80 Acre Question

[Mayfly]

I just want to know what everyone thinks?.....How many people do you think 80 acres of woods can hold stand hunting (safely & successfully).

[Lunker]

Well, this question is right up my alley. My family owns 5 acres adjacent to 80 acres of private land we are allowed to hunt. It is surrounded on three sides by posted, one side, not, so its a good setup. This year we had 5 guys hunting it, but have had other people in the woods previous years increasing that number to 8. This year was great, I couldnt see any of the other guys I hunt with. It sounds like it would be crowded, but with that many people in the woods it kicks the deer around a bit. I like getting out there before anyone else and out after everyone else becasue when they move deer are kicked to me. We shot 5 deer out of that woods out of our camp's 6, with an 8 and a 12 pointer takin from teh same stand. So 5-6 people is good for me. More than that starts getting a bit crowded but can be done.

[Mayfly]

This is our first year having an 80 acre plot. We only hunted three and went 3 for 3. There are other people in the family we want to invite but are not quite sure how many we can hold. We were thinking at the most 5.

Any more thoughts, opinions, experiences?

[bigg edd]

I think it depends on the type of woods, wind direction and how much time you spend going to and from your stand. I hunt blackpowder season on 100 private acres of mixed oaks and aspen in 411 with two other guys and we do pretty good as long as the wind in our favor and we don't spend a lot of time going to and from our stands during the day. Usually by the fourth day it seems no matter how carefull you are they know something is up and we leave the woods alone for a few days.
I guess it all depends on what you consider having a good time, it sounds like you are pretty serious so I would limit the number of people on you land, less people,less movement,less scent.
There are also 6 guys who hunt the same woods during the 4a season (two days) who go to the shack more or less to have a good time together and maybe shoot a few deer, which I see nothing wrong with. I on the other hand like to be in the woods and watch (and shoot) a few deer and the season is much longer so we tend to be a little more carefull................edd

[Howieroch]

It all depends on the land, the deer population, and most importantly how much you trust the other hunters. This year we had three hunters in my 20 acres and we shot five deer for our party. Last year we had 5 hunters in there and we shot three deer for the party. We all know EXACTLY where the other stands are and we DO NOT shoot if the deer are in the wrong spot. There is no room for error when hunting, so if you are not sure of the other hunters' safety practices even two hunters on 80 acres can be too many.

We count on the wind to help with deer movement. If a deer scents one hunter there is a good chance that it will go around them and run into another hunter in our party.

I guess what I'm saying is that if you are sure of the other hunters and have a decent deer population there should be no problem hunting five guys in 80 acres.