access routes

[DiSc0Rd]

the image was done in paint so it's not great but you get the idea. my question is the main road which walks from north to south is how we access the big field and a few of the stands. that is also a major roadway the deer travel. I'm worried about the scent trail we are leaving. all rubber boots and i spray down and often put some evercalm on the boot sides and bottom. there is no public access on any side so we are kind of stuck with this path unless we trek through the woods which seems worse. do you see any better path(s) that might help cut down on the sent trail or better mask us?

 

[PatinPA]

I'm very much in the same boat. I only have road front on one side. I could access from one neighbor but the deer often bed on that property and cross onto mine so that's a no go.

Can you access along that fencerow on the right side (east) of the pic. Might be able to access the stands on that side from there. Depending on the travel directions you might be able to do the same on west side. You might want to add bedding locations and travel directions to your map. That would help.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

i can use both right and left side roads but im covering the same or more ground and crossing as many paths. and as far as bedding i am not even sure where they are bedding down. if i had to guess they are in the middle right areas. there a a ton of downed ceder and it is really thick, and no real big tress to put up a stand so we stay out of that area except shed and mushroom hunting

 

[chiaj144]

I would also be worried about the prevailing wind direction and line of sight. If you travel that road with any wind other than North or South you're blowing out half the property plus any deer that can see you walk down that trail from both sides. I would use the property edges at all costs and access so the wind blows off your property.

 

[Kooch]

Chainsaw and a brush hog and a huge amount of sweat equity. I have the same issue. My access is only from the South. It's not perfect, but I made my primary access trail up the East boundary, as close to the edge as possible. I'm working on access along the West boundary. That's not a perfect plan either. I'm sure I spook plenty. But, we have to walk somewhere. I can't imagine walking right up the middle of my place as a regular access plan.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

Chainsaw and a brush hog and a huge amount of sweat equity. I have the same issue. My access is only from the South. It's not perfect, but I made my primary access trail up the East boundary, as close to the edge as possible. I'm working on access along the West boundary. That's not a perfect plan either. I'm sure I spook plenty. But, we have to walk somewhere. I can't imagine walking right up the middle of my place as a regular access plan.

Good news is the east side we just spent 4 hours cleaning out so it can be walked. The two stands in the middle are my biggest issue as even the far edges I will have to walk the middle at some point. I try and get in early during early season when they are normally in the ag I'm surrounded by.

 

[Chainsaw]

We much prefer to access our stands from our property lines when possible and keep the interiors of the property untouched, un-walked, unheard, unseen, and unscented up. If the wind is blowing into the property from the south, we don't walk down the south perimeter line. With that said and done whenever possible much of our access involves walking in from the road into the wind to our low impact stands. Often those stands work even though they are not necessarily in the highest traffic areas and we are finding they are working more and more as we stay away from our higher impact/ higher traffic stands until that absolutely perfect day of days. Hunts from stands in the interior of the property are used very sparingly like one or two times a season. And if there is no perfect wind condition and we just "have to go hunting" then a lower impact hard shell Redneck is our best choice. Usually if there is no perfect setup-we simply don't go out.

DiScRD, if you are seeing mature deer activity during daytime hours then it is a safe bet that your access is acceptable to the deer; conversely if you aren't getting a lot of daytime activity then some major changes are in order.

 

[Hoytvectrix]

Chainsaw and a brush hog and a huge amount of sweat equity. I have the same issue. My access is only from the South. It's not perfect, but I made my primary access trail up the East boundary, as close to the edge as possible. I'm working on access along the West boundary. That's not a perfect plan either. I'm sure I spook plenty. But, we have to walk somewhere. I can't imagine walking right up the middle of my place as a regular access plan.

This is your best bet. I'd be considering miscanthus or thicket forming plants to help screen your entry and exits where fallen trees don't exist. The east side property line takes you longer, but conserves the majority of your property.

We have a somewhat similar setup in that the house is near the center of the property. I wish we would have spent as much time making more concealing access routes instead of more food plots. We're getting there though.

Great topic!

 

[DiSc0Rd]

This is your best bet. I'd be considering miscanthus or thicket forming plants to help screen your entry and exits where fallen trees don't exist. The east side property line takes you longer, but conserves the majority of your property.

We have a somewhat similar setup in that the house is near the center of the property. I wish we would have spent as much time making more concealing access routes instead of more food plots. We're getting there though.

Great topic!

i have considered adding a strip of something be it SG, milo, or EW to screen the access road as you move south. i have only jumped deer in the open area once (that i am aware of) when i was coming in for the night a little early. im sure there were other times but i only saw deer once. the southern (field) blind is bothersome too. as you leave the cabin area you would need to walk a Z pattern to skirt the edges, but that still walks you into open area at the north side of the field. but again i prob just need to look into a type of screening until i can tuck into the tree line on the west side of the field to get in the blind.

 

[PatinPA]

How long have you had the property? How big is it? How many people are hunting it?

My thinking is you might want to take some more time to find out where the deer are bedding and major travel corridors. If they're crossing onto your property from another you probably don't want to mess that up. That's where the property size comes in. Can you hold those deer on your property somewhere by creating a better bedding area? Then you can afford to blow that crossing. Then how many are hunting it? Just to know what the pressure is going to be like.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

How long have you had the property? How big is it? How many people are hunting it?

My thinking is you might want to take some more time to find out where the deer are bedding and major travel corridors. If they're crossing onto your property from another you probably don't want to mess that up. That's where the property size comes in. Can you hold those deer on your property somewhere by creating a better bedding area? Then you can afford to blow that crossing. Then how many are hunting it? Just to know what the pressure is going to be like.

its 80 acres. there are normally 2 or 3 ppl on it. me, my dad, and my son. we might have 4 if a buddy comes for a weekend but that is maybe 4 times top in a whole season. we bought it last year about june early july. honestly im not really good at determining bedding areas guess i should start working on that

 

[Hoytvectrix]

There are some really good resources online from The Hunting Public or The Hunting Beast that go into detail for locating bedding areas. Bedding areas will be thick with cover, have escape routes, somewhat near water, and have a topographic advantage if present. Honestly, the best way of learning where deer bed is getting out there when there is snow on the ground. Like PatinPA said, I would definitely try and learn how deer are using the property first, and then plan around that. It's waaay easier said than done though, because we obviously working on our lands and feel like we are making improvements.

 

[PatinPA]

its 80 acres. there are normally 2 or 3 ppl on it. me, my dad, and my son. we might have 4 if a buddy comes for a weekend but that is maybe 4 times top in a whole season. we bought it last year about june early july. honestly im not really good at determining bedding areas guess i should start working on that

Ya that's the first thing I would do. Now's a great time to do it too. Before everything leafs out. you can still see last year's scrapes and rubs. Not sure when your turkey season is but that can be a duel trip.

With 80 acres you can hold some deer. My best advice is don't rush into it. Take some time and just observe.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

Ya that's the first thing I would do. Now's a great time to do it too. Before everything leafs out. you can still see last year's scrapes and rubs. Not sure when your turkey season is but that can be a duel trip.

With 80 acres you can hold some deer. My best advice is don't rush into it. Take some time and just observe.

turkeys came in Monday. im going Friday and 2 weeks after if i have to. sadly my next few weekends are booked. the middle stand by the yellow arrow im wondering if it wouldnt just be better than to cut a path right from the cabin in the woods to it. the timber is thick there so there is a slight worry they might have beds in that area but i for sure need to do more scouting. my schedule is just crazy until june so my free time doesnt line up with my deer work time right now :(

 

[PatinPA]

That might be a one or two day a season kind of a stand. Looks like you could mess up a lot. I have a small property and the major bedding is not on it. It's mostly just a pass through. I try to hunt the edges but eventually I have to venture in to it to where the bucks travel especially in the rut. I try to only hunt it a day or two a week tops just to keep the pressure down and only do a deep dive when I know there is a big one in the area.

 

[DiSc0Rd]

That might be a one or two day a season kind of a stand. Looks like you could mess up a lot. I have a small property and the major bedding is not on it. It's mostly just a pass through. I try to hunt the edges but eventually I have to venture in to it to where the bucks travel especially in the rut. I try to only hunt it a day or two a week tops just to keep the pressure down and only do a deep dive when I know there is a big one in the area.

I/we almost never sit there honestly. Killed a 10 ptr shotgun season out of it opening day. The field blind is bothersome too. I guess walk the east edge until the field then cut into the pines. There is a hill behind it so there isn't a terrible wind for it really just the route to is the issue. Son mostly sits there, he has young legs so he can deal with the walk.

 

[Bassattackr]

If you travel that road with any wind other than North or South you're blowing out half the property plus any deer that can see you walk down that trail from both sides. I would use the property edges at all costs and access so the wind blows off your property.

This was my first observation as well. Anything other than a due north or south is going to drift your scent right through some of those bedding areas. Not ideal.

 

[Someday isle]

As a small property owner I use the edges and then created access trails to my stand locations using my DR mower. While the idea of access trails is a good one I find that the deer not only learn where they are very quickly, they also use them to travel on. It’s a good thing but we really have to be scent control and wind conscious.

 

[bwoods11]

Access is very important, but most properties have access issues. As a general rule, we try to not go in very far in the mornings.. or... not hunt the mornings. We will go in further in the afternoon, and try to be creative on the way back to the truck.