This might not be under the right topic? But I thought it should be here because it involves whitetail hunting, it can be moved. Alright guys I need some input. So I hunt this farm of my Aunt's that is 132 acres. It is about 100 acres of timber and 32 pasture. So this millionare bought all the land that surrounds it and he's a real a**, I mean a total buttwhole . We have pics of him trespassing. He even tried telling me I couldn't hunt within a hundred yards of the boundry fence so the deer wouldn't be scared. He even tried CONNING my 70 year old Aunt into selling him her land for little to nothing. He has professional hunters coming this year and all. So this is kinda where my problems start. He plants all these foodplots, and has these illegal bait sites(I already informed the dnr, he hunted them last year), mineral sights, made waterholes, and all. The only thing he doesn't have is wonderful bedding. Well anyways I can't plant foodplots or anything like that because of lack of equipment and cattle run the property full time all year. The deer don't seem to mind the cattle. So since he's done all of this the deer don't even use the property at all. I was gettin a ton of pics until he done verything, and it can't be from pressure because my Aunt's farm goes untouched(timber wise) basically all year. I feel like crap considering this is my only place to hunt. I have proof that decent deer ran he property last year.. So do you have any ideas on how to pull deer on her property without foodplots or such? Or should I turn to public land? Thanks for all advice. I dont know maybe I'm just jealous. Sorry for the rant.
Def some great deer on the property. Foodplots are key to drawing deer but so are other things. It sounds like hes made it so that the deer have everything they'll need on his properties. If feeders are legal you may want to invest in one, keep the pressure low on your land and let him run all them guys around and push them towards you!
I think Rutin is exactly right, let them drive the deer to you. Do you have plenty of No Trespassing signs up?
If you have good bedding and less hunting pressure on your place you will have the deer They may head to his place to feed but all you have to do is be between the two spots. You need to keep taking pics of places that will get evidence of trespassing and contact your local prosecuting attorney..dont rely on a agent or sheriff to collect info they may not have the time or resources or even care.The guy has already shown you his intent,your going to have to show him yours. You can see what a fire storm is going to happen when a wounded deer crosses a fence on either side. Get your ducks in a row is all i am saying. Either try and make friends with him and get some kind of agreement on tracking a deer across the fences or get a agent on your side quick. If your going to put cams up i would suggest putting them over 10 foot high and good lock boxes. We have purple paint law here and you can post in the local paper and make the local agent aware you have these thing in place so he knows your serious.
I would section off a 20acre area for a sanctuary and do some hindge cutting if needed. This area should have decent cover and is away from any human activity. Assuming your neighbor will be pressuring the deer, they need an area that they feel safe in. Nobody should touch this spot including you. Maybe one time a year after season to look for sheds... BTW, great deer. Hopefully you'll get a crack at one. I wouldn't give up on the spot yet.
We have the officer on our side, he Says the guys up to no good and he gonna get busted. Um We have trail cam pics of him tresspassing and he stole my friends treestand. We have signs on every other post. The dnr "say" theyre gonna bust him this fall. Thanks guys
The whole deal really stinks and I know you're bummed. We use to have a great neighbor where we hunt and camp who let us hunt and also fish on his property anytime we wanted. He'd come over and chat with us and have a few cold ones, it was great. Then unfortunately he passed away and guess what? A real A-HOLE from the city bought his place and that was the end of that. Good advice above from the others though and yes, great buck photos.
Based on how your describing the property, it should still be decent in the phases of the rut - bucks LOVE bedding areas when they are out looking for does. Maybe look at doing a couple of mock scrapes this year (if you haven't already tried it)... My favorite spot to hunt in the whole world is nothing but a travel corridor... No food plots or anything like that - but during the rut, the bucks are using it to get inbweteen 'better' cover/properties. I'm in the same boat so I know there isn't really a lot you can do about it but I would personally be more concerned with the cattle. Sometimes its hard to realize, but those cattle REALLY knock down the cover. Plus they are making noise all the time - and yes, even bumping deer as they walk around the property (and deer don't like to be disturbed all the time). Or another way to put it is that if deer have the choice between a property with a bunch of cattle on it or one without - my experience has been they prefer the one without. One of my main hunting spots my uncle often turns his cattle out in the fall. Used to hunt it regardless, but after years of getting to know the property, now if there are cattle turned out in his trees, I just turn my vehicle around and go to one of my other spots... Not that you won't see deer because of cattle, it's just that IMO, you will see less. If you were able, it would be sweet if you could section off 3 small separate (even as small as an acre) parcels (just fence them in to keep the cattle out) - would guarantee that bucks during rut would go from spot to spot to spot checking for does in the bedding areas.... I wouldn't worry about what you can't control. Play the wind, watch how your entering the property and focus on late Oct and early Nov trying to catch those bucks cruising for does! Good luck!
bedding area in your case is key and only takes a hand saw if that's all you got...chain saw is simply a bonus...you make proper bedding area the deer will come trust me.
Invite the local game warden to hunt the property. You'd be surprised how fast your neighbor issues go away then..
Man that sucks especially since you have some pretty big bucks on you trail cam. I would suggest hing cutting trees which creates awesome bedding area and an awesome and a great source of food since it will continue to grow leaves for years.
That stinks , I agree with the others and also if soil is in good shape try a couple of small Thro & Gro plots , all you basically need is a steel rake.
^ All good points. You've got good bedding. You're golden! I'd definitely throw some clover down in the cow pasture and run my cameras year round, if possible. I would try to minimize pressure on the place in the early season. Once the rut kicks in, you could't pry me out of a stand. Basically, the neighbor is doing all of the work for you. And his "100 yard border" request.... BS. But I'd try to hunt stand sites that are less likely for the deer to cross over onto his place. I think we all know the likely outcome of you asking to recover a stud buck off his land.
Yeah my dad shot a buck that ended up going 154" like december 12 of last year and the guy threw a fit when we asked to recover it on his land. My dad called the sheriff and local warden and they said we could recover without his permission. So we snuck over and found it (trying to avoid conflict) and he got a trail cam pic of us. He called my dad flipping out and threatening with tresspassing, then when they called the sheriff. The sheriff basically told him to get lost.
It sounds like you have some great advice from everyone on here. Definately try to keep your presence on your Aunt's land to a minimum pre-season and let the deer come to your property. If the neighbor is doing as much on his land as you say, his pro hunters and him will hopefully drive some of those big boys your direction where they will feel safer. Good luck!
those are some true giants on that land, cant let some illegal hunters take em, post it like crazy, make it known that if they come over they will have to deal with the law, also put trail cams on the property line, good luck.
Hopefully the sheriff busts him in the fall. If he doesn't and i were you i would defiantly do something to make sure the deer don't go there. Im not saying that's the best thing or right thing to do but its what i would do if i was completely fed up with it.
