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Where to set up? (Pics)

tn droptine

tn droptine

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Joined
Oct 10, 2008
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1,571
Location
Lakeland, FL
Here's the layout, the shaded areas to the south and west are where the property borders some public land that is open to hunting (same as statewide seasons, not a draw hunt). I'm thinking that this should help by pushing some deer my way since there will be hardly any hunting pressure on this property. I will only be hunting it late season (last two weeks of Dec and first week of Jan)

Any ideas? Not much as far as terrain features, most of the property looks to be fairly flat, with one low area running N-S through the wooded section.

Huntprop.jpg


birdseye.jpg
 
I'd wait and see what areas are still thick at that time. many times, late season, deer gravitate to thicker areas, near food sources and without knowing much about the place , then I'd say just wait and see what it looks like at that time. No need in scouting it now, hanging a stand , only to not be near the action in late december...if you NEED to hang a stand now, I'd talk to the owner and see where the thickest areas are and hang one there for a backup plan....planning on a N, W or NW wind.

good luck
 
Thanks! I think predominantly we have winds out of the south in the area, if I recall correctly from last year (really need to start making a log of the winds while I hunt). I think my best bet will be setting up like you said near the thickest areas. Without having actually set foot on the place I am thinking about the SW portion of the property where it looks like it is fairly thick with pine. I'll probably check the place out in August while I am home and then wont be back out there until I hunt it in Dec.

With it being adjacent to public land, would you risk placing a trail camera on the property?
 
Pine thickets can be great places for bedding deer to get out of wind, especially when other trees lose their leaves....

trail cameras are fine, but I have seen and killed deer that i never got a pic of, so I don't rely on them much except around feeders or salt licks , early season.

if there is any cutover timber where the tops were left, check that area out.

if it's clean woods, then look for these pine thickets or anywhere that the woods changes from clean to thick.....maybe a creek bottom also. Deer love edges, even edges that may be hard to detect....not just field edges.

Sometimes, even in flat areas, the slightest change in terrain will draw deer coming through. I have seen deer use ridges that were no more than a foot different in height and I've seen them use old logging roads and dried up creekbeds.

another thing that may help you, is driving around to the fields and checking them for crops and spend a few days scouting the surrounding pressure....hunters coming in will push deer to you.

IMO, this area seems like a place to hunt on the fly....you may need to move a few times before you get on deer....

maybe walking around and finding open woods near thickets and sitting down will be a successful tactic...

looks like fun to me...enjoy the process..

good luck
 
another tactic might be to ride the road a few days before you hunt. Note where people are and note where you see deer crossings along the road, jot all the info you can on a map.

maps/aerials are great tools if you couple them with info you get from things you actually see ...

deer are great adapters.....to be successful sometimes hunters must adapt to what's going on around them at that specific time and not what they saw a month or even a week ago....

learn to change.....and embrace that change as something needed.

many hunters refuse to change what they are doing because it has worked in the past, yet, no two hunts are the same...
 
I like this stuff, so no need to thank me. this is the part I like the best, besides actual footwork. lol.

In timber, look for pockets of sunlight. I like to scout at different times of the day....early, midday and late.

the woods changes during the day and I believe that deer move and use the woods differently through the day.

It looks like on that map that there may be a powerline or something where the woods seems to be cut in a straightline (n to s) near the field on the east side with the big lake...

many times, deer seek out these pockets of sunlight for two reasons, vegetation in the winter and sunlight. We as humans can attest to how good the sun feels and deer love to bed down in a thick area that blocks the wind, yet allows sunlight to hit them.

If you find one of these areas and can slip in right after daylight, you may catch deer during midday hours coming to these areas to bed down or feed on the vegetation...you don't want to wait too late and bump them out, but it may indeed be midday before they get in to these areas, so patience may be what is needed.

I love figuring out new areas....lol.
 
I would look around that pond in the middle of the woods and anywhere it is thick near the border of that public land. a strategy a lot of public land hunters use is to get close to Private land hoping to catch a deer trying to get into the private land or catching one coming out.

remember though as easy as they can push one to you yo u may push one to them....
 
I wouldnt worry alot with the public land pressure.Last 2 weeks in Dec most folks have given up.

That pond in the SE corner has a perfect funnel between it and the field.Looks to be amybe 30 yards.Easily hunted with either a north or south wind.Also easy access with out spooking them.
 
I like the pond in the middle or the strip of pines on the west side of the property,but like was said earlier I would wait until later in the year to hang a stand.
 
Well, it may be just me, but the first thing I would do is put those phtos up and go walk every inch of the property and then decide where to hunt.
 
bowriter said:
Well, it may be just me, but the first thing I would do is put those phtos up and go walk every inch of the property and then decide where to hunt.
Click to expand...

Lol, John I wish I could - I do plan on walking the whole property once in late Aug/early Sept, but for now all I can do is go off of aerial photos and topo. I'm only in the states about 8 weeks total out of the year, the rest of the time I'm over here in Afghanistan :D
 
You may want to check out the northwest corner of the field in the lower right. It forms a partial funnel as deer tend to skirt around field corners.

Also X2 on thick areas and the funnel created by the strip of woods on the bottom right of the property.
 
Thanks for your service but I'll tell you something, there is not a thing wrong with scouting the same day you are hunting. When on new property, I never quite scouting until I was convinced I had it cold. You may bump a deer or two but I would not worry about it.
 

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