Thoughts on hunting new property

[binney59]

I drew a Iowa Zone 9 archery tag and am going to be hunting a farm that a friend referred me to. He hasn't hunted it for a couple years but has had great success in the past. I am going to be picking his brain but wanted to get other feedback as to where to start on a property like this. I am used to flat farmland and flat big woods hunting but have watched (and will watch again) the Hill Country DVD.

The property is set up primarily for top access since the ag fields are high and the ravines drop off from there. The bottom land on the west edge of the property is usually planted in crops but with all the water they've got, as of this week it has yet to get planted. The farmer is doing a mix of beans and corn on the top but am not sure which field will be which. There is also a small amount of CRP. I am going to be able to scout the property in a few weeks but would like to hear anyone elses insight into how they would approach a property like this. Thanks for your time!

[binney59]

Any thoughts? Headed out to scout in 3 weeks or so.

[ Post made via iPad ]

[hunter_mike]

If it were me I would not do too much walking around to scout just because of scent that you would be putting out but I guess that also depends on if you are the only person hunting that farm? I would definitely put out a trail cam on the edge of a field so that you can drive right up to the actual camera without putting scent on the ground. I also think from your aerial view I can see the shadow of a silo? Consider climbing up on that baby with a spotting scope and trying to see if a buck is feeding in a certain spot right at dusk. If you see a buck in the daylight then would be pretty safe to assume he's bedding really closeby. Try to associate that sighting with one or two of the bedding areas that someone hopefully marks up on your topo map. That would be my strategy.

[binney59]

Thanks for the input, thats a good idea to use the silo- never thought about that. I will be the only person bowhunting the farm so I am not too worried about a speed scouting session ruining much, but still want to keep intrusion to a minimum. I am planning on heading there in a few weeks to hang a few cams and then not returning until close to opening weekend for a few days to hunt edges and pull camera cards. If not successful early I probably wont hunt it again until early November. I am trying to determine probable bedding areas based on the topo and have a few ideas but am always looking for people with more experience to confirm (or shoot down) my thoughts.

It is also worth noting that I marked the property line along the East edge wrong. The property line is closer to if you would extend the road due South and include marked area to the west.

[Bucky]

If it is a rut hunt on a good farm, and you are the only one hunting it... I pretty sure you could kill out of the red dots without scouting at all. I would prep these spots.... good luck


+

[binney59]

Thanks for your input, I appreciate your time! Unfortunately the red dots that you noted may be off of the property (I marked wrong in my map). I was given the wrong boundaries initially, but the red dot to the west may be part of the farm. Inside corners are going to be a huge focus, depending on how steep the fall off is in those areas. Thanks!

[Bucky]

If the draws up are steeper... the point of entry into top fields are where the does will congergate... bucks will follow. The insiden corner to the North should be a great spot as well

[ Post made via Android ]

[Dor]

The spots Bucky picked are the ones that jump out at me as well. Also, I would do everything in my power to gain access from the south end, so you could walk up those ravines in the morning.

[Stanley]

I kind of do an elimination starting point. The yellow indicates where i would not suspect a good stand site to be. The red circled area is where I consider the best bedding/ travel routes to be. The blue circled ares are what I consider secondary areas to look at for bedding and travel. I always try and look at the big picture rather than just the ground you have permission to hunt on.

Now that we have narrowed down the areas we consider of most importance these need to be narrowed down to specific stand sites. For me starting with a process of elimination and moving on from there is the most beneficial on new ground. Also keep in mind without knowing the land at all, we are just giving it our best guess.



The areas marked below are what I consider the next step. These are what I consider the best ares to check out for stand sites. Again remember this is just a best guess scenario. Ag country in hill country is much harder to figure out than ag country alone or hill country alone.

I do hunt in zone 9 and similar areas to the farm you are hunting. This is how I went about when first starting out. Sometimes the process pans out other times it is a complete wash. Hope this give you a few ideas on where to start looking.

I also want to touch on approach. The farm is set up poorly for walking up the ravines in my opinion. The reason I say this is because of a normal west prevailing wind. In most cases approaching from the East is the best scenario. You just can't follow your own scent into your stand site.

[binney59]

Thank you guys very much for your help! Dor- thats a great idea to approach from the bottom in the mornings, I am going to seek out the landowners permission when I am in town. Hoping a handshake and maybe a case of beer can solve that issue!

Stanley, I appreciate your approach and like how you look at the overall property to get the overall impression. Sometimes I jump in to the fine details before assessing the overall details. Thanks guys!

[Bucky]

For late mornings/evening approach with West/S and some NW wind... I'd take Cooks Rd to farmstead and walk fields into sets. AMs best approach as Dor stated

[binney59]

That's what I was thinking- bottom access in mornings, top in evenings.

For those who hunt hilly ag country, do you seem to see deer using fewer access points to a given field than compared to flat ag country? In looking at the topos, I am thinking that there may be limited areas where deer can enter a field, so depending on which entrances are preferred for certain wind directions, I should be able to narrow things down. I know that in flat ag land they still have preferred access trails but it seems that in a situation like this it would be even more limited.

I have extremely limited experience hunting field edges and will probably stick to edges during the early season hunts- sound logical or should I be pushing closer to bedding?

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[DEERSLAYER]

binney59,
Your east line is good on your aerial. It's to far east on your other two maps.

[Bucky]

The access to ag fields will likely be concentrated at the top of those draws. Hunting the bottoms will likely = swirling winds = no good for hunting. I'd talk to the farmer... ask him where he has been seeing deer (bucks) and then hunt a close to field edge set at the top of the nearest draw with the right wind. Exit strategies are gonna be difficult unless you can use corn edges.

[Dor]

The access to ag fields will likely be concentrated at the top of those draws. Hunting the bottoms will likely = swirling winds = no good for hunting. I'd talk to the farmer... ask him where he has been seeing deer (bucks) and then hunt a close to field edge set at the top of the nearest draw with the right wind. Exit strategies are gonna be difficult unless you can use corn edges.

Dropping down steep ravines works well too in some circumstances. If you are real close to the field and vehicles are permitted, I'd consider having a buddy drive right up to the stand and get you. Lots of creative ways to not burn spots out the first hunt. Ground scent will be the biggest key.