New Hunting Land Do's and Dont's

I've only got 20 acres that I bought 2 years ago and I will eventually live on it, so my requirements are a bit different than if it were a strict hunting land but this is what I have learned. Keep in mind I'm in Florida:

- The way deer use my land after improvements is largely the way they used it before improvements. By that, I mean, their trails were through thick overgrown planted pines....I cleared 5 acres of those pines...they still follow the trails across the open clearing. I thought they would divert and skirt the edges. I don't think you can largely alter the way deer routinely use a property. I saw this on my hunting lease when they clear cut 100 acres right next to my food plot. Deer walked the trails across that clear cut just like it was still forested. I was really shocked by that. Same thing after a burn, their trails go right thru the ashes where they walked previously. We had a Cat 5 hurricane last year and there are trees down everywhere. Deer find a way to use those same trails.....amazing how a buck weaves his antlers through downed pines, jumps over some logs, and squeezes under others. They walk where they want to walk.

- Prevailing wind direction during hunting season. Plan your entry and exit routes around that. It's really hard to get this perfect on a small property.

- Food is king. I have a good herd that regularly uses my property because I have 2 acres of limed, fertilized groceries year round in addition to 2 corn feeders. The local area is largely pastures and cows, so I'm the best food source around.

- I cleared the perimeter because I want to be able to drive/walk my perimeter and check the fence. For a hunting property, I'm not sure I would have done that. What I did do was leave a barrier of 3 pine rows or more between my perimeter path and the rest of my property. This shields my 2 plots from being seen very well by neighboring properties. I don't know what kind of dog control you have in your area, but in order to keep neighbor dogs from harassing the deer on my property, I'm investing a lot of time and money on a secure perimeter fence. Deer can jump over it.

- I have only hunted my property a couple of times and have not yet pulled the trigger, but one thing I think about constantly is if I don't drop it, will it jump the fence and I have to track it on someone else's property. You have double what I have, but even a hard hit deer can leave 40 acres in a hurry. How will you recover your deer? Do you know your neighbors? For this reason, I will only use a rifle and will go for the shoulder shot to drop them. No archery.

- Don't get too attached to your bucks. They are going to come and go. Other hunters are going to get "your" buck you have been watching for year or more. That's just the way it is and no amount of worry is going to change that. At some point, nobody cares whether you have 2 or 10 big bucks on your wall -- take the buck in front of you if it's mature, not the buck that might come later (he may already be dead). What's in the freezer matter more!

I and My SIL leased 80 acres last year. What I did was use what was already there and add to it, if that makes sense.
There were Openings where I assume were Log Landings some years ago. I used them to put Food Plots in and set Stands on. There was a Main Road/Trail that runs from the Top to the Bottom of our piece and we use it access the property.

Worse thing we did was establish a Camp on the property. Why? because when we get there we are letting Every Deer on our Place know we are there. We don't have much choice on this, as it is a 6 hr drive to get there and we need somewhere to stay. We could do the Hotel Room Deal, but that adds more money to the budget that we could use for Feed or Seed or Whatever. I tend to Sneak In and no Fire, but the SIL comes in loud and always wants a fire. That smoke smell drifts all over and they know we are there.

We hear deer at night quite often. They snort as they work their way around us. There are trails all over our place and no where we can set up without being near one or two.

Opening Trails. There were Frontage Trails that lead from our Road to each end of the Property. This year I mowed them twice and cut them back so we can access them much more quietly. Eventually I will add some more so we can sneak in and out of the extra stands we plan to set as time goes by.

Stay Out Areas. There is a Swamp Pine Thicket that is so thick we can't get into or through it but the deer do. Walking the Property before we took it there were so many trails coming out of that area i was amazed and I'm used to seeing Trails. So we decided to make it a Stay Out Area and make it a Sanctuary Area that the Deer can use and feel Safe and want to stay on OUR PLACE.

Swamp. There is a Swamp that is on our Southern Border. I have only worked into it a few hundred yards, but found two possible stand sites. The Trouble is getting into and out of them. That is something we will need to discuss and decide if we want to, which I think we should. I'm positive by studying Satellite Photos and Google Earth that there are High Ground Islands in there and the Deer should be bedded on them.

Speaking of Google Earth. If you take the time to learn it, you can turn back the clock in pictures as many as 50-60 years. You can see the original pics taken and how the land has changed and developed into what it is today. You will see Cut Lines and Creeks that you might not of even known were there. Try it and see. I had no idea until I watched a YouTube Video on how to use it for hunting.

Nothing will happen overnight. Our first year I saw 3 bucks that I had my crosshairs on, but none were legal. I saw some does but no shots. My SIL took a small doe and a nice 8-point. Right Time Right Place sort of deal. This year I have learned the property more in the off season and so far I have taken a small buck and a doe. I also passed on two more doe. I'm waiting on a decent Buck at this point.

Deadeye said:

I and My SIL leased 80 acres last year. What I did was use what was already there and add to it, if that makes sense.
There were Openings where I assume were Log Landings some years ago. I used them to put Food Plots in and set Stands on. There was a Main Road/Trail that runs from the Top to the Bottom of our piece and we use it access the property.

Worse thing we did was establish a Camp on the property. Why? because when we get there we are letting Every Deer on our Place know we are there. We don't have much choice on this, as it is a 6 hr drive to get there and we need somewhere to stay. We could do the Hotel Room Deal, but that adds more money to the budget that we could use for Feed or Seed or Whatever. I tend to Sneak In and no Fire, but the SIL comes in loud and always wants a fire. That smoke smell drifts all over and they know we are there.

We hear deer at night quite often. They snort as they work their way around us. There are trails all over our place and no where we can set up without being near one or two.

Opening Trails. There were Frontage Trails that lead from our Road to each end of the Property. This year I mowed them twice and cut them back so we can access them much more quietly. Eventually I will add some more so we can sneak in and out of the extra stands we plan to set as time goes by.

Stay Out Areas. There is a Swamp Pine Thicket that is so thick we can't get into or through it but the deer do. Walking the Property before we took it there were so many trails coming out of that area i was amazed and I'm used to seeing Trails. So we decided to make it a Stay Out Area and make it a Sanctuary Area that the Deer can use and feel Safe and want to stay on OUR PLACE.

Swamp. There is a Swamp that is on our Southern Border. I have only worked into it a few hundred yards, but found two possible stand sites. The Trouble is getting into and out of them. That is something we will need to discuss and decide if we want to, which I think we should. I'm positive by studying Satellite Photos and Google Earth that there are High Ground Islands in there and the Deer should be bedded on them.

Speaking of Google Earth. If you take the time to learn it, you can turn back the clock in pictures as many as 50-60 years. You can see the original pics taken and how the land has changed and developed into what it is today. You will see Cut Lines and Creeks that you might not of even known were there. Try it and see. I had no idea until I watched a YouTube Video on how to use it for hunting.

Nothing will happen overnight. Our first year I saw 3 bucks that I had my crosshairs on, but none were legal. I saw some does but no shots. My SIL took a small doe and a nice 8-point. Right Time Right Place sort of deal. This year I have learned the property more in the off season and so far I have taken a small buck and a doe. I also passed on two more doe. I'm waiting on a decent Buck at this point.

Click to expand...

Along with Google Earth, many counties throughout the country have GIS maps of the parcels within the county. Some of these have historical aerial photos that go back into the 30's and 40's. It can be very enlightening. I found old logging trails and building foundations that we never knew were on our 165 acres in Washington County, Pa. We thought we knew our property well until we found remnants of a small quarry on the GIS maps.

Know what you want to do and more importantly, why you want to do it and how it will improve your property before you do it. Wait...read...think...and plan, plan, plan before you start habitat any "improvements".

Talk with your farmer neighbors. Find out what they are going to plant next season on the lands which border you. If they are going to plant alfalfa then you should look for something different. Clover and chicory come to mind but there are many choices. Your little 2 acres of plots planted next to 80 -100 or more acres of the same food isn't going to be much draw. You are in competition here and the farmer has the upper hand. Dare to be different.
This year my land I lease out was planted in corn. I planted clover, chicory, turnip and forage radishes in my plots which worked well for the most part. Problem here was when the corn was harvested it was only a couple days and the deer sightings dropped off drasticly. 1/2 mile down the road there was a field of 80 or more acres of standing Soybeans and another 2-300 acres of standing corn waiting to dry for harvest. Guess where the deer went?
This coming year the farmer is going to plant all the property I lease to him in turnip and forage radish. They will not be harvested so I will have a super food plot and get paid for it. I have already had conversations with the farmer about me overcasting seed for a few strategic plots in the fields where he has planted. I'm still working up a plan.
I love Beef Steak but every now and then I enjoy a good Fish Fry just for a change. I have to believe deer are no different. I see deer under a Crabapple tree in my backyard often even when all the fields have crops standing on them around me. Maybe it's time to go Fishing.

Letmgrow said:

Talk with your farmer neighbors. Find out what they are going to plant next season on the lands which border you. If they are going to plant alfalfa then you should look for something different. Clover and chicory come to mind but there are many choices. Your little 2 acres of plots planted next to 80 -100 or more acres of the same food isn't going to be much draw. You are in competition here and the farmer has the upper hand. Dare to be different.
This year my land I lease out was planted in corn. I planted clover, chicory, turnip and forage radishes in my plots which worked well for the most part. Problem here was when the corn was harvested it was only a couple days and the deer sightings dropped off drasticly. 1/2 mile down the road there was a field of 80 or more acres of standing Soybeans and another 2-300 acres of standing corn waiting to dry for harvest. Guess where the deer went?
This coming year the farmer is going to plant all the property I lease to him in turnip and forage radish. They will not be harvested so I will have a super food plot and get paid for it. I have already had conversations with the farmer about me overcasting seed for a few strategic plots in the fields where he has planted. I'm still working up a plan.
I love Beef Steak but every now and then I enjoy a good Fish Fry just for a change. I have to believe deer are no different. I see deer under a Crabapple tree in my backyard often even when all the fields have crops standing on them around me. Maybe it's time to go Fishing.

Click to expand...

See if you can work out an arrangement with the Farmer to leave a Strip of standing Crops each year when he harvests. I know several guys that have done this and it really helps.

We have a 400 yard range across one of our biggest food plots. Many times have deer come out in it while we are shooting. The other day, we were shooting a couple of nice double rifles - a .570 and .500 Nitro Express. These are LOUD firearms. 2/3’s of the way through the first box of shells, a small 8 pt jumped up out of the grass and ran off. But, deer hear firearms year round near our place - so it is nothing unusual. I read about folks all the time who bought a property and then stay off it except deer season. For those that do that - fine and good. I didnt have enough money to buy only land to deer hunt on. I coon hunt, dove hunt, squirrel hunt, deer hunt, hog hunt, turkey hunt, duck hunt, fish, frog, catch crawfish, trap, hunt mushrooms, target practice, and my house is on my property. I couldnt afford to buy a piece of property for each one of those activities.

Do: read as much on this forum as you can stand. Then read some more.
Don'ts : Don't do anything for the first year. Spend your time learning the property.
Once you cut a tree or bulldoze a field it can never be undone.

Deadeye said:

See if you can work out an arrangement with the Farmer to leave a Strip of standing Crops each year when he harvests. I know several guys that have done this and it really helps.

Click to expand...

I have done this in the past with success. This year though the farmer who rents my fields got a late start planting due to all the rain we had throughout the spring planting season. When it came time to harvest my fields the farmer was telling me he was falling short on feed for the winter. I didn't even ask him to leave some standing corn in any of my fields.
This past season was a bust for me. The fields were harvested just before early muzzle loading season. By the time the season started anything left behind from the harvesting had already been eaten by the deer or the flocks of Canadian geese here. You can throw in a few raccoons too.
The deer moved out and headed for areas of standing corn and soybean on neighboring properties. No food, no deer.
My hill fared a little better. We had two food plots planted there which helped hold the deer and the fields bordering the south side had been planted in Alfalfa. I didn't hunt there. I left it for my son and my grandchildren.
Next year will be different. All my tillable acreage is going into turnips and forage radish. After the seed is planted I will over cast some of the planting with something the deer will like all summer long into the fall.