If I am hunting in the woods, I like to think of it as "how far can I possibly see." Then I like to add on about another 150 yds to that on each side of me.
lets say I can see 160 yds in the woods, I estimate that I would want to have 300 or more yds. of woods going in either direction from where my set up is. Estimate that 1 sq. acre is between 70-75 yds long X 70- 75 yds wide.
(just to be roughly close)
so if you needed 300 yds or so, you will need 4 acres going out from you in 4 different directions. Front, back, left, right.
So I figure for 1 person you should have atleast16 acres of woods ( just so you are not crowding each other too much and it will give your other hunters comfortable breathing room also.)
Now with all that being considered, These aremy caculations for stand hunting only. If you want to move around and do spot and stalks, then there could be need for some more land, if you dont want to be bumping into your buddies all the time.
I will say this however, you do not need alot of land to score on a deer. I have seen some of the largest deer in my woods stay right in an area of woods LESS THAN 5 ACRES
. In other words, if you can get your hands on any decent land, never assume that because it is small that deer are not there.
I think you would be comfortable with 40 or more acres....this is because you will be hunting with a party of 3. Otherwise, if you were by yourself,you could hunt on 5 acres if you wanted. I just like to think about a comfortable space when Im hunting with my friends or family.