Balancing act: deer, rabbit, turkey hunting and hiking
 

Just trying to see if anyone else out there has the same dilemma that I do.My spouse andIown a working farm that is 140 acres. Nothing big time, just a little farming to supplement income to our "real" jobs and some good old fashioned outdoor work to ease the stress from said jobs. LOL!

Here's the thing. I love to hike through my woods. I love to fall turkey hunt. I love to rabbit hunt with the dogs. And oh yes, of course, I love to deer hunt. But I find myself staying out of the woods so I don't mess up the deer hunting. We let a few other people that don't own their own land deer hunt on our place too and I find I don't want to mess up their hunting either. But then I feel like I am denying myself some of the pleasure I get from owning this farm by not hiking in the off season or rabbit/turkey hunting when the seasons overlap. I usually save rabbithunting for January/February, but that can get pretty iffy because the snowcan get too deep by then.Fall turkey just overlaps with the rut plain and simple. I am not even a trophy deer hunter and could care less about shooting a big buck (although I wouldn't turn one down either :D). Some of the other guys are big buck hunters though. Still the deer seem to go nocturnal so quick once hunting seasons start. Some years, by the time gun season rolls around, I never see a deer during daylight unless it is jumped from its bed. I'm sure it's because of all the bow hunting that goes on in the weeks before deer gunseason. Add rabbit and turkey into the mix and maybe the deer would just find other areas to bed until after hunting seasons are over (there are plenty of neighbors who don't allow hunting).

Dang, I know there is no right or wrong answer here and it is my own land to use asI wish, but this is really a dilemma for me.

Just wondering if anyone else out there ponders this stuff and how you have resolved it?

RE: Balancing act: deer, rabbit, turkey hunting and hiking
 

Man, what a problem to have.... wish I had such a problem!;)

With 140 acres I'd carve out some areas for myself and tell all the others that you so graciously allow to hunt to stay out of your "inner sanctum". I think I'd be carrying a 20 gauge for most of my hiking and switch to a 12 guage when turkey and deer are in the mix.

RE: Balancing act: deer, rabbit, turkey hunting and hiking
 

Create brush piles for the rabbits. Do this close to trails that way you dont disturb the deer to bad. Fall turkey season falls on bowhunting deer, so if I see a big tom, its turkey season, a buck, its deer season! Fall turkey is a bonus second season, so when fall comes around, deer are my main concern.