Made two water holes today

[Someday isle]

36 acres - no water source other than a couple wet weather creeks. Two weeks of mid to upper 90s forecast and possibly reaching 100 degrees. It seems like a good time to put in a couple water holes. I figured 2 would be ideal so I bought a couple 50 gallon Rubbermaid stock tanks (without the drains) at my local Dickey Bubs for $64 a piece. One is about 100 yards from my southwest corner but well inside the property line and well hidden. I put it adjacent to an area that runs off into the wet weather creek about 30 yards away. It's also just inside 30 yards from a stand where I killed our first deer on our property with my bow last year. It's a really rocky spot and took me three hours to get finished. I almost didn't do the second one today. This one kicked my butt. Here's the first one before I put ten gallons of water in it. I'm going back out again tomorrow to put anther twenty gallons in it and then hope for rain.

 

[Someday isle]

The second one went so much smoother. It's in an area with much better dirt and what rocks I ran into were baseball or softball size with the exception of one about the size of a basketball. They dug out pretty easy. The first tank was like digging in gravel. This one only took me about an hour. I'm glad I didn't quit after the first one It's on the side of a ridge adjacent to a very thick area about 100 yards inside the northeast corner of my property. Hopefully the deer will find them and with two of them perhaps they'll influence deer movement a little bit as well. The second one is about 60 or 70 yards from the stand where I killed a deer during the Missouri rifle season last year but I have plans to hang a bow stand about 25 yards from this spot.

With one kind of on the south end and one kind of north I think the two of them will be enough without being too many.

 

[Maddog3355]

Hope your hard work pays off.

 

[Peeps]

Love it!! I have 2 kiddie pool water holes on my 40. They usually get heavy use. This year they are still getting used but with 16+ inches of rain in June and lots more since then there are plenty natural "water holes" all over.

 

[JFK52]

I also have no natural water sources within at least 2-4 miles of my land. Before I put in my pond I used and still use 55 gallon food grade plastic barrels that are cut in half the long way. The barrels were $5 apiece when I bought them 25 years ago. They collect rain water and provide watering spots for the deer in areas of my land distant from my pond. Every couple of years I dump and wash them in the spring. Oak leaves collect in them and turn the water tannic. I don't think you can have too many watering spots on your property. The strangest thing was seeing a bunch of tadpoles in some of these barrels on summer. How they got there is a mystery to me!

 

[Someday isle]

We finally got some good rain last night and this morning. I'm really itching to go out and see if they filled up at all beyond what I put in them. I've also got a camera on one of them so I'd like to pull that card and then move a camera to the other one. I'm really interested to see how much use they get through the hot days of August.

 

[Someday isle]

It doesn't look like the deer have found my water holes yet. I put another 10 gallons in each one again today. They're getting more full a little at a time that way. We have lots of rain expected tonight and tomorrow so hopefully they'll fill up a little but naturally now too. We haven't had any rain out there since I put them in so it's been me filling them up by carrying 10 gallons of water out every week.

 

[Someday isle]

1.8 inches of rain since last weekend. They're full now. Still no signs of the deer having found them but I'm hopeful.

 

[buckdeer1]

They will,I think alot of the traffic around a water hole is social.I very rarely see deer drink from mine except during rut but alot of traffic by both sexes

 

[Bill]

They will,I think alot of the traffic around a water hole is social.I very rarely see deer drink from mine except during rut but alot of traffic by both sexes

Indeed, mine are ignored until November. Does being run around use them and bucks with their tounge out need them.

 

[bueller]

Do you guys run cameras on your waterholes all year? I ask because it's my go to spot for the little guys with momma. In fact all summer long I get good action on mine.

 

[H20fwler]

Looking good Someday isle! Plant some clover and chickory around them for additional sex appeal.

Mine is very busy with all kinds of wildlife, I was surprised how much use it got when I first put it in. I think everything that walks crawls or flies stops in...It's a raccoon bar&grill.

 

[Someday isle]

Looking good Someday isle! Plant some clover and chickory around them for additional sex appeal.

Mine is very busy with all kinds of wildlife, I was surprised how much use it got when I first put it in. I think everything that walks crawls or flies stops in...It's a raccoon bar&grill.

Nice idea. I might just throw a little clover seed around them when I put in my fall plots. The first one is adjacent to one of my food plot trails. It's where I planted my brassica plot this year. There's a stand twenty 20 yards from the trail and 30 yards from the waterhole. It's where I harvested my archery deer last year. The second one is adjacent to a bedding area and I'm working on clearing a 1/4 acre food plot adjacent to the same bedding area about fifty yards further down. I've got a stand location with easy access from the east picked out right between them giving me about a 25 yard shot to the water hole. Hopefully it'll be a perfect setup for a north or northwest wind.

 

[Bill]

Do you guys run cameras on your waterholes all year? I ask because it's my go to spot for the little guys with momma. In fact all summer long I get good action on mine.

I do but just because of location. With the lack of rain they have been dry this summer but in normal years I get use all year. Really picks up around the rut when they are running.

 

[Someday isle]

I have a camera on one of them now. I had three pictures of deer near it but not actually using it last week. I have one on a trail near the other one. I'm not planning on checking those cameras until labor day weekend though so it'll be an exciting card pull hoping there's deer using them by then.

 

[H20fwler]

Do you guys run cameras on your waterholes all year? I ask because it's my go to spot for the little guys with momma. In fact all summer long I get good action on mine.

I tried to but I have lots of switch grass around mine and it ends up taking a couple thousand pics as the wind blows. I can watch mine good during season from the stand, lots of action as everything visits providing some good entertainment.

 

[Someday isle]

I posted this on my new property tour thread but thought I'd add it here too. I had a few deer tracks around one of my water holes today. I've been whining about no rain on my food plots but the bonus is my water holes have held water so maybe the deer have found them and will start using them now.