Is there enough woods?
 

Hey guys, I recently got permission to hunt 500 acres in Eastern Illinois. The only problem is about 475 acres of it is row crop. It is not one continuous farm, it is split up in different pieces. The first picture is about a 12 acre woodlot and I know it holds deer, but is the little treeline and woodlot in the second picture big enough to funnel or hold deer? And which one would be more conducive for you to hunt?

Depending on sign, I have to think the top one would be your best bet. It looks like a good amount of woods and when the rut starts the bucks will be moving to check that area for hot does. I think if you could put a stand on that small funnel leading up to the bigger spot of woods you could have some luck. It looks like there is enough woods bordering it that it will hold deer. I think the best bet would be to pick up a trail camera and see what you have coming through and at what times. Nothing better on a new set of property than a trail camera to see whats there and what time they are coming through. Good Luck!

Also, where are the property lines on the woods? You might have some better spots if you can go into the woods a little more.

On the two tracts, what is highlighted in green is the only woods I can hunt. I wish I could hunt the bigger woods that you see in the bordering tracts, but I cannot.

After what I have seen gets hunted in Kansas, it is enough woods. At least one spot for you to focus on in the 1st pic is the southern end of your timber where it pinches down. The deer will use the timber for cover to travel and you want to be where you can see everything that is coming through. In the 2nd pic, at the SW end of the property, where the timber starts to widen. That is where you want to focus your attention. The NE end may be too close to the road for you to do any good. The key though is getting in there as soon as possible to see where your sign is and scouting mornings and evenings from a distance with binocs, to know where there are moving. You could use cameras, but at this late date you may not want to get in there and spread anymore scent than you absolutely have to. Binocs, from the truck would be my choice.

That looks like awesome hunting land to me. You need to get a game cam up somewhere around to start seeing what's passing. Is it close enough to you that you could do some scouting or is it just a drive down and hunt for a day or two kind of thing?

The bigger wood lot is going to be better down at the bottom where the pinch-point is as DeerDust mentioned...the second picture with the strip of woods could work out as the crops get harvested and the Deer need cover...do as dpv stated and set up a trail camera in both area's to see whats moving thru there!You could also hunt each different area seperately when the wind is right in either one?

looks to me like you have some nice travel corridors to hunt, I would get some cameras out there and start scouting.

I wish I could hunt the bigger woods that you see in the bordering tracts

Another thing that could help your chances if you could have the farmer leave some crops just to the north of the woods on the picture. I'd give him what you can afford and if he could leave a few rows or beans/corn, those deer would bed in the surrounding woods but use that pinch point to come through and head to the standing crops. I've seen some guys bag some big deer on small plots because they leave some standing crops up for them to come to. If you can get the does there with some food you will get the bucks.