bighorn11

I hunt south central Missouri (the Ozarks) and we are certainly in hill/brush country. In my opinion there is no way you could safely hunt 6 people on 80 acres. However, I do think 4 would be just about right. Sometimes during our rifle season I look for an extra guy or two to come hunt our property. When the rifles start booming the deer lay low. I've found that extra scent and people in the woods keeps the deer on they're feet. Heck, I've got a buddy that hunts 4 guys on 20 acres. They all sit the corners. What I'm trying to say is don't let everyone scare you into thinking you can't hunt over 2 guys. That is completely ridiculous. Matter of fact 6 may work in your part of the country. I forgot you guys are shotgun only.

TRACKER

I own a 80 acre lot . its abought 25% fields with 10% plots .
The rest is soft and hard woods .
I hunt it 90 % alone .
I,d say 2 to 3 hunters max on 80 acres ..
Just my 2 cents...

Schultzy

That's allot of scent In the air. I wouldn't do It If It was me.

skb2706

I think five hunters on 25,000 acres is too many. Do you guys hold hands or something while your hunting.

Lanse couche couche

1 per 5000 acres is crowded. That must be some damn low deer population density if you need that much room.

fishguts

Does your wife know you call yourself Lanse couche couche?

Lanse couche couche

Let me check with her and see...oops...I don't have a wife!!!!

skb2706

The difference being, we can see our deer from miles. We don't wait for them to stumble by, we sneak up on them from afar. Deer density number don't mean shxt if you know where they are and just have to figure out how to get to them. 25,000 acres of private farm land is just about right for five guys. We never see any other hunters either.

Lanse couche couche

Density numbers mean quite a bit if you need 5000 per person to make a decent hunt and have to sneak up on them from miles away

I've got access to 14,000 acre farm in southwest Louisiana prairie country and don't really recall a situation when I needed more than about 600 acres of it. But it is nice to have plenty of elbow room if you don decided to roam around a bit.

Overall, i thinkthat Iwould prefer to share an 80 acre wood lot with a couple folks, though to chasing them across the Llano Estacado or some place like that.

gmil6184

I'm surprised how many people are saying they need hundreds or even thousands of acres per person! I must admit my family and I are pretty spoiled in that we have over 600 acres of private land to hunt and generally there is only about 4 of us hunting at any one time. However a lot of that land is wide open fields so the percentage of that 600 acres we actually hunt is probably much much smaller. My point is that I think you could certainly hunt 6 guys on 80 acres, it might not be ideal but i think it can be done.

I would pick out your brushiest and nastiest ten acres or so in the middle of your land and designate it as a refuge where no one hunts. That will help hold deer on your land. Maybe think about clearing a few small food plots, that will also bring in deer from surrounding areas and hold them on your land. Lastly I would make a rule that you can only stand hunt, that would limit the amount of scent you spread across the property and would prevent you from pushing too many deer around. I also am shocked how many people think that 6 people to 80 acres isn't "safe"...well no it isn't safe if you are slinging lead all over the place like a wild man, but if you are taking one or two well aimed shots at a deer I hardly see the safety risk. You said it was pretty thick so most shots should be fairly close. If you enforce the tree stands only rule then you can also ensure that all shots are aimed down so even if you miss the shots will go right into the ground. Safety is completely human dependant, and has nothing to do with how big of a piece of land you have but that's just my humble opinion.