Well, yesterday I decided to head over and check my game camera which was set-up in my honey hole property. I notice that the land-owners were cleaning out the house and they had a "For Sale" sign up in the front yard. I talked to them and found out that they were selling a section of the their property which held their house as they moved into the old family farm house. It just so happens that the section they are selling is the section that I shot my buck out of this year, and the section of the woods that I have focused on the most the past several years. I had these deer pegged down and knew what they did throughout the season. I was disappointed to say the least, my first deer ever, my biggest buck, my first bowkill, ect... all came from this section. Its not a huge section, but it is a section that the deer really travel alot. I can't blame the property owners, they did what they had to. The one good thing in the situation is that it forces me to get more aggressive on my hunting, something that I vowed to do this upcoming season. I spent today moving stands, my game camera, and blinds. Here is a aerial photo of the property, the green is the section that I lost, the red is the biggest/most used bedding area, and the light blue dot is where I set-up a new stand today. There is a small clearing in front of the new stand which is located in a valley between two small ridges. There is a small stream running down the bottom and a few fingers that all dump into this clearing. There are some major trails from the clearing down the valley into the corner of the ag. fields. I sat on the opposite ridge last season and saw alot of deer movement in this bottom including a really nice buck that was cruising for doe. Here are a bunch of pictures from the area. The only major thing I have to do is work on clearing a path that will allow me to get into the stand quietly.... it felt great to be back sitting in stand and I am already looking forward to October. I picked this spot based on my post season scouting along with actually looking at the topo map. I noticed the all of the draws the led up onto the ridge tops dumped into this area and while scouting I noticed alot of sign including dozens of old rubs and scrapes. The crab apple tree on the right side of the clearing is one huge scrape under it. Only time will tell how the stand site will be, but it looks good so far
never know - new owners might be alright with ya stickin around. if not theres always land out there ,just gotta find it
Sorry to hear bro, I know what it is like losing hunting land. We both know you will be fine and make it happen though... This may have been what you needed to get you to look outside of your comfort zone and concentrate on some new areas. Good luck!
Yea on one hand it sucks, but sometimes being forced into a new situation can add some spark to your hunting. Good luck
Thats just not good at all I wish you well in finding more and hopefully better property than the one your loosing!
Thanks guys, like I said, its not a big section of property but it is the area that I have had the most luck in. I can still hunt the same deer on the same patterns, the problem is that my access to these spots is going to be much harder. By using this property, I could very easily and quietly get in to stand without spooking the deer. As far a still being able to hunt the property when it is sold, I would like that, but it is right off the backyard of the house and I don't think many people are going to be up for somebody entering the woods through their side yard and hunting right behind their house, about 40 yards from their outdoor gazeboo. in da woods.... 9 acres for $200,000 a little steep for my blood haha
Good luck BM and sorry you are losing some hunting land. I know exactly how it feels. Keep searching for more and remember you can never gain more than enough hunting land. Over the course of time landowners sell and move away, hunters can and will outbid you on a lease, etc. My lands have dropped in acreage considerably over the years.
