I recently got reacquainted with a lady whom when I was about 7 years old helped teach me how to ride and care for horses. Now through the years we've crossed paths and I've helped her around the farm (37 acres) Pine land. Her father used to hunt the uncleared portion of the property, no food plots, and no really cleared fields. So she goes on to tell me that the land hasn't been hunted in over 25 years and now she has given me full and sole hunting rights to her land... My question is how would you guys go about setting up and clearing areas? I have hiked alot of the area and really didn't see any good signs of buck activity(rubs or scrapes) but she sees plenty of buck and doe not to mention fawn roaming the tree lines of the horse areas. I am not well off to go out and buy a1/2 dozen or so cams. I have found a couple of trails here and there but nothing really concrete. Should I just put a stand or two round the trails or what???????
I would start with a small scale inventory. Get a mineral site going with a camera on it. Next if you have some other cameras put them up on the horse trails to see how much the deer are using those trails. Really target the areas with the rubs and scrapes as well as the thicker areas of the pines. Don't be afraid to move your cameras around periodically because you are trying to see where deer are moving. Once you get a feel for their travel patterns setup your stands according to the predominant winds and easy access on the deer travel routes. Also you may want to see if the lady will let you put in a small food plot along the tree lines. It doesn't have to be big or expensive. A nice strip of clover and brassicas will suffice.
I wouldn't overthink it too much... Like PH says... maybe a cam for little inventorying on likely trails or a new mineral site near/off those trails. I wouldn't be worrying about a food plot at this point... plenty of us hunt ground with no food plots and do fine, although a lot of us are very familiar with the our land & know historic travel routes & routines. new ground can sometimes be tough, especially if there aren't a lot of special features in the terrain. the main thing is to get out there and look it over good... looking for sign, trails/tracks, pinch points, woods edge trails, etc. if there is any type of variance to the terrain concentrate there... ditches/creeks - look for trails in the bank where animals have been crossing... if you had an aerial snip for us to look at we might be able to help further with our WAGs about potential areas for stands, but the main thing is to look it over good, choose some likely stand locations and get a stand (or 2) up. you may have to move them during the season, depending on new evidence discovered, but on likely or confirmed trails to/from bedding feeding areas will initially be most productive without specific improvements.
I would spend your time just finding all the game trails and setting up several trees with shooting lanes for a climber. Leave it pristine for the animals and just go in when you want to hunt.
I'd do some serious research. Get on google earth and see if you can find any hard/ soft transitions like woods to field, creek crossing or funnels. Set up a mineral site at those spots and get a general idea of what's walking around. Then go back to google earth and pick a couple decent spots where the prevailing winds would be in your favor and scout some stand spots. I like to do it on days where deer aren't likely to move around much like a really hot day at like noon. Once you find some spots, put the stands in a spot where you can get in and out of them undetected and where the deer are least likely to wind you. Then stay out. Check the cams maybe once every 3 weeks and hopefully you'll have some monsters laying around. If it's really think, maybe a ground blind or hang on may give you better options. Just my two cents. “In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen.” -Theodore Roosevelt 2013 PSE Brute X 26.5"/ 62lb. Ripcord SOS. Trophy Ridge React 5. Trophy Ridge Static Stab. Maxima Hunter arrows. Rage & G5 Broadheads.
Also, do you have permission to clear areas? “In a civilized and cultivated country, wild animals only continue to exist at all when preserved by sportsmen.” -Theodore Roosevelt 2013 PSE Brute X 26.5"/ 62lb. Ripcord SOS. Trophy Ridge React 5. Trophy Ridge Static Stab. Maxima Hunter arrows. Rage & G5 Broadheads.
