Big woods properties knowledge

[BJE80]

I think some of you guys have no idea what "big woods" means ... 500-1000 acres is not a forest, it is a woodlot.

In northern Wisconsin ... Nicolet National forest is 650,000 acres and Chequamagon National Forest is 850,000 acres of just trees. Imagine hunting deer in an area where they have never seen a ag field? An apple orchard, or any other grain of fruit food source? These forests are all mature trees, 50 plus years old, heavy canopy, very little discernible habitat variations.

That's where I started deer hunting. Nicolet national forest east of three lakes eagle river in the wilderness area.

My big woods isn't like that big woods. But it's also not a farm. What should I call it? Semi big woods? :)


My block of woods is about 2 miles north/south and 1.5 miles east/west. That is 1920 acres of continuous woods.

 

[chummer]

Well, I have been told I can walk 64 miles out my back door until I hit a road, and that is straight line, not a circle.

 

[sandbur]

Look for the seams on your property or else create some. Deer will travel along the seams. seams between wetter and drier areas. Seams between different ages of trees.

As others have said, look for any differences in elevation. Walk every inch of the property now and look for rub lines.

Then you need to strengthen those travel lanes or modify them just a bit. Deer will travel along strings of conifers after leaf drop. Plant some strings and clumps of conifers if you don'r have any.

You can make deer trails through the big woods, just make sure deer have a reason to travel where you make the deer trail.

Ken Nordberg had a series of old books on making deer trails on public land. I learned many of the basics from him. There can be deer trails to and fro feeding areas. And there can be cruising trails for bucks to use during the rut.

Steve has much more current knowledge. He and Batman have a couple of good videos on making deer trails and bedding locations in hardwood forests.

 

[dipper]

That's where I started deer hunting. Nicolet national forest east of three lakes eagle river in the wilderness area.

My big woods isn't like that big woods. But it's also not a farm. What should I call it? Semi big woods? :)


My block of woods is about 2 miles north/south and 1.5 miles east/west. That is 1920 acres of continuous woods.

Bj I don't know exactly where your property is but I think I have a pretty good idea from speaking with you. I think, there is still farm fields around you, there is still ag and "farms". I know you are not far from what us Wisconsinites call the true north woods. U obviously know what the big woods are, hunting around 3 lakes and such. I always wondered how good it would be having a 5 acre food plot where I hunt in forest county.
Obviously food plots are huge when you really get north, and they will surely be rewarding once you get them rolling on your place.
I'll give alittle different spin as usual. from my experience the really good properties have multiple ingredients that make them real special. For trophy bucks a must is low hunting pressure or well discipline trophy standards. Your not going to get mega bucks if there are hunters all over the place shooting every 100"-120"er they see.
Hunting pressure also plays into general population if everyone is shooting all the does in your area. There won't be a lot of deer. I don't care if it's northern or central wi, properties with multiple types of habitat will have better hunting than one type of habitat. I've noticed that where I hunt in forest county.
Diversity is key! My place is far from out west. It has numerous types of "edge". Glacial lakes with tamarack swamps/ bogs around the lake, cedar swamp, ash swamp, tag alder swamp, sedge meadows, deep rolling hills, a trout stream, blackberry thickets, spruce/ pine plantations, switchgrass, fir regeneration in the highlands. Lots of different places to hide and I think that gives the property major appeal to deer. The deer are always on those edges, no matter what the cover or topography is. Diverse Topography is just as important as diverse habitat too, but Usually they go hand in hand.
There is also pretty much 365 food from clover, alfalfa, beans and corn along with a diversity of food plots. It all adds up.

 

[dipper]

Hey-we are kicking around the idea of the ole lady taking an electrophysiology job in Wausau. She got an offer yesterday. My daily grind is mostly in point but I don't want her driving 50 minutes back and forth to work, but u never know. Get your place in shape in case we become neighbors or something. Haha

 

[Greta&Gus]

Most big woods properties have no income. Most guys that I know prefer income producing hunting properties. That is the reason I post those types mostly. They will sacrifice buying larger tracks of wooded property to justify to moma, how one can own a hunting property and have income.

Large Wooded properties without habitat work can be very difficult to hunt. Deer that can wander, make for some very unpredictable hunting. I believe they take a lot more planning on how to try and direct deer from point A, to point B. While trying to hunt in between A-B. JMO

I agree with this. The only thing I would add is that it appears that bluff land with big ag produces the best bucks and easiest setups. Flat land, regardless of ag or big woods, is harder to hunt.

 

[wiscwhip]

I agree with this. The only thing I would add is that it appears that bluff land with big ag produces the best bucks and easiest setups. Flat land, regardless of ag or big woods, is harder to hunt.

;)

 

[Tree Spud]

That's where I started deer hunting. Nicolet national forest east of three lakes eagle river in the wilderness area.

My big woods isn't like that big woods. But it's also not a farm. What should I call it? Semi big woods? :)


My block of woods is about 2 miles north/south and 1.5 miles east/west. That is 1920 acres of continuous woods.

BJE80 ... I spent quite a bit of time hunting near Phelps, WI. It is in the Ottawa national forest. Yes, sounds like you have a large section of continuous woods.

My point about "big woods" was, that there is a difference between woodlots situated in varying surrounding land (ag, marshes, grasses, etc), and large continuous tracts of woods that may be many 1000's of acres.

Deer need 3 things ... shelter, food, & water and they will travel to get all 3 as necessary. I would look at a square mile that surrounds your property and try and evaluate what are the differences in topography, water, forest types, and possible food sources. Try and determine travel corridors. If you put food in, how will the deer travel there, will they feel safe? If they are coming to your property, where do they enter & exit? If your neighbors have food sources or bedding cover, how do you play off them?

As Sandbur stated, diversity is key and even in large tracts of woods you will find diversity. I think in large continuous wooded areas, deer will look for and travel where the stem density is the highest. You can create this by planting trees or even hinging.

 

[wiscwhip]

Many would tell you that it doesn't matter and there is no way it would make a difference and you can laugh and argue all you want, but in large expanses of forest, something as subtle, unnoticeable, and minute as a change in the soil can effect plant communities and thus in turn, direct deer movement along those boundaries. Is it a huge factor, most likely not, but in a big woods environment where everything seems the same, it is the smallest of things that can differentiate a so-so area from a very good one. After you exhaust many of the "easier" options for determining and directing movement patterns, take a look at the Web Soil Survey website and focus on your property and the surrounding areas. Take note on if there are any changes to your soils in areas where you have noticed primary deer activity and movement routes, those areas may have differing soils and in turn differing plant species that the deer are keying on. You may notice a pattern start to develop and use them to form a plan to use those areas to your advantage. Deer prefer certain plant species more than others, from food to cover and anything in between. Those favored plant species also prefer certain types of soils. Knowing this information could make your job a lot easier and make it more evident to you when you do start to see a pattern develop. Leave no stone(or soil) unturned, as it were.

 

[BJE80]

When I purchased my land I was confident they would normally travel along the hemlock ribbons going through my property. I said, wow. Look at all that edges I can hunt and have deer movement predicted. The other properties don't have those transistions that I have as they are mostly just flat hard woods the entire way. It really hasn't turned out that way. Sure I know where the normal trails are now but there are so many of them I have to guess right and those trails do not follow the edges of the hemlocks. I need to switch it up so there less normal travel routes and more main travel routes. I thought the hemlock ribbon would do that and it has not.

 

[BJE80]

That is an interesting idea to lime to trails. Hmmmmmmm. Imagine that right after a logging when you have all new groth!

 

[BJE80]

^^^Limit their options then. Block/hinge the trails you don't want them using and sidewalk the ones you do want them using

That is what I'm trying to work on. :) And what I plan to pile brush up from my logging.

 

[BJE80]

That is one of the big reasons I went after apple trees. Nobody has them and I have not talked about it to the neighbors. They don't know I have them. I really hope that is something I am going to offer the deer something that the neighbors are not.

 

[BJE80]

The one neighbor that does have food plots mainly ONLY sits over the food plots and I think that is a mistake on his part. He has a ton of food but just stares at his plots and looks at does and fawns. He needs to get into the woods and hunt the travel routes instead of expecting a buck to enter his plots during shooting light.

 

[EOB]

My land is close to BJE80's and is very similar in habitat. All wooded, flat, and high water table. Our woods is fairly diverse from mature hardwoods to clear cut Aspen regrowth. I do have some Ag fields in the neighborhood but in one direction it is 20 miles of swamp and and timber. Water is not an issue, in the driest years I can still find a puddle with water in it. Food was what I felt was missing. A few years ago we had a timber harvest (MFL). Part of the timber was select cut and the other was clear cut. We had the logger clear cut a 1.5-2 acre area in the select cut area. This was stumped and made into a food plot along with 5 acres in the other clear cut. So now we have about 7 acres of "field". The smaller field cut out of the hardwoods is out driest and best soil. It has take a couple years to get the soil amended and it is still a work in progress. Our first year with the food plot was great we had 20 some deer pile into our new turnip and radish plot and at 150" Nine pointer was taken. This nine was pulled in from a couple miles away. Earlier in the year a neighbor had it on camera. Since then our deer herd has decreased, due to two hard winters. Now the food plot are doing OK, but not full of deer. I do believe our food plots will be a difference maker as the herd rebounds. My advice to BJE80 is to put some food plots in and create some edge, it will help. Creating bedding and cover will be icing on the cake.

Important: put your food plots on your driest and best soil and have a good plan for access.

 

[BJE80]

Yup, that was also one of the things that my folks' property had that nobody else in the area had. I'd continue to avoid discussing it with the neighbors.

Some of my fruit trees here are visible from the road (there'll be a bunch more that are visible this spring...oh well). My north neighbor told me "we have fruit trees too" once when we ran into each other at a local establishment (totally unsolicited..out of the blue). These guys obviously watch what I'm doing here...which is okay...at least they're observant. They do need some private lessons on how/when/where to hinge cut though

I have a unique situation where 3 sides of my property are not hunted and not pressured at all expect for gun season.

 

[BJE80]

My land is close to BJE80's and is very similar in habitat. All wooded, flat, and high water table. Our woods is fairly diverse from mature hardwoods to clear cut Aspen regrowth. I do have some Ag fields in the neighborhood but in one direction it is 20 miles of swamp and and timber. Water is not an issue, in the driest years I can still find a puddle with water in it. Food was what I felt was missing. A few years ago we had a timber harvest (MFL). Part of the timber was select cut and the other was clear cut. We had the logger clear cut a 1.5-2 acre area in the select cut area. This was stumped and made into a food plot along with 5 acres in the other clear cut. So now we have about 7 acres of "field". The smaller field cut out of the hardwoods is out driest and best soil. It has take a couple years to get the soil amended and it is still a work in progress. Our first year with the food plot was great we had 20 some deer pile into our new turnip and radish plot and at 150" Nine pointer was taken. This nine was pulled in from a couple miles away. Earlier in the year a neighbor had it on camera. Since then our deer herd has decreased, due to two hard winters. Now the food plot are doing OK, but not full of deer. I do believe our food plots will be a difference maker as the herd rebounds. My advice to BJE80 is to put some food plots in and create some edge, it will help. Creating bedding and cover will be icing on the cake.

Important: put your food plots on your driest and best soil and have a good plan for access.

Awesome. I would of figured where you are the soils would be starting to get sandy. Sounds very simular.



Here are a couple of pictures. This is in November which is a "dry" time. You can see the small puddles of water here and there.

And if we get a lot of rain it can really get wet.

 

[BJE80]

^^^sounds to me like you should be bowhunting big time :)

One would think so. I think I have said this before in other threads. I do not see or get pictures of bucks until the rut. I got does and fawns. But bucks don't show up till the rut. Then all hell breaks loose. We actually have a lot more success gun hunting than the neighbors because they are pushing them around and we sit tight.


My hope is that when we thicken up our woods more and provide more food we will be able to see bucks before the rut.

 

[phil@thesidehill]

I have a unique situation where 3 sides of my property are not hunted and not pressured at all expect for gun season.

My land situation is different than yours, but my neighboring hunting pressure sounds similar. They dont bow hunt and only hunt the first few days or rifle season. I only bow hunt my property i stay out during rifle season and let it serves as a sanctuary for the deer to escape the gun pressure. The past few years i have been able to fill my buck tag in archery season, making it easier to stay out during gun season....i have other places to hunt nearby though so when gun season rolls around I'm generally out looking to fill a doe tag or two and I have other places to hunt.

In your situation you might not be willing to give up gun season, but with that in mind i would work very hard to set up the place to produce in your archery season, and then if at all possible drastically reduce your gun season pressure....it could be a win win situation....you get great bow hunting and fill your tag/s and then the deer have a place to get away from the neighboring gun pressure.

 

[BJE80]

Well, even if your property doesn't get much action until the rut...you've got from around October 25 until mid-November to be bowhunting while the neighbors largely aren't around/hunting

Well, I shot my buck on Nov 3rd last year. I usually take off a full week to bow hunt the rut so I get about 7-9 days. That is always my goal to hunt that rut hard because that is the time my property is effective. You have to play the cards you are dealt.