Hey everyone, I'm new to this forum and a novice bow hunter. This is my 3rd year hunting this farm. Just looking for some advice on setups etc. I'm mainly focused on hunting the north of 5th line. On the south side theres other guys gun hunting first two weeks of november and first week of december. I do have access to bow hunt there not during gun season. The farm is 150 acres. 50 acres south of 5th line and 100 acres north of 5th line. I'll go ahead and explain the property the best I can and my current setups. There's creek that runs east west in a valley about 80' of elevation drop from the road down to it. The creek winds in a small valley about 50 yards wide at max, in and out of cover of the cedars. The open spots are all 5' tall bushes/grasses and fairly dry there in spots. To the north and south of the valley is mainly closed canopy cedars open in spots where you can see roughly 50 yards and in some spots super thick and almost impassable. When I scouted in the early spring I noticed what seemed like bedding just inside the cedars to the north lots of deer droppings. Another bedding area I think I've identified is marked as a box it's thick cedars there. I've got a stand setup adjacent to it about 40 yards south of the creek under full cedar cover. I picked this spot as there's a old atv trail of sorts that leads almost to my stand access is easy. Also theres what I think is a funnel here with a trail travelling east west on the south side of the creek. This where I saw the first deer roughly nov 15th had a young doe come out of the "bedding area" to about 10 yards for 10 min before jumping back in when she did I noticed a mature doe standing just at the line of where it gets thick but not coming out. Must have winded me. Not sure about this spot or hunting any spots along the creek with how thermals and swirling winds will work here, but I know it has to be a sanctuary for deer travel. I've noticed this year a fair amount of tracks coming straight out of the cedars and crossing the field (tilled) heading south and hopping the fence thats in the treeline and heading straight across the road. Had a friend see an 8 point crossing here last november. I believe theyre feeding in the only un worked kind of sad clover field across the road. I marked a stand location here although I haven't set it up yet just cut some branches. I marked a stand location in the south west side of the north field, I was out there today and found a recent scrape and tracks coming down the fence line from the cedars and also on the south side of the field along the tree line. There's an old fence in the tree line with a hole about halfway along and also I found a hole in the fence in the corner where the stand is marked. I haven't hunted this spot yet but I plan to soon. There isn't access from the road to the stand directly its only about 50 yards I'd have to do a fair amount of work to cut a trail. I'll have to walk along the field to get to it. Those are my main thoughts hopefully making some sense, I really don't know what I'm doing or have anyone knowledgeable to speak with. This is my first year getting serious I've only seen a couple does in person. I've thought about venturing further along the creek for setups but wasn't sure if that's a good idea or not. I'm pretty mindful of wind direction, stealthy approach to stand etc. Any advice is greatly appreciated. I'll attach some pictures of the property.
Good luck. Photos of your success? Seems like a good spot. I'm sure there will be some who will offer advice. Didn't notice using any trail cameras. Might be an investment for you.
Yep gotta few cams out theres no service down there so I don't check them often. There are a fair amount of deer from what I can tell
Would need knowledge of quite a few questions, never enough but for starters: Where do you have permission to park for access and such? What are the field make ups on the north side - row crops? Alfalfa? Grass/Hay or just fallow pasture? Any oaks located at all?
My permissions are on the north side of 5th line from oct 1st - dec 31st. The south side I could hunt not during gun season. When accessing the north side I park in the driveway to the west of the field. I'm not sure what the crop was this year but it's now tilled and just dirt. It usually comes off early. There is a cattle pasture on the north east side field. South of fifth line along the western edge of the property there is a very rough unmaintained road more like an atv trail. It's closer to some houses and sees the odd person walking there dog mainly in summer. It has many oaks along it. I've debated about hunting this - I think next year I should setup a cam for an early season hunt
What kind of oak trees? White oaks are candy. In areas where there are crops available to eat seems the deer leave the acorns till later.
Your cedar-covered stand near the creek sounds like a good spot. Just watch the wind carefully, as valleys can swirl thermals. The southwest stand along the fence line with scrapes and tracks also looks promising. Quietly cutting a trail for access will help. For bedding areas, hunt the edges rather than deep inside the thick cedars. Look for pinch points or funnels along the creek, but always plan a quiet approach and exit. Using trail cameras can help confirm deer movement and timing. Keep observing patterns, rotate your hunting times, and focus on edges and travel corridors for the best results.
1 more spot. Hard to beat a high ground pine edge. You should be able to tell real quick if there are bucks in there. As they will shred those pines, especially just to the south of the pined with that north wind blowing through there.
