Where would you sit??????????

[MUSKY18]

Take a look at this picture. Lets see how opinions differ as to where you would setup on this land. Interesting to see how different people approach it. I can tell you that everything to the north (up) from the red lines is the available land, the rest is owned and hunted by others. The pink X's are rubs/scrapes I have round and the orange dots are a few stand locations I have tried. The blue is a creek that runs through the property and drains north into the lowland on the edge of the treeline. Still in the "learning" phase of this property, trying to figure out the deer. Just wanted to see some different opinions. Lets hear it!!!

[Cheetah]

If it were my first time in, I'd be looking at that creek in the top-center of the photo for crossing points. I'd like to know what corn/bean crops are within a mile of there for potential areas the deer go to and from those food sources.

While there is probably a good amount of sign near that hay/corn area in the bottom-center, that's too close to food for me and I doubt the deer will still be there during daylight if there is any hunting pressure. I'd be looking to get back at least a few hundred yards in hopes of getting in front of them in the dark and having them actually come by during shooting time. Maybe during the rut the bucks will cover that area during daylight, but it's still not a spot I would prefer to sit.

[sticknstring]

Lots of good habitat in there. I'd love to walk it. I marked a few spots I'd want to scout out on foot. Travel corridors/staging areas mainly. I'm sure the corn is a huge draw. I'd check out a topo map as well and identify saddle crossings or benches on the ridges.

[student]

Where do you access the land?

[MUSKY18]

The gravel road that comes in from the south right up between the cornfields. It goes all the way up to the grass/clover. Thats where I come in from.

[motley man]

Edges of all clover, and where the scrapes are. Be careful not to spook them out of scrape area. The less travel and disturbing you do from now to opening is best. Just walk in and don't wander around as this is the best way to move deer to another area. GOOD LUCK - Looks like a great area.

[Jameson]

Basically I would be hoping for a wind out of the west during the rut, and hope to catch the bucks traveling downwind of the clover or bedding spots. The northern most X is more of a pinch spot than anything.

[96trigger]

Really hard to say without actually walking the land and getting the contours. I think both Jameson and SNS give you great options. SNS does a great job of getting you spread out and you would probably have at least one stand that you could always hunt no matter the wind. Jameson's stand areas look like something I would put together if I new what route they were traveling or if I new a specific field they were feeding in. I can tell you that if you looked at my stand locations on an aerial map, you might ask what the heck I am doing, but because of topography and deer trails, they are all in good spots.

[deerminator]

Any saddles, funnels, and or ravines you can determine. This week's Outdoor News has a good article about not hunting a spot if it's too good because there's no way you can get in or out undetected and without spooking deer and making it go cold. So the author instead suggests hunting the fringes and travel routes heading into those spaces. And if you think about it, that's great advice. You hopefully can catch the deer on their way to the food sources versus waiting til just before dark and then trying to sneak out of there with deer everywhere. Good luck!

[Wanderer]

Ha, I'm sitting here typing about deer hunting and my neighbor just fired a shot at his first doe of the season. I'll be out later with the bow.

I agree with having to walk the land and cross reference the topography to get a better idea but I do have one spot that really sticks out in my eye: The bottle neck off the northern tip of the pond. Right between SNS's mark and Jameson's. Guess I'll be seeing you guys out there.

That looks to be the major connection between the two larger woodlots that still has cover. But it's also one of the narrowest spots of that connection - that still has cover. Plus you might catch a buck going around the tip of the pond traveling to the corn on the west side of the pond. The only thing I don't like about that spot is it's so close to your access point. I would park back further and walk in from a distance if possible.

It would be my first stop. Many more to come after that though. There seems to be a lot of opportunity out there.

Good luck.