MN Homestead

[Docfather]

Happy to be here. I've been enjoying viewing everyone's property tours and trying to soak up all I can. So without further ado, here's a short start to mine.

A couple years ago we moved out of town and bought the SW 40 acres of a quarter section with three nice neighbors - all with homes on their property. In the middle of the four 40's is about a 50 acre stand of woods/swamp that we own the bulk of. We have a small hobby farm (couple horses/goats/chickens/etc.) with our home on the SW corner of the lot and about 5.5 acres of hay on the NW part.

Now the interesting part...the entirety of the woods has an easement on it that prevents all the owners from doing anything to the land/vegetation: no cutting/mowing/planting/draining/filling/etc. We can hunt it and use it, but we aren't supposed to mess with it. Despite that, I have mowed and cut just a few trees down to maintain an ATV trail that was already there.

My son shot his first deer the first season that we owned/hunted. This past season my dad shot his first wall-hanger. We've been very blessed. I have a ton of ideas for improving the land and hunting experience despite the limitations. I really look forward to picking everyone's brains and taking any advice you'll share!

 

[Docfather]

This is "G3S", our target buck from 2017 that Dad harvested on gun opener.

 

[Docfather]

Below is a shot of my tentative plans, but I would really love to get feedback from y'all. I'd like to put in two small fall/winter food plots next to the woods (orange areas below) and probably screen them from the road with Egyptian Wheat/Switch grass (pink line). However, I'm concerned that the efforts may not produce the results I'm looking for because it could be really difficult to access stands undetected to hunt near the food and I don't really want to train the deer to eat nocturnally. What do you think? Any areas jump out that would make more sense than others for a blind/stand (prevailing winds are N/NW). Stand 1 and Stand 2 do get pretty good traffic as transition zones, but mostly at night. Stand 3 near the little creek needs to be moved so that I can get better visibility and take advantage of the wind. I'd like to put in a small, quiet access trail from the road so I'm not getting busted entering/exiting.

I appreciate any and all help!

 

[Chainsaw]

Regarding switch grass as a screen, I grew it here in New York and it helps screen very little. Now Giganteus Miscanthus is another story. That really screened a field well with stalks passing eight feet and they stand up throughout the winter and provide an excellent screen until at least January.

Sorry--tried to post a pic but it just doesn't work anymore for me. The pic is on my property tour

http://www.deerhunterforum.com/index.php?threads/recreating-a-deer-woods.1088/page-17

Regarding food plot locations; usually I'd be a fan of carving them out of the woods with access being one of the major considerations. However with your area having way more open ground and not much woods I'd probably put them where you have them drawn. In those cases with access being an issue they simply wouldn't be hunted ever. I might carve out staging area type planted paths below or above the plots to be hunted in the right winds.

Stand 2 is a can't miss deer kind of highway spot but no matter which way the wind blows with the food plot there some deer will know you are there. A stand below that in the woods with blockage between it and the open field would insure very few deer would cut behind you thus giving you a great hunting spot on that particular wind, less traffic but lower impact.

I think that with a woods that size that low impact has to trump all other considerations so stand locations would be determined with low impact as the first priority ahead of even level of deer traffic. Please realize these are just my opinions from seeing only your post. You will understand the land better than anyone. And also, congrats to your Dad. Great deer!

 

[Docfather]

Regarding switch grass as a screen, I grew it here in New York and it helps screen very little. Now Giganteus Miscanthus is another story. That really screened a field well with stalks passing eight feet and they stand up throughout the winter and provide an excellent screen until at least January.

Sorry--tried to post a pic but it just doesn't work anymore for me. The pic is on my property tour

http://www.deerhunterforum.com/index.php?threads/recreating-a-deer-woods.1088/page-17

Regarding food plot locations; usually I'd be a fan of carving them out of the woods with access being one of the major considerations. However with your area having way more open ground and not much woods I'd probably put them where you have them drawn. In those cases with access being an issue they simply wouldn't be hunted ever. I might carve out staging area type planted paths below or above the plots to be hunted in the right winds.

Stand 2 is a can't miss deer kind of highway spot but no matter which way the wind blows with the food plot there some deer will know you are there. A stand below that in the woods with blockage between it and the open field would insure very few deer would cut behind you thus giving you a great hunting spot on that particular wind, less traffic but lower impact.

I think that with a woods that size that low impact has to trump all other considerations so stand locations would be determined with low impact as the first priority ahead of even level of deer traffic. Please realize these are just my opinions from seeing only your post. You will understand the land better than anyone. And also, congrats to your Dad. Great deer!

Thanks Chainsaw, those are some of the exact concerns I have. I actually count it quite lucky that we were able to harvest the buck that we did last year. He made the mistake of coming through the swamp to Dad's rattle during the rut up by Stand 1. If not for that, we wouldn't have seen him most likely. I didn't get any daytime pics of the mature bucks on property. With so much ag land around us in a very high pressure area, it seems like our woods is best served as a sanctuary and hunting the perimeter in the right winds, at the right time, might be the best strategy. I hate to just throw my hands up because I'd really like to make improvements where I can, but not at the cost of opportunities to harvest a mature buck. I've toyed with the idea of putting blinds on the outer corners of the potential food plots with screen around them so that we might be able to access them. Hmmm...

That Giganteus Miscanthus you have growing is really impressive! I hadn't seen that yet. That's a perennial grass too, right? If EW is an annual (?) and switch grass doesn't get nearly as tall, my mind is all but made up to go with Giganteus Miscanthus. Thanks!

 

[pinetag]

You might consider putting tripod stands or build some elevated box blinds in the upper left and lower left corners of your plots right beside/within your screening. You could access from the hay field and climb right in the back with very little movement noticeable out in the plots. Your only truly bad wind direction would be something directly out of the west. Just my thoughts.

 

[MarkDarvin]

Is it in a permanent easement like RIM or WRP? Can you cut or plant any trees at all?

 

[Chainsaw]

Yes DocFather, Giganteus Miscanthus (GM) is perennial and spreads by rhizomes only so it is not invasive. I did nothing special to grow GM, just sprayed roundup in the fall to prepare the spot and planted the rhizomes the following spring. First year was three ft. tall, second year it was a really good screen.
[Here is the link to where I purchased it.
http://www.mapleriverfarms.com/

The Maple River Farms site has some interesting videos and is very helpful in providing info as to how to plant and care for it. My experience with their company was all positive.

Regarding EW I have no experience with it but do understand it to be an annual.

Regarding the idea that you would like to make improvements, there are improvements that can be made besides the food plots that may never be hunted over. This sounds off topic but it is not; Have you ever done any trapping of fur animals like mink, muskrats or raccoons?

 

[Triple C]

Welcome to the forum Docfather and congrats to your dad on a great buck! Nothing better than owning your own piece of dirt. Look forward to following along on your journey.

 

[Docfather]

You might consider putting tripod stands or build some elevated box blinds in the upper left and lower left corners of your plots right beside/within your screening. You could access from the hay field and climb right in the back with very little movement noticeable out in the plots. Your only truly bad wind direction would be something directly out of the west. Just my thoughts.

That’s what I was thinking too. If I do the plots and screen then it’s a logical option if I can get decent traffic on the food.
Thanks

 

[Docfather]

Is it in a permanent easement like RIM or WRP? Can you cut or plant any trees at all?

Yeah it’s permanent as far as I recal. No cutting or planting anything...but that’s not to say I won’t “bend” that rule a little. I’m willing to do some trail work and strategic stuff, but have to keep it pretty minimal to avoid issues.

 

[Docfather]

Yes DocFather, Giganteus Miscanthus (GM) is perennial and spreads by rhizomes only so it is not invasive. I did nothing special to grow GM, just sprayed roundup in the fall to prepare the spot and planted the rhizomes the following spring. First year was three ft. tall, second year it was a really good screen.
[Here is the link to where I purchased it.
http://www.mapleriverfarms.com/

The Maple River Farms site has some interesting videos and is very helpful in providing info as to how to plant and care for it. My experience with their company was all positive.

Regarding EW I have no experience with it but do understand it to be an annual.

Regarding the idea that you would like to make improvements, there are improvements that can be made besides the food plots that may never be hunted over. This sounds off topic but it is not; Have you ever done any trapping of fur animals like mink, muskrats or raccoons?

Thanks for that intel. I’ll check out their site.
Only trapped a couple raccoons. But I’ve seen mink while deer hunting?

 

[Chainsaw]

Thanks for that intel. I’ll check out their site.
Only trapped a couple raccoons. But I’ve seen mink while deer hunting?

There are a lot of similarities to what we did as kids trapping to the deer hunting we do today on limited size properties as most of us have. I've come to view the does like muskrats, the prey animal that is so easy to read, so consistent in their habits and easy to steer. The bucks on the other hand during the rut are more like the mink and they behave more like the mink, here today somewhere else tomorrow yet they can be steered also somewhat like we used to steer mink along the brooks. Not being able to mess with the vegetation on a property though as you have brings the steering animals to a whole new challenge.
Here are my thoughts on this limited as they are because I am fortunate that everything I choose to do on our property is allowed.
1. Do everything you can to keep the does on the property and as calm and predictable as possible. Learn where every doe group prefers to bed and make those spots off limits to people traffic, sight, sounds and scent wise. Since the does are the bait/prey for the bucks, build them the most inclusive food plots possible focusing on rut time foods yet carrying smaller amounts appropriate for other times of the year.
2. Walk the woods as a predator would out searching for does as a buck would, stay in cover as you travel from doe hangout to doe hangout. Observe every thing you see and do. Take notice when you walk around a steep bank, a brush pile or blowdown, an open field corner, where you choose to cross a brook and so on. Mark out this new unmarked trail on paper and determine where along it were you bottlenecked the most, scented up the woods the least, can access without disturbing does, etc. Since you can not change the property's natural environment you have the challenge to understand it better and use its natural pinch points. Of course once you get the predator path figured out it, accessing it only perpendicular to reach stands over looking it and not walking it would be the plan.
3. Go thru each steering tool you ever heard of and try to see a way to use it, for example, snow fencing, maybe that being a temp. alteration might be allowed as a steering tool. Here most of our predatory trails are sprayed with Roundup and cleared of blowdowns; Of course Round up wouldn't be allowed but removing fallen trees out of the way of the unmarked trail or to discourage use of alternative routes by blocking with a fallen tree might be OK.
4. Repeat historic success using calling/rattling as your Dad did at the exact appropriate time and no sooner each season.

Best of luck to you. It will be fun following your thread and seeing what you can come up with.

 

[Docfather]

There are a lot of similarities to what we did as kids trapping to the deer hunting we do today on limited size properties as most of us have. I've come to view the does like muskrats, the prey animal that is so easy to read, so consistent in their habits and easy to steer. The bucks on the other hand during the rut are more like the mink and they behave more like the mink, here today somewhere else tomorrow yet they can be steered also somewhat like we used to steer mink along the brooks. Not being able to mess with the vegetation on a property though as you have brings the steering animals to a whole new challenge.
Here are my thoughts on this limited as they are because I am fortunate that everything I choose to do on our property is allowed.
1. Do everything you can to keep the does on the property and as calm and predictable as possible. Learn where every doe group prefers to bed and make those spots off limits to people traffic, sight, sounds and scent wise. Since the does are the bait/prey for the bucks, build them the most inclusive food plots possible focusing on rut time foods yet carrying smaller amounts appropriate for other times of the year.
2. Walk the woods as a predator would out searching for does as a buck would, stay in cover as you travel from doe hangout to doe hangout. Observe every thing you see and do. Take notice when you walk around a steep bank, a brush pile or blowdown, an open field corner, where you choose to cross a brook and so on. Mark out this new unmarked trail on paper and determine where along it were you bottlenecked the most, scented up the woods the least, can access without disturbing does, etc. Since you can not change the property's natural environment you have the challenge to understand it better and use its natural pinch points. Of course once you get the predator path figured out it, accessing it only perpendicular to reach stands over looking it and not walking it would be the plan.
3. Go thru each steering tool you ever heard of and try to see a way to use it, for example, snow fencing, maybe that being a temp. alteration might be allowed as a steering tool. Here most of our predatory trails are sprayed with Roundup and cleared of blowdowns; Of course Round up wouldn't be allowed but removing fallen trees out of the way of the unmarked trail or to discourage use of alternative routes by blocking with a fallen tree might be OK.
4. Repeat historic success using calling/rattling as your Dad did at the exact appropriate time and no sooner each season.

Best of luck to you. It will be fun following your thread and seeing what you can come up with.

Thank you so much! This is awesome advice. I've done a little scouting for doe bedding, but need to do more. Your plan should work very well to help me get a better understanding of how they are using the land. I've taken note of frequently traveled routes and times of day that I see the doe groups crossing our fields to go eat in the evenings. I really feel like I can influence their pattern if I put in fall food plots with a lot of screening around them. Hopefully that should provide us some shooting opportunities if I can keep the pressure down the rest of the year. That is a big challenge in and of itself - with neighbors on four corners of the woods, family (kids and a dog) that like to wander out there once in a great while, etc. The focus of my strategy this year will probably be:
1. Identify key travel routes and bedding areas (does and bucks). Use deadfall/brush to create corridors that steer deer where I need them to be for minimally invasive stand access and hunting. I am willing to do some (very minimal) hinge cuts or path clearing (ATV size or smaller) to help to this end. A small risk I'm willing to take that I don't feel has significant impact on the "spirit" of the easement restrictions.
2. Use screening (GM) to make a couple of small, secure food plots. The goal of which will be to mostly draw feeding during the fall/winter hunting months so as not to train the deer to feed nocturnally year round. With effective screening I may be able to create a couple more stand/blind locations that can be entered/exited with less disturbance. I'm thinking the SW corner of each food plot for either a ground blind or maybe a 5' box stand.