New Hunting Area

[lpcjon2]

Now that I got you to click on it.

  What are the first priority steps you do when you first find a new hunting area.You already have permission,So whats next for you before you hunt? To make it fun you only have one month before the season opens!And this area is new to you and you know nothing about it!  

[JEFF B]

well if its like ya said i would ask the owner about it before going out hunting or looking.    you got a new hunting spot there bro.  

[ChuckC]

computer search.  aerial views of the plot and the whole area.  Drive around it to see what crops are current and if any changes have happened since the aerials were taken.  Ask the owner and maybe farmers around if they ever see any deer.  Where, when, coming from where and going to where.

All sorts of photos and maps are available on line.

Heck.. rent time on a small plane and do fly overs if you really want to know.
ChuckC

[lpcjon2]

Jeff I never stop looking for new spots.Just thought some of the new guys would like to get some tips from the wise ones.

[rastaman]

Maps are good to get some potential areas to look at...food sources, bedding areas, funnels, pinch points, etc.  Then i'm going to get out there and walk the property as quickly as i can.  i'll be wanting to know prevailing wind direction and then how to access my stand sites. i will do this the first week and not disturb the property again until the season opens.  i will do my scouting in the woods preferably during the middle of the day.  If there are crops planted i will glass them early mornings/late evenings from afar to get an idea of what the property might hold & where the deer are entering and exiting the fields.  After the season opens and i've spent some time in the woods i will fine tune my stand sites.

[Arwin]

Google Earth......learn the pinch points, cover and water sources before you even step foot on it.         Above all, deer must have water esp in the early season.

 If I'm unfamilier, I stick to funnels near water or food. I really like east facing slopes that border cattails and hunting the corridor that runs between the ridge and marsh.

  I think this would be the best route for minimal disturbance since you just aquired the property. Too much tromping around in hot weather and heavy foliage will only leave your scent on every leaf.

 Early next spring really dig into it with some foot scouting and learn the bedding areas while there is a touch of snow on the ground.

[adeeden]

Funnels, edges and bedding areas are the first things I look for when scouting a new area!

[rastaman]

Unfortunately, the last time we had snow that stuck around long enough for scouting was in 1972!  

[Arwin]

LMAO!!! I just saw where your from!!!

 Well....food sources and water, esp water down there, it gets HOT!   :eek:

  Whats the layout like?

[Chris Shelton]

my first step being the google freak I am would be to check out some aerials on Google earth!

[rastaman]

What Ipcjon2 hasn't let on is that he is moving to Georgia from New Jersey and has probably found some new property to scout!  
Where i hunt has hardwood ridges, planted pines, CRP land, swamps, and creeks.  Oh yeah, and lots of mosquitoes, yellow flies, and ticks so you have to plan for them also or they will ruin a hunt in the south.

[Chris Shelton]

by the way, There was a awesome article in TBM about funnels b Mr. Wensel, made me rethink my new spots!!!

[Ryan Rothhaar]

Simple.  Wear out some boot leather.  I NEVER talk to owners/other hunters/neighbors about deer sightings and where they travel 'till AFTER I put down lots of tracks on a property.  I don't want to have preconceived ideas about a place before I walk it out.  After you walk it THEN talk to the folks around and see how the info jives with your impressions.

Frankly, my scouting and learning new hunting areas is a long term investment.  I never plan on getting onto a good (mature buck) deer until at least the 3rd year I hunt a place.  Takes me that long to get things (started) to be figured out.  I might be kind of slow witted sometimes, tho!

Ryan

[SteveB]

1st thing is to meet the bordering landowners to introduce myself and talk to them about recovery should an animal leave the property. In NY, you are not allowed to follow across borders withot permission even with DEC or law enforcement.

[crotch horn]

Food, water, bedding then doe hangouts for when the rut kicks in. I would learn all I can with topos & aerials working together. Order a plat for the county so I know who the land owners are. Next I would glass as much as possible to see what I can see without stinking up the place and try to nail down wind directions then finally go in to a couple of my best bets and put up some scouting cameras. Go back a week prior to hunting to see if I was right and adjust from there. Just my 2 cents.

[**DONOTDELETE**]

Start scouting. I would find a good area and set-up a tree stand far away, but still be able to see the area from a tree stand.

Start hunting them not..

[lpcjon2]

Originally posted by Ryan Rothhaar:
Simple.  Wear out some boot leather.  I NEVER talk to owners/other hunters/neighbors about deer sightings and where they travel 'till AFTER I put down lots of tracks on a property.  I don't want to have preconceived ideas about a place before I walk it out.  After you walk it THEN talk to the folks around and see how the info jives with your impressions.

Frankly, my scouting and learning new hunting areas is a long term investment.  I never plan on getting onto a good (mature buck) deer until at least the 3rd year I hunt a place.  Takes me that long to get things (started) to be figured out.  I might be kind of slow witted sometimes, tho!

Ryan

Ryan, with a track record like yours I wouldn't mind being slow witted...LOL

[Hopewell Tom]

As per all of the above, I like aerial photos, both old and new and of course, get on the ground.
As a landowner myself who meets all sorts looking to be on my land, both those who ask and those who don't, I'd add the following:
Showing up at my door, clean and presentable and asking works best for me. If your coming on, I want you to know some things about MY hunting and where YOU can/can't go. It's easy for me to brush you off over the phone.
Do what you say you'll do. Don't let me catch you deer hunting when all you SAID you wanted was to hunt a few birds.
If you like the hunting and want to continue, ask EVERY year, take nothing for granted. Come after the season with some CHOICE pieces of meat(never happened to me) and tell me some hunting stories. We'll become friends and I'll tell you (and you'll tell me) some info on movement/sightings, etc.
Report any activity that seems out of place. Part of why I don't mind some others on the property is to be another set of eyes and ears. It's somewhat difficult to be every where at once.
Be totally ethical in your hunt and leave NO garbage for me to clean up. Treat this place like your own and you'll have a hunting grounds for life.
When you put yourself in my shoes, you may have a better understanding of why some places are so hard to get on to.

[Hoyt]

When I'm going to scout a new area I get on the computer first and look it over with USAPhotoMap program and Google. I like USAPhotoMap because it's easy to send way points back and forth from my Garmin GPSmap 60CSx. I use Google more for distance and color views.

Anyway, I find spots I think will be good hunting and then make a route to them from where I'm going to park my truck. I make it on USAPhotoMap and transfer it to my GPS. I then go to Google and find the area and print it out. That way I can use my GPS to go from one area to the next and the photo I printed to see the lay of the land. Using this method I always know where I'm at when in the woods and if I find a good spot I don't have to find a way in and out..it's already on my GPS and computer.

I mark spots I like as I walk and when I get back home transfer them to USAPhotoMap and Google.

Saves a lot of time and energy doing it this way. Also USAPhotomap has a topographical map under the view in tools up top that you can switch back and forth from aerial photos.

[RC]

I`m kinda old fashioned. At the very first chance I put on the snakeboots and WALK. I note feed trees. If there is a drain I walk it and look for crossings. I note last years rubs. I also note the dominate wind direction. You can look at grass and weeds and tell.

   THEN...As the season nears I take the binocs and wear rubberboots and check the feed trees for mast.I check the drains for seasonal trails. Down here they`ll change with the food.

  I usually hunt swamp persimmons early..2nd-3rd week of Sept. The ones up high or as I call`m "Hill" persimmons usually drop later and If there are acorns on the ground then they will not draw as good. I`m a food hunter if you have`nt figured that out yet.

 In South Ga. this is the order of food I hunt

1 persimmons cause they drop early and often are the only feed on the ground other than browse.

2 Crabapples...see above

3. water oaks, live oaks and red oaks. They usually drop before white oaks and cow oaks here.

4 White oaks and cow oaks.

5. Late dropping water oaks or pen oaks.

6  honey suckle in the late season.

My favorites are Persimmons and cow oaks ..aka Swamp Chestnuts.They both draw deer and pigs and when you find a hot one it will look like someone pulled a set of harrows around the tree.

 I like to hunt crabapples for deer . Pigs don`t eat`m.RC