Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

List them out, what do you like about your main spot, what do you NOT like about it
(feel free to list out all your spots if you like)

Main hunting area
Pros
Good bedding area
Usually low bow season hunting pressure
Lots of deer
Generally able to get up a tree anywhere I need to.
Usually a decent acorn crop

Cons
Entire property is either field or bedding area, very little “transition” type.
No close agriculture and there are other good bedding areas closer to the food
The oaks are in, or very close to the bedding areas
Lots of non-hunting pressure year round (quads, firewood cutting, random trespassers, kids partying, trash dumping)
Extreme gun season and late season hunting pressure
Access is tricky, unless you hunt 50 yds from the road, odds are you have to walk past deer to hunt the rest of the property.
Best hunted in a north, northeast wind. Prevailing wind is south, SW & west.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:

There's deer there

Cons:

They're not all 175-class and above bucks. :(

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

All of my spots have:
Pros: TREMENDOUS potential to grow big bucks.Good cover, fair amount of food and very good genetics.

Cons: Plain and simple hunting pressure. I am confident that if I could have any of the 3 primary farms I hunt on TO MYSELF with exclusive rights and it was archery only I could hang a mature buck on a consistent if not yearly basis.
Problem is that the deer go nocturnal, get pounded in archery AND rifle season and the ones that are smart escape to a few unhuntable patches to live out the season in peace revisiting the core area and destination feed fields at night.

If you do not have a lease, or be lucky enough to have a family farm or some other Honey set up 9 times out of 10 if you get permission to hunt a particular farm or patch of woods there are already 1/2 dozen or more guys hunting it. Its not hard to get permission on many farms here in SC PA, whats hard is getting permission on ones where other guys aren't going to screw it up from the opening bell.
It's so bad that I am heading up to my one landowner's place this week to throw some cash and a plea at him to give me exclusive bow rights to the property.

I can't take it anymore. It CAN be done but you have to set yourself up perfectly for opening day or at most the first 3 days or so of the season OR rely on some sort of forced movement to see a buck in daylight where I hunt.
After that you might as well almost put your stuff away until Nov 1st and then when you finally see a buck or 2 on it's feet again the second week of Nov, season is OVER ,thanks for playing ,see ya again next year.
:eek:

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
1. Ag on two sides
2. Plenty of watering holes
3. Bedding on property and nearby
4. Plenty of movement through the property
5. Stands placed to where I can hunt no matter what the wind direction
6. Monsters go through on a regular basis
7. I'm the only bow hunter on this and the neighboring properties

Cons:
1. One farmer does not usually harvest his corn until late December or early January
2. Poachers seem to be nearby during bow season
3. The deer are not completely predictable (which is why they call it hunting not harvesting)
4. I still have to work to support my hunting and cannot go hunting whenever I darn well please

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro
Family Owned
River Bottom
Great Cover
Bowhunting pressure is light
Con
Family Owned:D
Gun hunting Pressure is nutty[&:]

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

What I like-

Great quality buck potential at times. It goes off of the gun season.
Good size herd
Great area
A few oaks and cedars
Very thick in spots
Swamp
Low hunting pressure during the archery season

What I don't like-

Neighboring land owners that complain about no big bucks but shoot the 1st 1.5 year old they see
Gun season in the prime of the rut
Longer gun season this fall then ever before
High out of control hunting pressure during the gun season
Not a big enough chunk of land that I own
Buck quality has gone down hill big time from what it use to be
Dogs running
Trespassers

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's- Close to home
Plenty of Deer

Con's- I am not the only one hunting it.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:

1) Plenty of trophy class bucks.
2) Great cover and funnels.
3) Great food sources.
4) Lots of does for 'bait'.

Cons:

1) Not many morning spots that are easy to get to without spooking deer.
2) Most spots are hard to hunt the wind.
3) The big bucks seldom do what you expect!

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's
Good number and genetics
Great Cover
Bedding on property
Low pressure

Con's
Bedding area are numberous
Few funnels to hunt
No crops nearby
2 hour drive

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro - Public land - nothing posted
Con - Public land - nothing posted

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's - Plenty of deer.
Weather is very good.
Get to visit with good friends at one of my spots.

Con's - It's not in my back yard (too much driving).

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

PROS
My lease starts beside my house :)
800 acres
low hunting pressure
good food source
good genitics
plenty of water
agriculture crops in three locations
old quad trails and haul roads through out for access
mixture of hard woods pines flat woods and strip minning hills, very diverse in structure.
low gun hunting pressure
turkeys everywhere :D<<<<Bam!!
cost effective $$
good trees to hunt

CONS
Recent EHD out break
to hilly in some spots to access easily
the guys that own ten acres that butt up to my honey hole that shoot everything in gun season [:@]and have permission to drive through the lease/gate to acess there property.
to many Does....we are working on that
dead zone to the cell phone service:D
to many squirles[8D]

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
Great Habitat - Pretty decent cover with some good food sources (acorns and browse)
Natural Funnel - They either have to go thru the industrial park (parking lots and buildings) or come thru the woodlot.
Easy access - but this is a con too.
Good climbing trees - I use a portable climber so it's good to have a lot of options as I usually don't hunt the same tree more than once a season if I don't have too.

Cons:
Other hunters - enough said
Easy Access - See number 1
Longevity - my guess is one day it because part of a housing plan or an expansion of the current industrial park.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's:
Lots of whitetail
Tons of exotic's
Quite a few hogs
Fair amount of turkey's
Private land
Thick cover for bedding

Con's:
No agriculteral fields in this entire region
Too thick-1200ac. of bedding...LOL
Wind swirls through the thick cedars terribly

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:

1. Little pressure
2. Proximity to home
3. Deer numbers/density is high
4. Lots of good trees
5. Good funnels/transition area
6. Good mast crops

Cons:

1. Trespassers/Poachers
2. No bedding areas
3. No ag crops
4. Deer density (does) is too high to sustain a good mix of bucks (ratio is off).
5. Relatively poor genetics
6. ONLY wind I can hunt and know I'm OK is a S wind...which is seldom the one I get.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros: LOTS of big deer. Several 150+ killed in the area last season.Also big bodies, typical bucks are 200#+ on the hoof. (Yeah Texas does have some).

Cons: 4 hour drive. The cost of fuel is making it not feasible this year. [X(]

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's
Lot's of deer
Good food plots
good friends
It's Mine

Con's
County land borders 2 sides get's pounded by gun hunters
It's considered big wood hard to pattern deer.
It takes alot of work to maintain
It's a 3 hour drive from my house.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
A lot of deer
Potential to grow good size deer
No rifle hunting
Close to home/work
Very bowhunting friendly
Land owners very good people

Cons:
A lot of hunting pressure
A lot of deer, but many are does/1.5 year old bucks
Shotgun hunting
Very small properties
Surrounded by Posted/Refuge/otherwise inaccessible land that deer stick to when pressured
Deer are not given opportunity to reach potential
Tresspassers
Poachers
Have to watch to not offend landowner's neighbors
Dogs walkers/joggers/mountain bikers/party kids/dirt bikers/meth heads/various other types of pressure
Other hunters not always considerate (i.e. they will try to sabotage your hunt)

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's: plenty of deer
close by
bowhunting only
I know it well
good habitat
some nice oak/beech tree's nearby
fairly low hunting pressure
Con's:it's public
very few "big" bucks[&o]
poor buck/doe ratio

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
No other hunting pressure
lots of good sized deer
Good weather

Cons:
3 hour drive from my house
thickest woods you have ever seen, seriously.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's

Illinois and Wisconsin.
Don't have a main hunting area.

Con's

Illinois and Wisconsin public land hunters.
Don't have a main hunting area.

Word my brothers and sisters.. word.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Good Topic

Pros: Family Farm, good amount of acres (farmland, now all food plots after the selling of the cows), a HUGE swamp, our land surrounds an 80 acre lake, low hunting pressure, Management plan, lots of known travel corridors, "four" wheeler trails.

Cons: a HUGE swamp, Rifle hunting pressure by relatives, Nearby hunters/farmers "it's brown it's down" (hopefully changing their ways, this year)

Overall, our farm can be a great, prime piece of hunting land. If the nearby farmers get with the plan, it WILL be.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Huron County Michigan

Pro's
550 acres of prime land, corn, beats, beans, clover, lots of woods
Only 7 hunters for the 550 acres,
Great land owner and family...Like family to me
Great memories & great friends at deer camp
Tons of deer and 90% shot opportunity
Plenty of thickets & water holes
Buck to Doe ratio is right on the money (Finally)

Cons
Can not seem to find a buck that will score higher than 120 B&C (1 buck rule -8points prefer 3.5 yrs)
Surrounding hunters are shooting small bucks (But its getting better)
Some of the hunters in camp(my friends) are not as serious and somewhat loud and noticeable to the deer:)
The younger generation has been killing nice deer during the youth hunt (Farmers kids)..
2 hour drive...can not hunt as much because of my responsibilities at home with wife and kids.

End result....thinking of getting away from the 1 buck rule and just letting the property rest for a few years....Maybe the 3.5 year old 8 pointer will make it back the next year if we just start letting them grow along with the 4's, 6's and tight 8's.

But its a true blessing to hunt this property...

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Marquette County WI
Pros are family owned farm, 340 acres 1/2 woods 1/2 food with three average size ponds. Two people hunt my father and I. My father doesn't bowhunt till rut but usually fills his tag with in his first week. About One buck for every three does. One neighbor doesnt hunt or let people hunt on their 240 acres. Other neighbor hunts about 1100 acres and harvests a lot of does and lets 2.5 and 3.5 walk.

Cons are not enough time to hunt, I don't get time to scout. Earn a buck, early T-Zone, Ag tags.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

welll i got one for you i have hunted every year since i turned 18 i am now 23
i did not hunt one year because i moved
well last year i got on some privit land
this year not going to happen
so i get to find a new spot on public land
one good thing i scouted some last year so i got a few starting points.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro:

A great funnel!

Con:

pressure.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

I really have it pretty good.MY spots seem to be getting better every year,more land has been re-planted in hard woods so they have a lot more cover,I don't have much hunting pressure because it is private land,there is plenty of places for bedding and cover,sometimes it seems too much,water is plentyfull,I have acorn trees and some persimmon trees,the deer herd itself is growing and I have begun to see a better class of bucks.the cons are is that the woods themself are on the small side,the deer tend to go nocturnal with just slight hunting pressure,there is a country road that gets traveled all the time and it runs right through my hunting area and the deer get harassed sometimes so foodplots are not a very good idea because people will shoot off the highway,but i know i have it really good because I have private land to hunt which is tough to find around here,hunting clubs are very expensive.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
Lots of natural funnels
Really ruff ground
Not a lot of bowhunting pressure
Big Buck area
Lots of deer
Good mix of woods and crops
I OWN IT!!

Cons:
I didn't get any food plots planted this spring
Too many natural funnels
Getting to and from stands may be a problem
Don't know all of the neighbors yet
First year hunting it

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

pro-i see deer almost every morning
con-live in mass got houses left and right and everyone hates hunting

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro:

Lots of nice deer, good habitat, little bow pressure

and im related to the whole township

Cons:

Lots of gun pressure, all private property

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

and im related to the whole township

[quote]

Sooooo you saying that polygamy is practice in your town

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:

Light pressure during archery and muzzleloading season.
Good mast crops.
Lots of deer.
Proven genetics.
QDM practiced on ~1500 acres bordering.
Easy access (its right behind my house).
265 acres.
My brother, dad, and I do all the managing and majority of the hunting = great times.
Established food plots and mineral stations.
Improving buck to doe ratio.
Plenty of water sources.
Southside of ridge.

Cons:

My cousin hunts on it and hes a moron.
Not nearly thick enough.
Bucks bed off property during offseason- making glassing and scouting bucks during the summer difficult.
Not nearly thick enough.
Just enough dip wads border one corner of the property to triple the pressure.
Too steep in many areas to hunt (used as sanctuaries).

Overall- not a bad place to be in the fall.:)

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pros:
lots of deer for only 200 acres
lots and lots of white oaks and other oaks
great cover
big powerline running through my land (great for rifle hunting)
enough water
no pressure from other hunters
very little pressure on neighboring properties
get along and trust neighbors
my land is only 50 minutes from my home and my work

Cons:
poor soil, hard to grow successful plots without spending a fortune
neighbors have too many dogs
cutting in the general area has decreased the number of turkeys[:@]
really, not too many cons. It's a great little deer hunting spot.

RE: Pros & Cons of YOUR hunting area
 

Pro's- big beautiful/rugged mountainous forested country that bucks can grow old in..

Con's- 2 month long right through the entire rut"anyweapons season" which means rifle for most season.. lots of logging roads..road hunters everywhere during the rifle season..