New land
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New land
I have acquired a new piece of private land to hunt. It boarders a small river that seems to flood every year. The layout is river then timber, then crp type grass if it floods, then ag fields then a gravel road. If it dont flood then the grass would be more ag fields. Im guessing the grass area to be 60 to 80 acres thats all split up by fence rows and drainage ditches. So would i want to hunt it like farmland? Swamp? Or marsh?
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Re: New land
Don't get hung up on what to call it. Hunt it for what it is. Hunt the deer where they need to be killed based on how and when you are hunting them.
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Re: New land
mauser06 wrote:Don't get hung up on what to call it. Hunt it for what it is. Hunt the deer where they need to be killed based on how and when you are hunting them.
That should answer everyone's question ever about hunting deer!
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Re: New land
Maybe that sounded like I was being a wise guy or something....
I really wasn't.
Scout and break it down. Don't worry about if it's marsh or swamp or farmland. The bucks that live there don't care what it is. They know where to bed to survive and know where to get food and water and where to find the does.
The things we talk about here and in Dan's videos and such aren't hard fast guarantees. I've found buck beds in seemingly bizarre locations that go against everything we "know". Then I ask myself WHY is he bedding there? There is always a reason.
When you have different habitats meet...say hill country but a beaver swamp....I find bucks bedding "like they should" on the hills and I also find them using the swamps. I read the sign and hunt them.
I used to get lost looking at a new property because it seemed huge. Sometimes monotonous. Seemed like deer could be anywhere and everywhere. I started breaking down what I was looking at. I also started scouting a LOT more. Boots on the ground was huge for me.
I hunt areas where you can cover a lot of ground without seeing much sign at all. You'd think the place isn't worth the time. Then you find where the deer are and it looks like a deer farm. I use the "rules" to get me in the ballpark. Often times that gets me into the deer. But sometimes due to the habitat and/or terrain and pressure etc the deer are using the land in a different way.
This year was a good example. Rut hunting hill country. Bucks should be cruising the top 1/3rd elevation right?? For the most part, there wasn't much sign there. One hunt, i walked the top into my spot. It was absolutely covered in sign. Fresh sign. Smoking fresh. I got into some crazy good hunting "higher than I should have been hunting" and proceeded to miss a buck that was stupid big at like 1pm as he was cruising.
Why were they up there??? Habitat. The top 1/3rd elevation is mostly mature hemlocks. The TOP was a mixed forest and a lot of young hemlocks. Gave them security to move around during the day.
I hunted them where they told me to hunt them.
I really wasn't.
Scout and break it down. Don't worry about if it's marsh or swamp or farmland. The bucks that live there don't care what it is. They know where to bed to survive and know where to get food and water and where to find the does.
The things we talk about here and in Dan's videos and such aren't hard fast guarantees. I've found buck beds in seemingly bizarre locations that go against everything we "know". Then I ask myself WHY is he bedding there? There is always a reason.
When you have different habitats meet...say hill country but a beaver swamp....I find bucks bedding "like they should" on the hills and I also find them using the swamps. I read the sign and hunt them.
I used to get lost looking at a new property because it seemed huge. Sometimes monotonous. Seemed like deer could be anywhere and everywhere. I started breaking down what I was looking at. I also started scouting a LOT more. Boots on the ground was huge for me.
I hunt areas where you can cover a lot of ground without seeing much sign at all. You'd think the place isn't worth the time. Then you find where the deer are and it looks like a deer farm. I use the "rules" to get me in the ballpark. Often times that gets me into the deer. But sometimes due to the habitat and/or terrain and pressure etc the deer are using the land in a different way.
This year was a good example. Rut hunting hill country. Bucks should be cruising the top 1/3rd elevation right?? For the most part, there wasn't much sign there. One hunt, i walked the top into my spot. It was absolutely covered in sign. Fresh sign. Smoking fresh. I got into some crazy good hunting "higher than I should have been hunting" and proceeded to miss a buck that was stupid big at like 1pm as he was cruising.
Why were they up there??? Habitat. The top 1/3rd elevation is mostly mature hemlocks. The TOP was a mixed forest and a lot of young hemlocks. Gave them security to move around during the day.
I hunted them where they told me to hunt them.
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Re: New land
Thank you for the explanation. Being new to this type of hunting just seems a bit overwhelming since its pretty much opposite what ive been taught. Im just trying to learn this beast method as much as possible so i wont be second guessing myself this coming fall.
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Re: New land
Moose wrote:I have acquired a new piece of private land to hunt. It boarders a small river that seems to flood every year. The layout is river then timber, then crp type grass if it floods, then ag fields then a gravel road. If it dont flood then the grass would be more ag fields. Im guessing the grass area to be 60 to 80 acres thats all split up by fence rows and drainage ditches. So would i want to hunt it like farmland? Swamp? Or marsh?
You'll have to scout it and probably give it a couple seasons hunting/scouting to really hone in. They could bed the river, the edge of the timber, in the crp in lower spots, downwind side of the fencerows. The ditches could be a good place to sit when they're cruising. Crop rotation is something to pay attention to, which is why I said it might take a couple seasons to get a good feel.
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Re: New land
It's definitely different than how many of us started out hunting. It takes time and commitment. The more time you put in, the more you learn.
Not sure where you are...I'm in Pennsylvania...season just ended and it's time to start scouting. Our deer tend to shift a bit in the late season so where they are now may or may not be places to key in on in the fall. But I hunt the late season so I note those spots as well. From now till spring green up, last year's fall sign is still visible. Spooking them now won't hurt like it would days or weeks prior to the season like many guys scout. In season scouting is important but I tackle it differently than I go about it now.
A piece of land like you mentioned...boots on the ground is going to be important. And deer will use it differently when it's flooded and when it's dry.
Don't let the land intimidate you. Break it down. After times you'll learn where to key in on based on the land you have.
Also depending on what you want from your hunts will make a difference in what you will want to focus on. I am looking for the biggest bucks I can find. I'm no pro...far from it. I don't see a lot of deer during archery season. But the ones I do see are often animals I wanna put my tag on. Again, this season as an example, I got shots at 3 different mature bucks in archery season. One being an absolute slob. But besides those 3, I didn't see a ton of other deer. Never had a doe within range and actually only saw a couple. A few 1.5s and 2.5yos. I'm completely thrilled with that...aside from my arrows not going where they should have.
Not sure where you are...I'm in Pennsylvania...season just ended and it's time to start scouting. Our deer tend to shift a bit in the late season so where they are now may or may not be places to key in on in the fall. But I hunt the late season so I note those spots as well. From now till spring green up, last year's fall sign is still visible. Spooking them now won't hurt like it would days or weeks prior to the season like many guys scout. In season scouting is important but I tackle it differently than I go about it now.
A piece of land like you mentioned...boots on the ground is going to be important. And deer will use it differently when it's flooded and when it's dry.
Don't let the land intimidate you. Break it down. After times you'll learn where to key in on based on the land you have.
Also depending on what you want from your hunts will make a difference in what you will want to focus on. I am looking for the biggest bucks I can find. I'm no pro...far from it. I don't see a lot of deer during archery season. But the ones I do see are often animals I wanna put my tag on. Again, this season as an example, I got shots at 3 different mature bucks in archery season. One being an absolute slob. But besides those 3, I didn't see a ton of other deer. Never had a doe within range and actually only saw a couple. A few 1.5s and 2.5yos. I'm completely thrilled with that...aside from my arrows not going where they should have.
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