wsca37

I recently purchased my first deer hunting parcel in Western Kentucky. It’s 58 acres. The property is 60% soft woods (some mature timber but not much), 30% in conifers, has a 2 acre food plot, a few creeks that run through it, and It also has a 2 acre low spot thats holds water. The property is bordered on the north, south, and west sides by large agriculture fields, the east side is bordered by 2 houses and a road and the east side has some horse pastures bordering the property. Also a road to the south.



My question is, is this enough acreage to hold mature deer if I am not connected to a larger tract of timber? There are large timber tracts within 1-2 miles of my property. I suppose the conifers provide good bedding area, but in the late winter the soft woods looks awful the deer can see right through it and there is no bottom growth. Would you recommend hinge cuts? What would you recommend in the food plot spring/fall? i thought about planting apple/pear trees in a corner of the plot. I am also concerned on stand access as the entrance to the property is on the west end of the property and all the conifer bedding is on the east. Any and all info and help is appreciated. I will try and attach pictures. Any recommendations to get some big bucks in here?



As for the last picture:



the blue is water (not including creeks that run through the property), the brown is conifers/grasses/bedding area, the white line is an incredibly steep drop off, the yellow is a food plot, and the red X’s are possible stand locations.

mrbb

this is a loaded question, as size of land is not always as important as HOW a deer feels about a place,
some deer will stay in very small amounts of land there whole lives and be happy and some will prefer to travel more often
all comes down to the individual deer at time

then next, it comes down to pressure and disturbances on your land, over other lands near you
then comes down to HOW many DOE, your land will hold
as come the rut, love in the air, even many reclusive bucks, start to travel looking for love!

and then this plays into what is the hunting pressure on lands about and around you!
the lower the pressure, the higher the odds IMO< of bucks in general getting a chance to live long enough to be called MATURE bucks! which to me is really in the 5+ yr old range
and that's not a easy deal in MOST places
which is why many say it takes a LOT of acres to get them
or a LOT of hunters willing to hold off till they get there!(this is a hard sale to most huinters that like to pull the trigger )

now like any property, you can IMPROVE things, to be more appealing to HOLD deer, and keep em on your land, sounds like your land has what most deer NEED, now its about making them want to STAY there more often

better foods, better safety/cover , and less pressure
have places you NEVER go into! comes to mind here! yet they will want too!