New Hunting Land! What do I do? Help! I'm so excited!

[deerminator]

Lol. So my neighbor (and one of my wife's relatives) asked me if I'd like to bowhunt one of his farms and said he's going to take me down there later this week after work some evening or this weekend so I can scout it out. I am so excited and thankful as I'd always thought this would be a great spot. He's not a bowhunter but said he might look into it now that he's retired and so I'd love to get him involved in this sickness as well. I was even thinking of giving him my bow or lending it to him if he liked shooting and getting a new one.

Regardless, back to the present. He's going to show me around sometime this week and my plans were to set up a stand and a pop-blind in a couple of spots after scouting but I'd love any advice from anyone they could provide from looking at the aerial photo. It's basically woods and swamp in the middle of ag land, some hay, some beans and corn surrounding it all. Any thoughts on where to do so purely from looking at the photo would be much appreciated. I already noticed a harem of does skirting the west edge of the woods in beans on the way home from church this morning.

[image]http://i899.photobucket.com/albums/ac200/deerminator1/NewHuntingLand.jpg[image]

[Code-Man]

Since you probable wouldn't be hunting for a few weeks I'd spend more time depending on lay out of the land off of the Alfalfa or the corn. Soybeans should be coming off shortly and would suck to spend a lot of time on Beans but then the combine comes through now you have to refocus. Just find trails and set up and like always cameras are worth their weight in gold in my book.

[stifler51]

just my 2 pennys on the let some use ur bow. I would not let someone else use the bow, just in case they dry fire it, derail the string etc etc. Most i do is let someone hold it. Draw it? nty. Shoot it? nty. A bow is not a shotgun, each bow is unique for the user and Id rather be mad at myself for messing something up then a friend.

Congrats on the new land.

[Wanderer]

How many acres is that? It's always great to get permission for a new place to hunt - especially someplace you've been looking at for awhile - but that place doesn't look real big.

From what I can see, you need to set up several stands in the areas the deer use to enter and exit the fields. I would stay out of those woods for the most part if you think deer are bedding in there. Just hunt the stands that are right for the wind direction.

Seems like an evening spot to me. But maybe I'm not seeing the whole picture.

Congrats on the access.

[DanOmite19]

I agree with stifler about borrowing the bow. More so than anything if he is new to bowhunting, a bow that doesn't fit him, draw, peep, or poundage could really make him develop habits that would make it difficult to shoot effectivley. Imagine shooting a bow with 3" less draw and a peep an inch higher than normal. Not a good way to start. A nice gesture all the same...

[leech~~]

Don't forget to walk the outside edges of all the land and look for where Deer maybe coming over from other farms as well as where they live on the one you are going to hunt. Make sure to look at all the fench lines from other farms even if they have just a little wood line. Also, look for funnel areas where they are going from that bigger wooded area in the middle. Like Wanderer said, stay out of the middle of the woods and setup on the edge of any trails going in and out of it not to kick them out to the next farm. Man sounds great! Good luck!

[deerminator]

Thanks for the replies guys! I think its about one hundered acres of land, cropland on three sides surrounding the woods I zeroed in on and then a county road with a farm on lots of cropland to the north. I would think this is a sanctuary given its an abandoned farm site without a lot of human activity other than the fields around so bingo, I plan to hunt the edges near the fields. I was thinking of hanging a stand at a trail crossing, etc., that looks like it might produce all season and then use a ground blind to sink into the edges and be able to move around if I think I need to.

Also, on the bow, all good points. I was planning to help him try it out so he gets a feel for shooting a bow. And then if he likes it, I may give him the bow - if it fits him. In fact, I'd suggest he take it to my local pro shop so they can help him and if its not the bow for him, he can try out something else, etc. More of a nice gesture if anything if I don't decide to keep the bow or get a new one and use that as a backup.