aren't nearly your size but it will keep the deer from destroying them with their antlers for awhile. They also can't browse them off. Once they come out of the top of the protector I am not worried about them browsing and I will leave them on to protect the trunk.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ksgobbler said:


> For tree protection I have these going
> http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/product_pages/Products.asp?mi=16231&itemnum=17141
> 
> My trees aren't nearly your size but it will keep the deer from destroying them with their antlers for awhile. They also can't browse them off. Once they come out of the top of the protector I am not worried about them browsing and I will leave them on to protect the trunk.


Yep. Every one of mine has them. Plus I fenced them in to a height of about 5 feet tall. Now I'm trying to formulate a plan to protect them from weeds and grasses. Some have those recycled tire circular mats but man they're each about 30 ish dollars. A friend suggested roofing paper. Let's see what I come up with. So far the weeds are winning


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> The next couple of days are going to be brutal. Going to have to remove all the cages from two tree plots and try to carefully disk around the trees so I can get the clover planted. 3 t posts per tree x 50 trees more or less. This is definitely the non glamorous part of owning your own place.


Do you have a t-post puller? I automatically jump on the tractor sometimes when there is manual labor to be done but it isn't always the best way. I've found that in the time it would take me to jump on and off the tractor 5 times to work chains and move the thing around at one tree, I could have pulled posts from 3 trees with a manual puller. Just a thought.

Sorry you are having tree, food plot, and bridge problems. The wet yr has kind of hammered your place, fortunately not all yrs will be like this. 

This (and from my own experiences right now) keep reminding me of that old quote that I first heard from my dad: "you don't own stuff, stuff owns you".


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> Do you have a t-post puller? I automatically jump on the tractor sometimes when there is manual labor to be done but it isn't always the best way. I've found that in the time it would take me to jump on and off the tractor 5 times to work chains and move the thing around at one tree, I could have pulled posts from 3 trees with a manual puller. Just a thought.
> 
> Sorry you are having tree, food plot, and bridge problems. The wet yr has kind of hammered your place, fortunately not all yrs will be like this.
> 
> This (and from my own experiences right now) keep reminding me of that old quote that I first heard from my dad: "you don't own stuff, stuff owns you".


Funny quote Catscratch. 

It wasn't as bad as previously thought. We used a smaller disk tore three blades on it tho but got it disked. So far so good. I did notice one of my Norway spruce trees that i have for a visual barrier died on me. Not sure why one tree just dies but nonetheless it did. 

On a separate topic I gotta say one of my best purchases has to be the used culti-packer. Boy what a difference it makes on how food plots look. Pictures may not do this justice but trust me there is. Here's two pics of prepped food plots. 







With the mulcher








Disked only.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Those look great!


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## IndianaPSE (Nov 11, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Funny quote Catscratch.
> 
> It wasn't as bad as previously thought. We used a smaller disk tore three blades on it tho but got it disked. So far so good. I did notice one of my Norway spruce trees that i have for a visual barrier died on me. Not sure why one tree just dies but nonetheless it did.
> 
> ...


SMOOOOOTH, brotha!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Hell of a day today. Started at 7 and didn't stop till it got dark at almost 9. We set up two NOn typical hot zone deer exclosure fences , checked cameras, did some weed whacking, chain saw work. Everything but scout for deer lol. 






. 

Still have to finish one tomorrow and install the last one.


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## H20fwler (Apr 1, 2014)

Your project is inspirational Ernie.


I just bought a small farm with a ten acre woods. I can't wait to plant a few rows of Christmas trees and about twenty apple trees along the woods.
Have five different bucks on trail cams, two are nice ones.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Your project is inspirational Ernie.
> 
> 
> I just bought a small farm with a ten acre woods. I can't wait to plant a few rows of Christmas trees and about twenty apple trees along the woods.
> Have five different bucks on trail cams, two are nice ones.


Thanks but more importantly congratulations to you. May you and your family enjoy it for years to come in the best of health. 

One of my Norway Spruces has decided to bow out. No idea if maybe I over fertilized or perhaps it was something else


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## H20fwler (Apr 1, 2014)

Thanks Ernie.
I bought it just for hunting..that way my boys will always have it hell deep and heaven high. We have hunted this property for around ten years, I had mentioned a couple times over the years that if they ever wanted to sell I was very interested and a few weeks ago it just kind of fell together.

How big were your spruce when you put them in? I'm thinking about getting a spring order booked for 100 24" scotch pines and twenty various non dwarf apple trees about 6' to start with.


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## highwaynorth (Feb 17, 2005)

wipy said:


> im a plumber from se wisconsin and we do alot of geo. the cost vs. return you would never see in your lifetime though. our average geo job is around 150000. and personally id never put it in my house to many issues. but a cool idea of using the earths energy.


I think you either added an extra zero by mistake or seriously raping your customers. My sister has geo thermal
And it ran around 15k not a 150k.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Thanks Ernie.
> I bought it just for hunting..that way my boys will always have it hell deep and heaven high. We have hunted this property for around ten years, I had mentioned a couple times over the years that if they ever wanted to sell I was very interested and a few weeks ago it just kind of fell together.
> 
> How big were your spruce when you put them in? I'm thinking about getting a spring order booked for 100 24" scotch pines and twenty various non dwarf apple trees about 6' to start with.


Mine were 6 footers got a good deal at 80 dollars each planted. Look into the disease resiliency of what variety you want to plant. Also if there's too many deer they will eat certain types of evergreens.


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## nodog (Mar 1, 2005)

highwaynorth said:


> I think you either added an extra zero by mistake or seriously raping your customers. My sister has geo thermal
> And it ran around 15k not a 150k.


yikes they have gone up. I thought they were pricey at 6000.


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## blinginpse (Jun 21, 2011)

Sir I'm only 30 but in due respect As a person that lives on and makes my livin with the farm, my dads, and not near as big As yours (beef and dairy and only 530-550ac) Maxemus very impressive at the time and effort and getting to the point you have. Nice place and lots of respect for your work ethic. Most have lost that today. 

You ever come through va going to there stop by. We talk farming I'll fix a home cooked meal with big ribeye steak outta my beef and veggies from the garden even a big ol blackberry cobbler from the briars around. Can't get no more home grown that I promise


Take care and keep up the solid work


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

blinginpse said:


> Sir I'm only 30 but in due respect As a person that lives on and makes my livin with the farm, my dads, and not near as big As yours (beef and dairy and only 530-550ac) Maxemus very impressive at the time and effort and getting to the point you have. Nice place and lots of respect for your work ethic. Most have lost that today.
> 
> You ever come through va going to there stop by. We talk farming I'll fix a home cooked meal with big ribeye steak outta my beef and veggies from the garden even a big ol blackberry cobbler from the briars around. Can't get no more home grown that I promise
> 
> ...


Thanks bud that's beyond nice. I appreciate the comments I truly do.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

It's 11:30 at night and I finally stopped for the day. Thank goodness I'm heading back home tomorrow. Finished putting up the three hot zone fences and if any of you guys ever put one up don't read the instructions just go to you tube and find the Realtree video of how to do it. Use a fence post driver on all the stakes or it will take you three times as long. One of the main controllers wasn't working so as is the norm with me on mostly everything is buy now I have to send that damn thing back. 
Also sending back two XR6's that apparently left Reconyx with a faulty night time zoom. 
Saw quite a few bucks come out of my place to feed in the neighbors beans. Seems like 90% of the bucks on the block are all in my place right now but the suckers spread like rats from a sinking ship once September comes along. I've been hesitant to go up where they are for fear of pushing them out but regardless they will wander to other parts.
On my leased farm the beans haven't fared too well. It's been too wet so the farmer couldn't get them sprayed to control the grass soon enough but the deer still keep pounding them. We put in 6 new food plots for this year so it should make my hunters happy. We made a deal that I put in the plots and if I choose I can go hunt there along with them. Not getting any younger and I really would like to hunt there once or twice this year. Last year they saw two whoppers over there. One was opening morning and the other was late in the year and that last one got shot in the shoulder. Hunter says it was a 180 plus typical. A few drops of blood with barely any penetration. Let's hope he made it and someone gets a whack at him again. 
No dinner for me tonight I'm just too tired to eat. I think this just turned into my diary lmao


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Was going through some pictures taken over the past two trips and thought id share with you fellas. Nothing monstrous just solid future bucks 














This is a solid 140 class. 







Just does and fawns but cool pic of them in the clover behind the house. Saw the first buck in there the other day. Only a forky but sure was good to finally see one behind the house 

Yesterday morning we got over 3 inches of rain so it was perfect timing on putting in the food plots. They should really pop after this


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## highwaynorth (Feb 17, 2005)

Wow, that's quite a bachelor group of bucks.


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## ryans127 (Nov 14, 2014)

Beautiful place. Congrats!!


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Ernie, I must say, like everyone else, heck of a piece of property! I've enjoyed following it all so keep us updated! Even if is "your diary", I'm enjoying living vicariously though you until I can get my own place


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## floridacrackr (Feb 15, 2013)

The place looks amazing bud! I know all your hard work will pay off for you in the near future!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks guys. 
Casey from your mouth to God's ear :wink:


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## maxx98 (May 10, 2010)

What is the story on the Albino deer?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

maxx98 said:


> What is the story on the Albino deer?


He's probably 6 by now. Has lived on the farm his whole life and will probably die there from some other buck kicking his ass. He's super aggressive during the rut but one year he got clobbered real bad in a fight and limped for the rest of the season. Can't be killed in the great state of Illinois


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## ksgobbler (May 25, 2010)

Building a house in an adventure. I was out there looking at the progress on our house today. Look out the door where the covered back deck will be towards the food plot and there were a bunch of turkeys down there. Can't wait to move out there and see that every day.


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## maxx98 (May 10, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> He's probably 6 by now. Has lived on the farm his whole life and will probably die there from some other buck kicking his ass. He's super aggressive during the rut but one year he got clobbered real bad in a fight and limped for the rest of the season. Can't be killed in the great state of Illinois


That is still cool to see. He looks small compared to the other deer in the field. It would be cool to find him in decent shape if he dies. 

I never understood the not letting people shoot albino's. They are a genetic defect.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

maxx98 said:


> That is still cool to see. He looks small compared to the other deer in the field. It would be cool to find him in decent shape if he dies.
> 
> I never understood the not letting people shoot albino's. They are a genetic defect.


I agree. He should have been gone from the gene pool a long time ago. Who knows how many does he's bred through the years


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## Wild-Lines (Dec 30, 2014)

Good Stuff!

Are you an outfitter or is this for you, family, and invited friends to hunt? Just curious, not looking for a hunt.

Running an Cattle or just Deer Ag?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Wild-Lines said:


> Good Stuff!
> 
> Are you an outfitter or is this for you, family, and invited friends to hunt? Just curious, not looking for a hunt.
> 
> Running an Cattle or just Deer Ag?


Private, no cattle just deer.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Man we just can't catch a break in the Midwest. Just heard today from my farm manager that the 3.2 inches of rain we got on Sunday wreaked havoc on at least two of our food plots. That's what happens when you have so much water flowing on loose dirt I suppose. May have to end up redoing the plots. Cha Ching!!!!!!!!


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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

You could spray a herbicide with some residual will last pretty well the whole year. Also I would consider frost seeding clover in your plot versus trying to disk around the trees. I bet it would be easer at least in the areas you can't get your disk. I have had very good crops especially clover when thrown on the grown in the fall or early spring.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

booner21 said:


> You could spray a herbicide with some residual will last pretty well the whole year. Also I would consider frost seeding clover in your plot versus trying to disk around the trees. I bet it would be easer at least in the areas you can't get your disk. I have had very good crops especially clover when thrown on the grown in the fall or early spring.


I'm referring more to the dedicated food plots that were in low lying areas. Those are worrying me 
You are correct about the frost seeding tho but I had promised my lease holders I would put in the clover and I do what I can to come through.


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## Hep (Jan 26, 2006)

beautiful place! Hope all goes well :cheers:


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## bucknut1 (Sep 21, 2006)

awesome


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks to Hep and Bucknut1


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Update;

The dog days of summer are almost over and fall is around the corner. I couldn't be more excited for October to arrive. You all know about the fan driving into the roof. Figures that some crazy stuff like that would happen to yours truly. Finally got it fixed. 
So you all know that when you imagine something in your head it often ends up being different in real life. When I designed the garage I put a drain in the middle of it with the idea that if I washed the atv's inside it would all washout the drain and into the woods. Well...it didn't pan out quite how I hoped it would and I had to end up cleaning the ranger in the concrete pad right in front of the main entrance. Needless to say that wouldn't be a smart thing to do so I went ahead and had a slab poured the full length of the garage. Seems like this time this should work and cleaning up would be way easier 








While I'm on the topic of cleaning atv's I'd like to tell you all about a product I first became aware of on the Polaris Ranger Forum. It's a clear coat that is sprayed on the plastic panels of atv's and it not only shines as if new but it also makes a further clean up much easier. I couldn't be happier with the he outcome. I had not cleaned my ranger since the day we brought it home and let me say it made it look better than new. Here it is;








Best of luck to you all 
Ernie


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Saw this pic last night when I was reviewing old trail cam pics and thought you guys might enjoy it. This buck and I had history. He was consistently showing up in two of my sets and one afternoon he comes in from the neighbors side and starts rubbing a tree just on the other side of my line no more than 40 yards from me. I tried everything to bring him across the unmarked border but failed. After a bit he just walks away heading north and away from me. Not trying to be saintly or anything but I just couldn't shoot him knowing he wasn't on my property. Never saw him again but sure hope he's still kicking it around somewhere. 







This is him in velvet








Here he is licking my climbing sticks a few hours after I came down from that stand. Isn't this the craziest thing ever?


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Will have to try the clear coat out on the Mule after I get back from this goat hunt. Forgot just how much dust gets everywhere.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> Will have to try the clear coat out on the Mule after I get back from this goat hunt. Forgot just how much dust gets everywhere.


Best of luck buddy. Get above them!!!


----------



## WIN.308 (Oct 21, 2012)

Maxemus said:


> Update;
> 
> The dog days of summer are almost over and fall is around the corner. I couldn't be more excited for October to arrive. You all know about the fan driving into the roof. Figures that some crazy stuff like that would happen to yours truly. Finally got it fixed.
> So you all know that when you imagine something in your head it often ends up being different in real life. When I designed the garage I put a drain in the middle of it with the idea that if I washed the atv's inside it would all washout the drain and into the woods. Well...it didn't pan out quite how I hoped it would and I had to end up cleaning the ranger in the concrete pad right in front of the main entrance. Needless to say that wouldn't be a smart thing to do so I went ahead and had a slab poured the full length of the garage. Seems like this time this should work and cleaning up would be way easier
> ...


Ernie, I bought a case of that spray off of Amazon for my Polaris, greatest stuff going, works great for the interior of my pickup also.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

WIN.308 said:


> Ernie, I bought a case of that spray off of Amazon for my Polaris, greatest stuff going, works great for the interior of my pickup also.


I thought a can would last me a long time but it's just good for one wash. Just received the case from Amazon as well. Best stuff ever!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just heard from my lease holder and he tells me the new food plots have started to come up and that he saw 10 140 type bucks. Some of our commercial beans are looking real good and are waist high some others are piss poor. 
Let's just hope EHD doesn't strike. That's all I am hoping for right now


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Figured I give you all an update on the goings on. Trails have been mowed, stands set, plots put in, electric fence is up and zapping so all we need now is some moisture. Where is the rain when you need it? Our last two food plots haven't come up yet bc of lack of moisture so in keeping my enthusiasm at its peak and I know it will rain here soon. 
It's looking real good fellas.


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

it will rain. I was worried about my oats not growing then boom they are everywhere


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

pinski79 said:


> it will rain. I was worried about my oats not growing then boom they are everywhere


You had much luck with those pats Pinski?


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> You had much luck with those pats Pinski?


oats. Yeah the deer seem to like them after the corn and beans are pulled. Easy as heck to plant. Last year I killed everything, tilled up the soil, then racked the oats in. This year I just sprayed and tossed the oats on the ground. No need to over do it. coming up good after a couple days rain


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

pinski79 said:


> oats. Yeah the deer seem to like them after the corn and beans are pulled. Easy as heck to plant. Last year I killed everything, tilled up the soil, then racked the oats in. This year I just sprayed and tossed the oats on the ground. No need to over do it. coming up good after a couple days rain


We struck out badly on buck forage oats. Deer just didn't want them


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> We struck out badly on buck forage oats. Deer just didn't want them


they hit them after it got cold here last year. I went with regular oats this year. 50 pounds for $5.50 at the feed mill.


----------



## hedp (Dec 20, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> Update;
> 
> The dog days of summer are almost over and fall is around the corner. I couldn't be more excited for October to arrive. You all know about the fan driving into the roof. Figures that some crazy stuff like that would happen to yours truly. Finally got it fixed.
> So you all know that when you imagine something in your head it often ends up being different in real life. When I designed the garage I put a drain in the middle of it with the idea that if I washed the atv's inside it would all washout the drain and into the woods. Well...it didn't pan out quite how I hoped it would and I had to end up cleaning the ranger in the concrete pad right in front of the main entrance. Needless to say that wouldn't be a smart thing to do so I went ahead and had a slab poured the full length of the garage. Seems like this time this should work and cleaning up would be way easier
> ...




Why doesn't the water drain right?


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## BUFFALOCTYBUCKS (Feb 20, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Just heard from my lease holder and he tells me the new *food plots* have started to come up and that he saw 10 140 type bucks. Some of our commercial beans are looking real good and are waist high some others are piss poor.
> Let's just hope EHD doesn't strike. That's all I am hoping for right now


What were in the plots that had the deer in? Just the beans or something else?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

hedp said:


> Why doesn't the water drain right?


House is built on a hill


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BUFFALOCTYBUCKS said:


> What were in the plots that had the deer in? Just the beans or something else?


I asked him that question after the post it seems he did not see them together a few here and a few there but mostly in the beans this time a year.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Heading out on back to back elk hunts fellas there probably won't be any updates here till October when the season starts. If I'm successful in Utah and Cali I will write up an thread on the hunts.


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## Ramey Jackson (Jun 10, 2006)

Outstanding thread! Good luck on your Elk hunts...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Ramey Jackson said:


> Outstanding thread! Good luck on your Elk hunts...


Thanks Ramey. Nice profile pic.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Good luck, Big E! Kill a good one...or two!


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Heading out on back to back elk hunts fellas there probably won't be any updates here till October when the season starts. If I'm successful in Utah and Cali I will write up an thread on the hunts.


I hope you have fun. Make us proud


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Best of luck take pictures..


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks Brian , pinski, and Chris. I just started a thread for the elk hunts. Let's see what develops in hopeful. Put a biggin to bed this am


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## hedp (Dec 20, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> House is built on a hill




Will your garage drain at all? 



That's important. I just bought a house and the guy didn't have a drain and he said every winter after he parked his cars he had to wait until the snow melted and then he'd push the water out of the garage. Seemed like a PITA.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

hedp said:


> Will your garage drain at all?
> 
> 
> 
> That's important. I just bought a house and the guy didn't have a drain and he said every winter after he parked his cars he had to wait until the snow melted and then he'd push the water out of the garage. Seemed like a PITA.


Yes i put a drain inside it as well plus it's insulated


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Can't wait till October the 1St. All the corn around my farms have been pulled. The soy beans the farmer planted are full of pods and I'm looking forward to seeing how our food plots have done. Lack of rain in July and August has hurt but hey it's hunting season so let's get it on.


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## ajbuckwacker (Jan 11, 2014)

Beautiful place Ernie. I am planning on planting some fruit trees on my place and was wondering if it is necessary to fence the trees. I assume it keeps the deer off them, but would a pipe type tree guard work?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ajbuckwacker said:


> Beautiful place Ernie. I am planning on planting some fruit trees on my place and was wondering if it is necessary to fence the trees. I assume it keeps the deer off them, but would a pipe type tree guard work?


Sorry AJ but I never saw this post until now. The answer is yes. They need to be fenced so that deer don't over browse the trees. In addition you need a tree tube not so much for the deer since they won't reach the tree but you need it for the rabbits. They will kill a tree in no time if you give them access to the bark. I think it's called girdling or something like that. I saw this first hand on a couple of trees that had no tube and they died.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

According to my caretaker;
Food plots haven't been adversely affected by the dry weather other than maybe less growth. We've already had a frost on them so their sugar content has to have gone up. Deer are absolutely hammering the turnips and earlier planted radishes 
Last week we watered the trees again. 1300 gallons of water. That's going to cost a few bucks but very necessary


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

should pay off in October thank;l


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

meant should pay off in November I think.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

ajbuckwacker said:


> Is necessary to fence the trees. I assume it keeps the deer off them, but would a pipe type tree guard work?


Deer do browse fruit trees heavily so some fence helps a ton for survival! 
Many people don't like tubes for fruit trees like they do for others as there have been some disease issues. I like to use window screen (aluminum) to protect from girdling. It's cheap and easy to find at Walmart or any hardware store. Wrap it around the trunk and staple it to itself.
Similar to this:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> meant should pay off in November I think.


There's a point where they all turn to mush. Unfortunately this year all I have is brassicas and clover because of not having been able to plant earlier. You should see how they eat the turnip and radish leaves. It's almost like they were slurping them with a straw.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

I usually get in some Frigid Forage Big and Beasty. Last year it turned out well. This year becaues of some creek washouts we couldn't get back to the spot with a tractor so it was throw-n-grow and clover for me. Obviously not ideal but has worked so far in keeping them around at least.

Good luck on those IL giants and relaxing after the hunt at that amazing place.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks buddy. Good luck to you as well


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Forgot to post this pic
As you recall my pears got a really bad case of fire blight and had to be pruned back pretty significantly. Most seemed to have survived and this one gave out there pears this year. I can only imagine the horde of apples and pears this orchard will produce once they reach maturity


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

One of the guys on the farm I lease tagged a neat buck last night. It had a fused extra main beam. 12 pointer overall


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Doing an aerial spraying of round up Monday so I spent several hours today covering my fruit trees to hopefully keep them alive


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## JWilson90 (Mar 9, 2012)

Maxemus said:


> One of the guys on the farm I lease tagged a neat buck last night. It had a fused extra main beam. 12 pointer overall
> View attachment 3175666


no track job there lol. Pinned it to the ground


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

All non dormant trees have been covered except the ones along my northern border where there shouldn't be any risk of over spray. Just waiting for the plane to do its thing


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

https://vimeo.com/145157208
Honeysuckle eradication project


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Last two days have been beyond windy. So much so that it tore all the remaining fan blades off my injured outdoor fan 








Two nights ago lost power and ate dinner by lantern light 







Deer jerky, chips, and what else XX.


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## ghostgoblin22 (May 3, 2013)

looking good maxemus


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

ghostgoblin22 said:


> looking good maxemus


Thanks my friend


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## honker22 (Jul 24, 2012)

Ernie, you are the 2nd most interesting man in the world. Stay thirsty!
Oh yeah, the farm is looking real good. Go draw some blood now.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

honker22 said:


> Ernie, you are the 2nd most interesting man in the world. Stay thirsty!
> Oh yeah, the farm is looking real good. Go draw some blood now.


I'm rolling in laughter. Nobody beats the original.


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## Jerred44 (Jul 31, 2008)

How did the honey suckle killing go?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Jerred44 said:


> How did the honey suckle killing go?


We won't know till next spring but I'm hopeful it will work. Regardless I'm going to have to spray against a few years. Thats going to be a nightmare on the land my house sits on. By then the fruit trees will be larger and harder to cover. May have to figure out an easier way on larger trees. I don't understand how the state doesn't get involved in promoting this. Vast areas of the Midwest are being swallowed by this invasive.


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## Kansas Bruisers (Dec 14, 2006)

honker22 said:


> Ernie, you are the 2nd most interesting man in the world. Stay thirsty!
> Oh yeah, the farm is looking real good. Go draw some blood now.


I just about wet my pants laughing at this, it's funny and true!!! I look forward to every thread that starts with Maxemus.

By the way Maxemus, congrats on your elk hunts. I had a great time following along, hope you drag us along on your next hunt.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Kansas Bruisers said:


> I just about wet my pants laughing at this, it's funny and true!!! I look forward to every thread that starts with Maxemus.
> 
> By the way Maxemus, congrats on your elk hunts. I had a great time following along, hope you drag us along on your next hunt.


Thanks KB
I'm having a lackluster whitetail season in Illinois so far. Put two bad shots on my target buck and luckily my best friend was able to kill him the following week. All is well that ends well he scored 2/8ths shy of 170. Been chasing a ghost so far. He's been everywhere I haven't been but still hopeful. 
Going to have one more adventure in old Mexico this coming January so I will write a story on that hunt for sure.


----------



## Kansas Bruisers (Dec 14, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks KB
> I'm having a lackluster whitetail season in Illinois so far. Put two bad shots on my target buck and luckily my best friend was able to kill him the following week. All is well that ends well he scored 2/8ths shy of 170. Been chasing a ghost so far. He's been everywhere I haven't been but still hopeful.
> Going to have one more adventure in old Mexico this coming January so I will write a story on that hunt for sure.


Lots of people having a rough season so far, me included. Good luck in Mexico, looking forward to that thread.


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## Onpoint85 (Jun 26, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> We struck out badly on buck forage oats. Deer just didn't want them


That's odd. I've had deer walk through a 100 yard Long brassica patch in less than a minute maybe taking a bite or 2. They get to the oats and stay sometimes for an hour or longer eating.

during November and December the oats were hott. January the brassicas got a little more attention. All in all I wasn't overly impressed with the brassicas. Have had numerous beautiful plots and the deer just don't seem as interested in them.

the following year we mixed peas and oats and that made for a killer plot the deer couldn't stay out of.

Peas, oats, and clover have been my best kill plots.


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## CWB04 (Jan 23, 2015)

I happened across this thread earlier today and couldn't stop. Finally made it through the entire thread. I actually kind of missed the updated photos of the house in the later portions of the thread, but I guess you must be getting things lined out how you want them. You took the time to document your project and let us all come along for the ride. I look forward to watching things progress as time goes on. As a wildlife biologist, I especially look forward to watching the landscape and habitat and any improvements you may come up with. A pretty amazing man with a pretty amazing story. I think you mentioned along the way about the hope of inspiring others, maybe even one - I'd say mission accomplished brother. Awesome thread!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

CWB04 said:


> I happened across this thread earlier today and couldn't stop. Finally made it through the entire thread. I actually kind of missed the updated photos of the house in the later portions of the thread, but I guess you must be getting things lined out how you want them. You took the time to document your project and let us all come along for the ride. I look forward to watching things progress as time goes on. As a wildlife biologist, I especially look forward to watching the landscape and habitat and any improvements you may come up with. A pretty amazing man with a pretty amazing story. I think you mentioned along the way about the hope of inspiring others, maybe even one - I'd say mission accomplished brother. Awesome thread!


Thank you.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I've been seeing a few too many 8's on the farm so as I was headed out today i made my mind up to take one if the opportunity presented itself. It did but I decided against pulling the trigger because I didn't think it had reached its full potential. It's a mainframe 8 and looks like a G4 wants to come out on his right side. He also has an interesting sticker on his right G2. I think this guy needs a couple of years and might turn into something very interesting. I had told the leaseholders to unleash havoc on the 8's but after seeing this guy I amended my position to only mature bucks that are 8's. 
https://vimeo.com/145697655


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## Jerred44 (Jul 31, 2008)

What did it cost per acre if u don't mind me asking? And what did they spray


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Jerred44 said:


> What did it cost per acre if u don't mind me asking? And what did they spray


Haven't gotten the bill but I understand they charge 32 dollars per acre. They should have sprayed 650 acres is what I requested.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I noticed quite a few honeysuckle bushes that appear to be dying today. Hopefully this worked and next spring we can see a huge difference. Regardless I'm planning on spending a week here next year just spot spraying what's left. Going to need a Hazmat suit but it's necessary.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

https://vimeo.com/145931367

Saw this guy last night. It's great to see the monsters start showing up out of nowhere.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

https://vimeo.com/146079884

Cost me a broken grunt tube but called him to within ten yards. I dare him to come near me when he's all grown up.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

My neighbors son shot a buck we call Frank this afternoon during gun season. He's put in many all day sits this year and deserves this buck.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's another angle. You all might recall a certain thread last year titled something like "no mans land". Well ...this is the buck that thread was about. He's been on the farm on and off his whole life. He's at least 6-7 years old and although he shrunk a bit this year and lost quite a bit of weight he was still a monster buck. Congrats to HP.


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

dandy


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## IndianaPSE (Nov 11, 2009)

Sweet buck.


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## LetThemGrow (Apr 2, 2004)

Great bucks!


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Nice!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I'm not too certain were going to find a dead buck at the end of this tale but here's what happened. My oldest son had a hot doe come through his food plot today followed by a big 12. He couldn't get a shot on him but then sees that big bodied main frame 8 with the sticker off his left G2 that I posted the video of at night. Hes an old buck that I'm thinking is well above 150. Apparently he shot him in the leg or low front shoulder. We gathered a search team but it's my feeling we are better off letting it go till tomorrow am. We followed it several hundred yards till we backed off. Resuming at ten tomorrow fingers crossed fellas


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

good luck


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## ronnieburks (Sep 28, 2014)

Awesome


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> View attachment 3264674
> 
> 
> Here's another angle. You all might recall a certain thread last year titled something like "no mans land". Well ...this is the buck that thread was about. He's been on the farm on and off his whole life. He's at least 6-7 years old and although he shrunk a bit this year and lost quite a bit of weight he was still a monster buck. Congrats to HP.


Ernie that's a dandy. I don't recall any specifics about the last years noman's land thread but, did you get a chance to open him and see exactly where he was hit. Even though it's been a year there should be scarring from the shot.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

No I didn't it started raining and I've been nursing a tough cough so I didn't participate. When I see them I will ask. I can say they his rack is smaller and his body weight went down in a big way. 
https://vimeo.com/146522136
This was him last year


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## Onpoint85 (Jun 26, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> I'm not too certain were going to find a dead buck at the end of this tale but here's what happened. My oldest son had a hot doe come through his food plot today followed by a big 12. He couldn't get a shot on him but then sees that big bodied main frame 8 with the sticker off his left G2 that I posted the video of at night. Hes an old buck that I'm thinking is well above 150. Apparently he shot him in the leg or low front shoulder. We gathered a search team but it's my feeling we are better off letting it go till tomorrow am. We followed it several hundred yards till we backed off. Resuming at ten tomorrow fingers crossed fellas


Any luck?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Onpoint85 said:


> Any luck?
> 
> Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


Sadly no.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you fellas.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just heard tonight that the big 8 that my son shot is still alive and back on the other farm. Hopefully I can get a crack at him next week


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Good luck buddy! 
You put your time and effort in, now go collect the reward. (A giant 8 point reward)


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## REDNECK QDMA (Jan 25, 2009)

Nice.... Wish I had house like that.


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## Pittstate23 (Dec 27, 2010)

So did you and your son both miss this year?


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## AaronMN (Nov 16, 2014)

I love the progress pictures - thank you for the time you take to put all of your posts together! 

Is there, by any chance, an online photo album you have of the build progress and your photos? I would love to show my wife!

Aaron


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

AaronMN said:


> I love the progress pictures - thank you for the time you take to put all of your posts together!
> 
> Is there, by any chance, an online photo album you have of the build progress and your photos? I would love to show my wife!
> 
> Aaron


Thanks Aaron. They are all in this thread.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Pittstate23 said:


> So did you and your son both miss this year?


Sadly yes. What can I say a splendid year hit the skids when I got back from New Foundland. Let's hope I can pull a rabbit out of the hat next week and return to form.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Had an encounter with this youngster today. https://vimeo.com/148574955


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## rocklab (May 13, 2007)

maxemus,are you up for muzzleloader??Was that video taken tonite?looks like they were out with plenty of light?Trying to figure out my strategy for the next couple evenings.Standing/picked corn,standing /picked beans,or food plots???


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

rocklab said:


> maxemus,are you up for muzzleloader??Was that video taken tonite?looks like they were out with plenty of light?Trying to figure out my strategy for the next couple evenings.Standing/picked corn,standing /picked beans,or food plots???


Yes I'm up but I don't think I'm going to use a ML. There are deer everywhere early in the afternoon too. I would sit on food plots if I were you. Don't think it's cold enough but I had my kid on one and he had 15 deer come out. I was on another and saw a dozen. Just not big enough to shoot tho


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## rocklab (May 13, 2007)

Sounds good thanks!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Very happy for my son. He shot a decent buck tonight with his ML.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Nice one!


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## dblungem (Dec 2, 2008)

Good one, Ernie. Congrats to your son!


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Congrats to your son!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Yesterday we spent from 7 am to 4 pm replacing all the dead trees and we added a few new ones. We also added tree skirts to every tree in an effort to prevent weeds. It's my hope that with the tubes and the skirt we will be better able to safely maintain them with roundup.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Congrats to your son and hopefully you can get one down. I think your place is going to be a magical kingdom for every creature around.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Brian811 said:


> Congrats to your son and hopefully you can get one down. I think your place is going to be a magical kingdom for every creature around.


Thanks Brian


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Interesting afternoon. I was on stand and heard a shot that sounded awfully suspicious so i decided to go investigate. Had half a dozen deer in front of me but I couldn't resist the thought of catching a poacher so I bailed and ran towards the sound jumped in my car and really thought I was going to catch one red handed. Drove around enough to come to the conclusion that I was either too late or the sound came from further away than I thought. Saw a decent 8 right off the road and some does. Thought for sure that was it for this sit and got back to my stand https://vimeo.com/148753150at 4:40 to an empty food plot. In ten minutes I had 19 deer come out including this up and comer.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

CWD season is in full swing around me and the neighbors are pilling up the does by the dozens Here's an interesting buck from today's sit. I call him droopy but we might have to rename him next year bc this might just be due to an injury during velvet season https://vimeo.com/150555199


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

We had a dry Late summer and got lightly hit with EHD. It wasn't as severe as other outbreaks but we lost a handful of deer. Not 100% on this guy but he has bare elbows with thick scabs on them so he may have been sick and survived. If so, he's used up 3 lives already. Hope he turns into a big 8 in a couple of years. 
https://vimeo.com/150869050


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

he looks like he could be a real dandy someday. Heck I'd prob shoot as he is


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I've looked back a few pages and it appears I neglected to show the buck my buddy and I were after. If I'm repeating the same things then forgive me. https://vimeo.com/150985812
https://vimeo.com/150985861

He was 3 1/2 years old and sported 16 storable points. We saw him all summer and when summer merged into fall he moved enough to have identify where he was calling home. On Oct 30 my mood was weighing heavily toward not hunting but since I'm there I had to go. My initial thought was to use a loc on that would have put me at twenty yards from where the deer were coming through between food plots. Upon getting there I opted instead to sit in the comfort of my tower and to throw caution to the wind and put my earbuds in. 6pack was the first deer that came out and went to the local community scrape and did his thing. (I knew on Oct 1 that that branch would be a place to put a camera. Upon doing what bucks do on the scrape and having left his calling card he started heading towards me. About halfway there he decides to do the same thing in the woods while far enough away from the field edge I have a series of tending grunts that had the effect of letting him now there was another buck chasing does under his nose. He abruptly finished his chores and Berliner it towards me. He would take a 50 yard course parallel to my location. As he enters my killing zone in at full draw and at the moment I release the arrow he lurched forward. The arrow hit hi high in the back yet the 16 time buck didn't feel a thing, went ten yards and continues feeding. I was startled wondering if I had actually hit him or not. But nevertheless a second arrow had to be sent. After configuring all the lack of sunlight on the pins, the fading night and a buck whose temperament had just changed. I drew and sent another Gid Tip his way. Unfortunately it too hit high and the buck ran away with an arrow with very little penetration
That might I searched for blood till the rains came and they stopped two days later. The following week my best friend shot 6pack at 70 yards and earned himself a hell of a buck.

Fast forward to the end of our season and I didn't catch anything but in pleased for the effort I put forth, grateful for all the habitat work we did this year, and grateful for the future. There's much to do this year I hope I can be a part of it all despite all the traveling I plan on doing but these little projects that seem meaningful sometimes pay huge benefits.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

http://youtu.be/BL_CYHxplm0




"What you do in life echoes in eternity"


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

http://youtu.be/7ZdwEfEhYIY

Thought I'd add a couple of short videos from this years bucks. Hope you all enjoy the post season blues lol




"What you do in life echoes in eternity"


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

http://youtu.be/2jgbCbepxnI
http://youtu.be/uKTx7WyEAxM
http://youtu.be/YRharOONvLY





"What you do in life echoes in eternity"


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## dhom (Jun 10, 2008)

Maxemus said:


> Fast forward to the end of our season and I didn't catch anything but in pleased for the effort I put forth,


Love your thread but gotta call you out on this one. Your sounding like a xbow totin TV hunter! I thought you killed deer?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

dhom said:


> Love your thread but gotta call you out on this one. Your sounding like a xbow totin TV hunter! I thought you killed deer?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Oh nooooo my reputation is ruined. 




"What you do in life echoes in eternity"


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Video dump from 15 continues 

http://youtu.be/ywnQNoL3vic

http://youtu.be/BJlAq1qEQVE




"What you do in life echoes in eternity"


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Got last years Rocky Mountain on the wall as well my muley from 2014. 














I know it's off center but this thing weighs quite a bit so had to find the stud. 







Found a matching pair of sheds today. This guy should be a stunner this year. Main frame 6x5 with a kicker off his G2 on his 5 point side. Haven't scored it but he's a keeper this year.


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## obeRON (Apr 3, 2009)

What state the muley from?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

obeRON said:


> What state the muley from?


Utah.


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## pinski79 (Jan 23, 2010)

Looks good


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## black_chill (Feb 8, 2014)

can I ask what you do professionally? I have seen you mention your business before, so just curious.


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## Winston_7 (Jan 17, 2015)

I absolutely love the interior of the house!! 

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

black_chill said:


> can I ask what you do professionally? I have seen you mention your business before, so just curious.


I grow crops in South America and distribute them across the US. I swear it's true. I always get a laugh when I tell people that line. They look at me like I suddenly contracted the plague.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks Pinski and Winston


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## chaded (Jan 15, 2011)

Maxemus said:


> I grow crops in South America and distribute them across the US. I swear it's true. I always get a laugh when I tell people that line. They look at me like I suddenly contracted the plague.


What kind of crops? Lol. :suspiciou


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

Maxies friend call him el chape......

:wink:


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## OhioHunter88 (Mar 4, 2006)

zap said:


> Maxies friend call him el chape......
> 
> :wink:


Hahaha!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G870A using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Couldn't resist not knowing what those sheds I posted scored. Assuming 20 inches of spread this guy scores 151 3/8ths. Between main beam length , mass and spread he's almost at 100.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

chaded said:


> What kind of crops? Lol. :suspiciou


All legit chaded.


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## Dylbilly (Dec 8, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Couldn't resist not knowing what those sheds I posted scored. Assuming 20 inches of spread this guy scores 151 3/8ths. Between main beam length , mass and spread he's almost at 100.


I hope you catch up with him this fall bud.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Dylbilly said:


> I hope you catch up with him this fall bud.


Thank you sir. I do too


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Mounts look great, Ernie. I'm sure you will find a few more sheds of bucks to go after next year too.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Brian811 said:


> Mounts look great, Ernie. I'm sure you will find a few more sheds of bucks to go after next year too.


Thanks Brian.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Hiked over 9 miles today looking for sheds and only found 1 and it was already badly eaten. 
Here's a pic of the right side of the ones found yesterday and the eaten one from today. Note that the chewed one has more mass so it might end up being a heck of a deer this year 







Today's on the left and yesterday 150 on right. 







Switched them up on this pic to demonstrate the difference in mass.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

You think that's one from last year Ernie? Place looks great boss!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

[QUOTE =Captain Cully;1086790905]You think that's one from last year Ernie? Place looks great boss![/QUOTE]

Thanks Mark. Yes they are from 2015


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

I was thinking that one that's chewed down and bleached out could be a 2014? Don't know, I'm certainly no expert with my life time shed pile at like 10 sheds lol.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Did a small controlled burn this am.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I have often answered many PM's about buying recreational land so I know there's a great deal of interest on the subject. I came across this episode of Wired to Hunt Podcast with Dan Perez of Whitetail Properties that I thought you guys will find pretty interesting. Look it up in many of the podcast apps out there. I use an app called Overcast but there's others as well. 
Dan is one of the principals of Whitetail Properties but more importantly he's a great guy. I didn't use his services when I bought my farms but he has helped me tremendously over the years.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Ernie: You have done a great job so far. Love it. Keep it up. Post more pictures of the house if you will.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Ernie: You have done a great job so far. Love it. Keep it up. Post more pictures of the house if you will.


Thanks Jim. Heading up there today. Hoping to put an arrow into a big Tom for team #6 (spur of the moment). My guys tell me there's turkeys everywhere so I'm excited. Hope you're doing well my friend.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Good luck sticking a big one, Ernie


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## H20fwler (Apr 1, 2014)

Nice sheds Ernie, how are your fruit trees and pines doing? You have had them in a couple years now I think?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Brian811 said:


> Good luck sticking a big one, Ernie


Thanks Brian. Waking up in 4 hours.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Nice sheds Ernie, how are your fruit trees and pines doing? You have had them in a couple years now I think?


I will post an update this week and provide pics.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Nice sheds Ernie, how are your fruit trees and pines doing? You have had them in a couple years now I think?










Had to replace 10 last year that died from lack of water. They had plenty of water throughout the spring but hit a dry spell in August and it stressed them out apparently. They need constant water apparently. 

Fruit trees are budding. Haven't inventoried them yet to see which have survived and which haven't but I will get to it this week. The pears are flowering but we had the temp dip into the mid twenties this week so I'm hoping it doesn't hurt them. Something tells me it will because I'm noticing some flowers are brownish. Apples take longer. 

Clover plots are looking better but very short still. I'm finally going to be able to work on the drainage problem plaguing the orchard soon. We were able to rent a dirt scoop and getting a quote to put in risers and pipes in three spots hoping to solve the issue. After that will be creating three terraces to collect the run off and take it to the pond. That will probably force me to change the spill over pipe to a bigger diameter pipe but that had to be done anyways.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Was finally able to get a look at the last pond I hadn't seen over on my other farm. It was choked with honeysuckle so I had my caretaker make a trail to it. Great looking body of water left over from the strip mining operation back in the 50's


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## trails end (Dec 16, 2010)

Let us know how the honey suckle kill went. I am working with some guys here in Mo. that have the same problem. The area I hunt in Illinois is simply covered. I am trying to get up there soon and do some mist spraying before desirable plants leaf out. Thanks


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

trails end said:


> Let us know how the honey suckle kill went. I am working with some guys here in Mo. that have the same problem. The area I hunt in Illinois is simply covered. I am trying to get up there soon and do some mist spraying before desirable plants leaf out. Thanks


Mark
Not well enough to justify what it cost. I'm debating what to do next. The only real solution unfortunately is more expensive than aerial spraying and requires specific equipment. Something like this rig is what I'm thinking ;














Not to mention the personnel to actually do the spraying.


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## H20fwler (Apr 1, 2014)

Your trees are looking good!

I'm putting in 140 scotch pine and some Norway spruce this weekend, what was your spacing? I'm planting mine for deer cover and bedding so might plant closer together in staggered rows, your pears look good. Have the deer tried to bother them at all, did you use 4' or 5' foot wire?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Your trees are looking good!
> 
> I'm putting in 140 scotch pine and some Norway spruce this weekend, what was your spacing? I'm planting mine for deer cover and bedding so might plant closer together in staggered rows, your pears look good. Have the deer tried to bother them at all, did you use 4' or 5' foot wire?


Im almost certain I put them 25 feet apart in two rows so eventually they will provide me a security wall. 
Just found out the neighbor to my east is putting his CRP into crops. This is going to be major and should draw even more deer here. Saw over thirty deer this am and one decent buck was still carrying his left side.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

H20fwler said:


> Your trees are looking good!
> 
> I'm putting in 140 scotch pine and some Norway spruce this weekend, what was your spacing? I'm planting mine for deer cover and bedding so might plant closer together in staggered rows, your pears look good. Have the deer tried to bother them at all, did you use 4' or 5' foot wire?


Forgot to answer about the fruit trees. I used 3 6 foot steel posts per tree to go along with I believe 48 inch red wire fencing and I left a gap below of about a foot to help with mowing and weed eating. Best of luck on your planting


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Place is looking great! 

My place is moving along nice (I think we are about a yr apart on our builds). Fruit trees that I planted last yr bloomed this spring but it was earlier enough that they ended up getting frost on them. This worries me because we get late frosts often. Won't hurt the trees but will cause random production yrs.

Good luck with your invasive battles. My wife made a comment the other day about my battle with Johnson grass. I had asked her opinion about something and she said "you'll spend a lot of time and money fighting a battle you can't win". This certainly rings true but if you aren't proactive it will take over.


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## BigDeer (Aug 9, 2005)

Strip pond looks great, heck all of it does! How did the turkey hunt go?


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## trails end (Dec 16, 2010)

That bottom one looks fire fighter worthy. Sure that would be very expensive. I do not have the big acreage issue you do. We brush hogged paths all over an 80 last fall so we can get through the area with good coverage of round up. A friend here used a brush hog with a rotary chopper. I am convinced all he got done was spreading the seeds far and wide and the stumps will just regrow. Time will tell. Hope to see you this fall if not before.


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## ppkaprince98 (Mar 13, 2008)

great thread!


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## CAS_HNTR (Oct 28, 2009)

How are your fruit trees doing? I know you had some issues originally.

Its been pretty cold as of late.....hope the frosting didn't get all of the blooms!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

What a morning. Full story to follow 







10 inch beard


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Beautiful looking bird.
Congrats!


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## HuntIL2 (Sep 16, 2009)

Very nice! Congrats....I'm headed up after work to get after one myself. Can't wait.


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## BigDeer (Aug 9, 2005)

Great looking bird, congrats!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the kind words. Ended up being an amazing experience and I will need to write up a brief story of the hunt. Had a blast bird measured 93/4 inches


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## iccyman001 (Nov 28, 2013)

Congrats!!!!!!!!
Team #6 is on the board! 



Great bird, Maxemus.


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## IndianaPSE (Nov 11, 2009)

Nice job, E!


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## Southpaw43 (Jan 13, 2008)

Great bird an pic. Way to go. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## JLH (Feb 22, 2005)

Congrats on a beautiful bird


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks for the nice comments everyone. Once we edit the footage it will be awesome. We've got two different camera angles to share with you all.


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## saskguy (Aug 25, 2007)

Great thread!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

https://vimeo.com/162915186. Here's one angle of the turkey hunt. I haven't done anything with my footage which is still to come. Rodney filmed this from outside the blind.


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## Valor Outdoors (Apr 14, 2016)

Awesome!


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## iccyman001 (Nov 28, 2013)

Awesome video!


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## gehrke145 (Sep 28, 2007)

Man I sat and read this thread in one shot, the joys of being a night shifter! I'm glad it didn't get derailed by the complainers! Great place, and a solid fun investment!


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Score another one for the DSDs Ernie. Nice work! I gotta get me some of those!


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Quality video! I don't know why but I expected a little less clear and more shaky. Instead it was very professional. Tell your camera guy great job, and the hunt looked like a blast too.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks boys. Glad you all enjoyed it. The other video should be good as well. When I get back Home I will figure out how to edit it.


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## BigDeer (Aug 9, 2005)

Great vid!


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Very Cool video ...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

All the corn around the farm is going in today.





















I was driving through the woods and drove up on three gobblers with two hens. I couldn't believe they didn't spook. Could have taken either of the gobblers if I had a tag


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Nice bird!!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Nice bird, great video Ernie. I thought you were going to shish kabob em'. At one point three headshots could have been made with one arrow. LOL I know this isn't allowed, but you could have easily done it. Livin the dream! :wink:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Nice bird, great video Ernie. I thought you were going to shish kabob em'. At one point three headshots could have been made with one arrow. LOL I know this isn't allowed, but you could have easily done it. Livin the dream! :wink:


Funny. In my video I was messing with my camera guy and when they were all lined up I asked him if i could shoot now? To his credit he kept his cool and just said "wait!" We had a laugh about it afterwards


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This is a screen shot from the turkey video. Crazy how they lined up in front of that hen and disregarded the Jake decoy


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## undercover (Jul 2, 2006)

Great video!


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

That is cool how they lined up. One at least acknowledged the Jake by turning his tail towards him.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thought I'd show you guys the proverbial other side of the coin. Sure it's nice to do some earth moving that gives a place a "wow" factor but sometimes changing what Mother Nature had in mind brings other consequences. Case in point, there was a wooded draw just north of my house where the runoff from the neighboring AG field would work its way through and fed into my old pond. My initial plan was remove the trees level out the drainage, plant the orchard then with the clover under the trees erosion shouldn't be too bad of an issue. 
What I didn't count on was the wettest spring in years (2015). So now we've got huge ruts all over the orchard but the good news is there's a game plan. 

We're going to put in some risers and terraces so that we can pool the water instead of having it just run down full bore. Eventually I'm probably going to have to change the size of the run off pipe currently in the pond but that will be for another day. We're waiting for the guy that will be putting in the risers so we can then build the terraces. Once we get that we will probably solve 90% of the runoff issue.


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## SilentElk (Oct 6, 2004)

Straw wattles. My father is an erosion control expert. I used to help him years back. That would improve it until a long term solution could be established. Clover can be a good soil binder but takes a little while to be established. Very good chance everything you did was adequate and just bad luck hit.


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## Bwana (Jul 29, 2003)

Coconut mats


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

SilentElk said:


> Straw wattles. My father is an erosion control expert. I used to help him years back. That would improve it until a long term solution could be established. Clover can be a good soil binder but takes a little while to be established. Very good chance everything you did was adequate and just bad luck hit.


Right idea wrong time I suppose.


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## SilentElk (Oct 6, 2004)

For now, I will fill it in with dirt. Might consider mixing a little mulch/wood fiber to minimize further erosion. They do make coconut blankets or straw blankets which wouldn't be bad idea to stabilize it but I think I would hold off on that if your planting clover. the think plastic mesh will be sticking up and will for quite some time. Just add dirt and then seed. Some will wash again. Just fill those in and repeat. eventually you will win. Wattles do help slow the flow and minimize run off


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> This is a screen shot from the turkey video. Crazy how they lined up in front of that hen and disregarded the Jake decoy
> View attachment 4158665


Proving they had just one thing in mind. C'mere sweetie! lol


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Took this pic of a bearded hen last week nesting in my switchgrass.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Took this pic of a bearded hen last week nesting in my switchgrass.
> View attachment 4185546


Very cool! That is something I don't see often, or a multibearded tom.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Finally got into some morels. Can't wait to try them for the first time


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## 12-Ringer (Jan 3, 2008)

Things are really coming together for you out there...congrats! Must be nice to see all of the hard work starting to take and shape and pay off....

Joe


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

12-Ringer said:


> Things are really coming together for you out there...congrats! Must be nice to see all of the hard work starting to take and shape and pay off....
> 
> Joe


Thanks Joe. I'm definitely putting in a ton of work trying to make the place better.


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

You're doing a hell of a job with your place, Ernie. All that work will pay off for you and the critters.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Brian811 said:


> You're doing a hell of a job with your place, Ernie. All that work will pay off for you and the critters.


Thanks Brian. Pretty soon the main plots are going in. Thought I'd show two in different stages. These are both kill plots but one is already in clover which was put in last year and the other one will be having sugar beets


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Yellow gold! Congrats on finding some morels and the place is looking great. 
It probably says earlier in the thread, but what type is the clover? 



Maxemus said:


> Finally got into some morels. Can't wait to try them for the first time


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> Yellow gold! Congrats on finding some morels and the place is looking great.
> It probably says earlier in the thread, but what type is the clover?


I've been trying Real World Wildlife seed's clover. We drove all over the farm checking plots and doing stuff and most of the clover is doing great but needs mowing for grass so does the new switch grass we frost seeded in February. The new switch grass will probably start coming up soon but the grass needs to be kept in check.


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## BiggA (Jun 20, 2008)

It that ascent rope in that tree? I just read an article about using a hemp rope as a scent marker to promote scrapes.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's some more pics 
















Tree plots with clover around them. 









This is my late season plot. I got this suggestion from the Team-Radical boys that kept repeating the mantra (Green to Beans). So the philosophy is that deer when given the choice will hit clover first and then move to a different food ( in this case we will have soybeans). I'm going to have an outer boundary with my hot fence and I'm debating putting up a different barrier to get the deer not to eat it till late season. 

Look where my caretaker is standing. It's below a licking branch. Last year opening day every deer that came by there had to play with that branch. A couple of weeks later there was a community scrape there and that's where I got pics of 6 pack. 








I video taped him and you guys can see the video on you tube if you like. Hell I think I linked it here a few months ago.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BiggA said:


> It that ascent rope in that tree? I just read an article about using a hemp rope as a scent marker to promote scrapes.


Yes it is. I used them last year with limited success. https://vimeo.com/165165656 sorry for the screen shot video but I think this has a decent buck checking the rope.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Update 
So today I finally got the guys to come out in the tile and risers for the orchard. It was expensive but I have high hopes this might finally stop those dreaded ditches. Here are some after pics. 4 risers and 1000 feet of pipe. Now I need to do get the terraces done


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Looking good Ernie. That clover looks like it would be great with some tomatoes, red onions and ranch dressing.


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## Wild-Lines (Dec 30, 2014)

you can tell that's not southern dirt....the darker the dirt the better it is.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Looking good Ernie. That clover looks like it would be great with some tomatoes, red onions and ranch dressing.


Agreed. Here's another pic of the cages and how the tree mats are actually working to keep the weeds at bay.








I was sitting last night on the terrace and in a blink I had 5 deer out in the clover. Didn't see how they came in but it's good to see them eating here.


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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

I think you will have better luck spraying clethodim on the grass in the clover rather than mowing.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

booner21 said:


> I think you will have better luck spraying clethodim on the grass in the clover rather than mowing.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


I agree some is too short to mow and needs something to keep the grass controlled. I will look into cletodium. Thanks for the suggestion


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## Southpaw43 (Jan 13, 2008)

Looks fantastic Ernie. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Southpaw43 said:


> Looks fantastic Ernie.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks Southpaw43


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just started playing with the Phantom and took a few pics. Here's one for now


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Oh Wow! Its turned out Beautiful!!! Thats gotta make you smile!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

SWIFFY said:


> Oh Wow! Its turned out Beautiful!!! Thats gotta make you smile!


Thanks swiffy. I just came back from the neighbors and look what they found today 









As far as I know no one ever saw this buck and no one has a Trail cam pic. Assuming he's just as big on the other side and with an 18 inch spread were talking 180 class.


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## Buxndiverdux (Oct 19, 2008)

Something tells me you are going to have your hands around one of those monsters sooner than later. Hard work pays dividends...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Buxndiverdux said:


> Something tells me you are going to have your hands around one of those monsters sooner than later. Hard work pays dividends...


Sooner or later :wink: thanks


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Buxndiverdux said:


> Something tells me you are going to have *your hands *around one of those monsters sooner than later. Hard work pays dividends...


Nah! Ernie likes a challenge. He will just lasso one. lol


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Nah! Ernie likes a challenge. He will just lasso one. lol


Very funny Jim. This has been an interesting week. I started to do a little tree trimming behind the house and ended up cutting at least half an acre of honeysuckle, thorns bushes, and trees that had been ringed. Made almost 30 junk piles. I look like I've been mugged. Scratches everywhere, poison oak and ivy, swollen ankle and elbow. I can keep going.... I think I need a vacation from my vacation


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## Point-N-Shoot (Oct 25, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Update
> So today I finally got the guys to come out in the tile and risers for the orchard. It was expensive but I have high hopes this might finally stop those dreaded ditches. Here are some after pics. 4 risers and 1000 feet of pipe. Now I need to do get the terraces done





What ditches?


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## QSA01 (Apr 28, 2016)

Man, that looks nice.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Point-N-Shoot said:


> What ditches?


I posted pictures previously showing the ditches


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

QSA01 said:


> Man, that looks nice.


Thank you


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Lots of activity this week up at the farm. The dry dams were built around the orchard, sugar beets got planted, hopefully beans got put in today. I'm heading up next week to fence the beans with the Non typical wildlife exclosures we used last year and continue select cutting of the woods south of the house. Also need to finish staying glyphosphate around the trees, mow the clover and hopefully get all the clover sprayed with Clethodium. Still debating about putting out the cameras now or waiting for later in the summer. Picture dump coming next week showing the progress on the food plots


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## BigBrian (Jun 15, 2013)

Wow, everything continues to look great!

I was out at our place in Illinois this week. Beans and corn in for us (which is the earliest our farmer has had it in. We sprayed the clover a few weeks ago and its the best its looked in a while. Also planted another acre of clover and its about 4 inches tall and looking good. Your clover in the orchard there looks pretty good, I think the warm wet weather coming up is going to get everything kicked into great and growing here in Illinois.

We put up three of our 15 or so cameras up last weekend, all over the clover plots. Might as well let them run for month and next time where mowing/checking food plots we can pull the chips real quick. Doesn't hurt to have them out and you never know what you'll get on camera.

Good luck and looking forward to the updated pictures!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BigBrian said:


> Wow, everything continues to look great!
> 
> I was out at our place in Illinois this week. Beans and corn in for us (which is the earliest our farmer has had it in. We sprayed the clover a few weeks ago and its the best its looked in a while. Also planted another acre of clover and its about 4 inches tall and looking good. Your clover in the orchard there looks pretty good, I think the warm wet weather coming up is going to get everything kicked into great and growing here in Illinois.
> 
> ...


I thought it might be too early but Zmax is getting great pics over in Kansas so I'm putting mine up next week if I have time. Sure wish the it's a wetter summer than the last one was. We lost a few deer in August to blue tongue. Nothing major but still hate to lose any deer.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

I had the coolest experience ever in the woods today. I've been building a hot zone food plot exclosure fence for my beans and had to run to the barn for some fence posts and the second I turn in the driveway I saw a doe had just dropped twin fawns right on the driveway. In all my years of being in the outdoors I've never seen a fawn that had just dropped. I don't want to sound sappy but i swear it was a surreal moment. Here's the video 
https://vimeo.com/168710313


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## RTILLER (May 4, 2009)

That's a cool experience!


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

wow..very cool.. fawns look very healthy..Farm looks amazing...


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## paulgeorges (Nov 22, 2008)

cool experience


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

90% of trees sprayed yesterday, put up a hot zone exclosure around the beans and ringed it with milorganite trying to keep the deer out of it. Clovers look pretty good except for a few spots. I broadcast seeded more beans as the rows were a little too wide so let's hope they germinate being on top of the ground like that. Waiting for tomorrow so we can spray the fruit trees as they are getting chewed up quite a bit. 
Very happy to see some of the apples bearing fruit 









I can only imagine that in a couple of years they will be dumping fruit by the bushel


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

those trees produced fast. How old were they when you planted? I'd like to plant some older ones at my new place so I wont have to wait too many years for fruit


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## blazinsoles (Jul 23, 2013)

Wow..those are like 48" rows on beans. I was trying to figure out what you had planted before I read the caption. You need to invest in a bean planter lol


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Maxemus said:


> I had the coolest experience ever in the woods today. I've been building a hot zone food plot exclosure fence for my beans and had to run to the barn for some fence posts and the second I turn in the driveway I saw a doe had just dropped twin fawns right on the driveway. In all my years of being in the outdoors I've never seen a fawn that had just dropped. I don't want to sound sappy but i swear it was a surreal moment. Here's the video
> 
> 
> > Just to check on this, did the mother come back for the fawns? I've heard in some situations like that once the fawn has a human scent she may or may not come back to them so just curious. Looks like it was an awesome experience


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Charman03 said:


> those trees produced fast. How old were they when you planted? I'd like to plant some older ones at my new place so I wont have to wait too many years for fruit


I got them of different ages but mostly 2-3 year old trees. Some younger ones are producing tho


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

doeblastr said:


> Wow..those are like 48" rows on beans. I was trying to figure out what you had planted before I read the caption. You need to invest in a bean planter lol


36 inch rows but I agree way too wide. I took care of that with broadcasting.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BGagner said:


> Maxemus said:
> 
> 
> > I had the coolest experience ever in the woods today. I've been building a hot zone food plot exclosure fence for my beans and had to run to the barn for some fence posts and the second I turn in the driveway I saw a doe had just dropped twin fawns right on the driveway. In all my years of being in the outdoors I've never seen a fawn that had just dropped. I don't want to sound sappy but i swear it was a surreal moment. Here's the video
> ...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Set up both sides of the hot fence around the beans and ringed it completely with milorganite. Hopefully this will give the beans a fighting chance to grow. It rained early this morning and I noticed the seeds I broadcasted were puffed up already and some had begun to sprout.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Here's another view from a little further away. There another fence just to the right of this one in the pic. Total about 3.5 acres of beans surrounded by switchgrass


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)




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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Awesome looking GREAT....this will be the year you Score on a Big monster buck...


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## trails end (Dec 16, 2010)

No way that was "sappy". Pure respect for the great animal we all respect and hunt. My wife loved the video of the little guys. See you this fall my friend......


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

bigbucks170 said:


> Awesome looking GREAT....this will be the year you Score on a Big monster buck...


Hope so Chris


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

trails end said:


> No way that was "sappy". Pure respect for the great animal we all respect and hunt. My wife loved the video of the little guys. See you this fall my friend......


Thanks Mark. Looking forward to seeing you again as well


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

This doesn't happen too often 
https://vimeo.com/169275998


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

You guys may remember about that matching set of sheds I posted about finding a few months back. Well it turns out I did have this buck on a trail cam last year. Actually we got one pic of him in the file and just this week while going through the cameras I found one chip inside a camera that had not even been checked. He was in it during nov and during daylight. This buck should blow up huge this year. If he's bedding where I think he is I should get pics of him growing. I surrounded his suspected bedding area with 6 cameras. 
















What do you guys think of him age wise? I'd say he was 4 last year and should be 5 1/2 this fall.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Buddy of mine just passed by my farm this morning and sent me these pics 









Says our clover is looking decent after last weeks rains and a lot of trees are carrying a good amount of fruit. Can't wait to see how the rest of the plots are looking. Will be updating this thread Monday fellas.


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Looks good!! Nice to see apples with some red on them!


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## MIKEY CUSTOM-G (Oct 5, 2002)

Great job !


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

What age were your apple trees when you planted? You got fruit fast.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Charman03 said:


> What age were your apple trees when you planted? You got fruit fast.


I'm not entirely sure to be honest but some of them were 6 feet tall. Bought them older so I didn't have to wait as long.


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

Maxemus said:


> I'm not entirely sure to be honest but some of them were 6 feet tall. Bought them older so I didn't have to wait as long.


That's a good idea. I may try ordering a few older ones.


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## Perfect Harvest (Mar 7, 2014)

Cool pics of your shed buck. Hopefully you can stick him this fall. Nice fruit!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Perfect Harvest said:


> Cool pics of your shed buck. Hopefully you can stick him this fall. Nice fruit!


Thanks PH. I hope he blows up this year and I catch up with him.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Trees look great! It's very rewarding to see something that you planted produce.


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## Perfect Harvest (Mar 7, 2014)

Last night was the first time I have seen this thread, I woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep so I started reading it, when my wife woke up at 630 I was just finishing it up lol. Great thread, you were my hero before I read it, you've only solidified that lol. Keep living the dream and sharing the adventures on AT my man!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Perfect Harvest said:


> Last night was the first time I have seen this thread, I woke up at 4am and couldn't sleep so I started reading it, when my wife woke up at 630 I was just finishing it up lol. Great thread, you were my hero before I read it, you've only solidified that lol. Keep living the dream and sharing the adventures on AT my man!


Thanks buddy. Will do


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## Colt42 (Jun 28, 2016)

Ive been looking at building something similar. Looks great!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Beans inside the fence are coming along nicely but the deer are whacking the ones outside. 
















Corn is doing well


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## Sumoj275 (Jun 22, 2016)

Very nice looking farm and house. Your reality is my dream, live out away from people and shoot whatever I want and whenever I want. I'll need a couple ponds too🤑


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

How does milorganite figure in? What's to keep deer from hopping the hot-zone?

Thanks!
Looking good man!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> How does milorganite figure in? What's to keep deer from hopping the hot-zone?
> 
> Thanks!
> Looking good man!


Mark
I don't think the milorganite did much but the Hot Zone deer exclosure system is working. As I understand it, having the second strip 3 feet away creates a depth perception issue for the deer and keeps them from wanting to jump it. So far it's working well. 
Ernie


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## Solocam3D (Jan 14, 2007)

I have a couple Hot Zones up and they work great


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Wow Ernie! The side by side comparison of your beans is amazing! Not that is surprises me, but when you can actually SEE one acre compared to another it opens your eyes as to how much of a difference it makes! 

I know youre not a fan of the "forage beans", I havent found them beneficial over traditional beans either, but did you find they stood up to the browsing pressure better? Or was it only because nothing ate them? 

Great pics as always!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

SWIFFY said:


> Wow Ernie! The side by side comparison of your beans is amazing! Not that is surprises me, but when you can actually SEE one acre compared to another it opens your eyes as to how much of a difference it makes!
> 
> I know youre not a fan of the "forage beans", I havent found them beneficial over traditional beans either, but did you find they stood up to the browsing pressure better? Or was it only because nothing ate them?
> 
> Great pics as always!


Thanks Swiffy. Spent two hours yesterday on my hands and knees pulling some water hemp weeds from the taller beans yesterday. Got through about 1/4 acre I'd say. They're round up resistant but if I use 24d it will kill the beans. One of those things I suppose. The issue was my guy left too much gap between the rows and that allowed the weeds enough space to compete against the beans. The good parts are taller than my waste so sure looks like they're going to have pods I just don't know if it's enough acreage to last me through late season. Almost ran into a ground hog yesterday they was eating beans while I was pulling weeds. Darn thing about had a hear attack when he saw me crawling on all fours. 
We're getting rain right now and I'm supposed to be changing so towers around both farms. Going to be s slippery kinda day for sure.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Wish it had head gear but thought it was good enough to share. Took this one yesterday. 
















Wind, lightning and rain this afternoon. The food plots love it


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

View from my back porch a couple of nights ago. 








This monster Tom gave me a hell of a look the other night. Can't wait for Oct 1 st so I can have a shot at him


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

Wow! That sunset is awesome!!


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

KSQ2 said:


> Wow! That sunset is awesome!!


Whole heartedly concur, but I like the corn n clouds pic better.

Good stuff!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Lots to share. 
Was able to fertilize all my trees this afternoon and finally got a chestnut to produce fruit. 








Next year should be awesome for fruit and soft mast production. 








Got my caretaker to make a limb holder for a little better concealment in my lock ons. This is the end result;
















I put one limb into the slot to show the difference with and without. As you can see concealment should be excellent once all the limbs are put in. Can't wait 







we had a late frost that hurt the pear production but we still have a few trees with fruit.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Looking good buddy!!!
Beautiful pics and hopefully a bonteful fall.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

4IDARCHER said:


> Looking good buddy!!!
> Beautiful pics and hopefully a bonteful fall.


Thanks Adam. BTW the CD 34 is absolutely an awesome rig. I just got too shoot it two days ago and I'm impressed. I may move it to first string lol


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## avidarcher88pa (Sep 16, 2011)

Looks awesome. I might steal that limb holder idea! 

Sent from my HTC6525LVW using Tapatalk


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Outstanding pics!


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## BOE_Hunter (Jul 29, 2005)

Geez Ernie,
What else are you going to supply for these critters, a dance floor and a hot tub! Seriously, the place is really taking shape and looks like a mecca for wildlife. Well done and keep posting the pics.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Ernie: cutting branches and putting them on the stand is great concealment. Only problem is everytime you move on stand or stand up all the branches will move. Bill Derrig a buddie of mine makes these. Might want to try one. http://blindedhunting.com/ohio-hunting/crows-nest/


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks AvidArcher, Catscratch, and BOE. Spent today on the couch back home. I'm beat from the long days doing this and that. I'm either getting soft or the age is creeping up on me or maybe it's both. Can't wait for October to get here. All we need is some rain on and off till then and we might skate by this year without any EHD. Most of our stand prep is done and my buddy has about another handful of stands to put up in the other farm and were set to go. I'm taking a different approach this year to where I'm hunting and how so let's hope it pays off.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Just saw this shirt video and it got me thinking of how the orchards will be in the future with continued babying. I think with careful weed control and at least two fertilizer applications in the summer and a thorough pruning job in the winter we will be swimming in fruit within a year or two. It will be fun to see how the deer slowly become addicted to this type of soft mast. 
https://vimeo.com/175654215


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Beans are doing excellent thanks to a decent amount of rain in the last two months and to the wildlife exclosure system i put in. Brassica plots are in and should be growing like gang busters in the next 6 weeks. Late season is looking really really good for pulling in bucks.


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## Point-N-Shoot (Oct 25, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Beans are doing excellent thanks to a decent amount of rain in the last two months and to the wildlife exclosure system i put in. Brassica plots are in and should be growing like gang busters in the next 6 weeks. Late season is looking really really good for pulling in bucks.





So impressive. You're a lucky man.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Beans are doing excellent thanks to a decent amount of rain in the last two months and to the wildlife exclosure system i put in. Brassica plots are in and should be growing like gang busters in the next 6 weeks. Late season is looking really really good for pulling in bucks.


Ernie: You sir are going to have some of the fattest deer ever. They will be gorging themselves.:wink:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

A little update from the farm. Beans are done and defoliated, corn was harvested and we struck out this year with sugar beets. As a late option we put in brassicas and did manage to salvage a good portion. The high temps are suppressing rutting activity but once it breaks things should get good. 
Here is a short video of how the beans turned out. Bad acorn crop should make this very attractive to deer. 
https://vimeo.com/189548014


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## jlh42581 (Oct 21, 2009)

I bet you wake up every day and think... Life sure does suck


Sarcasm

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk


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## CritterBuster (Nov 16, 2007)

Nice farm and hats off to the hard work you have put into it!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Absolutely awesome Ernie. Congratulations my friend.:wink:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Sorry if I'm a day late but from my family to all of AT nation we wish you all a great thanksgiving weekend.


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## MI1 (Apr 10, 2013)

Maxemus said:


> Sorry if I'm a day late but from my family to all of AT nation we wish you all a great thanksgiving weekend.


Beautiful
What state and city?

sent from Jesus to you


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## Charman03 (Jul 31, 2006)

Any success this year at the farm?


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## Point-N-Shoot (Oct 25, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Sorry if I'm a day late but from my family to all of AT nation we wish you all a great thanksgiving weekend.




Awesome!


Can I ask how much the crete and fire pit cost?


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Looks like a great place to sit and tell stories, Ernie.


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## Southpaw43 (Jan 13, 2008)

Good looking bunch for sure. Happy belated Thanksgiving Santana family. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas. 
The year isn't over and I have one more tag burning a hole in my pocket so hopefully I could connect with a buck in the next 45 days. I did punch one tag on a decent buck but unfortunately i didn't recognize him in the very brief moment I saw him. He looked like a shooter from one angle and after that I lost track of him behind a thick area of sassafras trees, got pegged by the doe and with light fading and the buck about to bolt I took the shot. He wasn't as old as I initially thought he would be so I took a less than mature buck. Saw two other big bucks this year. One got taken by a neighbor and the other i decided on not continuing to pursue. He really needs one more year to really blow up. Had one of our lease holders shoot a mature buck that actually shrunk from last year and still netted 145. 








This was my buck.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks fellas.
> The year isn't over and I have one more tag burning a hole in my pocket so hopefully I could connect with a buck in the next 45 days. I did punch one tag on a decent buck but unfortunately i didn't recognize him in the very brief moment I saw him. He looked like a shooter from one angle and after that I lost track of him behind a thick area of sassafras trees, got pegged by the doe and with light fading and the buck about to bolt I took the shot. He wasn't as old as I initially thought he would be so I took a less than mature buck. Saw two other big bucks this year. One got taken by a neighbor and the other i decided on not continuing to pursue. He really needs one more year to really blow up. Had one of our lease holders shoot a mature buck that actually shrunk from last year and still netted 145.
> 
> 
> ...


That's a great buck Max. Sounds like you've had a fun season so far!


Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## Nativetroy (Oct 3, 2014)

Awesome, congrats on a fine buck still. I'd still call him a trophy, but you know our deer down here lol. 
Good luck on the next one.


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## Putt4Doe (Sep 2, 2009)

maxemus said:


> sorry if i'm a day late but from my family to all of at nation we wish you all a great thanksgiving weekend.


go noles!


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Great picture !! thats awesome


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## Buxndiverdux (Oct 19, 2008)

Great Buck Max!!!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

My buddy took this pic after we had loaded him. Thought it looked nice.


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## cjsportsman (Sep 14, 2005)

Very cool pic!!!

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Great pic!


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## doug (Oct 10, 2002)

Super blessed and congrats !


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Update to show the power of late season standing beans. Don't have any monsters like they do in other parts but it's cool to see a plan working 
https://vimeo.com/198428775


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## Perfect Harvest (Mar 7, 2014)

Awesome video. Great deer heard. Can't wait to check pics over my plot in a couple days, see what survived the great orange army massacre of 2016.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Makes me want to plant a bunch of beans!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> Makes me want to plant a bunch of beans!
> 
> Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


That's the easy part. The hard part is making sure they're weed free , watered enough , and more importantly that they survive the summer.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Sounds like plenty of work, but it appears worth it!

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk


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## jcchsms (Sep 19, 2006)

Thanks to the updates, I just found this thread.
Congratulations on your success and building your dream.
I hunt in Ohio every year with some friends and I always joke that their garages and barns are nicer than most folks houses.
We actually spend more time in my buddies garage than we do in his house. His wife jokes that we don't like her as we never come in the house but to sleep.
The amazing thing about you as opposed them is that most of them do not hunt and the ones that do rarely harvest a deer.
You still have the passion and it shows. Here is hoping you never lose that passion. Continued success in everything you do. :darkbeer:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Chased this guy in 2012. Every time he showed a tendency I would move in then he would change his routine. Drive me nuts and then he just disappeared. Found him in a pond today while looking for sheds. 
























His head was completely submerged in a pond with his antlers barely showing above the waterline. Had the water level been normal I would probably have never seen him.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Bummer, but cool find!


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Very cool deer. Great width and lots of character on that left base. I can see why you were trying so hard to get him.


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## longbeard02 (Aug 7, 2009)

Man that sucks, but glad you found him. Hopefully you can clean him up


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## orarcher (Jun 3, 2006)

Awesome find !!! I would dry it out and clear coat it as is and keep it in the trophy room as a conversation piece.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Good looking buck. Hopefully he had plenty of years to spread his genetics around before he gave up the ghost.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Habitat update for you guys;
Habitat improvement isn't an event. It's an ongoing process that requires patience and persistence. Towards this goal we are planning on a timber harvest where we are taking out over 1200 mature trees. Once that's completed we will be doing a massive hinge cut to help add much needed horizontal and thermal cover for the farm. 

Just completed a 27 acre hinge cut and I'm super stoked to see how thick it's going to get in the next few years. 








This winter I spent about a full week doing maintenance on my fruit trees. It consisted of removing the tree tube and clipping all the suckers that grow inside it with the intent on spurring the growth of the tree above. I also trimmed every inside branch to send more daylight to the inside of the tree. Boy am I glad I did so because you couldn't even tell it was done with the amount of growth they've had this year. Fruit production is starting to take off with most trees showing some fruit. I'm thinking in a year or two the trees are going to go bonkers with fruit.









Even the chestnuts appear to be growing fruit this year. I need to elaborate on the chestnuts at some point and to be honest I now believe this variety is not capable of thriving in the Midwest. In my opinion so far the whole Dunstan chestnut wave was nothing but a great sales job by the promoters. I have lost track of how many I have replanted but it's cost a considerable amount of money. This year will be the last attempt and whatever dies after this will be planted into pears.









Here are some pics of the current state of the orchard;








Food plots are mostly in and have been sprayed but a late heavy rain took out half of one plot so we had to replant it.








You can see the beets growing well in the part that didn't flood. Beans were planted, sprayed, replanted and fenced. Hopefully we get the needed rains to have them produce. Went this year with Liberty beans in order to be able to spray the water hemp that has become resistant to RoundUp. 

Sold off the ******** and replaced them with Banks blinds. That should mitigate the need for having to spend so much time cleaning for flies and ladybugs in November. 







.


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

That's disheartening what has happened to your chestnut trees. I ordered my seeds from a farm in IL, and they have had great success, but I'm sure those trees got a huge amount of tlc. Ours are looking good so far, but they've only been in the ground 2 years. Your fruit trees look great!!


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## HuntIL2 (Sep 16, 2009)

Your Banks blinds are newer than mine but I still find tons of flies, ladybugs, etc. in mine.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

KSQ2 said:


> That's disheartening what has happened to your chestnut trees. I ordered my seeds from a farm in IL, and they have had great success, but I'm sure those trees got a huge amount of tlc. Ours are looking good so far, but they've only been in the ground 2 years. Your fruit trees look great!!


How many did you plant? Mine have received TLC as well but they seem to have a low survival rate come spring time. Which variety did you buy?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

HuntIL2 said:


> Your Banks blinds are newer than mine but I still find tons of flies, ladybugs, etc. in mine.


Sure seems like these newer ones are sealed tightly. Fingers crossed.


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## avidarcher88pa (Sep 16, 2011)

Looks great! I'm sure all the hard work will pay off. Planted two apple trees and an acre of clover and I thought I had my hands full....lol

Sent from my SM-G930V using Tapatalk


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## bowhunter9 (Jan 3, 2007)

You have a beautiful farm and looks like you've put a ton of time and effort in it. Good luck this upcoming season! Thanks for sharing


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Ernie: Your place is looking like a 4 star motel and spa for deer. You should be seeing some monster bucks soon.:wink:


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## 77chevy (May 26, 2017)

nice!!

Must stink to live 5.5 hours from this place though...


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

thirdhandman said:


> Ernie: Your place is looking like a 4 star motel and spa for deer. You should be seeing some monster bucks soon.:wink:


They're there jim. I just need to have a 5.5 pass by me that I'd like to kill.


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## Perfect Harvest (Mar 7, 2014)

Glad to read the update. Awesome progress, i love this time of year! Just curious on the hinge cutting, did you do the cutting yourself? If so, what's your chainsaw of choice? Also, do you spray your fruit trees?


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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

One of the largest chestnut nurseries is in pike county. I have gotten several trees started in the last 3 years with varrying success. I can tell you they like well drained soil. My seed trees at the house had catkins on them this year until fire got away from me and top killed them they were 4 years old.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Perfect Harvest said:


> Glad to read the update. Awesome progress, i love this time of year! Just curious on the hinge cutting, did you do the cutting yourself? If so, what's your chainsaw of choice? Also, do you spray your fruit trees?


I cleared an acre and a half this year by myself but hired two professionals to do the hinge. Doing a chest high hinge isn't the safest thing to do with a chainsaw. 
I own two Stihl saws and a Stihl extension saw. Don't buy anything else. These things are the real deal. We spray the area around the cage with RU and the trees with Sevin.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

booner21 said:


> One of the largest chestnut nurseries is in pike county. I have gotten several trees started in the last 3 years with varrying success. I can tell you they like well drained soil. My seed trees at the house had catkins on them this year until fire got away from me and top killed them they were 4 years old.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk


Would you happen to know the name?


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> They're there jim. I just need to have a 5.5 pass by me that I'd like to kill.


Yup! That will be nice. Want me to come help ya find him. lol


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Paradise brother.....awesome


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## olemossyhorns (Oct 5, 2010)

Looking good Ernie! Keep the pics coming! I can already picture the trail that's going to develop between that hinge. It'll be the walk of death.


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## black_chill (Feb 8, 2014)

Maxemus said:


> How many did you plant? Mine have received TLC as well but they seem to have a low survival rate come spring time. Which variety did you buy?


We planted 11 Dunstan Chestnut Trees at our farm. 4 were 4 years old and were planted in 2015 and the other 7 we planted last year and they were 3 years old. Only 1 did not survive and that was one of the 3 year olds we planted last year. We got ours from a local feed and hardware store.

The only disappointing thing for us so far has been that none have produced yet and the info that came with the tree said they can start producing between 3 and 5. Hoping that they start producing here soon, we thought the first 4 we planted would have started by now.


Gonna send you a PM Maxemus.


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

Maxemus said:


> How many did you plant? Mine have received TLC as well but they seem to have a low survival rate come spring time. Which variety did you buy?


I'm sorry, my post wasn't the most understandable. Our trees are doing quite well, we only planted 10, I gave the rest away to friends after I got them growing out of rootmakers. I planted half Chinese and half Dunstan, unfortunately, with a move to a new house, I lost track of which were which in the rootmakers. Of the 10 we planted we have 7 of them still going strong, the other three were taken out by mice that got through our screen protectors.


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## dwgh88 (Nov 21, 2016)

Ahhhh!!! Love the hinge cut but those two are Black Walnut


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## BiggA (Jun 20, 2008)

dwgh88 said:


> Ahhhh!!! Love the hinge cut but those two are Black Walnut


1st thing I thought!


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## dwgh88 (Nov 21, 2016)

BiggA said:


> 1st thing I thought!


$$$ ukey:


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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

Maxemus said:


> Would you happen to know the name?


Chestnut ridge of pike county sorry I misspoke they aren't a nursery but rather a commercial grower you can buy nuts from them which is what I have done. Are your soils well drained where they are being planted or clay? 

One thing I have noticed is that 1 tree will be 10 ft tall and 20 ft away another planted at the same time will be 3ft tall and they are the same age. Pull your dead tree out and look at the roots. 

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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

BiggA said:


> 1st thing I thought!


Depending on what they look like maybe. The light that gets to the floor and the juglone removed will be worth more than a walnut log in 60 years in my opinion unless it is veneer quality.

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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Few updates from the farm 

The park I'm carving out of the woods is coming along nicely. Finally got all the wood piles burned off and the land cleared. Getting the pelletized lime delivered this week and will be getting erosion netting for the grass planting soon. Decided to add about an acre of switchgrass adjacent to the switch i currently have and will be joining the highest travel corridor to seamlessly go from woods to switch to orchard. The rest of the hill will be planted to shade tolerant grass which will add a park like element to the farm house. Here's a partial view 









Food plots are mostly done except brassicas which will be planted ahead of rain sometime in mid august. So far the beans are looking good. Deer are hitting the sacrificial beans and so far have not broken the fence to get inside but that will change once October comes around. The Non Typical deer exclosure system works in that they don't jump it for some reason but the electric unit is crap. I just ordered two 12 bolt units from Farm & Home to replace them. 








You can see here in the distance the fenced beans and closer are the sacrifice beans. Note the water hemp taking hold. These are Liberty beans and have been sprayed but we also planted turnips in them recently and can't spray for weeds any more. 
Here's a pic of the fenced beans which have just started to produce pods 









The sugar beets have been hit or miss. One plot just got swamped with weeds while the other did better. I spent an hour the other day pulling weeds by hand and decided to pay someone to finish pulling the rest. 







.
A small amount of beets are showing some type of fire blight damage. Not sure what to do about it so if anyone has an idea please pass it on 








Here's an actual sugar beet so you guys see what it looks like. This is a standard size while some others are way bigger 
















Kale plot looks great while the clovers don't look so hot. This will change with moisture.







the chestnut trees have grown quite and many have have started to give fruit.


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Looks awesome Ernie. Amazing the difference in the bean plots.

What's that 2nd to last pic?


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

How many acres is your sacrifice bean field? It seems to be a good starting point for "not enough". Do you have someone on the place to maintain your electric fence? My experience is that weeds will grow into one and short it, or a deer will bolt through it and knock it down at some point. 

Congrats on getting chestnuts to grow. I'm finding very little growth with mine and a tendency to NEED water in the summer. They just up and die if I don't supplement them. My Sawtooth oaks do well though (after the first summer of watering they can make it on their own) and may become my go to non-native mast tree. 

Place looks great as usual!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Captain Cully said:


> Looks awesome Ernie. Amazing the difference in the bean plots.
> 
> What's that 2nd to last pic?


Mistake on my part on that pic.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> How many acres is your sacrifice bean field? It seems to be a good starting point for "not enough". Do you have someone on the place to maintain your electric fence? My experience is that weeds will grow into one and short it, or a deer will bolt through it and knock it down at some point.
> 
> Congrats on getting chestnuts to grow. I'm finding very little growth with mine and a tendency to NEED water in the summer. They just up and die if I don't supplement them. My Sawtooth oaks do well though (after the first summer of watering they can make it on their own) and may become my go to non-native mast tree.
> 
> Place looks great as usual!


Thanks Catscratch. 4 acres total. 2 inside and 2 outside. Current fence has to be checked every 2 days and it's always off. It's a connection problem. If you recall I've replanted chestnuts every year. Seems the care I put into them as well as the watering is starting to pay off.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks Catscratch. 4 acres total. 2 inside and 2 outside. Current fence has to be checked every 2 days and it's always off. It's a connection problem. If you recall I've replanted chestnuts every year. Seems the care I put into them as well as the watering is starting to pay off.


Awesome. At what point can you quit caring for them, or do you have a realistic idea yet? I tend to baby plantings the first yr, they are on their own after that. I don't want acreage of stuff that I need to care for the rest of my life. A few trees is ok, but I plant more every spring. It would turn into a huge project if I let it. 

Those standing beans will be huge draw this winter!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

catscratch said:


> Awesome. At what point can you quit caring for them, or do you have a realistic idea yet? I tend to baby plantings the first yr, they are on their own after that. I don't want acreage of stuff that I need to care for the rest of my life. A few trees is ok, but I plant more every spring. It would turn into a huge project if I let it.
> 
> Those standing beans will be huge draw this winter!


Good question. I would say that what they need is two fertilizer times during the growing season, a weed free base, but the hard part is watering them during periods when they don't get any moisture during the summer. Oh and I forgot to mention spraying for bugs. We had a plague of Japanese Beatles come through this year. Those in the area that didn't spray don't have leaves now and will hamper the trees ability to grow. 
Beans were a huge draw last winter too. Unfortunately the biggest buck I had in it during legal shooting time was not a shooter.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Maxemus said:


> Good question. I would say that what they need is two fertilizer times during the growing season, a weed free base, but the hard part is watering them during periods when they don't get any moisture during the summer. Oh and I forgot to mention spraying for bugs. We had a plague of Japanese Beatles come through this year. Those in the area that didn't spray don't have leaves now and will hamper the trees ability to grow.
> Beans were a huge draw last winter too. Unfortunately the biggest buck I had in it during legal shooting time was not a shooter.


That is certainly a nice buck, but not what you are after (yet, give him a couple of yrs). I've found it best to hunt as far away from the winter food source as possible for a chance at the mature deer on our place.


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## BOE_Hunter (Jul 29, 2005)

Good news Ernie, when I win the 300 million dollar lottery this week I will get to start a farm of my own. Seriously though, I have enjoyed this thread and appreciate all the hard work and grind you have put into your place. You have it looking spectacular.


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## olemossyhorns (Oct 5, 2010)

Looking good Ernie!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

You have certainly come a long way Ernie. Looking great!:wink:


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks fellas. I appreciate the kind words.


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

How old did you let your chestnut trees get before you began fertilizing Ernie? Do you just sprinkle triple 13 around the outside diameter of the tree?


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

That chestnut tree pictured looks great by the way!!


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## Point-N-Shoot (Oct 25, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Habitat update for you guys;
> Habitat improvement isn't an event. It's an ongoing process that requires patience and persistence. Towards this goal we are planning on a timber harvest where we are taking out over 1200 mature trees. Once that's completed we will be doing a massive hinge cut to help add much needed horizontal and thermal cover for the farm.
> 
> Just completed a 27 acre hinge cut and I'm super stoked to see how thick it's going to get in the next few years.
> ...




So, those things are on skids? You can just pull them around? Did you just put the blinds in the center of the fields?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

KSQ2 said:


> How old did you let your chestnut trees get before you began fertilizing Ernie? Do you just sprinkle triple 13 around the outside diameter of the tree?


Triple 12 is what I use. Pretty much since the first year I planted them. With over 200 trees total it becomes work so I just use the run and gun method of fertilizing. Drive and throw a half a cup.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Point-N-Shoot said:


> So, those things are on skids? You can just pull them around? Did you just put the blinds in the center of the fields?


Yes sir. They're on skids. I have some on field edges and some in the center. Depends on access. In theory all I have to do is undo the anchor and pull them with the tractor. What I need to do next is window tint them with 5% film.


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## blazinsoles (Jul 23, 2013)

It all looks awesome. Not gonna lie. Every time I see this thread I end up on zillow to scope out all the 10 acre patches in southern Ohio...... :sad:


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

Maxemus said:


> Triple 12 is what I use. Pretty much since the first year I planted them. With over 200 trees total it becomes work so I just use the run and gun method of fertilizing. Drive and throw a half a cup.


Sounds good, appreciate it!

I'm ready to be taken along on some hunts very soon, I hope you'll be packing your camera again this year!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

KSQ2 said:


> Sounds good, appreciate it!
> 
> I'm ready to be taken along on some hunts very soon, I hope you'll be packing your camera again this year!


Thank you. Will do. Season starts on Sunday


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

looks fantastic buddy ....lots of work for sure .. just wish you would have built it closer to me ....


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## Point-N-Shoot (Oct 25, 2015)

Maxemus said:


> Yes sir. They're on skids. I have some on field edges and some in the center. Depends on access. In theory all I have to do is undo the anchor and pull them with the tractor. What I need to do next is window tint them with 5% film.



Cool. You've got an amazing place, very lucky. Thanks for sharing.


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## SWIFFY (Apr 18, 2012)

Looking great Maxemus!!! Enjoy your updates.

My beans are the worst theyve been in 15 years! The Water Hemp has completely taken over this year! I hate that stuff... it has basically become completely resilient to the Gly at my place.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

SWIFFY said:


> Looking great Maxemus!!! Enjoy your updates.
> 
> My beans are the worst theyve been in 15 years! The Water Hemp has completely taken over this year! I hate that stuff... it has basically become completely resilient to the Gly at my place.


Thanks Swiffy. You got no choice but to go with Liberty Beans my friend. I learned the hard way last year. Had to weed whack every row to get the beans above the hemp or it would have been weed city in them by hunting season. Best of luck


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## zmax hunter (Aug 21, 2006)

Please plant a couple Montmormency Cherry trees.. once the bear fruit, you pick the cherries, remove the stem, washing them, then fill a gallon jar with them..now fill the jar with vodka, add 2 cups of sugar..tip the jars from time to time,..ready to consume the lucious juice by Thanksgiving..ie Cherry Bounce


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

zmax hunter said:


> Please plant a couple Montmormency Cherry trees.. once the bear fruit, you pick the cherries, remove the stem, washing them, then fill a gallon jar with them..now fill the jar with vodka, add 2 cups of sugar..tip the jars from time to time,..ready to consume the lucious juice by Thanksgiving..ie Cherry Bounce


That sounds similar to a drink I had in bean town last week. They take 16 pineapples and mate it with gallons of vodka to make stoli dollies excellent cocktail.


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## zmax hunter (Aug 21, 2006)

Another really good plant would be Sandhill Plums..wildlife love them, plus you can make jelly or the vodka bounce with them..native to Ks, .They make good hedges.


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## fearedbydeer (Dec 1, 2010)

Marvin said:


> I wish I had 900 acres and worried about an 800 dollar electric bill. .


hahahahahahaha......hahaha...hahahaha yeah me too

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## 77chevy (May 26, 2017)

Wow. Glyphosate resistance that bad in your area?

Enjoy the thread!



Maxemus said:


> Thanks Swiffy. *You got no choice but to go with Liberty Beans *my friend. I learned the hard way last year. Had to weed whack every row to get the beans above the hemp or it would have been weed city in them by hunting season. Best of luck


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## pip.rblake (Nov 21, 2018)

Great place for sure! I haven't been on for quite a while and within the first week see your thread and catscratch's thread. Both are excellent!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Haven't seen Ernie here in quite a while. I think he got tired of the comments of jealous hunters. It's a shame as he was showing great progress on his place. I enjoyed following along on all the various hunts he took us on. Just maybe he will show up again.:wink:


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

ukey:


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Zap. I generally agree with you, but not here. True, Ernie's adventures aren't for everybody. If you don't like them, it's pretty simple to pass his thread. Why waste your time and putting negative stuff here? Just let it go.:secret:


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

He gave as good as he got or better, constantly berated other hunters over method.
Then took his ball and went home.


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## 4IDARCHER (Jul 1, 2006)

Ernie is alive and doing well. We talk fairly often. He has had a great year taking two world class white tails and several other awesome animals. I will get in touch with him and see if it is alright for me to post up some more recent pics of his place. He has some drone pics and the place looks like something out of a movie. It is a jaw dropping looking farm.


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## Flatwoodshunter (Feb 3, 2013)

zap said:


> He gave as good as he got or better, constantly berated other hunters over method.
> Then took his ball and went home.


It's Sad that some Hunters just Don't understand what Hunting is really about.


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## Buxndiverdux (Oct 19, 2008)

Ernie has the means and passion to build a farm everyone would love to own. I don’t see how that is different than anything else in life. Life is a lot easier when you come to grips with the fact that there are people with tons of money in America and can do as they please with their spending. It’s ok to be middle class. It’s ok to be poor. Your personal wealth is not an indicator of the type of man you are. But what you post here is a reflection of the type of person you are.

Something to think about. Personally, I’d rather focus on how I can improve my situation, and looking at what successful people have done is a good start. I’m glad Ernie can do it and share it with us here.


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

I have a lot of respect for Maximus, and I like him on a personal level (as much as you can like someone who you've never met). The whole debate that Zap is referring to is what stimulated a hiatus for me from AT. I personally got butthurt over the whole thing and found other sites to frequent. Regardless of what happened in the past I hope he comes back to update this thread on a regular basis. I love his farm build and what he's doing with the place. I secretly live vicariously through his farm house and habitat projects.


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## j.d.m. (Dec 28, 2005)

I enjoyed seeing both Ernie's and Catscratch's build regardless of how much more well off they are compared to me. Good for them for being able to achieve what they have.


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

Yup, if you can afford the finer things in life I have no issues with that and have never been the jealous type.


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Ernie took me to lunch, gave me a tour of his work...he is a really nice guy ..I miss going along on his hunts via threads
miss seeing whats going on at his Farm...also would like to see some of his mounts now that he should have them back from the
Taxidermist .....


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Hi everyone. Can’t believe it’s been 3 years since I updated this thread. Lots has happened in that time and much is about to change in the short term but I figured I’d revive this since it’s been a popular topic in the past. 

On a personal note I’ve got one foot in the business world and one foot in retirement. At 55 I’m selling my business and refocusing on my hobbies. My plans are to continue my pursuit of the Super slam (been stuck at 19 species since August of last year. I’m getting awfully picky with what I shoot so the unsuccessful hunts are stacking up one after the other. This year I had polar bear, desert sheep, dall sheep, mountain caribou, barren ground caribou, and Sitka black tail and the ones that weren’t cancelled I decided to postpone to next year. So next year is going to be one long season. 

My other passion is cars so last year I started a YouTube channel called GT Dreamer. I’d love for you guys to consider subscribing to it. Once I get to 1000 subs I get to go live-streaming which is going to be a ton of fun. Here’s the link for https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCjOOzQggz84z1nXcZ7jp9QA

Haven’t been able to film during covid but have set up a pretty cool studio with sound proofed walls and will be even doing interviews/podcasts in it. 

For the last several years I’ve been debating how to strategically dedicate my efforts in the most efficient and enjoyable manner and I’ve come to a proverbial cross roads in my life. Ever since I was young my goal was to retire somewhere in the Western states. Colorado always had an allure for me and for years I told everyone that would listen that that was where I’d eventually build my dream log home and plant my roots for the duration. The idea was to have multiple farm/ranches in different states where I could improve habitat and pursue this hobby with a true dedication. However, Colorado is full of liberals and I’ve got no desire to be there any longer. What I have figured out tho is that I have a real deep seeded passion for Whitetails and everything that comes with it. I’ve spent so much time trying to rethink this portion of the pie that it has led me to a higher level of personal satisfaction. With that in mind two years ago I began to look into buying more land in other states that will keep me busy doing what I love to do. Last week I signed a contract for a farm in Missouri on the Iowa border that I haven’t even seen yet but my team says is phenomenal. Next we will be looking at Iowa as well as other premier properties in Illinois that would fit as upgrades to my current operations. The idea is to give myself a broad enough canvas on which to spend an insane amount of time and effort doing what I like to do. So there in a nutshell is my mid life crisis. Will be coming back to update this thread in the next few days with what’s been happening the last few years and I look forward to engaging you guys with any answers you might have. Many of you have reached out to me on social about my hunt threads and I want you all to know it’s very flattering but for now I have no plans on doing those again. I live a very hectic fast paced life and I would often write them during my toilet time or when I sat in the hot tub. This limited the time I had and caused cliff hangers that made it look like I was drawing the story out which is the furthest from the truth. Anyways that’s all for now 


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## catscratch (Jan 5, 2010)

Glad to see you updating again! Congrats on recognizing your midlife crisis and addressing it (with property purchases). Looking forward to your new adventures!

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## CalCoHunter (Aug 17, 2010)

Good to hear from you again, Congrats on the semi-retirement! Can't wait to get to that point.


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## hoytslanger87 (Jan 31, 2008)

I seen your post in Instagram about the new farm. Thanks for the update on here I look forward to following this in the future.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Thanks for the update Ernie. It certainly would been nice if you could include a few pictures of the farm you have been working on. Subscribed to your GT and you need less than 400 now.:wink:


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## STILLxSTALKINGx (May 23, 2012)

Great to hear from you Ernie and I'm glad to hear all is well!!


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## 12-Ringer (Jan 3, 2008)

Welcome back!


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## nicko (Feb 17, 2006)

The prodigal son has returned. Kill the fatted calf and place rings on his toes!!!

Welcome back Ernie.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks everyone that’s chimed in. Look at the great looking corn on the farm. Just got this pic from my manager 










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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Initial photos of the MO farm house and facilities.
























































It’s going to be fun to see what we turn this into. 


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## 12-Ringer (Jan 3, 2008)

Wow....where can I get a team and a manager? That must be what I've been missing :wink:


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## PutnamCountyHunter (Aug 22, 2011)

Ernie!! Looks awesome. Looking forward to watching you do your magic. I am just a few hours away if you need some cheap manual labor!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

12-Ringer said:


> Wow....where can I get a team and a manager? That must be what I've been missing :wink:


I even have a plumber, electrician even an exterminator too. 


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## Mallardbreath (Dec 7, 2007)

Will you be living in IA Or will you only hunt your property in the years you draw a tag? Will you lease it out when you don't draw?


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Mallardbreath said:


> Will you be living in IA Or will you only hunt your property in the years you draw a tag? Will you lease it out when you don't draw?


I don’t plan on leasing any of my farms anymore. Been there done that and it doesn’t work for me. Iowa certainly makes it hard on non resident landowners but there’s ways to mitigate that. It just gets a bit expensive but doable. 
Really the big issue on any farm is the balancing act between herd size and the need to lower the does and remove the bully management bucks that push out those up and coming studs. 


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

Maxemus said:


> I don’t plan on leasing any of my farms anymore. Been there done that and it doesn’t work for me. Iowa certainly makes it hard on non resident landowners but there’s ways to mitigate that. It just gets a bit expensive but doable.
> Really the big issue on any farm is the balancing act between herd size and the need to lower the does and remove the bully management bucks that push out those up and coming studs.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yeah, they have some auctions every year for tags, right? Congrats on the new direction in life! I have a lot of years left, the good Lord willing, before retirement; I'm envious of your position in some ways, and in other ways I'm not. When I look at our girls, I don't want anything to speed up time anymore!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

KSQ2 said:


> Yeah, they have some auctions every year for tags, right? Congrats on the new direction in life! I have a lot of years left, the good Lord willing, before retirement; I'm envious of your position in some ways, and in other ways I'm not. When I look at our girls, I don't want anything to speed up time anymore!


Thank you. 100% agree with you. My boys are 30 and 27. Wish I could go back and enjoy them as kids but I missed that portion of their lives altogether bc I was working like a slave 


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## KSQ2 (Oct 10, 2007)

Maxemus said:


> Thank you. 100% agree with you. My boys are 30 and 27. Wish I could go back and enjoy them as kids but I missed that portion of their lives altogether bc I was working like a slave
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I hope you get to make up for some lost time in the years to come with them, and maybe their children too?


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## Captain Cully (Oct 4, 2009)

Right on Ernie.


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## zap (Mar 13, 2008)

Welcome back, Maxie.


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## bigbuckdn (Sep 19, 2007)

Very nice


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## Brian811 (May 7, 2007)

Glad to see ya again, Ernie. Good luck with everything you have planned and on your future hunts.


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## hawkdriver55 (Sep 6, 2010)

Welcome back! Look forward to following along on your adventures. Need to see a buck strapped across that blue and orange GT. lol


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## kballer1 (Aug 31, 2010)

Welcome back Ernie, glad to hear all is well with you. Will be waiting to hear about your new adventures & how your time will be handle in retirement as been lucky to have retired back in 2009 & don't know how was able to get every thing done when was working. Be safe & Good Luck.


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Thank you. 100% agree with you. My boys are 30 and 27. Wish I could go back and enjoy them as kids but I missed that portion of their lives altogether bc I was working like a slave
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I did similar Ernie. Work, work and work some more while the kids were growing. I thought putting the food on the table and a good roof over their head was my main job. Good news now. We watch 3 granddaughters for about 4 days a week. Now I can see what I missed.


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Welcome back E, good to see ya again bud! I've been following you on Instagram and looking forward to see the farm updates.


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## boweyspoint (Sep 30, 2020)

Glad to see you back, Ernie!


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## booner21 (Dec 3, 2007)

Glad this thread has revived!


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Maxemus said:


> Thank you. 100% agree with you. My boys are 30 and 27. Wish I could go back and enjoy them as kids but I missed that portion of their lives altogether bc I was working like a slave
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Ernie that is what is great about being a grandpa. You get to spoil them as much as you want, then send them home. lol


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## WILKinKC (Nov 20, 2020)

Wow amazing. Congrats on the property


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Lots has happened since last year. Most importantly about two years ago I decided I wanted to sell my farms in Illinois. We dont have to get into the reasons of what drove me to this but suffice it to say I longed for solitude. I didn’t want cars driving up and down the road. Luckily this can be remedied and after some deep conversations with my family we decided it was time to sell. 

I had known a local farmer that owned a big farm in a neighboring county. I had a approached him several times in the past about the possibility of selling his place to me but he had always held back from doing so. We had developed a great relationship over the years and he ultimately felt he was too old to drive 12 hours to the farm from his home in Georgia anymore. 

So long story short I’m closing this chapter of my life and starting again. This time the management is not going to handicapped with ****ty shooting neighbors and we’re going to be targeting only mature bucks. We’ve got the size of a farm where this can take place. The farm is nearly 1500 acres and it’s totally secluded. We took some out of CRP in order to get more food in fromt if the deer. 
We will be building a monster home that will serve our family as a retirement home eventually when I downsize in Miami I will have to move all my mounts there. Big barn and a guest house have already been built. 

The other thing I’d like to inform you folks about is that I’ve decided to finally produce a YouTube series about hunting and habitat management. Once I have the name
I will post it on this thread. We’ve got several hours already in the can so the kick off won’t be long now.


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Been busy since the fall. Was able to get to 21 species so far with two more lined up for this year. Plans are in motion to add the rest soon. Most have been booked. 
These two whitetails were thr last I took on the Illinois farm before selling it. I left a bunch of mature deer that should be studs in 21. Wish the new neighbors all the best 


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## HuntIL2 (Sep 16, 2009)

Ernie good for you and I good luck on the new place.

By the way awesome pictures....I love that sheep.


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## bigbucks170 (Feb 2, 2006)

Wow exciting news Ernie .....thats awesome ....can't wait to see the new place


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## 77chevy (May 26, 2017)

Nice! Look forward to seeing the new place. Thanks for sharing the journey with us. Someone is getting a sweet IL farm setup right


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## thirdhandman (Nov 2, 2009)

Congratulations Ernie. What state is the new farm in?


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## Bigbuck5 (May 25, 2012)

Super cool!


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## STILLxSTALKINGx (May 23, 2012)

Congrats and best of luck on your future endeavors my friend, you deserve it!


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## jager69 (Oct 5, 2014)

You’re a very fortunate man, but I’m sure you already know that. Awesome animals, and good luck going forward. I look forward to seeing how things go with your next farm. Good luck to you!


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## Jeff_2002 (Dec 16, 2007)

Congrats and best of luck on your upcoming adventures!


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## shootnrelease (Jul 6, 2007)

Congratulations Maxemus, it's so refreshing to see hard work an sacrifice get rewarded!


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## Disco14 (Jan 14, 2010)

Congrats Ernie- wish you the best in the new endeavor!


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

Thanks everyone. 


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## BOE_Hunter (Jul 29, 2005)

Look forward to seeing how this farm develops. Using the experience from the previous farm, it should really help this one go well. Love seeing the pics.


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## BGagner (Oct 21, 2014)

Maxemus said:


> Thanks everyone.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hell yeah, congrats E! Will you continue to keep this thread going with the new farm? Always loved following it. I’ll certainly be following the YouTube channel when you post it as well. Have you thought about doing a vlog update there with new build/farm progress? 


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## Maxemus (May 20, 2013)

BGagner said:


> Hell yeah, congrats E! Will you continue to keep this thread going with the new farm? Always loved following it. I’ll certainly be following the YouTube channel when you post it as well. Have you thought about doing a vlog update there with new build/farm progress?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks Brett. It’s going to be very involved. Very much like a vlog. We’ve been filming a ton of content. 


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