Tips on Scouting Flat Farm Land River bottoms
- tcop7
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Tips on Scouting Flat Farm Land River bottoms
Just got permission for a little over 500 acres of flat farm land with two nice sized river bottoms in it. The river is pretty large in size, I'd say it averages probably 50 to 60 yards wide and is too deep to walk across. Both of the bottoms have tree lines that follow the river and are 20 or 25 yards wide, the rest of each bottom is just crop fields. Anybody have any tips on how to try and scout this or where to start? or have any experience hunting this type of ground? Corn is planted in both bottoms so I should be able to sneak in without anything seeing me. This is a very big river so between each bend is like a 40 to 50 acre crop field.
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- Singing Bridge
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Re: Tips on Scouting Flat Farm Land River bottoms
tcop7 wrote:Just got permission for a little over 500 acres of flat farm land with two nice sized river bottoms in it. The river is pretty large in size, I'd say it averages probably 50 to 60 yards wide and is too deep to walk across. Both of the bottoms have tree lines that follow the river and are 20 or 25 yards wide, the rest of each bottom is just crop fields. Anybody have any tips on how to try and scout this or where to start? or have any experience hunting this type of ground? Corn is planted in both bottoms so I should be able to sneak in without anything seeing me. This is a very big river so between each bend is like a 40 to 50 acre crop field.
That's an interesting, challenging dynamic for hunting. With crops on the inside bends, the bucks will eventually have food / water / bedding cover within a stones throw of each other. Even though you describe it as flat, there is edge between the river / tree lines / crops. The bucks will not eat corn exclusively even when it ripens. There will be transitions from the river bottom bedding to other food sources. There is almost certainly a main interstate deer run following the river... locating bedding and setting up in staging areas as close to the bedding as you can be would appear to be a great option for you. Whether the food option is corn or some other distant source, setting up to intercept that travel is what counts.
During the rut phases the same application will apply... but you are setting up to intercept movement toward does, primarily, rather than food sources. The does bedded nearby will not be the only ones your bucks are interested in... and bucks from other properties will be interested in those where you have permission to hunt. The edges created by the different habitats we have already discussed will be important for you to intercept buck travel...
Even though the timber appears to be narrow, make sure that you cannot find a flood plain thicket somewhere along it... they are mature buck bedding hotspots. Also... any potholes of water on the farm... 'nuff said.
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