Hunting big land...

[bowhunter1023]

My parents just bought a 90 acre farm tha should be prime-time deer habitat. For a guy that has been hunting at the most 20 acres his whole life, and knows it better than he knows is own old lady, learning this 90 acres seems like a huge task.

The property is a big square, with a 15 acre ridge-top soybean feild creating the northern border. The western and eastern borders are hardwoods, and the southern border is the road. I would say 60 acres of this property is open bottom land that is going to be mowed, maintained, and it some places planted in food plots.

I have had much of a chance to walk this property. I am going to walk it at the end of the month, and then leave it til spring.

My question for the guys who hunt large tracts of land is...Where in the world do I start?

[Talltines]

Jessie, Where did they buy it at? Is it by my place at all?

[Hiller]

Just get out there, glass fields, and check it out. Probably the best thing you could do is glass it, and hunt it lightly to get a feel for it and how the deer move. We own 310 acres and over the last 8 years I have gotten to know it very well, but I am still learning new things all the time. The best way I have learned about it is by hunting it, and in the summer groundhog hunting and watching the deer, finding their routes and escape paths. Just get out there and check it over real good, make note of good stand locations and start from there.
Hiller

[Deerslayer45102]

Check this site out for some very detailed topo features. I would love to have your problem, I am still stuck hunting public land. Good Luck:D

www.topozone.com

[quackerwacker]

bow,
I also hunt large tracts of land in NE corner of the state, the best way I have found to locate deer without getting overwhelmed is to look for the thickest cover 1st. Once you find the thickest section, you can bet the deer won't be far away. After I find the heart of the cover i begin to fan out around the parameter looking for travel routes to and from the thick stuff. Good luck with the new spot!
BILL

[Double drop]

One thing I would even do right now is get the northern property line surveyed and then post that ridge/soybean field with no trespassing signs every 15 yards. Im serious. It sounds like you have a great place, but you'd hate to have people coming in the backside and screwin it up. The west/east sides could use it too, but i'd be the most concerned with the north line.

In terms of how to hunt it.....gosh, you're gonna have so much fun, it will shock you! Start with finding food sources that are available right now. On your walk around, keep note of white oaks (non pointy leaves) and red oaks (pointy leaves) and even if they aren't producing acorns this year, you should know where they are. 15 acre soybean field? I'd say that would be a good place to start looking for funnels/rubs/scrapes/trails coming into and out of this field. You may also want to contact the farmer and see if he'll let some of those beans stand through the winter for you....what a late season draw! As you continue your scouting pay close attention to any clearcuts that may have taken place or young growth forests where there is browse 5 feet high or less...that's where deer will use it/reach it. Also make note of any dense stands of poplar and aspen. At season end, you could try to talk your dad into letting you create a few small clearcuts/hingecuts in these areas. The majority of a deer's diet is browse, you gotta offer what they want and deer LOVE aspen/poplar browse. Not only for the browse, but for the cover and bedding. Let's face it, deer are slaves to their stomach, so starting with a gameplan to find out every available food source the deer may have on your land will help in figuring out this property. Next, make note of the thickest/nastiest areas on this land. Try to make note of where you physically cannot walk through areas....that's where you'll find the biggest deer hanging out either bedding or corralling does during the rut. This should give you some good head starts. Get ready for the most enjoyable hobby of your life....creating a whitetail paradise! I guarantee you will care more deeply for this 90 acres than all state land around you combined by the time 10/1/06 comes around
DD

[quackerwacker]

DoubleDrop,
you are a fellow Geauga county hunter, have you been seeing much activity lately? The location I have been hunting has just recently been ravaged by rubs and scrapes over the course of this past few days. I went in there saturday and saw the same 3 scrapes I had viewed a week earlier, after hunting this morning I did a little mini scout and found 5 brand new scrapes since sunday all within 20 yards! Around me the activity is really picking up but it seems like most of it is occuring at night b/c I am definatley not seeing the deer I did at this time last year. I am interested to see how you have been doing ?
Bill

[New Buckeye]

Ha! I've got an idea - you could invite a few of us over and we'd help you scout it! :)

Seriously, though - this is a great opportunity for you. I usually start scouting by walking edges. Walk the borders of the property, field edges, and any edge between two different types of habitat. That will help you find a majority of the trails on your property, including where the deer like to come in and out of the property, and where they enter and leave the major food sources. Mark all these trails on a map and start plotting out the major 'corridors' that your deer are using. For the first few years, hunting the main concentrations of deer will be best. After that, you can start getting creative and finding those little, faint trails that the big ol' bruiser you saw that one night uses.

In short, get a topo map and/or aerial photo of the land (actually, get a few copies, blown up nice and big), and start finding the main deer highways. You'll be in the deer in no time at all. Good luck!

And, of course, if you want to invite anybody over to help you scope it all out, give me a call!

[Double drop]

we saw a giant, giant bodied deer standing in a scrape 30 yds. out on Sun. evening.....it had just gotten too dark, and I could not tell the age/rack of this deer. Other than that, we are seeing alot of does and some young bucks. The bucks are starting to shine up communal rub trees and scrapes are opening up everywhere. I believe alot of this is happening at night. Some of the most fun you can have at this time right now is with a trailcam, some interdigital glandular scent, and some dominant buck urine. Don't be bashful, get those cameras right in on the nighttime action!

DD

[bowhunter1023]

Thanks for the info guys.

I think the farmer leaves the beans up til January. The bean field is on our farm but my dad is going to sell the feild to the farmer that is farming it now. It the deed I will be given exclusive hunting rights to the field. (It helps that my dad is a surveyor).

Dad is mapping the property lines on both an aerial photo and a topo map. Once we decided where we are running our cattle, I will be given full access to the land for creating a whitetail haven.

I am definately pumped about the new land. It is truly a blessing. A week ago it was 99% sold and the guy changed his mind and said he wanted my family to have it.

[Double drop]

sounds like God moved in your situation....that's great!

DD

[Andy Gehle]

DD's got it nailed on how to approach it.
I'd add that scouting in February will also be an eye opener for you. I like to get up just like I was going to go hunting and scout all day. On 90 acres, you could know every trail in that place.

[Flaming Arrow]

That really does sound like a great place.

[Double drop]

http://www.michigan-sportsman.com/photopost/data/520/medium/8937Andy_s_Pictures_157.jpg

here's a picture from last year's hunting season of a clearcut my brother and i made that mostly consisted of aspen and poplar but also had cherry, maple, and a few oaks. I cannot wait to be in this stand again this year. Each time we hunted it, we saw numerous doe groups browsing, a large number of grouse, deer tracks and droppings, and the 5th day of gun season my brother missed a mature 8 point out of this stand with his muzzleloader. The buck was scent checking and looking for does. This type of clearcut only takes a chainsaw and a little elbow grease and sweat. ALL WILDLIFE benefits from a clearcut like this.

DD

[Lance]

ooh baby!! Can I come grouse hunt DD !!! ;) :D


Congrats on the new ground to hunt! nothing like winter scouting to figure out deer movments. Many of the spots I've hunted the deer move completly differently once the leaf drop occurs so this should give you a leg up vs what you find in late summer early fall scouting.

[Frank in the Laurel]

I think you should just invite us to all come over and show you how to hunt on the big area..just think of the wealth of knowledge and BS you'd get for zero investment..let me and the others know when you'd like to have us all show up...what a nice jesture it would be from the entire board...I know you guys won't mind me inviting all of you to help this guy out...

[bowhunter1023]

You bring the pizza and beer and we'll have grand ol' time!

[It's Not A Passion..]

Aerial photos and topos have helped me out a ton with scouting the 1200 acres I hunt.

[traphunter]

jeeze thats alot

[shotgun]

90 acres is a VERY SMALL piece of land to hunt in southern ohio. We have thousands upon thousands of unbroken acres in national forest and even some huge privately owned places backed up to public land. In these cases we dont look at all the land, just break it up into smaller sections and hunt those sections until you are familiar with them.

[GobblinChimp]

Bowhunter, the scouting you do now may very well change when cattle are added to the picture. I say this from experience - cattle and deer lead to decreased deer sightings. Not trying to discourage you, but when you are setting up pasture/cattle boundaries try to convince your Dad to spare a little thick cover for the deer. Best of luck.

[Double drop]

i would ask your dad to not have any cattle

DD

[eschatts]

I had a place to hunt last year. It was 90 plus acres. The day before gun season the land owner put up some temp fencing and put cattle in there. I didn't see a deer the entire week. I had been seeing deer pretty regular up until that point. I am not sure what effect the cattle have on the deer but they don't seem to mix.

Ed

[Lance]

I used to hunt a farms with cattle one in particular down in Carroll CTY that was about 90% wooded pasture/scrub. The deer would use the pastures but they seemed to skirt it them as much as use them. I often thought it may have something to do with the smell and the odor affected there comfort level to detect things that were out of place.

[It's Not A Passion..]

traphunter,
Yeah, but it's divided up into two 500 acre farms and a 200 acre farm.