Rit’s Parcel

Rit

5 year old buck +
Debated about throwing this up for some time. I don’t have the spread, knowledge, or story telling that some of you have but I certainly share the passion. I purchased a small property in 2012 located in NW Ohio that consisted of 40 acres. The location is not ideal for creating a deer hunting paradise but as my parents aged and health declined over the last six years it has become clear that it was the perfect location with it being a mile from driveway to driveway. It has allowed for more dinners, visits just because, and opportunity to help when another set of hands was needed.

The property would be a dual purpose property as our home sits right in the middle of the property from the North/South and more to the East than the West. I share this property with my wife and 4 daughters. Well sort of. Aside from the 1 1/2 acre homesite the rest is my habitat playground. Although it is only 40 acres the location of our house created a large funnel for the deer and they run a big circle around our house so it hunts a little bigger than it is.

I had driven past this property for 20 years and always saw deer in the hayfield but never knew there was a house in the middle or that I would someday own it.

I didn’t come from a hunting family. My Dad, none of my Uncles, and no one in my family hunts. I did however have a great childhood friend who had an uncle that also doubled as my ball coach. They were a Hunting family. I cut my teeth on deer hunting public land in Mio, Michigan during the early 90s. At the time I didn’t know it but it would light a fire that burns brighter than ever today. I only hunted a few weeks in Mio and a couple times in lower SE Michigan but I was hooked. I didn’t hunt after high school as I traveled the world as a United States Marine but I still often thought about my thirst for nature.

As noted the property is located in NW Ohio about 20 minutes from the Michigan border. It is 40 acres with a little diversity. Mostly hardwoods that consist of White and Red Oaks, Walnut, Ash, Hickory, and Elm. There is a 5 acre swamp, multiple thickets that consist of Hawthorne, Buckthorn, Dogwood, prickly ash, Mulberry, Cedar, Maple, and a few other invasives.
There was a 9 acre hayfield that I am in the process of converting to a destination location with a bunch of added security cover.

I need this thread more than the forum to help keep track of my exploits. Even though I bought the property in 2012 it wasn’t until 2016 that I would dive into habitat improvements. The improvements were needed as the hunting had become very poor after the first few weeks of the season. Some of the photos I will add I have shared other places but the feedback is always welcomed.
 
66463655-6618-4F87-9DFF-65F6EF80BE8E.jpeg
I’ll start with the access drive. Most folks call this a driveway. To me it’s the access trail. It starts near the NE corner of the property and runs about 650’ back into a 1 1/2 acre homesite. It is very common to see deer cross at all times of day or night as your enter and exit.
 
E0CC5C86-6989-4BB4-A0F6-1DE62FDDDB5A.jpeg

This is not an uncommon sight around the house. There is a runoff from the gutters that deposits in the front of my house. The photo is from our bedroom. I can’t tell you how many mornings I have woke up and can see deer as I start my morning. It’s usually small bucks, does, and yearlings. I also have 3 mulberry trees in my backyard and we see a lot of wildlife there also.
 
Last edited:
F6CF651C-76BF-47D9-A915-837CCDCDB432.jpeg

My property has a lot of hardwoods. Specifically white Oaks. More specifically Chinquapin or chinkapin. Not sure which way it’s spelled as I see it both ways. Unless they are different Oak species. But here I have 7 mature ones just in my back yard. More in my front yard and all over the homesite. I see a lot of does just from the house when these start dropping. I don’t have a specific number but I’d venture to guess I have over 300 mature oaks on this property.
 
2FCB56C5-6582-4AFA-AC98-BB70CC0103E4.jpeg

Here is an aerial of the property to give you perspective on where my house sits. I have said this before but I am surrounded by big Ag fields. You won’t see things like corn and beans in any food plot that I plant. You may see a mixture with AWPs in the fall though.

I really have shifted my focus to native vegetation over food plots. I still have some but it continues to shrink. I started with 4.5 acres and now I am down to 3. After watching the activity and use it just doesn’t make up a big enough portion of their diet to dedicate so much area on just planted food plots. So browse and more security cover is what I am working on now.
 
In 2012 I took ownership September 14th just in time for hunting season. The 9 acre hay field was rotated out of Hay into beans that year. I didn’t do much hunting in the early fall as we still owned two houses. Soon after we settled into our new home my job took me to New York for Hurricane Sandy. I was back on November 9th for two weeks of vacation and what I thought was going to be an action packed rut hunt.

I sat 14 long days and saw a grand total of 1 deer. How could this be? I talked to a neighbor and a guy that hunted this property for years. He has killed quite a few really big deer in this same area. He told me that if I wanted to harvest a deer it would need to be the first 3 weeks of the season.

2013 the 9 acre field was replanted into Hay with an Oats cover crop. It was fertilized at planting. Turns out that this would be key. By Fall there were 20 deer a night feeding in that field. My 14 day deerless rut hunt was a thing of the past... or so I thought. Not being a fool I listened to the neighbor and on October 19th I shot the first good buck that gave me a chance.
 
D6258A97-2E0D-429D-A966-A0E5E0C0EEDD.jpeg

This would be the first deer to come off the property. A good start in my book. Ohio is a one buck state and at the time the county was a 1-deer county. It meant my season was over right in that 3 week range the neighbor told me about.
 
2014 would have me hunting even less than the first 2 years. On September 30th on a 85 degree day I would shoot my 2nd buck on the property. That fall there were still a really good amount of deer using the hayfield. I wasn’t aware at the time but no fertilizer was added to the hayfield in 2014.

I offer the history of my successful years because if you recall I didn’t start habitat work until 2016. With the early success on the property I thought everything was going well.
 
9111E9B2-C511-4879-96F1-FA6470C690B2.jpeg2B712657-8ACE-4449-9340-8901DC0ED178.jpeg

This would be the 2nd buck harvested off this property. Maybe one of the neatest tines I have ever saw. Probably what killed this deer. The right G2 is a wide blade like tine and almost flat. Almost like a dagger.

Again I was done hunting early. Only 2 sits to the 2014 season. Still had deer in the hayfield but I noticed there were a lot less of them. No fertilizer was used on the alfalfa again.
 
Last edited:
The 2015 season was a complete bust. I saw very little use in the hayfield. This was when I first decided that I needed to add a food plot. Most of the Oaks on the property are buried in the woods so it’s hard to hunt those food sources. Early on while trying to hunt the property I learned you can’t enter the pockets of cover without busting out deer. I also had issues busting out deer on morning hunts so I stopped hunting the AM all together. Because it was mostly mature hardwoods the deer could see you coming from a long way away.

2016 season wasn’t much better. Maybe even a little worse. In 2016 and 2017 the use of the hayfield was almost non-existent. Deer sightings around the house and in the driveway also dropped off significantly. It was 2016 that I learned that the hayfield wasn’t being fertilized at all. It was clear that the attractiveness of the field was gone.

I had made a 5 year rental agreement for the field so I would have to wait 2 more long years before I could take over the field responsibility. It was in 2016 that I started to seek out information on habitat improvement.

I’ll admit that I watched a few videos and off to the woods I went. I started on a ridge that was loaded with rubs and just started cutting. I was a city kid growing up so this was all new to me but exiting. I started cutting but I didn’t have a plan or a clue what I was doing. I cut almost everything I could and made a giant mess. I wish I could have back those two or three weeks of when I started. But I think we learn from our failures. I can say that the area I cut I have not been back and fixed. It was a great deer area but now is mostly void of deer activity.
 
Last edited:
Excellent start on the property thread Rit! Very nice place....and your selling yourself short on your story telling skills, good read so far. I know exactly what you mean about the property threads being kind of a photo/written journal of our own personal habitat work for our enjoyment and to track while being able to share it all with others.

I shot my very first deer in Williams county back in 77 or 78, we used to have a couple farms there right in the corner about where OH/IN/MI all touch, beautiful area up there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rit
Thanks H2O for the kind words. I promise the tour will get on track. I think it’s important to paint a picture or history of the property. I have said this before but it is worth repeating. It is equally as important to identify your goals and create a plan before jumping in. I initially didn’t have one and it cost me a bit. I don’t have a lick of artistic talent but I routinely make a little sketch of what I am trying to accomplish. Kind of the measure twice cut once deal.
 
Last edited:
Great beginning of the story.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rit
414E0958-FBF6-4D64-913F-682C682B9C79.jpeg59223454-001E-4A16-B268-B4F38A72F9E2.jpegAE597873-AA70-4D83-916D-421CC912B375.jpegCC84DE75-3A4B-41C2-8C99-B37E013FBBC8.jpeg

I have meantioned mature hardwoods a few times. Here are some of the giant oaks that I have. The third tree is one of my favorites. It is a massive shag bark hickory. I have always wanted a stand in this tree but it just doesn’t work. It’s pinched between two bedding sections, a kill plot, and now a destination food source.
 
Those 2 bucks in the pix are nice ones !! Good genetics around there from the looks of it.

Good start to this thread & nice background stories. Thanks for your service !! Good luck with the ongoing project.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rit
Those 2 bucks in the pix are nice ones !! Good genetics around there from the looks of it.

Good start to this thread & nice background stories. Thanks for your service !! Good luck with the ongoing project.
E8AB0A92-828B-4D70-8588-DCC1D32530EC.jpeg0DAED4C7-EEDD-4F7A-876C-0E587FDC03D8.jpegDEED8D93-959F-4325-8566-D34F8DDFAC6F.jpeg

Thanks BB! Genetics are not an issue in the area. Age structure is another story. I have blanked out the two hunters faces because I don’t have permission to post photos of them. The first deer was shot by my neighbor 50 yards from our property line after he spent all night eating in my hayfield. I have held this deer in my hands and seen the finished mount. Just a special deer.

The second deer was shot across the street from my property. I don’t personally know the hunter but my neighbor above does. That deer allegedly measured in the 185” range.

The third deer was hit on the highway leaving my destination plot on the morning of October 26th, 2018. If you want to read into it that deer was on my property almost a full month into the season.

I have yet to catch up with one of these guys but stayed tuned. I have 3 years of updates to get posted. I have some pretty good trail cam photos over the years also.
 
I don’t have the spread, knowledge, or story telling that some of you have but I certainly share the passion.

Don't sell yourself short... What seems simple is new to someone else. I felt like a dork posting the ground jerky stuff last week, but before that I had never done it and I bet it was new to someone else here as well.

I didn’t come from a hunting family.

Me too. I grew up hunting and fishing with a friend from school, his brothers, and father. They were my gateway to the outdoors. No idea where I got the bug, it certainly wasn't from anyone in my family!

I didn’t hunt after high school as I traveled the world as a United States Marine

Thank you for your service.

I look forward to future updates!

-John
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rit
CC1247F6-2A74-4F13-81F3-6CEEB55EBBFD.jpeg1ADF9EAF-893D-4A21-A7DD-51F7BD5F5D81.jpeg4A0EF3B8-9373-4F4A-A9B3-933A0A4756DC.jpeg7C68BD45-B3F1-42E1-9017-43E5C7A278A6.jpeg

If we go back to the end of the 2015 season I can still recall the disappointment I felt. Not because I didn’t shoot a deer but because I barely saw any deer. I hunted hard for 30+ days and on occasion I would see a handful of deer. Post season scouting would reveal there was no rutting activity and very few deer utilizing the property. I even tried to hunt the hayfield. It was great for seeing deer when they were around but an absolute nightmare for entry and exit.

It would be the same theme repeated from previous years. After crops were harvested, the leaves dropped, and the acorns were consumed my deer oasis would become a ghostown. Add in that the hayfield was now in year 3 of production with no fertilizer and you had the recipe for long sits.

I thought food was a good place to start. I didn’t own a tractor or many implements. But I did have an ATV, 25 gallon Boomless sprayer, cultipacker, 42” Swisher trail cutter, and a torch. I cut about a half acre section of brush with the trail cutter. Sprayed everything, mowed it down again, removed rocks, stumps, and then burned it off. I had just invested a lot of blood, sweat and tears in this food plot. I hired someone to till the plot for me. On August 11th 2016 I cultipacked the tilled soil, broadcast seed, and cultipacked again. I planted Brassicas in the plot the first year.

Now I wish I could tell you that the location for the plot that I selected was because of my elite level hunting skills but that simply isn’t true. The area was a little more open than the rest of the woods and brush so that’s where I put it. At this point it was mid 2016 and I started to understand my property better. I began to realize any improvement I made should be made with creating better hunting strategies in mind. This location although only 75 yards from my back door would achieve just that. I could hunt the plot on a few winds and the deer didn’t mill around in the plot. They would pass through on the way to the hayfield. It was a bonus that 8 large oaks would line the plot on the North side and they were between my house and the plot. Now we would have attraction from acorns when they were dropping as well as the crop. It would also provide many treestand locations. Again in the early stages it wasn’t because I knew what I was doing. I just got lucky.
 
Last edited:
Rit - Holy crap !! Those buck pix are crazy. Insane genetics in that area. Lots of bone, points, mass, tine length …...…… We could use some of that blood lineage where I hunt !!

Most of us here have gone through some trial & error in our habitat work - I have. We all learn from our missteps. Personally - I've learned a ton from guys on here, especially about food plots. Also about more sources of year-round food to keep deer fed. Hang in there and keep up the good work. Looking forward to more of your story & project.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rit
19057002-BF0C-46EE-86F5-8DFE70600FE8.jpegA2F9BE22-7F4E-4905-85CD-F71412093E78.jpeg19BC02E0-3A9E-4570-A253-0F91C5CC1337.jpeg21022C8B-F0FA-45FC-8BBF-FAE6757166EE.jpeg72938BAE-0262-4D51-8AC8-47AF681EA815.jpeg

I have two types of soil on my place. The 9 acre field is a clay loam on the medium clay side. It grows a beautiful stand of alfalfa and is relatively light on the rocks.

Then you have the rest of my soil. Limestone outcroppings, relatively poor soil full of rocks, and very unforgiving when there is a lack of moisture.

As luck would have it the area I selected for my first half acre foodplot was on some of the poorest soil on my place. With that said the initial foodplot grew like crazy and was absolutely beautiful. We had perfect conditions for the first month. Rain every other day that kept the soil moist. I would later learn all the rain would leach all the nitrogen out of the soil and affect my brassica plot. Once the rain stopped we hit a 10 day stretch with very high temps.

It killed a lot of the plot. Utilization wasn’t great but deer did browse through on the way to the hayfield. In addition to the new plot I continued to hinge like crazy. At this time I was mostly targeting ash trees. They were half dead already from the Emerald ash borer and plentiful on my property. I was busy adding trails throughout the property to help predict deer movement and these trees certainly had a way of falling onto new trails.
 
Top