1/3 of their day. Not 1/3 the year or month. I understand not every deer is going to use the same property for 1/3 of their day everyday. But, just say on average 1/3 of their day during the fall hunting season. As for how many deer? That is dependant on how many deer the area can adequately hold within its capacity. So number of deer is hard to answer. I do not expect to hold as many deer per x amount of acres as gmmat may.
Okay.. then I think its possible on as little as 30 acres. But it would need great bedding and a good series of food sources nearby. Or.. great interior feeding and a great bedding source nearby. Either way.. these would be extremely rare finds on only 30 acres. And by feeding.. I don't mean Ag.. which most people imagine when the word feeding is mentioned. You would likely just need variety.. grasses.. acorns.. some fruit bearing trees... honeysuckle etc... plentiful food sources within cover basically. To keep deer there.. 1/3 of the day during archery season they would need comfort above all else. They'd have to be completely comfortable and feel safe to some degree... no better way than with adequate cover. Is this the answer you're looking for?
Not to be disrespectful, but if the deer spend all night in your front yard that's about 1/3 of the time!
Is it possible that by taking a lot of does on your property there are many more does on the surrounding properties? That could explain why a lot of the large bucks cruise to look where the does are more plentiful. And if your bucks are larger due to QDM then they are probably more dominant than the surrounding ares bucks. Food for thought.
muzzyman, good example...... what more could you do? I only have 45 acres but it is in the middle of a pretty vast piece of ground. Everywhere around is "secure" and with no pressure to speak of. The deer will definitely venture all over. Food sources will determine where they go because they will bed as close to it as they feel "secure". As the season changes, leaves drop, cover disappears and temps drop, they will relocate to better cover even if using the same food source. Bedding and food sources will rotate as necessary for the deer. You may one, both or none of them on your land at any given time. If someone near by is supplemental feeding or baiting, that can suck deer off of your land also. In the spring, summer and part of fall, I have 1 to 3 deer that spend 1/3 of their time on my land. In late fall and winter that number drops. Maybe down to no deer spend 1/3 of their time on my land.
We have around 25 acres. From trail cams and sightings this year we had 2 deer (doe and her fawn) that bedded daily throughout the day on our property. We are bordered by a river and highway on two sides and woods on the other 2.
I own 43 acres. 9 acres in alfalfa, 8 acres in switchgrass, 2 acres in corn plot, 1/2 acre pond, with the balance being timber and the ground my house sits on. My neighbor has about 15 acres of trees that butts up against mine. This creates an island of sorts with maybe a 1/2 mile to the next timber. Between the neighboring timber and my ground (less than 60 acres) we are holding deer far more than 30% of the time. I get pictures of the exact same deer in November as I get in July. New deer almost never show up, but the summer deer also stick around for the fall. The spring is the only time I enter my timber or my switchgrass. My stands are all on the edges of the timber and i try to only hunt when my wind blows in a safe direction. I would love more property, but small properties can work well if you are disciplined.
