Help needed with setup part 2!

[Jdaukontas]

Sorry about the image thing, still learning! Thanks for the help Dan! Look forward to your input...

I am knew to the hunting beast and I was wondering if I could get some assistance with possible scouting locations and set-ups for next year. I have recently acquired three knew properties where I live in upstate NY, and one I hunted this year with no luck but a single doe. I am attaching all three properties. The first is the one that I have hunted and scouted somewhat. I have located many interesting things: red = property line, yellow= doe bedding, light blue = rubs, dark blue = possible future tree stand set-up, purple = possible ground blind set-up, and lastly the upper orange portion of the first property I have not yet hunted due to the extreme pressure from neighboring properties. The second property I have walked once this year and found a huge rub in front of a downed tree at the top of a steep ridge (possible bedding?). The third property is brand new, and topographically looks very promising, I just need help on where to start and what to look for on my set-up and scouting trips. I would love advise on all three, but please give me what you can. On all three properties the wind blows mainly from the west, with few days of eastern and northern winds. This makes it tricky, because from what I have read and seen on this forum, most of the property is perfect for eastern wind which doesn't happen very often. All properties are surrounded by agriculture for the most part. Two have a river system on their backside, that opens to public land with a lake. Thanks for you help, and I look forward to feedback!





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[dan]

On the 1st property, the very best bedding features are at the top of the property where you don't want to hunt... When you say "neighboring pressure" do you mean trespassing? Cause even if the neighbors are lined up on the fenceline, as long as they don't trespass I think there should be a good amount of bedding going on up there... Regardless, I mapped out the lower section. Red dots are stand locations, a lot of which should give you good observation of an area before moving deeper or moving to where you spotted a buck. blue spots are suspected buck bedding... After the season is over, I would walk the area and confirm.

[dan]

[dan]

This property is a little harder to decipher... You should probably walk it this spring. I would expect a lot of the bedding to be on field edges with being able to view the field and/or the valley below using wind and thermals... How you enter the property to hunt is going to decide whether or not your seen or smelled by the bedded deer... I marked the map up, but you should really walk the field and ridge edges to determine exact beds and how they watch and smell the access. You should also pick out observation stands to watch the fields, see the edges the deer get up from and enter the field, and plan your entrance and kill positions based on what the bucks do, and where the bucks go, after getting up...

[Buckfever]

I agree with Dan the north end is the most high probability buck hunt. The south end with all the rubs just tells you there's bucks on the property and maybe concentrated there by the adjacent pressure, but that's all nighttime activity. The adjacent pressure you describe will funnel the daytime movement to you. I'll find this on the public too where the private pressure is actually greater and the daytime buck movement is pushed on the public. You'll see the private stands on the edge of the public trying to reach onto the public where the buck movment has been pushed to.

Somewhere in that yellow circle will be the high probability hunt. Just run back and forth east to west along that transition and you'll find there will a couple main buck runs connecting that block of timber to the north those will be your daytime runs. Don't worry about rubs there, big deep tracks, look for buck trails. 2-4 cameras and you could have that figured in a season.



The biggest problem is how to get there. I would skirt the east field edge never entering the woods keeping the woods pristine of human scent and hope the neighbors don't complain.

[Buckfever]

Second property I'm on the south end I'm checking just north and south of the powerline that's running east west. The third property IMO is easy. The top of the 2 cuts and in the bottom between the 2 cuts. The terrain features and topography force the movement. You'd like to know inventory, but truth is where you're hunting you know the quality is world class.



Usually I like finding bedding first but on this one I would find the runs and where I would set up and then work backwards to the bedding, just because it's a tight property and it would be quick work.

[Jdaukontas]

Thanks for the advice, I have some homework to do. The first property hold great bucks, because I have seen them from a distance and on trail camera. In NY, where I live the bow season starts Oct. 1st and ends Sept. 15th, which marks the start of rifle. I have found that the pressure during bow is very minimal, but once rifle starts, the trespassing grows out of control; mainly on the upper section of the property and the extent is walking through every open field hoping to get lucky. I have't found many human tracks while walking the woods, checking for rubs, scrapes, etc. I think my best option at a worthy buck is bow season. Once rifle kicks off, my father-in-law has an enormous swamp which has a ton of pressure surrounding it, but no one is daring to enter into the swamp itself. I am going to be posting pictures of the swamp later on and pick your brains before I scout it in the spring. To the east of the first property is a highly posted property that is only around 30 acres but the owner patrols it regularly and trespassing is zero. I think once rifle kicks off, this become the sanctuary. It is located where the two little ponds are on the map. I plan on hitting the ground hard as winter ends to try and find as much info on possible locations as I can. Still trying to learn where the bucks beds and why exactly. I contemplated with the idea of a food plot in one of the upper CRP fields, but access to hunt will be my largest challenge. The western wind limits my movements, at least I feel like it does. I will continue to ask questions and learn as much as possible. Thanks for the help!