I've been viewing this site for years but not contributed any comments to speak of. I am now 72 years old and have 62+ years of hunting behind me. Much of our early hunting was on public land, wildlife refuges, and big woods. When logging was more prevalent the hunting was pretty good. No food plots, just a lot of native browse. For the past 35 years or so I have been slowly adding to some old family land originally only used for waterfowl hunting on a small lake. I've read all I can on habitat management and what can be done to improve land for wildlife. We now have about 587 acres split by a tar county road. The area is in a transition zone between prairie to the west, hardwoods, and northern forest. East is big woods, west is farm land. It is excellent deer habitat with grouse, waterfowl, turkeys, and the usual meat eaters like some bear, coyotes, fishers, and not far, wolves.
The comments so far have been excellent. Forums like this are a great help to anyone trying to "improve" land for wildlife use, hunting, etc. There are a lot of things I have done that have helped our land support more deer, healthier deer, and hold some good bucks and previous suggestions above all help. We are surrounded by neighbors who are very nice folks but NOT on the same QDM page as us. In fact, some friends who hunt with me are not and that is a little stressful when we hope a young buck with promise lives another year or two and gets shot by our hunter. Luckily, my hunters are seeing that passing younger bucks (2.5 age and under) results in several 3.5 or older bucks. Our bucks travel on and off our land freely and often get taken by others, but that is fine. We are a little more serious hunters and if we exercise some trigger control, those bucks have a greater chance of getting older than if they lived full time elsewhere.
The major things I have done to improve our hunting and habitat is:
1. Trigger control. Learn to age bucks on the hoof by body configuration and behavior. 2.5 age and younger is easy. Getting bucks to 3.5 on our land is common. They need to get to 5.5 to reach maximum or near maximum development, and a few do. I consider a shooter to be 4.5 age. Most of our hunters have figured out the aging to a degree. A 3.5 buck here in NW MN will weigh over 200# on the hoof, and dress around 180# and up. Our best buck on 11-7 was 260# live on a scale, 8 points, maybe 126" score. Think about hunting age and not just antler score.
2. Selective Logging. Try to keep the woods growing younger plants within deer reach. Rotational cutting to the scale of your land is important as mentioned.
3. Access: Almost all our stands have clean access such as mowed trails or at least brush cut. Avoid leaving ground scent. Set up stands so you can approach the stand into the wind and DO NOT hunt a stand with the wind wrong. I have a chart for every stand with which winds work for it and have gotten my hunters to buy in.
4. Mow lanes in tall grass and swamp areas to encourage new fresh grass prior to late fall, sight lines, etc. If possible, I have mowed (brush hogged) lane across willow and grass sloughs to connect one side to the other. Deer will follow religiously and are easier to hunt.
5. Food Plots: We are weak in this now due to lack of time. I have a farmer cash rent some open land and he leaves bout 2 acres of corn or soybeans, whatever is planted. To that I have added some plots on the woods edges or in the woods on the way to the larger plot.
6. CRP type plantings. I turned 312 acres into a perpetual conservation easement with Reinvest in Minnesota (RIM). We had to take 16 acres out of farm production and replace it with CRP grasses, flowers, etc. I could plant two 2+ acre food plots, which, due top health issues, are still in clover and timothy grass. Also, we planted a 20' or wider firebreak around the whole open area, which is like another 4 acres of transition and food plot. The deer heavily use all the fringes for travel and feeding. This has really improved the deer usage over row crops, as once the crops were harvested, it was plowing. Now we have deer using it till snow gets too deep.
7. Sanctuary: Our land is not set up the way consultants would recommend, since our access to the two major sides are through the middle, on a woods road, or on a snowmobile trail. Our best bedding is on the edges, along a county road, or along a neighbor's land. As long as we stay to the same road or trail access, do not linger coming and going, the deer do not seem to mind too much.
8. Deer seeing you in a stand: DON'T LET IT HAPPEN! It is hard to hunt a field edge. If we do and deer are in the open, we may sit for an hour after sunset atill they leave. Usually we have a "back door" into stands that allow stealthy access and egress.
9. Off deer season use: We do use the land some, but stay to "regular" areas. Deer tolerate vehicles if in spots not a surprise. People traipsing all over they don't like.
10. Stand sites: We do our best to scout, trim, and set up in the spring when the sign and trails looks like the previous fall. Too much activity in the last few weeks before hunting the land is to be avoided.
There is a lot more, of course, but we have had much better hunting than most in our area doing the above. Mainly, learn and understand deer and don't be afraid to pass a deer for fear someone else will shoot it. Have a goal and the discipline to meet it. And let others who hunt with you have their standards, young or new hunters, etc. Shooting a deer is not the tough part. Managing your land to YOUR standards is fun, and the goal is to make memories. Good managing hunting to all of you from an old dog still enjoying the hunt!
Dave.
