Help with travel corridors

[cavey]

oh ya and if the buck avatar is from your land - your already ahead of the game

 

[Scott S]

Thanks again Livesintrees and cavey. I'm really glad I posted this question. You guys are making me feel like I've absorbed and applied what I've learned here reasonably well. I still have a long way to go, but I'm much less of hack than I used to be.

The fella in my avatar is from one of my cams, but as you might expect I've never had a day time picture of him. He's still smarter than me.

 

[Telemark]

Your plan sounds like a good way to begin. In the absence of experience, less work and money is always a good way to start, in my opinion. You will probably figure out what to do jext as time goes by and you have more experience and your property changes. I'm a beginner myself, and I was surprised this summer by how many curve-balls mother nature threw me. My whole master plan is going through some heavy tweaking. Luckily I didn't sink a lot of money into it, but boy did i work my butt off.

Implement your plan, and see how it goes.

My only advice is try to get current sat images to give us some context.

 

[Scott S]

Your plan sounds like a good way to begin. In the absence of experience, less work and money is always a good way to start, in my opinion. You will probably figure out what to do jext as time goes by and you have more experience and your property changes. I'm a beginner myself, and I was surprised this summer by how many curve-balls mother nature threw me. My whole master plan is going through some heavy tweaking. Luckily I didn't sink a lot of money into it, but boy did i work my butt off.

Implement your plan, and see how it goes.

My only advice is try to get current sat images to give us some context.

Thanks Telemark. I mess around with Huntstand, I will upload some images from there ASAP.

 

[Codie Gleason]

Scott,
As mentioned above you know your property better than anyone on this site. I had a few questions while reading about your property that once answered may branch off into more helpful advice. For starters, I would consider what the neighboring properties have or don't have that are beneficial to the deer herd (forage, bedding, crop fields). If there is a lack of quality cover on neighboring properties I would make that your main concern. Also, you had stated that your property is on a hill. Is the hill south/west facing or north/east facing? If you are situated on a south facing slope and have the ability to create some quality bedding habitat for the deer, you can then hunt their transition from your bedding area to a crop field or destination feeding area (if there are any nearby).

Secondly, how intense is the hunting pressure on neighboring properties? If there is a lot of hunting pressure then I would limit my presence on the property and only hunting when conditions are ideal. Even if there is not much pressure on the neighboring properties, I would still limit your amount of time in the woods to ensure that the deer are not leaving your property and heading to the neighbors where they feel more secure.

With all that said, I would consider the topography of your property and the habitat components that are lacking on neighboring properties and put an emphasis on filling that void on your property (food, cover, etc.)

 

[Scott S]

Scott,
As mentioned above you know your property better than anyone on this site. I had a few questions while reading about your property that once answered may branch off into more helpful advice. For starters, I would consider what the neighboring properties have or don't have that are beneficial to the deer herd (forage, bedding, crop fields). If there is a lack of quality cover on neighboring properties I would make that your main concern. Also, you had stated that your property is on a hill. Is the hill south/west facing or north/east facing? If you are situated on a south facing slope and have the ability to create some quality bedding habitat for the deer, you can then hunt their transition from your bedding area to a crop field or destination feeding area (if there are any nearby).

Secondly, how intense is the hunting pressure on neighboring properties? If there is a lot of hunting pressure then I would limit my presence on the property and only hunting when conditions are ideal. Even if there is not much pressure on the neighboring properties, I would still limit your amount of time in the woods to ensure that the deer are not leaving your property and heading to the neighbors where they feel more secure.

With all that said, I would consider the topography of your property and the habitat components that are lacking on neighboring properties and put an emphasis on filling that void on your property (food, cover, etc.)

Hey Codie, thanks for the reply.

My property is on a north facing hill, unfortunately. There is very little hunting pressure on the surrounding properties, and no ag at all. The property on my east side was logged several years before mine it appears, so there is plenty of browse over there until the cold kills it. I'm hoping my winter rye is the best food around when the cold hits.
I think i grasp the concept of not over hunting the property, and only hunting when the conditions are in my favor.
As it sits now, I think my property will have the most cover in the area, and I'm hoping the best food once the winter rye is growing. I hope that helps clarify what I'm working with a little bit.

Any and all feedback is welcome and appreciated. Thanks again to everyone that's taken the time to answer me.

 

[Telemark]

Can you plant radishes or turnips?

 

[Scott S]

Can you plant radishes or turnips?

My soil hasn't been amended at all yet. My pH is about 4.5, so I'm skeptical that they would do well. I do plan to get some amendments down in the spring. Assuming I could get radish or turnips to grow do you have advice regarding them?

 

[Telemark]

Based on your last post, it seems like there isn't much around for them in late fall and winter. Fruit trees are probably the perfect solution, but they take time. Too late in the year for pumpkins, but I thought maybe you could get some root veggies in. A pack of seeds is only a dollar or two. Might be worth it for experiment's sake. Purple top turnip, Asian radishes, and some kind of beet. Plant them around the edge of your food plot so the rye doesn't shade them out.

 

[Scott S]

Based on your last post, it seems like there isn't much around for them in late fall and winter. Fruit trees are probably the perfect solution, but they take time. Too late in the year for pumpkins, but I thought maybe you could get some root veggies in. A pack of seeds is only a dollar or two. Might be worth it for experiment's sake. Purple top turnip, Asian radishes, and some kind of beet. Plant them around the edge of your food plot so the rye doesn't shade them out.

Thank you Telemark. Do you think they'll grow at all in 4.5 pH soil? I'm happy to spend the few bucks it costs to try, I just didn't think I had a chance in hell at getting anything but winter rye and buckwheat to grow until I got the pH up. Thanks again

 

[Telemark]

I think some of them will grow. You could sprinkle some peletized limestone with them. It costs about $3 for a 40# bag.

 

[Scott S]

I think some of them will grow. You could sprinkle some peletized limestone with them. It costs about $3 for a 40# bag.

Ok. Thanks Telemark.

Also, apple trees are defininitely in my plans, but I'm probably a few years away from that. I've only barely started reading up on it, and I don't want to start until I'm confident I can get it right. I planted a few apple and pear trees the first spring I lived here, and the combination of my incompetence and the resident moose population hammering them killed them all in short order.
Thanks again for sharing your thoughts.