Building my own Hunting Retreat

[EngineerinSquid]

Hello everyone,

So a couple months ago I found a nice 40 acres in Northern Wisconsin that I have now official closed on. Now this land is far from perfect and I would like to make this thread kind of a documentation and journal of my journey into turning this into my own hunting retreat.



Now let's get started, above is a basic map of the property. Obviously names of roads and all that removed so I don’t get anyone snooping around after providing all this info. I’ll provide what pictures I have of the spots but will post updates when I get new or different pics. Points of Interest (POI) are numbered and are as follows: 1)Cabin spot #1 2)Foodplot #2 3)Treestand #1 4)Foodplot #1 5)Trail cam #1 6)Trail cam #2 7)Hilltop 8)Swamp #1 9) Swamp #2 10)Cliff

POI 1
This was actually the first spot I had picked out for a cabin on my first walkthrough of the property. It’s far off the road so no traffic noise, has a great view overlooking a drop off into the forest, one of the bigger flat spots on the property so should be easy to build. Current concerns are that there might be a natural spring filling a small ditch just off the build site, the distance from the road might make building a driveway and electrical expensive, and finally it is kinda in the middle of the majority of hunting ground on the property, as the two thin strips on the south edge of the property are undesirable to lure deer there. Also there is one of the few well defined deer tracks right next to the build site so might disrupt any deer currently residing on the property.



POI 2
I found this spot on my second trip up to the property on a scouting trip. This was originally a planned building spot as it would leave the whole section of the property north of the road available to hunt, but after a visit from our road contractor and the septic contractor, the hill is too steep to get up to the site and would be super expensive to build a driveway up the side. As such this is most likely gonna be my second food plot site. The plan for this site would be to clear out most of the top of the hill similar to the clearing just south of my property. After the clear cut, I would plant some native tall grasses in the center and surround it with turkey attracting plants. Again most likely just to have a treestand up at first and maybe build an enclosed tower stand but this location would be less likely for that over the first foodplot.


POI 3
So this is kinda the only legal issue with the land as there is a treestand already here. Now it is under an open Managed Forest Law(MFL), for those not familiar it’s a law in Wisconsin that lets landowners have cheaper taxes for agreeing to properly manage their forest, so it is open to the public to hunt on and falls under public hunting rules until I close it, which will take effect at the start of next year. However, by public rules, tree stands are not allowed to be permanent and can only go up I believe a week before the opening of bow season. I plan on putting a notice on the treestand for 2 months and taking it down if it hasn’t been removed. And of course I’ll be putting up my own cause it is a pretty good spot. It will also be overlooking the spot of where I will be putting foodplot #1, but more on that in the next point.



POI 4
So this happens to be one of the largest semi-flat areas on the property and I would think it’d be perfect for a food plot except for one thing, the east edge is on a 40-50’ drop off into a valley. Now correct me if I’m wrong but there is a chance that deer may not make the climb up to that plot if they are entering the property through the ravine. Anyway currently planning on a hourglass shape with the two wide ends being oriented east-west depending on how my wind direction data pans out. This is important as my research suggests to set a treestand/blind/tower in the tree line where the hourglass kinda constricts.



POI 5&6
I will actually have 3 trail cams up from the start but I highlighted the two most important that I am placing. The first spot at #5 is going to be overlooking the foodplot. I picked spypoint cameras as I heard good reviews for them and the one at spot 5 will also be a solar trail cam. The next one at #6 is going to be overlooking a possible trail by the small creek as it enters the east end of the property.


POI 7
This hill is one of the tallest on the property and where I plan to plant a small food plot to attract primarily turkey. It has a nice flat top around 100’ in diameter and a nice clear trail to the top. It may also be a pretty good picnic spot as well.



POI 10
This is one of the most interesting features on the land. Only about 20 feet from the first tree stand, this is a drop off of about 30-40’ and overlooks the valley where the stream enters the property on the east side.




Well thanks for sticking in there and reading all of that. I don't have much else, as I did just close on the property so still gathering data and advice on how to proceed with different projects and potential improvements. I'm not trying to rush anything by any means but I am fairly young so I will have PLENTY of time to correct any miscalculations and screw ups that are bound to happen. Any advice is always appreciated and I would also like any tips or suggestions that could help guide me down a better path or train of thought. I do ask around in some of the other threads for advice as well so if you see one of those posts and can help please do. And the last thing I promise, if all you are going to do is reply with something non-constructive, harsh, or just generally bashing me for my lack of experience, please just don't post it, it'll save everyone some piece of mind as we are all here just to enjoy a shared hobby or two.

 

[trampledbyturtles]

Neat looking piece.

So can the public hunt it this year? Or r u in the process of shutting that down?

I personally wouldn't start any habitat manipulation till that door is closed.

 

[35-acre]

I hunt in NY hardwood forests and own 40 acres there, with similar geography (mostly bottom land). Here's my experience/thoughts.

Plots:
Where I am, we don't have a lot of open areas in the woods. So any field/plots do draw in the deer. I recommend thinking long/hard about what you want to do along those lines. In my experience I started a plot on my 40 acres and planted stuff that the deer could eat all season (rotating throughout the year). What I ended up with was a "doe factory". Meaning multiple fawns dropped/hiding in my field with feeding patterns early morning and after dark at night. Then as the pre-season got underway, I would have some really good activity in my field right up until mid-September/early October when the acorns would draw deer away to the ridge flats. My land wasn't "thick enough" and it wasn't desirable for the deer to stay on because it was in the bottom. If you want to put in plots, I would suggest using the best spots. Consider screening them somehow and make a serious effort on that if they are visible from the road. You've got trails showing and putting a plot near them or in the bottoms will allow you to get in and hunt likely without disturbing the deer patterns. I put my recommendations in green. At both ends of your trails which gives you lots of ambush spots.

Elevation:
In my neck of the woods, the deer bed on the top of the hills and use the wind to their advantage (at their back, while they look down for danger). So as you'll see in the image, I marked up where I would think the deer are going to be coming from or bedding in. They will travel down those draws (no matter how steep) to the bottom for social activities and water access.

Cabin:
You seem to be wanting it tucked back off the road. I understand that as you consider the privacy and so on. But being near the road has advantages (you see who's coming and going; a friendly wave goes a long way, etc.). Plus, access is easy and the locations that I marked don't seem to mess up the hunting aspects of the property. However, not knowing what's in those locations means I could be WAY off in my recommendation. But with what you provided, it looks like one part of the property is great for hunting and I wouldn't want to mess that up. That bottom corner doesn't seem like it's going to offer hunting so my thoughts were to use it for cabin/driveway and keeping the general noise/disruption away from where you think the deer might be. I know this; 40 acres isn't that big. So the way you could separate yourself by putting your cabin there would be ideal (if the land works).

Deer and travel:
Using the topo lines, I dropped on some arrows in areas where I think the deer will travel (without field/plot adds). These may not be defined trails, they are just the easiest path to get from the top to the bottom, where I would expect does to travel. Bucks will probably cut across the side of the hill to check multiple trails of does going up/down. Once things get swinging during the season they will cruise through the low feeding areas checking for a hot doe and follow those same trails up. That's how it works where I am anyway. The only odd travel is that hill in the middle, the deer could go any direction but plots and fruit trees could manipulate that direction ;)

Mostly this is

 

[EngineerinSquid]

So can the public hunt it this year? Or r u in the process of shutting that down?

Ya so the previous owner did have it designated as open, so it is open to public hunting following normal public hunting rules for Wisconsin. I did get that switched to closed on the transfer documents but I guess the DNR won’t recognize the new designation until the first of next year.

Plots:
Where I am, we don't have a lot of open areas in the woods. So any field/plots do draw in the deer. I recommend thinking long/hard about what you want to do along those lines. In my experience I started a plot on my 40 acres and planted stuff that the deer could eat all season (rotating throughout the year). What I ended up with was a "doe factory". Meaning multiple fawns dropped/hiding in my field with feeding patterns early morning and after dark at night. Then as the pre-season got underway, I would have some really good activity in my field right up until mid-September/early October when the acorns would draw deer away to the ridge flats. My land wasn't "thick enough" and it wasn't desirable for the deer to stay on because it was in the bottom. If you want to put in plots, I would suggest using the best spots. Consider screening them somehow and make a serious effort on that if they are visible from the road. You've got trails showing and putting a plot near them or in the bottoms will allow you to get in and hunt likely without disturbing the deer patterns. I put my recommendations in green. At both ends of your trails which gives you lots of ambush spots.

For the most part I am doubting exactly what you are talking about and am fully expecting the deer to follow those same patterns on my land. The only problem with my property is all the low spots you suggest are all super swampy/wetland and are designated as such by my states DNR. So I essentially can’t touch those areas when it comes to land management and altering the wetlands.

Elevation:
In my neck of the woods, the deer bed on the top of the hills and use the wind to their advantage (at their back, while they look down for danger). So as you'll see in the image, I marked up where I would think the deer are going to be coming from or bedding in. They will travel down those draws (no matter how steep) to the bottom for social activities and water access.

I had done some reading about this so it is nice to hear from at least one other source to confirm it.

Cabin:
You seem to be wanting it tucked back off the road. I understand that as you consider the privacy and so on. But being near the road has advantages (you see who's coming and going; a friendly wave goes a long way, etc.). Plus, access is easy and the locations that I marked don't seem to mess up the hunting aspects of the property. However, not knowing what's in those locations means I could be WAY off in my recommendation.

The problem with this topo graph in particular is that it does a great gob giving a jist of the topo but doesn’t go into too much detail. What that detail doesn’t show is that every edge along that roadway is close to a 50-60 degree angle going up about 30-40’ except for the dashed black line by the intersection of the roads. I had looked into getting driveway access into a couple spots on the south end of the property, because I too wanted the house to be more separate from the hunting area for much the same reasons you pointed out, but the cost of building in the switchbacks would make the driveway start getting into the 60-100k price range from our builders estimates and that’s just a straight no go.

Deer and travel:
Using the topo lines, I dropped on some arrows in areas where I think the deer will travel (without field/plot adds). These may not be defined trails, they are just the easiest path to get from the top to the bottom, where I would expect does to travel. Bucks will probably cut across the side of the hill to check multiple trails of does going up/down. Once things get swinging during the season they will cruise through the low feeding areas checking

Thank you for this addition as well! Definitely something to keep in mind and add to my assumption sheet to see if I can find a way to confirm any of that travel.

 

[Ben.MN/WI]

What county are you located? I own land in Rusk County Wisconsin and the hunting can really be up and down depending on winter severity and predator load. You should start applying for bear preference points now!

I'd recommend hunting it for a year to see how the deer currently use your land before making any major changes since sometimes improvements in our eyes hurt the hunting. I like the elevation change you have on your place and you should have a good time with your new property.

I wouldn't be afraid to scout out some public land in your general area to give you some other options for both big game and small game. We have found some pretty decent hunting on public land and it normally is a simple as finding out what properties have had recent logging activity.

 

[35-acre]

That's a tough call then. You won't know if your messing with travel patterns.
I would consider staying elsewhere and hunting/getting to know the land before making the investment in putting in a place or doing any significant modifications.

 

[Bassattackr]

That's a tough call then. You won't know if your messing with travel patterns.
I would consider staying elsewhere and hunting/getting to know the land before making the investment in putting in a place or doing any significant modifications.

Great advice. I'd also hunt a couple seasons to get the "lay of the land" before plopping a cabin in the center of the property.

At first glance, your waypoint #1 seems like a great location for a food plot in that corner.

Personally, I'd probably shy away from #1 as a cabin location, it could be on a flood plain? Especially given the proximity to the "swamp".

 

[EngineerinSquid]

Great advice. I'd also hunt a couple seasons to get the "lay of the land" before plopping a cabin in the center of the property.

At first glance, your waypoint #1 seems like a great location for a food plot in that corner.

Personally, I'd probably shy away from #1 as a cabin location, it could be on a flood plain? Especially given the proximity to the "swamp".

ya that was also a potential food plot point as it was very nice and flat, but it is the only such flat spot that is close to the road with good access and not designated as a wetland by the DNR so we can actually build on it. Not at all worried about it being a flood plane as it is up on a dropoff about 30-40' above that swamp

 

[EngineerinSquid]

Update #1 07/2021:

Well it’s been about a month and I have had quite a few developments on both the land improvement and hunting side of things. I guess I’ll start with the land improvement updates first

Forest management:
So a couple weeks back I walked the property with a professional forester to get an idea of the current timber stand and to get a few for the kind of improvements I want to make for deer habitat. There were a lot of positives, mostly that the stand is ready for a harvest in the next 1-4 years which will definitely help offset some of the other costs of the property based on his very early and conservative estimates for the timber sale. Also that there were some sugar maples spread around the property (yay maple syrup), and while there were a couple of red oaks, there weren’t any other really good hard mast producers that could challenge my food plot plans for attention from the deer. So my plan to plant white oaks around my food plot should still be feasible. There were also a couple of butternut trees around too so those might be good to set up a stand or two if I see that the deer are really liking them. The last piece of good news is that I have enough productive land still that I’ll be able to clear out the 2 1/2acre spots for my two planned food plots and still be eligible for the MFL.


Cabin:
So we kinda got thrown for a loop with this a week ago. We got a call from the local electrical company to let us know they initially lied to us and we don’t have electrical access at the road, instead the closest access is 1600ft from our build site on our neighbors property. What does that mean for us? Well first we’d have to get permission from our neighbors to clear cut AND stump a 12ft wide strip through their property to get electrical laid to our build site, and on top of those costs IF we got permission to do so we would also have to pay $10/ft to actually lay the electrical. So we are now planning on going off grid as talking to a solar company revealed it would be just about as expensive to do so as it would be to run the electrical, not counting the fact that we’d also have to pay the electrical company for electricity usage. We are still talking with some builders in the area to decide who to go with as we have some conflicting information with reviews with the two we are looking at now.


Hunting:
About 2 weeks ago, I took some soil samples of my two potential food plots and hung 3 trail cams. Still waiting on the results from the soil tests to come back but hopefully the soil won’t be too hard to plant here eventually. It is looking like it will be about 1-2 years before I can get it cut out and set up, and then another 3-5 before the white oaks and apple trees get in and start producing mast for me too. My three trail cams are all SPYPOINT cell cams with one being a solar powered one as well. Currently only my solar cell overlooking what will be my food plot eventually has already started to get some good activity through it, mostly at night though. I have a group of about 3 doe's that routinely go through, a doe and fawn pair that just recently showed up, and what could very possibly be a buck as it is much larger than the doe that walk through the same spot though it’s antlers haven’t grown in yet, or if they have they are still too small to show up well on the cam. Last week I made another trip up and hung two more trail cams, one up top on the central hill over what will be the second food plot, and the second right over a trail coming down from the west ridgeline of the property. I have gotten a couple of doe's on the second food plot cam which is interesting, but I have gotten tons of pics of does traveling that trail on the western edge of the property. Unfortunately that trail runs right by the site of the future cabin so I am a little concerned on how that might affect deer movement.


Deer Movement Map:


So I kinda extrapolated this from some of my trail cam data on what time of day the deer are moving, when they are passing the trail cams, and I can kind of track which way they are going. So as you can see they are kind of moving from the north west ridge off my property and heading to the east of my property, and pretty much following the already cut trails. That is both a blessing and a curse as I can clearly see where they are going but it makes it hard for me to use those trails to access hunting spots as I might accidentally run into and spook off a deer on my way in.

Cabin trail Cam:

one of my newer cams, placed it right on a VERY well defined trail and obviously it is used frequently

Foodplot #2 Cam:

This is at the very top of the central hill and another of my new spots for a trail cam, and the future spot of my primarily turkey food plot.

Foodplot #1 Cam:


I've gotten very nice pics from this cam over the last month as this is my longest standing cam. Looks like a gathering point for a couple of the doe's and one doe with a faun has been frequenting around here quite often.

River Cam:

This is one of my other long standing cams but does not have good cell service as it is in a valley, but it is right on the bank of the small creek running through the property and gets visits often.


Well thats it for this update, let me know any questions you all have and thanks for reading.

 

[Tree Spud]

Small properties are like houses. If you are in one room and someone else is in another room, you both will know that someone else is in the house.

First, I did not see any info on surrounding properties and their make-up. You will need to consider the 600-800 acres surrounding you as they impact your property.

If you put a cabin on the property, you will alter deer movement and deer use of the property. I would consider a travel trailer or local hotel early on until you learn more about the property and you decide whether you want a recreational property or a property to hunt.

I would only put one food in and only after studying the property for at least 1-2 years. Food plots on small properties are not always a solution. They will attract deer, but if your activity of the property is too close, you will be bumping them every time you access the property. A food plot means more disruption (planting, maintaining, cameras, etc.). With 1 plot, you can better coordinate access.

Was not clear whether the hills have south facing slopes. If they do, that is great morning bedding area. Hunting thermals can be very successful.

For the 1st couple of years, I would do nothing but put up some hang on tree stands and cameras to monitor. I would focus stand location soley along the creek bottom on each side. Creek bottoms with the surrounding elevation are natural travel corridors and bucks will travel during the rut as they need lots of water, and in the morning will use this are and plateaus to scent check for does.

I would stay out of the creek bottom and place stands mid way up on the hill to catch bucks traveling the bottom or near the top of the hill where they have travel routes. You can place on either side of the creek to play the wind & thermals.

Putting a box blind up until you know more about the property and deer activity would be a waste of time IMHO. Hang on stands will allow you to better survey deer movement and activity so you can better locate a box blind.

I think you are going have issues with the MFL even after you close it. Folks look for any reason to trespass so it will take time to discourage those that have old maps to justify entering your property.

There are essentially 2 approaches .... put up a cabin, cut in electric, food plots, cameras, cut in roads & trails, put up stands & blinds, check cameras & plots, ATV & vehicle activity, nighttime light & movement in the cabin, winds going across your living area into the property in the first year and then wonder why you are not seeing any deer .... or .... put up a few hang on stands & cameras and study the property for 1st 2 years.

What you learn by studying will probably tell you you can do less than you think you need to do to be successful.

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

My cabin is 17x36 with a loft upstairs. I’m off the grid and run it with a Honda 3000 generator. I priced solar and quickly realized I can buy a whole bunch of generators for the solar investment. I have it wired like a regular house with an breaker box and the generator sits in the shop. I bought an aftermarket remote kit from pinellas powersports and it’s awesome. I can turn it on and off and kick on eco mode from the remote. Only downside is I don’t run a fridge but I guess I could. I just spend a lot of time during the day with the power off so I’d have to run it continuously. But that unit runs a tv with satellite, obviously several lights, microwave and ac all at the same time. I think I’ve only overloaded one time and that’s cause I turned a shop vac on with eco mode and it couldn’t ramp up fast enough. It’s a workhorse, and super quiet.
just a thought.
here’s my place

 

[EngineerinSquid]

Small properties are like houses. If you are in one room and someone else is in another room, you both will know that someone else is in the house.

First, I did not see any info on surrounding properties and their make-up. You will need to consider the 600-800 acres surrounding you as they impact your property.


There are essentially 2 approaches .... put up a cabin, cut in electric, food plots, cameras, cut in roads & trails, put up stands & blinds, check cameras & plots, ATV & vehicle activity, nighttime light & movement in the cabin, winds going across your living area into the property in the first year and then wonder why you are not seeing any deer .... or .... put up a few hang on stands & cameras and study the property for 1st 2 years.

What you learn by studying will probably tell you you can do less than you think you need to do to be successful.

Thanks for the input. so the surrounding properties are all essentially the same type of land, there is some open land here and there but no Ag fields for at least 2 miles in any direction so I am farely confident that my food plots will be fairly successful in drawing in more deer to the property even with the cabin being built. On that note too is that the cabin won't be built for at least a year so I do get some time to study how the deer are currently using the property.

 

[spaniel]

Here's a thought. Check my thread in this same forum on my cabin experience. I put in an 800W solar setup myself with a 4000W inverter and I'm really happy with it. I've got 4 100Ah batteries wired for 24V, so 200Ah capacity. I can't say how this does with overnight usage now, but when the sun is up I usually get about 600W production showing on the app. I just worked from there yesterday and I constantly ran a computer, cell booster, 2 ceiling fans with lights on, phone charging and hotspotting, also microwaved lunch and ran a vacuum for 10 minutes. The vacuum took charge down from 100% to 95% but in a couple hours it was back up.

It's all about energy management when the sun isn't shining, and if you can wire this yourself. I did a lot of research last winter then did it all myself. I thing all-in I've got $5K into the electrical. I went more expensive than I had to with a Magnum Energy inverter and connection box, but it's got room to expand and it also allows me to hook up a generator and run the cabin and charge the batteries without doing anything extra.

 

[SD51555]

Have you written down all the things you wish to power at your cabin? How you will cook? How will you store food? How will you heat your cabin? Can you get a propane truck to your cabin? You should really start there before you design a power system. I put solar in mine for $1900 and it paid back in 2.8 years due to the high and rising cost of rural power. If you can whip up a list, it's a lot easier to make some suggestions. It's really a fun exercise. I can point to any electrical item in my place and tell you how many watts it pulls.

 

[EngineerinSquid]

Here's a thought. Check my thread in this same forum on my cabin experience. I put in an 800W solar setup myself with a 4000W inverter and I'm really happy with it. I've got 4 100Ah batteries wired for 24V, so 200Ah capacity. I can't say how this does with overnight usage now, but when the sun is up I usually get about 600W production showing on the app. I just worked from there yesterday and I constantly ran a computer, cell booster, 2 ceiling fans with lights on, phone charging and hotspotting, also microwaved lunch and ran a vacuum for 10 minutes. The vacuum took charge down from 100% to 95% but in a couple hours it was back up.

It's all about energy management when the sun isn't shining, and if you can wire this yourself. I did a lot of research last winter then did it all myself. I thing all-in I've got $5K into the electrical. I went more expensive than I had to with a Magnum Energy inverter and connection box, but it's got room to expand and it also allows me to hook up a generator and run the cabin and charge the batteries without doing anything extra.

Thanks for the input. I do actually have slight experience with solar installation from a short time working for a residential solar installing company. But i cant really be bothered to do that again so currently just talking with a couple of solar companies and a backup generator company as well to get it all installed as cost for that isn't much more than it was gonna be to get the power ran from my neighbors property even if i got permission from them.

Have you written down all the things you wish to power at your cabin?

So that is part of what I need to get an estimate from the solar company so that IS already being worked on so that we aren't getting too much of an array

 

[spaniel]

Have you written down all the things you wish to power at your cabin? How you will cook? How will you store food? How will you heat your cabin? Can you get a propane truck to your cabin? You should really start there before you design a power system. I put solar in mine for $1900 and it paid back in 2.8 years due to the high and rising cost of rural power. If you can whip up a list, it's a lot easier to make some suggestions. It's really a fun exercise. I can point to any electrical item in my place and tell you how many watts it pulls.

Great post. In my case, I'm running a heater off standard propane cylinders knowing it'll take frequent replacement in cold weather due mainly to convenience of exchanging them in number of running days. 2-burner propane stove off its own cylinder. Microwave running off solar.

If running solar do you have adequate sun to charge. In my location I lose half the morning to the sun getting over trees to the east but once that happens I get good sun until late in the evening.

 

[hunts_with_stick]

Did you build the cabin yourself? How much did it cost? What are you doing for water?

 

[buckdeer1]

spaniel, who did you buy your solar parts through?I got mine through windy nation and in fact just got everything to go to 200 watt,I can run led lights very easy my only issue is the fan in the converter runs alot because in my metal barn,thinking about moving outside in weather proof box.And the rest of the place looks great

 

[Dogshooter]

You will need to withdraw some acreage to build the cabin on MFL ground. There are no structures allowed on MFL anymore, this was changed a few years back. There is now a process to remove up to a few acres for a new building site.
I didn’t see where you mentioned this, just wanted to make sure you are aware.

 

[spaniel]

spaniel, who did you buy your solar parts through?I got mine through windy nation and in fact just got everything to go to 200 watt,I can run led lights very easy my only issue is the fan in the converter runs alot because in my metal barn,thinking about moving outside in weather proof box.And the rest of the place looks great

800W Renogy kit (panels, controller, wires) and Magnum inverter and matched connection box for connections/breakers. This feeds a standard AC box in the cabin.