First post - asking for advice on habitat plan

[ARdougie]

Hello, guys. Brand new to any kind of forum. I am wanting to pick all you experts brains' here. Red line perimeter is our property. Wooded area is 39 acres. Grandfather has cattle on the pasture areas. We have fenced off the woods and food plot area. So, I am only concerned with the 5ish acre food plot area and 39 acre woods.

What do you see when you look at this property? Our wooded area is mainly mature oaks that looks like a park view, with the exception of the cedar ridge. I placed elevation points, so you could get a feel of the land. As you can see, there is a 110 foot ridge drop off going from west to east. It is a steep slope with lots of big rocks/boulders. Have hunted the land for years now and have only put food plots in the plot area. There are some good deer, but they only really hit the plots hard at night. Bachelor groups will be all through here during daytime right until start of bow season every year. The wooded area is mainly a travel area for deer, but there is absolutely no bedding since it is very mature oak stands.

Main bedding is in the pine thicket to the NE of our woods and pine thicket to the south of our woods. The only way I can see to improve thee day-time movement would be to hinge-cut that 3 acre area on that ridge top, where the timber stand meets the cedar stand for a possible bedding area. What's your thoughts on this and anything else you can think of?

My reasoning for being long-winded is to kind of paint a picture so you guys can have an idea of everything. I can answer any questions, as well. Any response will be greatly appreciated as I have a passion for habitat management to improve hunting. Trying to get the big bucks we do have travel through at night to visit during daytime! The location is in central Arkansas. Also, am curious to see what you all think of my food plot layout for this year. Thanks again!

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Welcome to the forum!

What is your wind direction in the fall normally?

And can you cut down any of the bigger trees?

 

[Someday isle]

Welcome to the forum! Congrats on the property.

 

[ARdougie]

Welcome to the forum!

What is your wind direction in the fall normally?

And can you cut down any of the bigger trees?

Generally, we get SW winds. Almost all cold fronts bring in the N winds. And I can cut a few of the massive trees, but not many. It is technically still my grandfathers. Can cut as many of the small-medium trees as I want. Thanks!

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Technically still your Grandfathers?...............That's like being sorta pregnant........

Are in the process of buying? Or just have permission to hunt? Just looking out farther.

 

[bwoods11]

That looks like a nice property!

 

[ARdougie]

Technically still your Grandfathers?...............That's like being sorta pregnant........

Are in the process of buying? Or just have permission to hunt? Just looking out farther.

Haha! He has deeded it to me and my brother. The only thing he cares about is us not cutting down all of the mature oaks. Just trying to keep him happy!

 

[bwoods11]

Haha! He has deeded it to me and my brother. The only thing he cares about is us not cutting down all of the mature oaks. Just trying to keep him happy!

You have a nice grandpa!!

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Without a east wind, you have access issues from what I can see. Tough to hunt between any bedding and your plots with a SW to N winds in the fall. The open woods kills you for bedding as you already know. And you only have a 40 of mostly open woods to work with if you can't do much cutting.

I guess I would try and find a line from bedding in the north of your place and bedding to the south of your place and try and create bedding areas in between as you have indicated. Leaving space between your new bedding spots to hunt off to one side or another depending on wind. All set up on some type of man made or natural terrain that could provide the bucks a travel corridor for checking bedding areas during the rut!

Ya, wish I had a grandpa!

 

[ARdougie]

Without a east wind, you have access issues from what I can see. Tough to hunt between any bedding and your plots with a SW to N winds in the fall. The open woods kills you for bedding as you already know. And you only have a 40 of mostly open woods to work with if you can't do much cutting.

I guess I would try and find a line from bedding in the north of your place and bedding to the south of your place and try and create bedding areas in between as you have indicated. Leaving space between your new bedding spots to hunt off to one side or another depending on wind. All set up on some type of man made or natural terrain that could provide the bucks a travel corridor for checking bedding areas during the rut!

Ya, wish I had a grandpa!

Can you elaborate on the man made travel corridor's for bucks. That was my plan- to create that 3 acre bedding are for does - and to have the bucks in and out of there during the rut, but my concern is that it is too open throughout the woods and they can go anywhere, without a funnel.

 

[wiscwhip]

man made travel corridor's for bucks=a funnel.

This............^^^ You "create" the funnel through hinging and planting trees and shrubs.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Bucks follow ridges and bucks follow creek bottoms naturally or cut paths. If you put a series of smaller bedding areas in a row across your 40. Like 1 acre or less. In some type of unorganized line from NE to south. You can force the bucks to travel from bedding site to bedding site during the rut. Out of your neighbors into yours and out to your other neighbors, and back and forth and back and fourth. They usually like to take the shortest path, so one would think they will follow a plan. But they are bucks, and its the rut, and I have been known to drive 140 miles out of my way to get from point A to point B, when looking for some tail. So anything can happen. You just want to narrow yourself down to the best chance as possible.

 

[wiscwhip]

A topo map of the place would be helpful, could you post one?

 

[Big Snow Man]

Nice property welcome aboard

 

[ARdougie]

A topo map of the place would be helpful, could you post one?

Here you go.

 

[ARdougie]

Bucks follow ridges and bucks follow creek bottoms naturally or cut paths. If you put a series of smaller bedding areas in a row across your 40. Like 1 acre or less. In some type of unorganized line from NE to south. You can force the bucks to travel from bedding site to bedding site during the rut. Out of your neighbors into yours and out to your other neighbors, and back and forth and back and fourth. They usually like to take the shortest path, so one would think they will follow a plan. But they are bucks, and its the rut, and I have been known to drive 140 miles out of my way to get from point A to point B, when looking for some tail. So anything can happen. You just want to narrow yourself down to the best chance as possible.

Ha! I like that idea. So, you would prefer the series of smaller ones from NE to S instead of that big 3 acre one - or in combination with the big 3 acre one?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Doe groups is what you are after son! All doe's don't like to bed together normally, they need space. The more smaller bedrooms you give them the more dominant does may hang around your property. Dominant or Older Does come into heat first Usually, Younger doe's later in the season. More of each you can keep there, the more the bucks will cruise through extending your rut hunting.

 

[j-bird]

Just taking a quick stab at it here.

The black circle are doe bedding areas.
The red squares are stand sites.

North stand site is only used with your SW wind. Your going to have to access it by walking the western property line and then the north property line. Don't go any further in to the cover than you need to.

The two south stands are for North winds - walk the lower east property line and the the the south property line for access. Again don't go any deeper than needed.

You can keep your plots where they are if you wish. Your biggest issue is going to be able to improve that understory to hold the deer - not just in the bedding areas but also to screen your access to your stands as well. Many time deer will actually bed on the outer edge of the cover and then face where they can have a view to detect danger with the wind at their back. Without a screen they may see you coming from a long ways off and be gone before you have any clue.

If it is calm thermals are going to pull your scent down hill and to the deer - so don't be surprised if your best luck is in the mornings, when the temps are rising. The steep area to the northeast is nearly a wasteland. It appears too steep to hold deer in my opinion.

I'm not trying to be a downer here - I am sure others will chime in as well, but I certainly see some challenges - addressing the cover at deer level would be priority #1 for me if it was mine. You could make the bedding areas even smaller and more of them and scatter in a kill plot or to as well, but I think you can see how I would put those features at the edge of the steep areas and then minimize my intrusions into the cover for hunting. You can also add some blockades to force deer past a certain point as well, but that may come with time or be used in concert with your stand access.

 

[MoBuckChaser]

"If it is calm thermals are going to pull your scent down hill and to the deer - so don't be surprised if your best luck is in the mornings, when the temps are rising."

That is a great statement J-Bird! Often overlooked!

I love hunting right in the mix of the bedding with morning thermals!

 

[Tap]

As far as cover is concernd...Do you have ash trees? If you do, you'll eventually lose them to the Emerald Ash Borer and your cover will change substantially. It's happening everywhere the EAB has effected.
I'd advise everyone that is planning a long term habitat plan to take inventory of their ash and how they lay on your property. Areas will go from being mature and park-like to heavy cover in a few years after infestation. It's happening here.

SW Pa