shoot em up man

I just got a new place to hunt and know nothing about it. I know it is extremly thick and hard to get into. A buddy of mine says that it might be too close to the season to do much with. I could ruin the hunting by going in a wandering around disturbing things. Is this true? How else would you know where to put a stand without scouting it out some? How long would you wait to hunt once you have found a location, and hung a stand. Would this change their travel route to where I would have to repeat the process? If so, sounds like I could be running around all winter. Any help and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Tazman

What you need to do is what I call hit and run scouting, take your stand if you use a tree stand in with you when you scout, find the best place you can set a stand, set it, cut your lanes, determine you ways to and from your stand and get out!!!! This method will be far better than going in and scouting all day, then coming back another day to cut shooting lanes and hanging a stand when it is near the beginning of the season.

If you are in and out like I say it will only shake up the deer one time, they will go right back to their normal patterns in no time. How big is this piece of property?

Strut&Rut

Like Taz mentioned, give us an idea of size...it does matter

No joking though, if it' s larger than 20-30 acreas get out the topo and aerial maps. That will help you locate water, possible funnels and ridges, all three good places to start.

If it' s as thick as you say and less than 30 acres, you can still look at an aerial. I' ve found topos hide too many funnels and saddles on small pieces, simply because on small pieces a saddle may be a 5 foot depression only 10 feet across.

An aerial might show you some small openings though, nice for hanging a stand.

S&R

BobCo19-65

I agree with Taz. Only thing I' d add would be after you hang your stand leave it for a week or so. Or hunt it immediately, then leave it a week or so. Also, don' t do a lot of trimming.

shoot em up man

The woods is approximately 15 acres.

Here is a link to the aerial map. I hope it works:

http://terraserver-usa.com/addressim...78468746299995

Tazman

You may be able to set up 2 stands without messing things up, maybe 3. I would not set more than one a day though and give it at least 2-3 days before setting the next. Start at one end of the property and set a stand, wait 2-3 days and set one at the far end, then 2-3 more and set one in the middle area.

The lay of the land is important, you may only have one spot in the whole 15 acres that will be a good place to put a stand, you may have many more, it is all determined by the lay of the land.

Phil J.

Sounds all like good advice, all I would add is go in while it is raining or right prior to when rain is forecasted, that is always a bonus to help wash things away. My wife always shakes her head when it' s pouring out and I tell her I' m heading in the woods!!

Yeah definitely don' t go in multiple times to scout/trim/hang stand. Do it all in one trip, try to keep it low impact if it' s close to the season, then get out and don' t come back till you decide to hunt it.

BobCo19-65

That is a very good point. I try to do most of my trimming in the rain or just before.

Martin Cougar

Good advice so far. Like it has been said - do your work in 1 day and then give it a week or so before you hunt it. Winter will be a great time to fine tune your spot. The snow will allow you to find trails, bedding areas and to better assess your deer population.

MA Jay

Looking at the aerial shot you posted I would recommend hanging a stand on the down wind side of 1 of those small open fields that are east and west of the block. Depending on the wind you can pick the side that works, plus those tree lines are not attached to the main block of woods allowing you to get in there without being detected. Watching those 2 small fields should give you an idea of where the deer like to enter them allowing you to do either use a climber or hang a stand then sit it that afternoon.

Looks like a great setup .. and I agree with Phil about rain .. if it is raining it' s a great time to set up a stand.