Jon covered a lot. Follow his advice and you'll do well.
Here's a bit more.
Your property sounds large so the advice about resting stands is likely possible for you. I kept a diary for two years on an 1,100 acre area I hunted in Northern Indiana. Sure enough deer sightings declined daily once I started hunting a stand.
Some folks have limited places to hunt and rotating or resting stands is more difficult especially if you like to hunt every day or two like I do. I spent two years hunting only on 10 acres (Missouri) and had only 3 stand locations. I killed as many deer as I wanted ..2-3/year.
When hunting agricultural areas I like corn best, especially standing corn. Soy beans can get good after the beans are picked if the farmer doesn't fall plow. If your family can refrain from fall-plowing or simply chisel plow your ag field source won't become a desert quite so soon.
I look for pinch points in the cover where topography or fences makes it easier for deer to travel certain areas while remaining under cover. Imagine the ag field is full of paint-ball dudes and they are after you. You want to sneak around he edges to steal their flag! If I'm hunting "any deer" I prefer to stay within bow range of the edge of the field because deer commonly walk the perimeters for 20-30 yards when they enter or are leaving the field. I've found field corners (inside) to be terrific. You can even manufacture (with permission) some deer entry points by tying down top strands of a fence to make it easier to jump over. Yes, when they have to deer have been documented to jump over 10' fences.
I really pay attention to the type of tree or trees I put my stand in. I want to remain well hidden. I like cedars (which you likely don't have)trees with multiple boles or lots of big limbs. Remember that leaf cover you enjoyed on October 1st will disappear before Halloween. When not sure about cutting a limb to create a shooting lane use rope to tie it back. You can erase the decision if it doesn't work out. Once cut, a limb that would have been more important to hide you than a window to shoot through, can't be uncut.
In areas where bedding and feeding areas are quite distinct, such as agricultural areas (not so easy where I hunt these days though) paying attention to prevailing wind is important. Your winds are going to be from the west to NW most of deer season. East will be very rare. South can happen too. Sometimes 20 yards is all you need to have an alternate stand for the wind. Some stands will be best in the AM and some in the PM. I prefer a calm, steady wind over a calm day and I abhor a windy day (greater than 15 mph).
Look for deer trails that parallel the ag fields. If you find trails that intersect, the more the better, you are getting warm. Of course make sure you can approach such areas without disturbing bedded (in the afternoon) or feeding (AM) like Jon said. It is common not to be able to hunt some stands in either the AM or PM because of where you expect the deer to be.
You probably know your area well. Sometimes it is very helpful to get an aerial photograph of your hunting area that shows the adjacent properties. I worked with these photos for years as a wildlife biologist and you can often predict very accurately exactly where deer trails should be.
This first season you might do well to select stand sites (related to what Jon advised above) that allow you to see more area even if not in the best ambush spot. This will allow you to scout from your stand. Many times I've found better spots by paying attention to patterns I see from my stands.
Even as early as the first half of October you are going to find sign where deer have pawed the earth (scrapes) or rubbed their antlers (rubs). Some of those rubs are made in August when velvet is falling. The aggressive ones are made in late October when bucks are getting ready for the rut. I wouldn't hunt over such places unless they are near travel corridors we've discussed above. I've always found the larger the tree rubbed the larger and stronger the deer. The buck likes to push the tree around a bit but not get beat up by it. Trees larger than your wrist are exciting and larger than 6" in diameter could be a bruiser!
Finally, I like to be in my stand at least 30 minutes before light. I want in the stand and quiet well before I expect deer to be moving. I like to get down when I can no longer see to shoot (adhere to legal shooting hours though). I might exit a stand 5 minutes early if no deer are around, especially if hunting near ag fields so I don't get caught in the tree with deer in the field that will see or hear me leaving.
Jon's advice about hunting objectives is sage. You are hunting for yourself. What you want to kill and how you want to kill it should be your objective (within the law). I know folks who adopt the standards of their friends or other folks they respect. That's fine if you want but lots of great experience can be gained shooting does, small bucks and even fawns. The more experience you gain the better ready you will be for that Bullwinkle when he shows up.
The way you choose to hunt and the equipment you choose to use is your decision (again according to the law). Your decision makes you good enough for you but no better than the hunter who makes other decisions. You are no more right than the compound, shotgun, or rifle hunter and they no more wrong. Just different. More non-bowhunters are turned off or against us when we come across as somehow better. Sure, after a few years hunting with a bow (if you do it a lot -- the national average is 23 hunts/year for a bowhuner and around 7 for a gun hunter)you are going to likely know much more about deer behavior, scouting, and deer hunting than those who don't bow hunt. You are going to cherish the other sights, sounds, and smells in the deer woods than the average hunter as well. But, I much prefer to relish those differences in private or with my like-minded bowhunting buddies than pointing them out to my gun-hunter-only friends and family. This is one of those times in life when less is indeed more.
Good luck. Always let someone know you are going hunting, where you'll likely be (another good use for aerial photos)and when you should return. Be sure to properly rope in before you climb, and stay harnessed in that stand. A third of bowhunters will eventually fall from a stand. Ten percent of those who fall will be permanently disabled or die.
If you have a chance to take a Bowhunter Education course (by NBEF) be sure to do it.
One more tip. This will seem like cheating to some. While you prowl your property be on the look for remnants of tree stands (boards in trees, old steps). These are often residue from gun hunters. They could be worthless. However, you never know, that old dilapidated stand may have been erected by a veteran deer hunter who knew this property and its deer very well. He might have killed deer after deer from it. Of course use a quality, commercially made safe stand instead of handmade carpentry jobs.
Topic: Scouting Help (Read 547 times)
