Hunting farm country

I will be hunting a different piece of land next season. I am going to go from hunting a smaller piece of woods in a semi urban area to a piece of farm land. Some tactics will be similar but my approach will have to be different. I have not spent any time scouting but know I will be hunting a wooded part of the property that is surrounded by farm fields. I have a feeling access and egress is going to be very important. Any farm country hunters have any tips to offer?

 

I have most my stands set up along ag fields and pinch points going to those ag fields.

 

These are my own 2 pennies. Crop rotation will change deer movement year to year. Be ready to adjust stand locations and access routes. I still try to key in on where they’re bedding rather than field edges. Cover is usually more scarce the closer you get to fields which makes getting in and out very difficult. Doesn’t take long to blow a field and educate every deer in the area. The difference in agriculture country is deer have a smorgasbord of food at their disposal so it doesn’t hurt their feelings to hop to the neighbors field. The opposite is true at my families farm in southern Illinois. There’s not a lot of ag surrounding so it’s hard to make them abandon our food plots. They may disappear for a day or 2 but then they’re back.. so where abouts in farm country all will you be hunting?

 

NW central Minnesota, lots of fields in every direction. Have a feeling I will be waiting for the corn to come out each fall.

 

I'm with Shocker. I maintain a 400 acre farm in NY and it's 50/50 I only have a few stands in each block of woods as wind and bedding pending, tends to be very easy to blow the block out getting to your stand. Field edge hunting sucks but when it is the only option just remember 2 main rules. Scout early to find their pattern and play the wind as not to bump. Other than that good luck.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

I will be bringing my 5 stands with me so will have options, kinda re energized about hunting a lot of rediscovering.

 

1 trick I found that works is to go into a block and cut a trail. Doe will use it and bucks follow 3-5 days a year.

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using Tapatalk

 

I wish I had that type of acreage to hunt!! but alas, I must do with what I got

 

What worked for me in Kansas this year hunting our family land was: scouted and hung stand in august. I selected pinch points between the river and fields. It worked well for me. I took my biggest buck thus far. Good luck

 

Another good point. This year was prime example of this. Crops got in late, hell we still had standing corn on thanksgiving. They will live on the edges of the standing corn. It’s a big security blanket. I’ve had a lot of luck setting up near water during these conditions. They can’t get that in a cornfield

 

Sota, farmland deer in MN get their asses handed too them during gun season. Especially if all the crops are down..
It'll be a learning curve but hunting around standing corn is what I prefer.
Easier to get in/ out undetected.
Depends on the size of time or you get to hunt. Bigger pieces being easier to hunt then small ones just do to the fact it's real tough getting in/ out of a smaller piece.
Been bowhunting farmland deer for 40 years and unless you have a controlled area , they can be tough to kill.

 

Interesting, around here corn is not picked and soybeans still not harvested.

 

I hunt north East North Dakota in the red river valley. It’s all farm land. And you have it right. Try avoid walking through any open field. They will pick you off and your hunt will be over as fast as it began.. use shelter belts and ditches if you must cross a field. Makes for longer walks but it helps significantly. Any river bottoms are great access points and seem to hold most of the deer around here being there is very little trees. I’d just do a quick aerial scout and set up in a pinch point for an evening sit. Hard to get away with crossing ag fields in the dark.. there always seems to be deer in them. If need be you may have to abandon your initial set up and move it a few times to get right on them. Around here most of the bucks will stay around 30 to 40 yards inside the tree line.. best of luck. Maybe set up from a distance the first day and scope out the tree line. Hope you tag a monster!

 

@Sota - My top seven setups....

1. Ridge tops. Morning hunts mainly--- Set up on the down wind side of the ridge top where 2 or more vegetation changes happen. Usually 40- 60 yards from top of ridges.
2 Ridge Top Saddles. Morning hunts-- Hunt the top of the ridge where a saddle creates a elevation change in the ridge top.
3 Creeks. All day hunts----Find high banks pinch points on creeks along AG fields. I always hunt on cross wind for stand setup.
4 Ag fields. Evening hunts--- Hunt inside corners closest to thick bedding areas or field pinch points.
5 Hollers. Evening hunts--- Hunt the bottoms of hollers where ridge points drop off into narrow creek beds areas.
6 Fence Rows. Morning time--- Hunt corners of fence rows closest to cover.
7 Drainage ditches. Any time--- Hunt ditches where there are big bends in the ditch along AG fields. This is an awesome place for a ground blind.

 

If you can walk it now or in the next month or so that would be extremely helpful - looks for well used trails, scrapes and rubs. Don't forget to consider\plan how you are going to access your sets without bumping everything. Then I'd just pick good trees/ambush spots on good trails (intersecting trails even better). I often like to hang multiple stands in the same general area so that way it's easy to just get down and move to the other side of the trail if the wind switches. Hunt all day (during the rut) and don't be disappointed in going a day or two without seeing something. I actually get more aggressive the longer I don't have something come by - to me, instead of changing to different areas and stands I often times try to just hammer it out in the same set of stands on the same trail. Deer in my area can be nomadic in nature so they''ll disappear for a couple of days then cycle back through - the longer it's been since I've seen a shooter in a setup, the sooner I believe one will wander by. As mentioned above by others, crop rotation does seem to make a huge difference too. Even when the crops are out I notice a lot more movement in years when corn was the 'local' crop. If the nearest cornfield is a mile away that year - much less movement.

 

Outstanding info guys. Great to see like minded methods.

 

Yeah where I will be hunting is pretty close to the Mississippi and the glaciers took out most of the topography, hills and hollars.

 

Our counties biggest hill is the water treatment facility but if your close to the river I’d find a drainage from the ag into the river in a spot that is just low enough to not be seen from the road... they seem to bed on south facing ridges on cold nights... hope that helps. If you can see the tree line you plan on hunting, odds are the deer can see you.. best of luck

 

That's good info justinmoe.

 

Hunting the edge of fields leads to one major problem, Your stand never is in the right spot and you always second guess your location. Your going to need more stands. Joking but true.