Big woods properties knowledge

  • Thread starter Thread starter BJE80
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Up that number to 10% of the total property size and you will draw deer. Is 8 acres of plots feasible for you? Only you can answer that, but in an area like that, if you feed them, they will come. Is baiting legal in your area? Do your neighbors bait? It might be hard to draw deer away from a cozy bait pile even with plots. Lots more food would be the first approach. If your woods is mature and park-like, that would be the second thing I would address.


Like we talked about before. I'll be going in the 3-4 acre range of plots right now. That is about the max I think my land could do with the plantable soils. The park like will be fixed next year.

Baiting is not legal and I don't believe any of the adjacent neighbors do.
 
If your plot acreage is limited - look into ways to make them dual purpose/multi-seasonal. I did this by planting my fruit trees in my perennial plots and by overseeding my summer annuals with fall/winter annuals. This helps provide more food on the same acreage. Also encourage other native food sources as well. When pressed with a challenge look for outside the box methods to help get what you need. I know some folks transplant and encourage jap honeysuckle - at the edge of their plots simply because it vines and grows vertical and is a good late season food for deer - while others see it as an invasive weed.
 
The "big woods" I was used to in Juneau County is quite different than the big woods of northern WI. That said, they share at least one commonality. Mile after mile of very, very similar habitat...which means there's little predictable deer movement. I started out by paying a lot of attention to what DID exist on other properties in the area...then to what DIDN'T exist on other properties in the area...and began to provide what was missing elsewhere. That approach began to show results before the property was sold. I'm convinced that I could have turned that property into quite a honey hole (relatively speaking...not in comparison to IA...in comparison to other properties in the area) with another few years of habitat work.
Our biggest limitation in Juneau was the small size of our property and the crappy neighbors, the public land to the north didn't bother me so much because in 5-7 more years when that clear cut grows back up it will be a great spot for holding deer again. That is one primary limitation of the Central Forest Zone vs the Northern Forest Zone, the amount of small tracts of land severely limits what one can do with their place and not have it disrupted by the other landowners around them. Stu's parents place at 100 acres was a relatively large piece for that area.
 
I've put in two plots. A .3 acre plot and a .18 acre plot. It has worked very well bringing in deer. I've planted 10 apple trees last spring. Don't know the result of that yet. I've hinged cut a bedding area but as far as I can tell they have not used it much. That is about it.
Like others have said, maximizing and diversifying the food options are likely the best bet. I also like the idea of feathering edges of food plots because you are putting more diverse food (woody browse and native phorbs etc) on the table at your plot locations so that you are building that pattern of usage that can be exploited from a huntability stand point.
 
Christine Big 13.jpg Johnny Thanksgiving buck on site.jpg All I have ever hunted is big woods my entire life. Never have hunted nor even been around AG. All my hunting focuses on acorn crops, saddles, ridges, and fingers. I have a very small food plot on our 80 but it might be good for taking a doe or 2 but when the rut kicks its well back into the timber for me even though I am not shooting any does there until the population comes up since we have about a 2:1 buck to doe ratio already. Other than our 80 acres of owned land I have permission to hunt the neighbors 230 that borders me to the north which is mostly all woods with some small brushy fields and we have a deer lease of 1300 acres that is all woods except about 60 acres or so of cattle pasture...

Wife and I killed these 3 on 80 acres of solid woods we own with a county road that runs right through it and neighbors way too close that are always trigger happy103114 Posed.jpg and only has 1 small 1/2 acre opening we had dozed into it.
 
Wide buck and wifes buck both taken from this tree 1 day apart center of property white oak grove on a ridge...81714 ladders twin pines.jpg
 
Heavy 9 point taken from this one at northern end of the property...103114 new stand.jpg
 
Remember BJE80 said that his land is flat with little to no terrain with a lot of wet areas if I recall correctly. I know the general area and it is flat
 
Awesome looking bucks Okie. By the looks of it that is one awesome Oak ridge.
 
Remember BJE80 said that his land is flat with little to no terrain with a lot of wet areas if I recall correctly. I know the general area and it is flat

And no oak trees. They don't grow real well with the high water table. It's maple and ash for my hardwoods.
 
My ground is pure BIG woods with only one small field. Its Literally surrounded by 10's of thousands of acres of timber. Im still learning and have lots of ideas just trying to get out there to get some work done has been my biggest challenge lately. Spring/Summer food plot pulled tons of deer in for my area but it was game over when the white oaks started dropping. My mature bucks reverted right back to their typical fall feeding pattern and only visited my fall plots after dark. Big woods deer are among the hardest to hunt IMHO. They don't move as much due to their diet. They eat more hard browse which doesn't digest as fast as say beans, corn or even grasses therefore they don't have to eat as often.
I have been learning allot from trail cams and hunting observation and have pinned down general areas bucks are coming from so now I have another plan of attack. My current strategy/project is to create some man made pinch points by dropping trees and piling up brush to force deer to a narrower travel corridor. Also gonna focus on adding more hunting plots within thick cover this yr as my cagey deer do not like open fields at all.
Not sure if any of that rant is what you were looking for but Good luck and hunt them hard!
 
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Big woods deer still use trails to move from a to b and all you have to figure out what a and b are. Once you know what they are on they are not that much more difficult to kill. During the rut just put yourself in a feeding area that attracts does and stay vigilant.

I have only hunted this way since I was 13 and I am 50 now. Every year offers up a big deer or 2 to the methods I have always used. 200 yards from the plot is the bomb...Will never have a box blind up in those woods and will only hunt out of trees with good cover because you can move deer to using different trails in a woods setting much easier than the thin travel corridors that AG country deer use if they bust you...btw busting you doesn't mean running and blowing like their hair is on fire. Subtle body language and changes in movements can show you when you have been busted. If a deer turns and stiff legged walks off he knows you are there. The key is to not let them know, change it up, multiple stand sites, never hunt with the wrong wind, simple stuff...
 
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Thanks for all the replies so far. I guess maybe I wasn't clear on intent. I understand how to hunt deer in the big woods. I was more thinking habitat stuff and setting up a property info. Most of the info people post about is geared toward farms. Differences and similarities in property Managment.
 
And no oak trees. They don't grow real well with the high water table. It's maple and ash for my hardwoods.

What do they feed on in your area? They have to have a preferred browse no matter where they are and they have to have places they like to bed.

The 3 years before this past fall we had total acorn failures due to drought. No acorns made the hunting much tougher but we still got it done by hunting the runways through the woods. Deer in big woods still use features to move about...a feature as subtle as a thicket edge next to mature woods or where tree species change from a smaller tree area to a more mature forest area. You can create these edges on your own place with a chain saw and some plantings if you don't have this naturally. If you have ridges, hollows, saddles, and fingers you will be blessed. I know most AND guys are generally farmers of some sort and will pass when land like this comes available but if you understand the woods you are in for some of the best hunting in the country!
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. I guess maybe I wasn't clear on intent. I understand how to hunt deer in the big woods. I was more thinking habitat stuff and setting up a property info. Most of the info people post about is geared toward farms. Differences and similarities in property Managment.

Hinge cuts, small clear cuts, water if you don't have it, a couple small plots dozed into the woods not necessarily to hunt but to keep deer in the area, replace some trees with some protected fruit trees, etc...
 
With lots of ash and maple - you are going to do well when the chainsaw shows up. The deer will also take advantage of any and all food you provide. You may even consider planting oaks and fruit trees in areas that will support them. When the saw shows up you may want to consider some windrows to more define movement patterns.

Just like any property look at what is missing in the area and provide that, food, thermal cover, browse, water, whatever is missing.

Just like any property - have a plan FIRST.

As you can see the habitat side isn't any different then ag habitat - it's just a matter to what extent you provide of the various habitat elements.
 
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.
 
Thanks for all the replies so far. I guess maybe I wasn't clear on intent. I understand how to hunt deer in the big woods. I was more thinking habitat stuff and setting up a property info. Most of the info people post about is geared toward farms. Differences and similarities in property Managment.

Define "big woods" then?
 
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.

I have gun hunted this for the last 28 years. Not all of it is 50 years old though.
 
Pretty sure I know what big woods are...just because I only own 80 of it like bje does doesn't mean I don't know big woods..
 
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