How isolated is too isolated

[BenA]

I'm looking at a property to potentially buy in LA. It's 60 acres completely surrounded by soybean farming. It's in the delta area which is the top spot for trophy white-tails in LA. The problem is, the feeder habitat. It is an island of cover in a sea of ag. There is a small river several hundred yards to the west that is a corridor for deer travel. There are pockets of other woods dotted around, but very, very sparse. There are deer on the property, but I haven't walked it just yet to see how good of a population is there. I would feel better about it if there were more woodlots around, but feel like this could be a potential hotspot. Once a deer is on here during the day, I think it would take a lot of pressure to make it leave. It does sit low, and was a duck spot mainly, but never floods completely or for very long as far as I can tell so far. When they dug the duck pond area, they piled the dirt around the edges leaving almost a levee type system of islands around the edges. This could be developed into some great bedding if not already there.

My question is, how isolated is too isolated? Is 60 acres enough in this type of environment to consistently offer deer sanctuary that they would hold to? I think yes, but have never been in this type of landscape where cover is this limited.

 

[jsasker007]

Think it's a deer goldmine myself. You have the cover and they fatten up and grow huge racks on beans. Sounds pretty damn good to me.

 

[Natty Bumppo]

Think it's a deer goldmine myself. You have the cover and they fatten up and grow huge racks on beans. Sounds pretty damn good to me.

Agree. My question would be how in the hell you hunt it? Seems like it would be a terrible place for morning hunts. And PM hunts...are you just hunting the south and east perimeters waiting for deer to enter the ag fields? I don't hunt ag at all, so I am genuinely asking. Deer haven for sure. Just seems like hunting opportunities on that 60 acres would be very limited for a 60 acre chunk of land.

 

[BenA]

Agree. My question would be how in the hell you hunt it? Seems like it would be a terrible place for morning hunts. And PM hunts...are you just hunting the south and east perimeters waiting for deer to enter the ag fields? I don't hunt ag at all, so I am genuinely asking. Deer haven for sure. Just seems like hunting opportunities on that 60 acres would be very limited for a 60 acre chunk of land.

There is virtually no cover cropping in this area and the equipment used in this scale of operations leaves essentially no waste. It's pretty much a parking lot after the beans come off, and they're coming off pretty early. Season doesn't start until October, and farmers have to get the beans off before rains start.

 

[Catscratch]

I would think an island of cover in the middle of food would be a great spot for deer.

Are you saying there is no food during season (because they cut early and without waste)? Are there deer there during season?

Personally I think it looks like the kind of spot I like to hunt in the rut. Big buck herds a doe into a remote spot that he can hide her and defend from suiters. Sneak in at first daylight while glassing so that you don't bump anything. Hunt all day on the downwind edge. Wait for old mossy-horns to push her by you mid-day.

 

[BenA]

I would think an island of cover in the middle of food would be a great spot for deer.

Are you saying there is no food during season (because they cut early and without waste)? Are there deer there during season?

Personally I think it looks like the kind of spot I like to hunt in the rut. Big buck herds a doe into a remote spot that he can hide her and defend from suiters. Sneak in at first daylight while glassing so that you don't bump anything. Hunt all day on the downwind edge. Wait for old mossy-horns to push her by you mid-day.

I'm not sure how much food is in the 60 acre wood lot during the season. I will walk it this weekend to see. I would think there is some. There are plenty of oaks in it, and from recent aerials, it looks like there is a good bit of browse type areas. I could plant that pipeline crossing it in the southeast corner.

 

[jsasker007]

I'm not sure how much food is in the 60 acre wood lot during the season. I will walk it this weekend to see. I would think there is some. There are plenty of oaks in it, and from recent aerials, it looks like there is a good bit of browse type areas. I could plant that pipeline crossing it in the southeast corner.

So when there is no other food around you will have acorns dropping. Do the current owners hunt? Why is it the only spot left that isn't being farmed?

 

[BenA]

So when there is no other food around you will have acorns dropping. Do the current owners hunt? Why is it the only spot left that isn't being farmed?

It sounds like the current owner is aging and owns properties behind his house that he hunts. It was enrolled in WRP 30 years ago and was planted in oaks and other hardwoods.

 

[hillrunner]

I'd be prepared to deal with hunters in blinds popping up in the fields around your sanctuary if it starts to become known for deer. Those deer will be very visible in the evenings. It'd be ideal if you could own some crop ground around it as a buffer.

The distance from other cover wouldn't bother me. Guys lining the perimeter waiting for deer to step out would get on my nerves. I've seen a very similar situation turn really ugly. Blinds all over in the fields and the timber owner won't let anyone retrieve on him so a lot of deer rot.

 

[jsasker007]

I'd be prepared to deal with hunters in blinds popping up in the fields around your sanctuary if it starts to become known for deer. Those deer will be very visible in the evenings. It'd be ideal if you could own some crop ground around it as a buffer.

The distance from other cover wouldn't bother me. Guys lining the perimeter waiting for deer to step out would get on my nerves. I've seen a very similar situation turn really ugly. Blinds all over in the fields and the timber owner won't let anyone retrieve on him so a lot of deer rot.

Good point. There's a good chance that would be the case. That would make the property close to worthless if I had to deal with that crap. jmo

 

[BenA]

I'd be prepared to deal with hunters in blinds popping up in the fields around your sanctuary if it starts to become known for deer. Those deer will be very visible in the evenings. It'd be ideal if you could own some crop ground around it as a buffer.

The distance from other cover wouldn't bother me. Guys lining the perimeter waiting for deer to step out would get on my nerves. I've seen a very similar situation turn really ugly. Blinds all over in the fields and the timber owner won't let anyone retrieve on him so a lot of deer rot.

In my research, I contacted the head of the wildlife agents in this region. I wanted to find out if him or one of his agents was familiar with any poaching problems in this area. It turned out that his brother farms the fields surrounding this block. He said he sees deer in the crops during the summer, but doesn't see any after the crops come off in the fall. My thinking was there is nothing available in the fields then due to the farming practices, so the deer don't have any reason to be out there then.

 

[Electrodigical]

My question would be how in the hell you hunt it?

You'd have to do a "false insertion", have a truck drive down the road, stopping in a few places and at one point you hop out and they keep going. lol

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

That’s tough. On one hand there’s no doubt where the deer would be if they were in the area. But the key would be if. With no food in the fall I feel like those deer essentially become migratory. 60 acres of woods can’t sustain life when things get sparse. I know Louisiana is a bait state so like hill runner said, even without crops, if the neighbors thought it was worthwhile they could post up on the edge with a bait pile and snipe whatever walks out.
Seeing as how you have a place in ky which I’m assuming you would keep, it could be a sneaky spot to kill one early season when they were keying on crops. Would be nice to run a camera or two

 

[Bill]

The trees sure were planted in straight lines. Any where you could add plots if you got a dozer in there?

 

[Howboutthemdawgs]

WRP planting

 

[BenA]

The trees sure were planted in straight lines. Any where you could add plots if you got a dozer in there?

The pipeline gives me an acre I can plant. I have another acre I can take out as well that isn't in WRP. Also, I talked to the deer program manager for the state. He said the NRCS is actively working with landowners in this area who have these older WRP tracts. They are letting them do several things on these including timber harvests and forest openings. So, it's not as restrictive as I thought it would be. Basically, they're wanting to enhance these areas for wildlife use.

 

[bwoods11]

You would have a pretty good set up I think . I love the situation of an island of cover . It’s possible that bucks would leave for awhile during rut?

If it was 160 acres I’d feel more comfortable… but I think it’s got enormous potential!