Excitement!
 

So there is this property in "Slammerville" that I have had permission to hunt for the last 3 years. It has been in beans every year. I found outSaturday from some recon that it is finally in CORN!

The first two years only thesouth side of the field was planted. Last year both sides were planted. This year both sides will be planted with corn.

This is the area where many of you guys have saw my video clips and pictures of some fairly large whitetail's.

The property is extremely difficult to hunt when it is planted in beans as the preferred bedding areas are just off the fields edges. I know the preferred bedding areas by does and bucks on this property they are just almost impossible to setup on with the beans. I have only got to hunt this property once in the morning because of no good entry exit routes and saw a pretty good buck that morning, one I may regret on passing to this day.

Here is the map...

The west blue spot is a beaver dammed swamp in two places causing the large and small pool, it has a deep beaver cut "creek" connecting them.

The other blue area is an actual swamp that is bedded fairly heavily by the higher caliber bucks.

The yellow dots are stand sites that I have used and had some good sits in.

I have yet to take a buck from this farm and this property is my #1 shot at taking down a true monster buck. It isn't large enough to hunt a lot so a lot of thought and planning needs to go into each sit here. Also, I am not the only person in these woods so I have that obstacle to overcome as well, two amish and the property owners son-in-law.

What do you guys see that I am overlooking?

Winds are mostly W-SW.





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RE: Excitement!
 

You didn't invite me to join you LOL:D

RE: Excitement!
 

I always wanted to hunt Ohio!!:)

You got the GPS coordinates?;)

RE: Excitement!
 

Hmm..of the huntable square it looks like your previous stands have all been placed in strategic places. I can see your thought process for picking each one. Without discernable terrain changes I cannot add anything, except confidence in your first choices. The 2 northen most, stands would be 1st choices..from pics alone.

RE: Excitement!
 

I agree with Gr8, but I like the south dot. Can you get permission from the folks beyond you there to walk in? Coming in the back door in the morning while they are out feeding.

RE: Excitement!
 

Scott - where are your available parking spots? It helps to know the means of ingress/egress when you're picking stand sites.

I'm guessing that the field edges are thick and brushy, and are known bedding areas?

What kind of action do the field corners get in the evenings? I'm guessing there will be some scrape lines along the edges once the prerut starts heating up.

RE: Excitement!
 

Good for you, Scott. I hope you get the one you're after.

Good luck.

RE: Excitement!
 

The biggest rule of thumb I've seen/heard with corn, if there is corn, they are in it. At least with beans, you can see them. I usually can't wait til they cut the darn corn fields to put the animals back in the woods, funnels etc...some years they don't cut til after my archery season is over and I can tell you, I see more and bigger bucks when the corn is not there.

RE: Excitement!
 

This mirrors everything I've heard, too. I'd like to hear more about this from you guys who hunt big woods and/or big corn fields.

The (admittedly) smaller fields we have here ......whether they actually DO, or not....have the reputation of holding bedded deer. Around here.....people can't wait for them to cut it. We actually hope for a good growing season....so they'll get it cut and the "perception" (at least) will go away.

As to not hijack....I'll start another thread asking about this.

RE: Excitement!
 

I saw something I would love to try out sometime, and it may work in your situation as well. Pretty sure it wasa Drury movie I saw this in, a corn chute. Possibly you could pay the farmer the small cost of cutting a 3' wide by like.......60 yards long in a strategic spot and set a stand next to it. I'm sure you know the theory behind that.

Other than that, I sure don't see where else you could put a stand that would benefit you in any way. But then again, you know the "expert" that I am....[&:][&o]

RE: Excitement!
 

Negative, I was shot down by every neighboring landowner for hunting permission or access.

All the way to the East by the farm house and barns. It is a long walk back!

Yes, but mostly for does and yearling bucks... The higher caliber bucks hideout in the swamp areas.

Exactly now I can get into the timber without running every single deer out of the area! This is why the corn will be a huge advantage. Not every deer is going to bed in the corn all the time and they must come out for water and to check the doe bedding areas as well. A strategically placed stand capitalizing on this and I am in buisness. I took my largest racked buck using this tactic. (setting up between a large corn field and a known doe bedding area. He chased her from the corn in the A.M. right past my setup. Game over:D

I like when the corn has not been cut at all. The later the corn is there the more security cover / food source they have to keep them around my area. I have the security, food andwater they have all they need to stick around.

I have had a lot of success seeing bucks coming from the fields to the timber in the evenings as well. I think the corn gives them a higher sense of security to get up and movefrom the corn fields to the timbered bedding and vice versa.

RE: Excitement!
 

Interesting, Scott....and a heckuva positive approach/game plan.

Again....good luck.

RE: Excitement!
 

Scott, I think you'll be in business with the corn. From your only parking access point, you'll be able to slip through the corn largely undetected.

With a prevailing wind out of the W/SW, you're looking at a scenario where a bigbedded buck (in the corn)might come off the corn field and cruise the westernmost edge of the field (easternmost edge of the woods), scent-checking for bedded does and running his scrape line. If you can slip in there, and keep scent clean, it could be a great sit.

Personally, I have two stand sets overlooking what (was) corn last year. Both spots are 18-22' up, and nestled in the leafy field edge. You can glass the fields for hours, looking for those shaking corn stalks. I'd swear that on a really crispy, dry, calm night, you can hear a deer in the cornfield from a mile away.

I've taken two pretty nice bucks out of a cornfield edge, and both of them were taken at least two hours before dark. Weird how they felt so comfortable cruising the corn's edge at 4-5:00 in the afternoon. Normally, when those places were beans, you wouldn't see a deer until :30 minutes before dark, at the earliest.

RE: Excitement!
 

Right on.... Also, with a true SW wind I can tuck in justeastthewestern mostswamp bedding area so my wind does not go into it and capitalize on movement from the corn and swamp bedding area.

This is much the same as I have noticed over the years hunting the farms when corn is planted..... I swear it eases their nerves and they move much more freely about. If danger presents itself to them they are just a few bounds away from a sea of security cover.

RE: Excitement!
 

Scott

What is planted in the field east of the big slough/bedding areathat you don't have access to??

Looks like the trees are thin on the very SW corner of that field bordering your hunting property line. Would there be a major trail/slight funnel/man made drainage ditch or natural /open tree area or a combination of suchconnecting both the field you can hunt and this other field at that spot through the trees.

Tim

RE: Excitement!
 

That Place looks awefully familiar...........[:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-][:-]

RE: Excitement!
 

Corn is planted in the Eastern most half of the field with weeds in the Western half. I think the western half was to wet for them to plow and plant this spring.

The area you are speaking of is a good looking spot with a couple nice Oak trees mixed into that very same area. The problem with this spot is the property owners kids have a "fort" there, the first stand I set wasright were you are speaking ofon the property I can access the first year I hunted there and they (I assume it was them) stole my lock on and climbing sticks. I set the stand in I would guess May and I went to hunt the property the first timetowards the end of the second week of October on a perfect NE wind, I found my "tree" but not my stand.I never have saw those kids in the woods when I was out there but after my stand was stolen I never went back down to that end.

I don't think those kids go back there to often because of how heavily the swamp area there is bedded. Thanks for bringing it up, I should go check it out again to see if those kids have grown up or if they still play back there.


Only if you live in NE Ohio

RE: Excitement!
 

Only if you live in NE Ohio
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I'm just raz'in....try'in to make you feel a little paranoid....looks like a great place, and your stands look pretty good as well..;)