Last shoot and hunt at the family property

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tnlonghunter

40 Cal.
Joined
Aug 10, 2005
Messages
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Location
Maryland
I just got back from a few days off to visit the family property in middle Tennessee for one last hunt. We've owned it for 20 years, but I live too far to take care of it, and my folks are getting on in years. So, as sad as it makes me, it is time to let it go. The sale goes through in early December.

I killed my first deer there, which happened to be a nice 8-pointer i got with my TN mountain rifle. It was too early in the season to hunt deer with a flinter, so that was done for a couple mornings with my recurve. I saw some but no shot. I was able to do some squirrel hunting with my flinter, and that was more successful. It has been too long since I hunted squirrels very much, and I've forgotten how much fun it is. Much less pressure than deer hunting for me. We did a lot of just plain shooting, and I haven't seen the woods look that beautiful in years. A pair of tornadoes wiped put most of the woods back in 2010, but it looked amazing this week. I spent everyday walking over the 100 acres of wood and fields.

One of the unexpected benefits was that I had to clean out some things from the barn. The previous owner was a big muzzleloader shooter, too, and I found a box with about 50 lbs. of round balls in the loft. They were still in the original boxes and bags, and they must have been 20-30 years old. Even though most won't fit my rifles, I'm sure I can trade or recast them. Or use this as an excuse for a new rifle! Here are a few pictures just for posterity.

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Looks warm and inviting. They would never get me back indoors.

I should have taken some pics from inside. The house is built from a pair of 19th century log cabins that had fallen into disrepair. The previous owner salvaged most of the logs, redesigned the layout, and built them into a big cabin. It's a pretty good place to be if you're gonna be indoors!
 
I just got back from a few days off to visit the family property in middle Tennessee for one last hunt. We've owned it for 20 years, but I live too far to take care of it, and my folks are getting on in years. So, as sad as it makes me, it is time to let it go. The sale goes through in early December.

I killed my first deer there, which happened to be a nice 8-pointer i got with my TN mountain rifle. It was too early in the season to hunt deer with a flinter, so that was done for a couple mornings with my recurve. I saw some but no shot. I was able to do some squirrel hunting with my flinter, and that was more successful. It has been too long since I hunted squirrels very much, and I've forgotten how much fun it is. Much less pressure than deer hunting for me. We did a lot of just plain shooting, and I haven't seen the woods look that beautiful in years. A pair of tornadoes wiped put most of the woods back in 2010, but it looked amazing this week. I spent everyday walking over the 100 acres of wood and fields.

One of the unexpected benefits was that I had to clean out some things from the barn. The previous owner was a big muzzleloader shooter, too, and I found a box with about 50 lbs. of round balls in the loft. They were still in the original boxes and bags, and they must have been 20-30 years old. Even though most won't fit my rifles, I'm sure I can trade or recast them. Or use this as an excuse for a new rifle! Here are a few pictures just for posterity.

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and you can't tell me that there isn't a GOD??
 
If the sale were to fall through for some reason, I'd sure like to hear more about the property. I'm presently looking for a seasonal retirement property and central/eastern TN is on the short list.
 
Very nice place TNLH... sad that your letting it go.

Im 70 miles or so out of Nashville, just South of the Land between the Lakes.

It’s beautiful country this time of the year. There must be some strong attraction somewhere else!
 
I sold my farm of 35 years a few years ago, and went through the same emotional rollercoaster. I thought I did a brilliant job of it, because I made a condition of the sale access to it for all the hunting, fishing, trekking I wanted to do for my lifetime. Think again. It turned out that the new owner was blood kin to Henry David Thoreau's Farmer Flint, and he set about maximizing his income, minimizing care of the land and the wildlife. He's accommodating, though, lately he brought my squirrel woods out where it will be a lot easier to get to.
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I sold my farm of 35 years a few years ago, and went through the same emotional rollercoaster. I thought I did a brilliant job of it, because I made a condition of the sale access to it for all the hunting, fishing, trekking I wanted to do for my lifetime. Think again. It turned out that the new owner was blood kin to Henry David Thoreau's Farmer Flint, and he set about maximizing his income, minimizing care of the land and the wildlife. He's accommodating, though, lately he brought my squirrel woods out where it will be a lot easier to get to.
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Ouch. Lots of the woods around our place have been logged over the years, and I've never been able to get used to the sight of a scalped forest. I know it has to be done for building timber and whatnot, but it hurts to look at.

The folks who are under contract are family acquaintances, and they've said we could come back any time. I've also gotten to be good friends with one of the neighbors who runs a horse operation and has insisted I come back to camp. So, I'm sure I'll be able to visit again some, but I know it won't be the same.

Driving back to MD wasn't exactly fun, but given what both my wife and I do for a living, there are very few places where we can both work at really good jobs.
 
I wished I knew and had more money as that is about what I want to buy. Nice area there also...figure letting the grass grow a little and stock it with quail, put out 10 acres of corn, fruit trees and a big garden and I would prolly never leave.
 
I sold my farm of 35 years a few years ago, and went through the same emotional rollercoaster. I thought I did a brilliant job of it, because I made a condition of the sale access to it for all the hunting, fishing, trekking I wanted to do for my lifetime. Think again. It turned out that the new owner was blood kin to Henry David Thoreau's Farmer Flint, and he set about maximizing his income, minimizing care of the land and the wildlife. He's accommodating, though, lately he brought my squirrel woods out where it will be a lot easier to get to.
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I am so sorry Bob. We had great times there. Sad to see that the land is being raped
 
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