I recently bought a 64-acre property this Spring that's kept me pretty busy in Central WI. The previous owners left several wooden stands and tree stands behind. I was busy moving into the home for most of the spring & summer and didn't get to work much on the stands on the property unfortunately. Since this is my first season bowhunting, its also safe to say I SERIOUSLY underestimated the level of skill and knowledge you need to be successful. I have a lot more respect for bow harvests now and fell in love with the sport bowhunting. My idea was to plant some food plots and hunt over them mornings and late afternoon and while there are does there, the mature bucks don't touch it until evenings.
Out of some frustration I started researching more and came across Dan's youtube channel. I ended up spending hours over the past few days watching content and have learned a lot. Thank you Dan and crew!
We have a lot of young visible deer on our property. There is a large privately owned marsh that I have about 40 acres in. The marsh was extremely wet this spring & summer so I've scouted a lot of beds near the transition areas. I planted two foods plots that are roughly 3-4 acres total of winter wheat, turnips and radishes highlighted below. They were extremely popular with does until the rut came along. There hasn't been a single person in this marsh all year long. We also have a house nearby with several close neighbors that own 40's. Deer are likely very used to humans nearby and cars running down the road.
Early on, I hunted ladder stands set up in pines which turned out to be a bad idea. My profile stuck out like a sore thumb in a pine plantation and I got busted by deer almost every time I was out. I then moved into the permanent stands to stop that from happening which helped. However, I've continued to go to the same stand over the NW food plot and figure my scent is everywhere. I've had opportunities to shoot 1 and 2 year olds but I'm looking for a solid 8-10.
I've included maps of the neighboring properties along with zoomed pictures of transition areas. The northern border is a shared easement road for neighbors and I have a neighbor living during weekends in a small trailer in the northwest corner. This road is frequently traveled down. The previous owners also pushed down shooting lanes with an argo & atv in the marsh for gun season but I'm not sure if that's a good idea.
Green = Food Plot locations
Blue = Ladder bowstands
Red = Permanent Wood Gun Stands
Blue Circles = Recently moved ladder stands
Neighboring property 1 mile radius
NE Corner
N Transition Area
SW Corner - extremely difficult to get to
Some bucks on cam:
How would you hunt different wind conditions here? I struggle figuring out what to do with a S/E wind. The stands are extremely close to the house so I can get there quickly but I seem to jump a lot of deer in the mornings. I Should I only be hunting afternoons? I typically only have Fri-Sunday to hunt here.
