Rick James

I have posted pics here in the past of my family property but haven't gotten much feedback. This property has been in the family for almost 70 years however I have not hunted it until the 2005 season. Previous to that my father owned another farm a few towns away that we hunted hard so it wasn't necessary to hunt here. Just finishing up my second season on it, I have a good handle on the movement but still learn something new every time I hunt it.

Wind primarily blows towards the northeast. Sometimes in the evenings (rarely) it will blow towards the south/southwest. I do have 12 stands currently on the property but still haven't had time to hunt them all and there are lots of them that have only been hunted 1-2 times. Deer population is dense here, I personally know of about 7 antlered bucks that were seen here this year, as well as 7 different family groups of doe/fawns.

I can update pics later with the sign that has been seen on this property but am curious to see what others would focus on and why.

Green dots represents foodplots that are mixed between summer/fall/winter forage types, and red dots represent apples. The property was a 500+ acre orchard so there are lots of apples mixed in to the woods in various places that still drop occasional apples from year to year.

huntingson

To me, the topo here is not that helpful since the land has only gradual terrain changes and the food plot in the SE corner is on the flat top that I would have scouted for buck sign. Obviously, I would want to hunt around that because of the food plot, but even if it wasn't there it would have been a point of interest for me. I would first scout along that creekand try to find where they are crossing it. Even relatively small creeks can have some significant funnels on them that will cause deer to prefer crossing at certain places. They also seem to want to bed near creeks often enough. Also, the area north of the creek looks like it may be thick and brushy which would add to my desire to scout that creek. Honestly, that is a tough piece to tell by maps and a topo. It just doesn't seem to have any major, obvious funnels other than around the food plots. Sorry man, but I would have to walk that place to help you any more.

BobCo19-65

I'd probably start in this area:

Austin/WI

I too would focus on the water right away. For early and late seasons especially, the water will be key. If you can locate spots where they go to drink and cross, you can locate most other important areas from circling out from those points.

From there I would obviously look at the plots and apples. If you can find too and from routes between those areas and some of the denser thickets you can increase your chances at getting a shot at some deer. I think all of that goes without needing to jump deeper into it.

The last thing I would do is try to find a small clump of those scattered apples that have some real thick cover near it and prefferably close to the water. That area would be a spot I would keep an eye on all season, but no hunt. If the deer use the area occasionally, I would watch it for the late season/Last ditch hunts. That little low pressure, secluded spot could hold a ton of deer in the late season.

davidmil

Huntingson... how can you say the topo is of little use and shows not much elevation changes. You being from flat Ohio and all. There is in fact an elevation change of 260 feet plus on this map. I'd call that some pretty good terrain changes.

HAZCON7

I was wondering the same thing David.

davidmil

Not being able to tell the type of vegetation we're all sort of guessing. But to me it looks good in a lot of places. If you have that many stands up you've probably got it covered. I'd say all the pinch points and travel ways leading to the food plots and apples. One particularly interesting area would be south of that pond on the west. You got food sources in a couple directions and this appears to be the only way they have cover coming and going. Probably more a morning deal. Lots of places to look. Lots of water. Some terrain changes I'd pay particular attention to glassing the neighboring lands to see where the deer come out there from your area.

Rick James

Good stuff so far guys, several places have been mentioned so far that deer have been killed and/or sighted in.

Keep in mind my property is in the orange border. I do have access to the property to the west and south but not to the east or north.

Keep em coming and later today I will post up a revised pic with current stand locations. The reason I am looking for feedback is because I know thereis more than one mature buck on this property but encounters with them during open season has been sporadic at best.

Buckeye? I would love to hear your feedback on this patch..........

I

buckeye

My 2 cents........

Pink- Nice funnel and inside corner connecting your lot to the neighbors.

White- Looks like a classic chasing location, appears to be level ground along the creek that should get a fair share of traffic.

Purple- A perfect ridge top ambush. Between the white and purple you have your thermals covered for this setup.

Blue- Again another small funnel connecting your woods to the large hill to the SE.

Yellow- A nice water hole funnel that looks like where a lot of deer would cross the road to the north through this strip as well.

This place looks like it would be a lot of fun to hunt. Whats the quality of your bucks there? Good luck!

dukemichaels

I'd throw in a suggestion if you could show any rubs and the side of the tree they're rubbed on. Maybe just some letters showing this? something like.. W, so the rub is on the west side.. E, rub is on the east side... etc.

I don't hunt rubs.. only use them as major pieces in picturing a bucks travel routine. (if you could call it this). Scrapes are helpful at times too.

Also curious to how far out can you hunt on the west and south sides of your property?