NY Bowhunter

wonderful! The area I hunt is being invaded by farming! I primarily hunt on a 500 acre plot of land(prime little honey hole). It consists mainly of food plots seperated by small batches of woods and hedgerows. There's a few big swail lots (nice bedding areas) that have been unfarmed in the past. They harvested the soybeans and corn a couple weeks ago and I thought that was it. Now they are in there mowing down the swail fields[:@] and are doing their winter plowing on the crop fields they have harvested!! Man I was set up nice in some super funnels between bed and breakfast. Now I don't know what the heck to think. The rut is coming and action is just starting to pick up. They will probably be in there for the rest of bowseason. Ripping up their beds and tilling up their food. Oh man I'm screwed I think.
I know the farmers have to do what they have to do it's their living and I respect that. I'm just venting cause I need a quick plan B and don't really have one cause I didnt' expect this.

micdundee

Ouch that's rough.

kec

get into the woods. With all that being cut, its gonna force the deer into the woods. Set up on intersecting trails until ya can get a better idea what the deer are doing.

rybohunter

Yea make the best of it, get in the woods and wait it out. Deer in the rut will be running around whether people are mowing, plowing, logging. Good luck.

John Deer

NY,

Are there any hardwoods on the property? If so, I'd try checking to see if they're producing and if the deer have been hitting them. If so, you may have some luck setting up there. Just a thought.[&:]

zak123

I had something like that happen to me. I had a spot all planned out with three shooting lanes. I had the perfect treestand tree. About a month before the season, my father sold it! I was pretty mad, but he bought another seventy acres to replace the twenty he sold.

badshotbob

NY - I've been hunting the same 40 acres for 20+ years. I've seen this sort of thing happen often. Our 40 is a cedar swamp joining hardwoods to the south, and hay/corn fields to the east/west/north. The deer don't mind. For whatever reason, they still travled out into the plowed ground. I've seen buck after buck go running around in that stuff with their nose to the ground like a bird dog. Rut is on my friend, that'll help.

oneshot/one kill

Farm machinary has little effect of deer. I have seen more big deer from tractors almost then while hunting. Some times deer will come look at the source of noise in curiousity so I wouldnt worry about the recent activity. Keep hunting.

Thundergut

Could be worse. They could be mowing it down to build houses.

adams

Tough break.

I'd be looking for secondary bedding and it's relative location to food. I know the swail is prefered but if you can locate some good thickets. The mast should still be considered and I wouldn't rule out your classic funnels yet. And as BSB said so eliquently, The rut is our friend. The bucks will be cruising