i plan on hunting some public land close to where i live this fall. i scouted some of it back in march and there are definitely deer in the area, i saw plenty of sign and kicked up about 12 deer. the parcel of land is just a solid woodlot however, its flat land with oaks and pines, no fields, no streams or ponds, just a big woodlot. this is fairly common on the public land out by me. with no natural funnels, what should i look for when picking a stand sight?
I'd consider the prevailing wind and any visible trails. Is there a thick area for them to beddown...could set up to catch them coming/going from bedding areas. Just my two cents.
Solid advice, along with identifying some good mast trees, trails to and from bedding are your best bet.
copy that, there are definitely acorns in the area so i'll see if i can locate some feeding and bedding areas. thanks guys
James, how big is the property? A few questions you might ask yourself...When are the deer on the property? When are other hunters on the property? How does this public property relate to the surrounding property? In other words, how does the property help get deer from point A to point, or how does it hold deer via bedding. Do you have an aerial map of the property?
Acme Mapper is a good site to map out your area & laminate it. Then pin point some key areas on it for reference.
if all possible, get out there now look for heavily used trails in timber and get up in a tree and observe different areas, also print out aerial and topo maps of the area.
I'd definetly keep any eye on the trails and the patches of oak. You can bet your boots they'll be there when the acorns stop dropping although that will more than likely not happen at the first of the season. Deer would pass up a prime field of alf alfa for an oak patch littered with acorns. As it gets closer to opening archery season I would look for some rubs, as they would be shedding velvet. They probably won't be territorial rubs but at least you would know a buck was in the area and maybe using it to travel. I would also look for some places that have some thick cover as they would likely be using this as bedding ground. I would continue to scout until about a week before opening day. Make a mental note of all the info you have gathered or you can write it all down like I do and then put it all together find what fits and what does not and go from there with a plan or two. In my opinion, good scounting is 99% of a sucessful harvest and it when it all comes together and ol mossy horns it taking a ride in the back of the pick up it is truly a feeling words cannot describe. Endeavor to Persevere. Good luck and I hope this helps.
