Hi all, I'm set to do so habitat work in a few weeks. I only get one week a year to work at my property as I live a couple thousand miles away. I cant afford a habitat consultant and I'd like to get things going. I have 65 acres in Ohio, property is 900 foot hills and valleys. I'm trying to get an idea of where I can hinge cut to create corridors, place water,scrapes, etc. The northern and eastern end of the ground is wide open timber, mostly maple. Deer can see for 100+ yards. I have a couple food plots established and a couple locations available but I'm always apprehensive of doing the wrong thing. Wondering if anyone on here could take a look at it and throw me some Intel on what could or should I do....
Need some help
- Thread starter OHBB437
- Start date
Hah, game on. I've been down here 13 years, this past winter was the first time I've dedicated some serious time to it and it is a blast. Hit a stud with the bow in january but no recovery on him. I'm really looking forward to next winter, I hunt the river system which gets very little archery pressure and there's a ton of deer! Got my mobile saddle setup ready to go.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Itd be helpful to know roughly what part of Ohio? I have friends in the area that might help you. Hopefully none of your food plots is close to the property line, in my scheme of things that is bad. I like to have the food plots somewhat spaced towards the middle of the land area you have to work with, then concentrate the habitat improvements close to and around the food plots, leaving the perimeter areas more open. That way your hinging and other things will concentrate your deer into huntable areas towards the middle, and away from your property lines. Draw a map after this fashion, and if you know your tree species you are ready to start cutting and planting, using the following criteria. I'd start just outside the food plot and work in a circle around the field, hingecutting to create thicker cover. You don't want a continous circle around the field, but rather patches that match the terrain and existing trails. For instance, if there's a knob off the side of the field, that should get made into a thick area, with trails/ open areas to the field on either side of the knob. I'd sooner have thick area beside a field be on the upwind side of the field, and I approach the field on the downwind side. If an existing trail to the field exists I'd leave the trail open and start hinging right beside the trail and work in one direction parallel to the field. Water holes and mineral sites should be as close to the field as possible. Draw your map of your existing fields, based on wind direction, and your access possibilities, then add some features that you would like to do. Go out and work for a while, and then go back to your map and modify accordingly to the additional ideas that you gathered on the ground while getting your hands dirty. Make sure that you hunt 1 day for every day that you work, you learn as much from actually hunting the property as you do from doing habitat work there. It takes 5 years to get a rough understanding how to hunt a new property, and 10 years to get proficient at it. A lot of people shortcut this learning process because they get it handed down as a free gift from prior generations.
Last edited:
I'm in Athens Co area. As far as the field goes it sits directly in middle of property. It's a ridge that gradually drops, bout 100 yards wide at the plot location. Im working on getting a pic up.
I hunt one week a year and my buddy hunts it a couple times after my trip so pressure isn't bad when I get in. Pay hunters from out of state on both sides but both sides are clear cut so access and hunt ability for them is tough
I hunt one week a year and my buddy hunts it a couple times after my trip so pressure isn't bad when I get in. Pay hunters from out of state on both sides but both sides are clear cut so access and hunt ability for them is tough
THE LLC
Well-Known Member
I'd be on that like a duck on a June bug, but I am strictly a gun hunter. Ain't traveling 1900 miles and then handicap myself. LOLOLOL
THE LLC
Well-Known Member
If you have clearcuts on either side, you'll have a hard time competing with that for bedding cover. Especially if it is difficult to hunt.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
If you have the only fields in the area you can draw them out of the neighbors clearcuts
THE LLC
Well-Known Member
^^^^This^^^^ And it would be my strategy. Plant the best possible cool season forage (hard to beat winter wheat and arrowleaf clover) and then hunt the wind.
Mennoniteman
Well-Known Member
Tapatalk can handle larger file pictures. Or then shrink the file size down. I have difficulty in loading normal file size pictures, the redneck way to reduce file size, shrink the picture to make it small in the center of your screen then take a screenshot and crop the edges off the screenshot to end up with the original picture in a much reduced file size that will upload.
dogghr
Well-Known Member
Resize your pic on your program you are using. Save it. Then it will upload. Your file is too large. Or use tapatalk and choose the small pic option.
On your land I agree w food plot and hinging comments. Prob need to improve understory even if it’s in pockets to make them feel safe late season. Perhaps a late season crop of brassica may increase your draw that time of year. Good luck
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Chainsaw
Well-Known Member
A week of solid hunting on 65 acres here would almost totally shut down day time deer movement for a couple of weeks so it is a fair assumption it would on your property as well. If I could only hunt one week here it wouldn't be late October/first week of November. Daytime movement of the big boys is still sporadic here then. Your area of course could be different. I prefer the technique of having multiple food plots throughout the property but away from property lines as Mennoniteman described. On 65 acres with clear cut cover and heavy pressure bordering it the food as also mentioned by Mennoniteman and LLC will be important.
As we all have learned the first day hunting a stand is usually our best chance, thus a dozen to fourteen pre-setup stand locations for the week would be ideal (stand locations preset-up for ground hunting would be the least likely to have trespassers using them when you are not there). Forty-five acres in the center can be set up for a sanctuary with four or five stand setups in it but not hunted until the last two days of your week long trip if needed to connect up with the buck you want. The remaining twenty five acres could contain the other eight or so stand setups for your early lower impact parts of your hunt and if you get it done from there, the sanctuary would remain virtually un-hunted for the year. If visibility goes beyond forty-ish yards then that is a lot of unused space on 65 acres so as Dogghr mentioned, pockets of under story would fit the bill there.
In the sanctuary could be the food plots say about four smaller plots interspersed with bedding cover and man-made "deer trails" or better yet with the elevation changes on your property there are probably good corridors already being used that can be strengthened or blocked off with hinging if appropriate. The preferred food for the food plots is hands down for us here the entire grocery store versus just what they want during the period you will be hunting. Plant every type of food you can in strips in the plots. Be sure to include plantings of all three categories as described by LC (LC mix) with as much variety as you can within each category. Things planted at the same time that are compatible do well planted together. Chicory planted with clover come to mind for example just as rape, with radishes and turnips do for example. Rye planted with or beside winter wheat is another and rye planted with clover (fall planted) has also worked well here together.
Due to your travel distance and the fact that you would have minimally two preferred planting dates you may need to have someone else do some of the planting. Also I would want to have cameras setup before and throughout the season to determine how much if any people traffic occurs when you are not there which could of course ruin the sanctuary setup.
Such a setup could have a lot of does LIVING in your sanctuary and many others regularly visiting it if trespassing can be controlled. And of course at the right time a sanctuary full of young chicks will draw the old guys you are after. In designing your plan it helps to start with the ideal end in mind with no restrictions and then prioritize projects, time and expenditures after that. And of course take your time in getting it all done and enjoy the trip. And honestly it will likely never be all done anyhow.
As we all have learned the first day hunting a stand is usually our best chance, thus a dozen to fourteen pre-setup stand locations for the week would be ideal (stand locations preset-up for ground hunting would be the least likely to have trespassers using them when you are not there). Forty-five acres in the center can be set up for a sanctuary with four or five stand setups in it but not hunted until the last two days of your week long trip if needed to connect up with the buck you want. The remaining twenty five acres could contain the other eight or so stand setups for your early lower impact parts of your hunt and if you get it done from there, the sanctuary would remain virtually un-hunted for the year. If visibility goes beyond forty-ish yards then that is a lot of unused space on 65 acres so as Dogghr mentioned, pockets of under story would fit the bill there.
In the sanctuary could be the food plots say about four smaller plots interspersed with bedding cover and man-made "deer trails" or better yet with the elevation changes on your property there are probably good corridors already being used that can be strengthened or blocked off with hinging if appropriate. The preferred food for the food plots is hands down for us here the entire grocery store versus just what they want during the period you will be hunting. Plant every type of food you can in strips in the plots. Be sure to include plantings of all three categories as described by LC (LC mix) with as much variety as you can within each category. Things planted at the same time that are compatible do well planted together. Chicory planted with clover come to mind for example just as rape, with radishes and turnips do for example. Rye planted with or beside winter wheat is another and rye planted with clover (fall planted) has also worked well here together.
Due to your travel distance and the fact that you would have minimally two preferred planting dates you may need to have someone else do some of the planting. Also I would want to have cameras setup before and throughout the season to determine how much if any people traffic occurs when you are not there which could of course ruin the sanctuary setup.
Such a setup could have a lot of does LIVING in your sanctuary and many others regularly visiting it if trespassing can be controlled. And of course at the right time a sanctuary full of young chicks will draw the old guys you are after. In designing your plan it helps to start with the ideal end in mind with no restrictions and then prioritize projects, time and expenditures after that. And of course take your time in getting it all done and enjoy the trip. And honestly it will likely never be all done anyhow.
