We got some great news from the state. One of my local hunting properties is able to be transitioned from a crp/nesting program to a wildlife program. We never could do much as far as food plots or really much of anything. Now the real work begins though. We can plant a few acres of plots and have to make 10 (50’x50’) brush piles (which CAN be hinge cuts). Also have to plant 10 areas of shrubs (50’x50’). This is the property layout a lot of it we can’t touch cause it’s in tree program. The timber in the diagonal lines to the north and west of the lake is all creek bottoms and we can pretty much do what we want. That’s where we planted a few small kill plots this year. Only problem is down there it could be under 6 feet of water when we get a lot of rain. This should be fun I can’t wait to transform this property. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
So her is first rough idea. Blue= bedding/brushpiles/hingecuts. Yellow= shrubs (use as a buffer/screen in between bedding and plots/stand locations). Green = foodplots. (Sorta half ass centralized) Red= stand/blind locations ( rough idea) in between bed and food. White= established main trails for four wheelers etc. (minus the one to the east that runs by bedding) Lemme know what you think if any of you have done any small property improvements like this. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Btw.....We call this property “The Boot” cause of its boot like appearance lol Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Must be a boot from White's with a heel like that, lol. You're the one that hunts it and with boots on the ground so your intuition is likely going to be better than anything anyone else can offer.
Yea , I do know that. It really is hard to tell from a crappy pic of a map. Just posting it more for fun. But I’ll take any 2 cents that people would give. I cast a broad net and wait to hear stuff like hey don’t plant “this” ,or we planted “that” and it really worked out well. Or Your foodplots don’t look like they’re set up very well.....I’ll post some pics when the work starts in Feb/March. We have our work cutout that’s for sure. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I’m curious of predominant wind and your intended access point, we have a lot of south west wind so this would be backwards in my area if you intended to hunt feed or transitions.
DT first thing is this rough draft/plan has been scrapped for many reasons lol. We are struggling to figure out how to do what we want to really do without bringing in big equipment. You are correct though. We tend to get a lot of West and South winds with some northwest sometimes. It wasn’t ideal for sure but it was easiest with the resources we have. But you are right and if it doesn’t make sense it’s not worth the time and effort. We probably need to get someone with a little more expertise to come look at the property from a hunters/habitat standpoint. The state wildlife guys don’t care about stand placement or access lol. The problem with doing the bedding and food in reverse is the topography/drainage. We will get something figured out in the end. plan to start work in a month. Thanks for your input! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I like to put in. Sanctuary place for them to feel safe , no trails , hike only Sent from my iPad using Bowhunting.com Forums
Not sure where you are at but it seems like the last couple falls have been too warm. The wind is supposed to be out of the NW most of the time last couple years we had many days with a s sw wind that is not right for late october early november.
Yea we can usually bet on S, SW and W winds. My original layout was for convenience and time. It was going to make deer travel into wrong wind too much though. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Update on this property. We actually have a wildlife habitat consultant on the line to book a weekend at this property. The landowner said he would cover most the expense if we did the work. It’s not going to cost us that much and hopefully I will get schooled a little bit on habitat improvement. The consultant said he would walk the property and put a plan together in half a day then work for 1.5 days with us to shove Us in right direction. Not to proud to admit this property was over my head. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
Consequently, I hope you checked the consultant out fairly well before you take too much advice. They can cost you a lot of money fast and some are just lazy goofs looking for a sucker with a checkbook and pen. Messing up habitat is one thing, paying someone to tell you how to screw it up is another thing entirely. We brought in a consultant in 2014 to look over the ranch because the landowner as well as myself, were second guessing me as a manager for so much land. We got Grant Woods to spend a day at the ranch touring it. At the end of the day Grant said..."well I can offer some help with stand placements for some new stands but otherwise you guys don't need me, you're doing a fantastic job, you have it all covered and what you don't, you are going in the right direction. I'm actually jealous of your farm, I wish I had a farm like this up out of the rocks and hills and hollows." That was a great confidence booster for us both. So Grant's visit was an expense without a lot of benefit...yet it was still worth a lot in more ways than just for the habitat improvements. It can work just the opposite though with a poser that doesn't know what they are doing. I'm sure it's probably fine and you've taken care of yourself, just be careful in case it hadn't crossed your mind. People can be pretty audacious.
Haven’t paid him yet and still hashing out dates cause he’s so busy but it’s Jim Ward. He seems legit but we have spoken with him couple times and are waiting on call back from him. I’m not paying but I don’t want landowner to get screwed either. He’s booked solid and happened to have a couple openings he might be able to squeeze us in. If not we will have to wing it. Thanks for the feed back though. If you have anything else to say or concerns about the guy I mentioned PM me please. I really don’t want to waste time and money. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I'd never heard of him that I recall but that's no surprise being I'm practically a hermit, lol. I looked him up online and on youtube though. I've only watched about 20min of some of his stuff. First impression is I like him, he seems like he knows his stuff. The first vid was a walk around on a property he had worked on with the land owner. I watched probably ten minutes of that one before the landowner ever let the guy talk, lol. I was like grrrr. I was pretty impressed with next 5minutes and then the next video was all him explaining what he had done on another property, how he starts, hinge cutting, etc...very good stuff. He's more experienced than I am with it, I'm sure. Also liked what I saw of his character FWIW, at least what was conveyed in the short bit of vid I watched. I bet you're in good hands, probably lucky you got him there.
I really like Jim Ward's stuff. His videos are pretty good. Looking forward to see what he comes up with.
Well he seemed like he was going to squeeze us in but he still hasn’t called back yet.... we feel like psycho teenage girlfriends. “Why isn’t he calling me ?!?!?!!” Lol. Will give him one call back because he left us hanging and that’s it. Refuse to be a pecker gnat. I know he’s a busy man, his website says not accepting new clients. If we do in fact get him to come out you can bet on tons of pics and step by step progress being posted right here Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
