Floodplain Bottomland Forest

[Octang]

Read the Book "Whitetail deer success by design" by Jeff Sturgis - he walks thru all of this sort of stuff in how to layout a property and why. If you read the book first - THEN you can see the choices and options you can have per property before you buy instead of buying a place and then seeing that maybe you made a mistake.

Look at the big picture beyond the property first. Get a general idea of how the deer use and move thru the area. See how much cover there is, and how much ag crops and the like there is. I would not want the area to be more than roughly 50% ag. I think cover is more important. Look at the number of neighbors and the like as well. These are all things you typically can't change. You can do all of this from a computer. Most counties have GIS maps that use satellite images and note parcels and the like. After that then your looking at the 4 habitat basics (food, water, cover and space/orientation). The book will discuss how to layout a property based on these things, so use that info to look and see what each property offers you.....just always keep the perspective of the hunter in mind. Property access and how it is laid out is what it's all about and Jeff wrote a book on the matter so I am not even going to try to walk thru it.....

You will find nothing is perfect. Every property will have limitations. Maybe you can;t hunt it well with a north wind, or maybe it lacks surface water. Maybe it lacks soft mast production or really needs a selective thinning. These are all things that can drive your decision one way or the other. But at least you know and understand that going in and not finding out about it after the facts! You will have to determine which ones are more important to you and which ones are not. Just consider the "plan" BEFORE you buy.

Thanks for the book recommendation. I've always enjoyed Jeff's blog posts and videos so I purchased the book. I look forward to going through it!

 

[j-bird]

Thanks for the book recommendation. I've always enjoyed Jeff's blog posts and videos so I purchased the book. I look forward to going through it!

I have all 3 of his "by design" books. I found them very helpful in seeing things a bit differently and if you are looking at property to purchase I think the info in there could be very useful to you. Good luck on your property search and let us know if/when/what you buy.....

 

[Telemark]

Why not ROD and swamp white oak? That's what I planted in the soggy bits that aren't really good for anything else.

 

[Octang]

I have all 3 of his "by design" books. I found them very helpful in seeing things a bit differently and if you are looking at property to purchase I think the info in there could be very useful to you. Good luck on your property search and let us know if/when/what you buy.....

Thanks again. I certainly will be sure to post when/what I buy. I am looking forward to being more active on this forum when I have my own land to play around with. The book at least gives me something to actively do while I wait impatiently for that to happen!