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Post by Freeborn on Nov 29, 2017 10:52:25 GMT -6
I was reading some of Jeff Sturgis stuff and came across this article and it reminded me how easy it is to over hunt stands. Most of us have small properties (+/- 100 acres) and most probably have sanctuaries and areas you just can't go. This means we actually hunt allot less acres than we actually own. How do you manage hunting your stands including food plots? One reason I ask is I have a buddy who is not at the top of the food change and i need to figure how to work with him. www.whitetailhabitatsolutions.com/blog/10-reasons-to-never-hunt-a-food-plot |
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Post by Bwoods11 on Nov 29, 2017 11:05:54 GMT -6
We have not handled it well, especially this year. The plan going forward is more food, more sanctuary, and probably more hinge cutting (OTC) in particular. Thick areas help, but we still lost most of our shooters to the neighbors...during the 9 day gun season.
OTC, we still have nice bucks around, but they (currently) do not move until well after dark.
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Post by Bwoods11 on Nov 29, 2017 11:08:39 GMT -6
Let me add, that we are thinking about bow only on our farms in MN next year, my youngest boy might gun hunt the rest have had it with the intense pressure, just not as fun with the high number of hunters/commotion.
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Post by Catscratch on Nov 29, 2017 11:11:20 GMT -6
Oh man... I take this seriously.
On places I want to have minimal disturbance:
- Never hunt food plots.
- Never hunt the wrong wind or wrong thermals.
- Never walk in while it's too dark to glass from afar (basically never bump deer going in).
- Never disturb the area that the deer frequent. This means hunt the fringes and stay as far from cover as possible. If you don't walk in you can't leave scent. I've never found a way to eliminate my scent, so I use the avoidance technique and remove the possibility of leaving scent.
With all that said, I don't hunt every property that way. My parents place is a completely different animal that gets hunted completely differently. I change my techniques when I take kids or friends hunting. Basically I developed how I hunt based on what was available. It works very well here, but probably not feasible in other places.
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Post by terrifictom on Nov 29, 2017 11:15:26 GMT -6
A couple things I do is if there are going to be more than one hunter, we all go to stands at same time. If hunting only go in once and come out once, not go out in morning leave for lunch and then come back for afternoon hunt. I think enclosed blinds really help.
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Post by batman on Nov 29, 2017 11:20:06 GMT -6
This blog runs counter to a bunch of stuff in his books. Food is a crazy good draw and it should be hunted where you can safely access/hunt/exit. My best sets are on food.
Most common small parcel mistake having stands that are impossible to get to without bumping deer during the access/hunt/exit cycle. Kills most properties quickly.
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Post by sd51555 on Nov 29, 2017 11:48:39 GMT -6
Me? Poorly.
Going into this season I was convinced I had the best entry/exit strategy possible, and enough stands to never screw up a spot. Holy shit was I wrong.
My advice, be vulnerable and get a second opinion. I got one, and at first I was not thrilled with the feedback. After I rolled it around in my brain, I've ended up far more excited to hunt my property differently next year.
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Post by badbrad on Nov 29, 2017 12:15:30 GMT -6
I said this before. I think biggest difference for me next year is living on the land is not being so desperate to hunt when I am there no matter the weather. Now, living there, I can hunt the right days that are high odds of killing rather than just hunting when I can.
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Post by batman on Nov 29, 2017 12:17:47 GMT -6
I said this before. I think biggest difference for me next year is living on the land is not being so desperate to hunt when I am there no matter the weather. Now, living there, I can hunt the right days that are high odds of killing rather than just hunting when I can. Game changer for sure. 'I took next Wednesday off' hurts a lot of properties. |
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Post by sticknstring on Nov 29, 2017 12:31:16 GMT -6
I hunt 40 acres and deal with access every season. Sanctuary in the middle with perimeter stands. No matter how good your plan on paper is, deer don't always follow the script.
I've learned a lot over the past 15 years and am still learning/fine tuning stands each year. Hinge-cutting bedding and providing food plots has been a game changer for me the past several years. I owe thanks to guys like you and sites like this for that knowledge.
Each year seems to get a little better. Now if the age class of bucks would improve and gun season would go away, I wouldn't have much to complain about!
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Post by Bwoods11 on Nov 29, 2017 13:23:31 GMT -6
Warm weather or too much standing corn in my area is the key for us to have some bucks survive the onslaught. Sanctuaries help, but the bucks just do not stay on 80-140 acres for 9 days in a row during the rut.
I use my 82 acres (Pope County, MN) Starbuck area... as an example. It is 58 tillable and the rest is cover/food plots, not enough. However, we have nice bucks on our farm every year. We know the neighbors and just like clockwork--2 or 3 of the mature bucks we see on camera (die) during the 9 day gun season.
In almost all cases looking back to 2005. The bucks are shot within 2 miles of my farm. Never further, you could almost circle a radius and it happens. Very few are shot with bow, except by us.
Not much I can do, except try to get the bucks before the orange army hits the woods. One thing I have found is that genetics, and body size is great in that area, so if we get any age the bucks are impressive.
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Post by benmnwi on Nov 29, 2017 13:36:47 GMT -6
This blog runs counter to a bunch of stuff in his books. Food is a crazy good draw and it should be hunted where you can safely access/hunt/exit. My best sets are on food. Most common small parcel mistake having stands that are impossible to get to without bumping deer during the access/hunt/exit cycle. Kills most properties quickly. This pretty much describes how I hunt my 40 acres that we live on. I have better food than the neighbors and that's where I kill my bucks. I've basically given up trying to hunt my woods without bumping deer, so now I hunt my food plots or field edges only since those areas are closer to my house and I can slip in and out easily. I make the woods thick and nasty so I can hold a bunch of deer, but I leave them alone there and kill them when they come out to eat (or chase the does that are eating).
One thing you really need if you own a small property is another property nearby that you can hunt. I like to hunt a lot, so if the wind is wrong I'll hunt somewhere else.
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Post by terrifictom on Nov 29, 2017 13:41:18 GMT -6
This blog runs counter to a bunch of stuff in his books. Food is a crazy good draw and it should be hunted where you can safely access/hunt/exit. My best sets are on food. Most common small parcel mistake having stands that are impossible to get to without bumping deer during the access/hunt/exit cycle. Kills most properties quickly. Exactly. Killed my buck this year sitting on edge of food plot. |
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Post by Freeborn on Nov 29, 2017 15:24:53 GMT -6
This blog runs counter to a bunch of stuff in his books. Food is a crazy good draw and it should be hunted where you can safely access/hunt/exit. My best sets are on food. Most common small parcel mistake having stands that are impossible to get to without bumping deer during the access/hunt/exit cycle. Kills most properties quickly. I have killed two good bucks off my primary foodplot. My stand is in the woods with my plot being about 40 yards away. My access and exit is sold. Like others we hunt the outside edge of my place, primarily the south, east and west edge. I also focus on wind as with small properties you are fairly close to the deer no matter where you are on your property. Most of the deer on my place bed on the north edge of my property which borders a larger marsh. Access to the north is damn near impossible as you will either bust them out going in or coming out, I have chosen not to risk the north edge but I'd like to find a way to hunt part of it. |
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Post by Sandbur on Nov 29, 2017 19:14:09 GMT -6
This blog runs counter to a bunch of stuff in his books. Food is a crazy good draw and it should be hunted where you can safely access/hunt/exit. My best sets are on food. Most common small parcel mistake having stands that are impossible to get to without bumping deer during the access/hunt/exit cycle. Kills most properties quickly. I have killed two good bucks off my primary foodplot. My stand is in the woods with my plot being about 40 yards away. My access and exit is sold. Like others we hunt the outside edge of my place, primarily the south, east and west edge. I also focus on wind as with small properties you are fairly close to the deer no matter where you are on your property. Most of the deer on my place bed on the north edge of my property which borders a larger marsh. Access to the north is damn near impossible as you will either bust them out going in or coming out, I have chosen not to risk the north edge but I'd like to find a way to hunt part of it. Almost my exact words. I also do not bow hunt or pheasant hunt the property. I leave it alone and only hunt stands with the correct wind during the rifle /rut hunt. Pleasant hunting might be done now or after mzzy hunt closes. My two or three days of bow hunting are done “elsewhere”. |
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