Land Tour
- Thread starter slugger
- Start date
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Bob- could I have an aerial photo to carry with me during the land tour?
I have asked you this before, but are there any other features in the reed canary? Areas of shorter grass, elevated ditch bank,etc,
You have pointed some things out before and I have kept them in mind.
I have asked you this before, but are there any other features in the reed canary? Areas of shorter grass, elevated ditch bank,etc,
You have pointed some things out before and I have kept them in mind.
slugger
5 year old buck +
Art, there really aren't any features in the reed canary until you get to the edges. There are some willows on the east side towards the north in the transition to higher ground. The deer use them. It is a steep bank from the reed canary up to the food plot area. There is a big oak on top of the bank there. With all the rain it is wet pretty much to the edges. Normally after spring it is dry right up to the creek. I will have an overhead for you that you can mark up. This is the first year that anything has been planted where the corn is. Thanks
slugger
5 year old buck +
Yes, the deer cross there a lot, back and forth between Stu's and mine. There are always tracks on the road. It is close to the road.
bueller
Moderator
If that corn works out I'd be looking to put a stand up just east of the point that stretches into that field right behind your cabin. You would have easy access and the woods almost totally surround that field in an area where it looks like woods are at a premium. Even if the corn isn't great you could overseed with rye late in the year to sweeten that field up.
Other than that with the limited woods on both sides of the property I would be setting stands on the major crossings. Just west of the creek looks good to me. Walk down the road for quick and quiet access.
Other than that with the limited woods on both sides of the property I would be setting stands on the major crossings. Just west of the creek looks good to me. Walk down the road for quick and quiet access.
Steve Bartylla
5 year old buck +
Nice looking place. Stu's ground is on the opposite side of the road (just curious)?
If that elk fence runs anywhere close the property line at all, take advantage of it! The big thing that jumps out at me is stand access. I warn you that I could be WAY off on this, as just a glance at an image one can't zoom in on isn't enough to base any firm conclusions on, just slightly educated guesses, and that may being a bit generous. That said, hope I don't offend, but my knee jerk reaction was high impact stands, bad access and/or departure. The two white dots appear to be in promising locations, but how does one get in and out without spooking deer? One the one hand, I know the area doesn't have a lot of deer, which makes that easier in a way, but also even more critical not to spook the few deer you have.
IF my knee jerk reaction is correct, I'd leave those stands up, but also make them last resort/rarely hunted stands. On your tour, see if you guys can come up with a way to make the point jutting into the corn, just SE of the cabin and the inside corner on the exact opposite side of the corn (almost exact same distance from the road as the point) THE spots to be. It'd no doubt take some blockading or something creative to make those locations true killers, but would provide such easier/lower impact access/departure.
the red X is the perfect example of what I'd be focusing on. Low impact stands. The catch is it often takes some remodeling/construction work to also make them high odds stands. My suggestion would be to make that a big part of the trip....how can we pull that off? specifically, I'd be looking to create high odds/low impact along the road and your south and east borders, as they appear to be your lowest impact access/departure routes. Again though, I could be WAY off from just a glance at an image one can't even zoom. So, take all this for what it's worth...very little.
If that elk fence runs anywhere close the property line at all, take advantage of it! The big thing that jumps out at me is stand access. I warn you that I could be WAY off on this, as just a glance at an image one can't zoom in on isn't enough to base any firm conclusions on, just slightly educated guesses, and that may being a bit generous. That said, hope I don't offend, but my knee jerk reaction was high impact stands, bad access and/or departure. The two white dots appear to be in promising locations, but how does one get in and out without spooking deer? One the one hand, I know the area doesn't have a lot of deer, which makes that easier in a way, but also even more critical not to spook the few deer you have.
IF my knee jerk reaction is correct, I'd leave those stands up, but also make them last resort/rarely hunted stands. On your tour, see if you guys can come up with a way to make the point jutting into the corn, just SE of the cabin and the inside corner on the exact opposite side of the corn (almost exact same distance from the road as the point) THE spots to be. It'd no doubt take some blockading or something creative to make those locations true killers, but would provide such easier/lower impact access/departure.
the red X is the perfect example of what I'd be focusing on. Low impact stands. The catch is it often takes some remodeling/construction work to also make them high odds stands. My suggestion would be to make that a big part of the trip....how can we pull that off? specifically, I'd be looking to create high odds/low impact along the road and your south and east borders, as they appear to be your lowest impact access/departure routes. Again though, I could be WAY off from just a glance at an image one can't even zoom. So, take all this for what it's worth...very little.
Steve Bartylla
5 year old buck +
AWESOME, that's what I was REALLY hoping for! Between the two of you working together, you two can play some serious games and achieve goals much more efficiently. It appears you guys are either already doing so or at least close to it, but I'd suggest the 2 of you formulating a plan for both places as one. You guys can each stick to your sides of the road for hunting, but make your improvements tied at the hip. that way you both can feed off each others' work AND together keep a lot more deer on your "combined" property than you could have on your own. Focus on keeping them running between the two, through low impact/high odds locations, while keeping them from trigger happy neighbors. With the way the two lay and how it appears to tie in with the surrounding properties, will never create a "high fence" type scenario where you have complete control, but you can get closer than a lot of people out there.
As a side note, that's one of the things I do my best to accomplish. How can I create what's essentially a high fence, without the fence, at least during daylight hours? If you look at the property as one, you already have the high fence along the W property line, almost have it along most of the S and the E sides. Now patch the holes in the fence. You can do that with blockades, steering them along those holes instead of through, you can try to make it a one way door in where they don't want to leave during daylight or, what's typically the best route, a combo of all of the above.
I don't care what your DNR gives out for tags, I like the odds of you two beating the system and achieving decent deer numbers. The only question is how hard is your state going to work against you in achieving that.
As a side note, that's one of the things I do my best to accomplish. How can I create what's essentially a high fence, without the fence, at least during daylight hours? If you look at the property as one, you already have the high fence along the W property line, almost have it along most of the S and the E sides. Now patch the holes in the fence. You can do that with blockades, steering them along those holes instead of through, you can try to make it a one way door in where they don't want to leave during daylight or, what's typically the best route, a combo of all of the above.
I don't care what your DNR gives out for tags, I like the odds of you two beating the system and achieving decent deer numbers. The only question is how hard is your state going to work against you in achieving that.
Steve Bartylla
5 year old buck +
This is going to sound silly, but you just made me happy...I can see all sorts of possibilities. I like it when people I like can achieve goals. I really think the two of you can do just that. It'll take some time and coordination, but it can be done
slugger
5 year old buck +
Don't worry about offending. The stands I marked are ladder stands and are not currently up. That is where they were last fall. I do have a tripod stand on the east side of the woods just behind the north dot. Two years ago I missed a decent buck out of the tripod. It was in the willows across the creek with a doe. They were heading west straight towards me. When they got to the creek they stopped. It is about 50 yds from the stand. If they would have crossed the creek the trail crossed in front of me about 10 yds away. I got anxious and decided to shoot while they were stopped. I couldn't see the bucks body because of the grass. I guessed where it was and missed. They crossed and headed for the corner and crossed the road into Stu's. Stu's marking of crossing areas are exactly the same as I have observed over the years.
I have thought of putting a ground stand on the north and south ends of the food plot so I could hunt with north or south wind. With n wind I could cross the creek at the s end of my property to access stand.
slugger
5 year old buck +
I believe the squares on Stu's map are quarters so the elk fence is about 1/2 mile away. That seems right.
Steve Bartylla
5 year old buck +
Stu, whatever the neighbors do in that regard only helps.
A big thing is think low impact/lots of sanctuary. Make those deer feel completely safe on your combined grounds (which was why those 2 white dots jumped out at me right away...doesn't matter if you're talking either property or combined, that illusion of safety will be huge for either/both. Make the deer run too you when season starts. You need that to build deer numbers).
I'll just toss this much more out and I'll shut up and go to work. It'd take some work (though that could be trimmed to next to nothing with a dozer) and could only be hunted with S winds, but I have to believe you could create a hell of a funnel along your N boundary. At the same time, it looks like you could do the same right behind the house, assuming you can trust the owners not to trespass. With a chainsaw or dozer, just run a blockade from about 20 yard into the woods off the N side of what looks like a little open area behind the house (may even be an existing food plot) back to the swamp. The deer traveling N/S through the property would then either have to cut between the plot and the start of the blockade or go around it out into the swamp. If it isn't already (and you trust those living in the house, turn that opening into a food plot, screen it, slap 2 stands covering the plot for various winds and you have a killer/very low impact location to catch a good deal of both feeding and rutting activity from. you could even create an "Ace in the hole" rarely hunted but WOW type stand on the swamp end of the blockade by stopping the blockade about 20 yards shy of the swamp edge. You'd hunt it at most 1-2 times a year, under ideal weather conditions, and it'd be all day sits, but those 1-2 sits could be pure magic.
Again, I know you guys have to be sick of hearing this, but take all that with a HUGE grain of salt. This is just what's jumping at me and a closer look/more detail may scream it'd be stupid to do.
A big thing is think low impact/lots of sanctuary. Make those deer feel completely safe on your combined grounds (which was why those 2 white dots jumped out at me right away...doesn't matter if you're talking either property or combined, that illusion of safety will be huge for either/both. Make the deer run too you when season starts. You need that to build deer numbers).
I'll just toss this much more out and I'll shut up and go to work. It'd take some work (though that could be trimmed to next to nothing with a dozer) and could only be hunted with S winds, but I have to believe you could create a hell of a funnel along your N boundary. At the same time, it looks like you could do the same right behind the house, assuming you can trust the owners not to trespass. With a chainsaw or dozer, just run a blockade from about 20 yard into the woods off the N side of what looks like a little open area behind the house (may even be an existing food plot) back to the swamp. The deer traveling N/S through the property would then either have to cut between the plot and the start of the blockade or go around it out into the swamp. If it isn't already (and you trust those living in the house, turn that opening into a food plot, screen it, slap 2 stands covering the plot for various winds and you have a killer/very low impact location to catch a good deal of both feeding and rutting activity from. you could even create an "Ace in the hole" rarely hunted but WOW type stand on the swamp end of the blockade by stopping the blockade about 20 yards shy of the swamp edge. You'd hunt it at most 1-2 times a year, under ideal weather conditions, and it'd be all day sits, but those 1-2 sits could be pure magic.
Again, I know you guys have to be sick of hearing this, but take all that with a HUGE grain of salt. This is just what's jumping at me and a closer look/more detail may scream it'd be stupid to do.
slugger
5 year old buck +
I really look forward to it. I look forward even more to the day I can retire so I can do my share. Stu is planting the food plot for me. There is no way I would get it done this year.
sandbur
5 year old buck +
Very close to what I was thinking.
Riggsgwp->
5 year old buck +
Nice setup to have a good neighbor relationship there. I'm fortunate with that situation too my brother in law owns a 40 next to mine but he doesn't hunt:)
