I am still pretty new to hunting, this will be my third season hunting and second season bowhunting, so I am still in the learning phase of where to put stands and such. I have permission to hunt a property that is roughly ninety acres. It is mostly hay fields with a few acres of woods, as well as a couple of ponds. I'm not the best of judging acreage, but I'd say the woods make up ten/fifteen/twenty acres of the property. I thought I'd get some opinions here on a couple of spots to put a stand. I am pretty sure deer travel most of the property. There are quite a few apple trees close to the house, but it is rented out and I don't want to get too close to the house. I have included pictures that show an aerial of the property with a point marked A. Point A is for reference in the topo and terrain pictures. I have also included a picture that shows the property lines. I included a closer up picture of the property that will hopefully provide a little more detail. I was planning on putting a stand inside the woods behind the first pond as I have seen deer cut across the field behind that pond. The other stand I was going to put inside the woods on the corner close to point A. My friend found a huge scrape there when we were scouting the property last fall. The property has a couple of deeper ravines, but I'm not sure how those affect deer travel. I believe the open area along the eastern edge of the property, in the middle, is a bedding area. I was looking around there last fall and noticed a few spots that looked like beds. The area was kind of swampy last fall, but the pond may be back without the drought this year. This will probably be my primary hunting area due to my primary spot from the last couple of seasons changing ownership. Do those seem like good spots for a stand or would there be places better suited for seeing bucks?
They look pretty good. Its hard to tell just from topo maps. My suggestion is to put a stand there and move it during the season if you have to.
If you hunt the large community scrape or primary scrape if it is as I'm picturing...and there is higher ground around it somewhere try to be able to access and hunt the higher ground approach as Mature Bucks love to approach scrapess whenever possible from a higher vantage point and will J-hook in on them similar to when they go to bed. Back tracking bucks approaches and seeing it first hand has confirmed this more times than not. Now obviously that doesn't occur every single time but the large majority of occurences I've back tracked or watched it is. Younger bucks don't seem as apt to do this though and you also have to remember wind direction can make a mature buck not do this, as they'd rather have their nose as a weapon then their eyes..but if they can get both that's what they'll do nearly everytime. Otherwise I think you're looking fairly good judging just by the maps and without any rubber on the soil. -No biggy not being able to hunt the apple trees, but know if there is still any dropping when season starts as I'd hunt the most likely path/trails leading to them from the bedding or the water sources. They're like candy if still present. -Early season don't be afraid if you can get a nice approach to water to hunt it. They have to drink just like us and are more apt to visit it after morning feed and before evening feed with some daytime visits as well depending on security cover from their bedding to the water and how far it is.
Appreciate the info. I thought I was on the right track, but figured I'd solicit some opinions. Where that scrape was last year was just about on the topo line that is 700. That elevation runs pretty much along that western edge of that woods. The pond is a little higher though, so it sounds like a stand just inside the woods there should be a decent spot.
If not, it'll at worst be a good spot which will allow you to recon the use of that area and how they approach it.
Interesting maps. it looks to be good hunting property, but the low hay fields may present a challenge in entering your stands undetected. FWIW, you may want to take a look at the ravine/dry creek bed that appears to run in a NE direction below the first pond. This natural cut shows up all the way through the hay field to the west. you might consider placing one stand (if there's good sign of heavy travel, say 75 yrds in the woods along this cut. If the critters feel pressure, they are less apt to break cover before dark and you stand a chance of bagging one that is slowly drifting towards the water and hay near sunset. Just my 2 cents, but I would hunt the edges in the morning and deeper in the woods in the evening.
Looking at aerial photos and topo maps is just a start, but judging from them, I would look at the top edge of that hockey stick looking field, near the right (red)property line. Nothing can take the place of on sight scouting though. The more you scout, and the more stand sights you have prepared, the more successful you will be. Sitting the same place all the time educates the deer, and gets boring. To me there is nothing more exciting than hunting a new stand location. I rotate between at least 10-20 different stand sights each season. Keeps the deer guessing.
I'm not sure which you are calling the first pond, but I believe a couple are low spots that hold water. The pond to the north and the pond in the middle hold water all year. I don't believe there are any creek beds in the fields. There are a couple of fence lines, but there is also some elevation in the fields that would give me a bit of cover. There were a few scrapes along the south edge of that woods and I believe the bedding area is what you are calling the blade of the hockey stick. At this point I only have two stands to put on the property. I have my climber, but I like to use a ladder stand when possible. My hope, as long as I have permission/access, is to add a couple of stands to the property each year to give me more options. English, please? I get funnel and pinch point, but I'm not sure what is considered a draw. I'm still learning all this stuff, so I need to brush up on some of the terminology.
I went to the property today to look for squirrels and put out a couple of trail cams. I didn't have any luck with the squirrels, so I decided to fish for a bit. I finished fishing and got in my truck to leave. I was parked behind the pond and looked to my left as I was starting the truck. I saw a really nice buck running across the field. That had me pretty fired up. He was running across in a spot I've seen deer crossing before. I think I have a better idea of where to put a stand now.
Sounds like you have a plan. If you look at the last map (topp) you can see the depression I was referring to. I have a hund this is a natural travel lane for the critters
It looks like theres a fence row between the two bigger ponds. If so, point A would be a great place to hunt. The row of trees or shrubs would give them some cover and act as a funnel between the two section of woods. Another fence row to consider is South end of the property. Theres also a lot of inside corners on that property you should consider. Very nice piece of property and good luck!!!
