Year One Improvement Plan Overview

[MilkweedManiac]

Howdy Folks!

Attached you will see a picture of the "rough draft" plan I have concocted for our little piece of dirt. The property is 80 acres, but the picture shows about 45 acres that I will be devoting my attention to this year.

Some things I won't get to this year, but do want to leave room for are:

Fruit and Mast tree plantings | More switchgrass | Norway Spruce for thermal cover and overall landscape appeal | Shrubs and bushes that will add diversity to a very barren area.

Again, the picture is just a rough sketch that I did on my phone, so to clarify, all bean | corn plots are roughly 1 acre each, and clover mixes range from quarter to half acre. Switchgrass will be planted about 20 feet wide, and the Egyptian Wheat will also be that wide.

I need to close this property in and take some pressure off of the deer while giving myself some access. As it stands now, the deer can see you coming from about 200 yards away...it's pretty tough to hunt due to exposed access. That's why I'm planting the tall grasses. I read that it takes about 2-3 years for Switch to grow tall enough for screening, so I'll probably have to grow the E Wheat for a couple of years or I won't be able to sneak back there to hunt. My plan is to just walk through the middle of the Wheat, almost like a tunnel that will veer off depending on which blind/stand I am trying to hunt.

I would love to hear some feedback from those who are experienced with laying out ground for deer habitat.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Just asking, from a first glance it looks like your hunting will be primairly forcused around plots, with the main access, which although screened, will run straight down the pipe of the poperty?

Where r your targeted kill zones an which primary wind direction?

First concern would be anytime u bump deer, their natural movement will be out away from your core.

My only opionion is that Id be using the available water to any advatage possible for access then work from there.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

Nice looking place. Do you have pics of the areas around your place to show what the neighboring properties are like.

where do the deer bed? What general direction do they head to feed? It Looks like you have a ton of food plots which the deer will like, but it might make it hard to hunt if the deer have so many options.

I've had good luck trying to set up bedding on one end, large fields and plots on the other end and a little kill plot with tree stands in the middle. Then you have a better idea which direction the deer will come from so you can set up in the location least likely to get winded or bump deer. If the hunting pressure is high having a thick sanctuary would be a good idea as well.

 

[MilkweedManiac]

Thanks so much for the replies so far. I figured I would wait until someone saw the first photo before throwing out too much information.

I am posting two pictures below. The one with the circles and arrows is the most active bedding areas I have scouted and observed in hunting this property over the years. I actually hunted this place as a kid, never knowing that one day I'd be able to move here (that's a long story). The woods are rolling and the deer like to bed on the upper third or right on the field edges. This is why it has been almost impossible to hunt so far without being pegged. The woods are also way too open and I will eventually be diving into the world of chainsaws to create some successional growth while at the same time shrinking their POV down in size. They just have it so it easy right now that I have to do something.

The second photo shows the surrounding properties. To be clear, I have permission to hunt everything you see except the big CRP stuff to the West. So the tract south of me is 150, and the tract N and E of me is about 45. I do not have permission to do habitat improvements on the 150.

That being said, I don't want to bump deer, but if I do they aren't moving into territory that I can't access.

TrampledByTurtles - (love that name, just discovered their music last week and am a huge Bluerass fan)
Kill zones would be determined by the wind, but I just don't think it will be possible to hunt in the woods near those plots without bumping them. I'm thinking some soft-side blinds on an 8-foot platform with Egyptian around them. Most of the mature bucks come FROM the West or FROM the North. They love those little fence rows up high in that big CRP. They never make it further than the a couple hundred yards onto our 80 before dark. The lake is a great water source, but as you can see from the picture, it is right next to my house and out in the open with no cover. I will be addressing that in future years, but the bucks just aren't hitting anywhere near that lake until after dark. I should probably install some kind of watering hole once thick cover is established back there.

My best looking stand sight is probably going to be over the bottom right fall plot using a W or SW wind. I might potentially get a big one to scent check that plot/scrapes in late October right at dusk. Gotta get some screening around the plots though or it ain't happening. I just know the way these deer behave. They are shy and do not mess around in the wide open unless they are young or female.

Ben - Yes, I agree about having too many food locations. I guess my thinking is that I would have a place to hunt on any wind if I planted more of it. I'm also trying to build the herd up a little, too and sort of "advertise" to the deer that this is the new place to be in town. The 40 acres N and to the E is where a lot of the bedding is, so I don't necessarily have to own the bedding in order to benefit from it. But those two CRP fields on our property are certainly going to keep holding doe herds, for sure.

This property is so wide open down the center, that a buck doesn't have to spend more than a couple of minutes to see/smell the entire thing. I saw this happen this year and it was an eye-opening experience for me. My ultimate goal is to create a big maze that they have to explore in order to gather information, thus giving me the opportunity to lie in wait more effectively. But that will take a few years.

 

[S.T.Fanatic]

That looks like a nice area.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

I like the extreme SW corner and SE corners of the property because of the larger woodlots that connect to yours in those specific spots. If you could make a giant brushpile or increase the fence height over most of that area and leave a 20 yard opening you could have quite a funnel when the deer come and go from your property during the rut. Put a stand on each side of those two openings and you can hunt them with multiple wind directions. You could access those stands along your property exterior which I prefer if possible. I would intentionally leave your woods there open so the deer don't bed there so you aren't jumping them on your way in and out.

That looks like a great neighborhood in general.

 

[Telemark]

If you have the time and money, I would diversify those smaller plots a bit. Nothing wrong with corn, beans, and clover, but if you have diversity, I think you will get more activity. One thing I'm doing is planting a variety of pears and apples that will hopefully drop from August through January. I'm also planting my food plots in blocks of diverse foods to give them options and to find out what draws them best.

 

[Telemark]

My ultimate goal is to create a big maze that they have to explore in order to gather information, thus giving me the opportunity to lie in wait more effectively

I think they will figure it all out pretty quick. They seem to form a pretty thorough mental map in a matter of days. You might be better off manipulating the terrain to get the deer to go where you want when you want, in order to lie in wait.