I am 10 year experienced bow hunter. I've just acquired 10.5 acres of wooded land in Southeastern Ohio. It is on the outskirts of a small town, but that town is also surrounded by thousands of acres of more private land and farm land within as little as a tenth of a mile. My tract of land is the southern tip of a patch of 400 acres give or take. Thus far in one week, I've got pictures of approximately 8 different does randomly feeding on acorns; no bucks yet. There is a creek running the property with scattered thickets for bedding. Ideas for strict QDM and ways to make the place better and attract more deer and more mature bucks would be greatly appreciated. Please let me know your thoughts.
Really not much you can do on that size tract unless all the neighbors are also on board with QDM as far as deer go. Sounds like you have some food and water on the property with good bedding also. Great start on habitat. Any place available for additional food? A clover plot or two would help hold some deer close. But, dont get too hung up on QDM with 10 acres. You will get frustrated to no end unless there are several hundred acres of QDM ground around you.
Being so late in the season and with limited spare time at the moment due to family I haven't had a chance to plant a food plot yet. But I've been studying different types of vegetation that would work good in the area and I'm thinking of going with clover next season. I intend to talk to the neighbors in the spring (don't want to be too cliche and ask during hunting season) and ask for either permission to hunt their property as well and/or ask them to practice QDM as well. There's also a pretty good acorn drop starting already and I've established a mock scrape line and placed a Deer Cane mineral block near my cam site as well; so we shall see what this week's deer movement brings. I appreciate the feedback and any more ideas would be awesome.
Talk to the neighbors and see what they are providing, the key is to provide what the others aren't. With big fields around you they are obviously providing the food source so it sounds like you will be able to provide water, bedding, and minerals. Deer will still go for minerals right now even though the antler growth season is done. I would find the pinch points between the bedding on your property leading to the food source of your neighbors. Don't worry about not seeing bucks, when the rut comes along where the does are the bucks will follow. If you have does regularly passing through your property then you will have bucks eventually.
I agree whole heartely Spear; it's great to have some reassurances to my thoughts and (hopes) for this land. Never had private until now and I'm more excited for this season than ever. If I'm not hunting on here watching Todd and his staff, or reading everything that all ya'll are talking about!!
Depending on the lay of the land around you, your best bet might be to make a major bedding area out of like an acre or so. As thick and nasty as you can make it grow, then hunt the travel corridors between that and the nearby food.
So far so good. Pulled an evening hunt last night with my best friend and hunting partner. Our stand sets were only 100 yards apart but we seen a total of 8 doe. He dropped a nice 1 1/2 year old within an hour and I had six walk past as I ran out of pin light so no bueno on my end. But the activity was surprsingly good no doubt to the heavy storm fronts we have moving in. Very encouraged and even more pumped than I already was. Can't wait for my 6 day work week to end now!!
