Need some help on hunting a new property
 

I am home from college, and a friend of mine that is a realtor got permission to hunt some property. I am in NW GA right on the TN line. All I know about the property is that it is 100 acres. I know that this is not telling much, but that is why I am having difficulty. I was wondering if anyone has any good tips on putting together a pattern on the fly. We are going in the Evening, so I will at least be able to see where I am going. Also this land is not usually hunted, so there are no stands put up. I am at a loss, so any tips would be appreciated.

I was thinking that I would just look for a water source, and find a trail leading to it, and set up off of the trail. I will have to use a ground blind because my stand is back at home. I am not sure if anyone can help, but as I said I would appreciate any comments.

by the way I will be able to hunt this property at least one other time, so if nothing else I will be able to scout around, and find a decent set-up for next time.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

Get the best aerial photo you can find and a topo map. The realtor should be able to help you there. Look for the obvious fields for feeding areas. See if you can get a climbing stand.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

I would drive around the property and find a food source or a feeding area if possible and then scout my way into that area into the wind and the first place you find a heavily used trail set up on the down wind side.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

It would probably pay off to take the first morning to scout, rather than just sitting down and depending on blind luck. You may think you're wasting a morning, but it will pay off the rest of the weekend. Just slip along very slowly and listen a-lot....you may very well kill one doing that.
Look for the "edge"....you know our woods are so open now and what little acorns we had in Ga. are about gone, so it's probably a waste of time to set up in open oaks. Thickets along the creeks, young pines, etc. are the way to go. If you can find Privet thickets along the bottoms that is probably where the deer will be this late in the season...they're mowing the stuff down right now.

Good Luck!

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

There is no substitute for knowing the lay of the land and how deer use and travel in it. This takes a lot of walking and observing. To just drop into an area set up a stand and take a deer would be very lucky. Start scouting for next year now. Look and learn from the sign you see. Find out where the deer bed ,feed and their routes to and from, in all weather conditions and wind directions. 100 acres is not a lot of property to scout , spend a day going over it then you will have a start where to go. Small things can mke all the difference. I have a stand that is at the transition from hardwoods to cedar swamp, there is also a slight ridge line there. The boys out west would laugh at what I call a ridge. The change in elevation is only about 4 feet , but the deer funnel along this slight ridge. If you move 50 yds into the cedar or into the hardwoods you woun't see a track.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

I would say that you definitely need to scout the area some. It's hard to see a deer, much less shoot a nice deer if you haven't scouted the area some. Scout the first day, hunt the second.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

If it's fenced walk the fence line to see where deer are crossing. If not just look for well used trails and set up off of where it looks like two or more converge.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

I went and walked the land today. The Property is great. It is all wooded, which I don't usually hunt. It is basically on the top of a mountain. The main portion of the property is a small valley with a small stream running the length of it. The property does have two stands on a ridge overlooking the valley. They are old, but seemed sturdy. The valley is divided up by small ridges and points. On one point there was a bedding area. I found two rubs, and several sets of prints and droppings. I also found a path, which is pretty much the only way into the valley. on the farthest ridge there is a small ground blind that is still usable. To the right of this is a fence line that is the property line about 150 yds. behind it is the path in, and behind that is a cliff that only has one point that could be walked up surrounding that is a rockslide that feeds the small stream in the valley. There are places for a ground blind on the rocks. This has a relatively open view of the stream, and the valley. The biggest problem is that there is very little room to shoot. there is not much underbrush, but there is a lot of small trees that block shooting lanes. There are a good number of oak trees, but it is too late in the year for those. There are also rubs all along the path in. I was told that the owner has seen a twelve pointer a couple of times from a distance. That is unheard of around here. Thanks for all of the imput, and I hope I gave everybody a decent picture of what it looks like. I will be allowed to hunt this property anytime according to the owner, and he has decided to pull it off of the market which is very good news to me.

RE: Need some help on hunting a new property
 

Good luck finding the buck! A poet and I didn't even ........ We expect pictures and a full report.