Where to set up at a new farm?? Advice please

[regulat0r]

So I dont have much experience hunting farms as I usually hunt small patches of woods in suburban areas. I recently got permission to hunt a farm near me. I walked the property with the farmer today and he advised me to hunt a certain area where he always sees deer year after year. It's a patch of woods about the size of a football field that is in between 2 corn fields. he says the corn is cut by mid october. There is an old logging/farming road that goes through the patch of woods. The question I have is...should I set my stand at the edge of the woods patch on the border of one of the corn fields or should i set up in the middle of the woods (most likely on the edge of the logging road)?

For those of you who have experience hunting farms...please share your experiences and observations about what would be best. Thanks!

 

 

[Four Season Whitetail's]

So I dont have much experience hunting farms as I usually hunt small patches of woods in suburban areas. I recently got permission to hunt a farm near me. I walked the property with the farmer today and he advised me to hunt a certain area where he always sees deer year after year. It's a patch of woods about the size of a football field that is in between 2 corn fields. he says the corn is cut by mid october. There is an old logging/farming road that goes through the patch of woods. The question I have is...should I set my stand at the edge of the woods patch on the border of one of the corn fields or should i set up in the middle of the woods (most likely on the edge of the logging road)?

For those of you who have experience hunting farms...please share your experiences and observations about what would be best. Thanks!

For myself being that i like to hunt mature animals i would set up back off the fields in their staging area. A mature deer will not walk out willy-nilly into the field much before dark. Most times anyways!  But he will stay back a safe distance off the field untill sunset. If you have no preference on the animals you harvest then you could set up along the logging road or the corn fields edge.

 

If you can get a camera up to show you what kind of honey hole you found that would help you a bit. Either way, enjoy your new treasure as good farm land is getting harder to find every day!

[ants]

I hunt a local farm and another that is in Allegheny County. I have had better luck, on good bucks, when I set up well into the woods off the fields. Look for trails that go from thick nasty stuff, into more open areas and then to the field. set up in the more open stuff, closer to  the thick crap than the field. My 2 cents.

[wooly]

When I see good bucks in areas like this, I usually don't see them walking down the middle of logging roads.

Within your little slice of timber may be an edge in the form of a browse line, a vegetation edge, a field runoff, or a thicker undergrowth that leads to the field.

You may find many more deer use trails along that feature than the road during legal light if you can get the set up right.

Spend some time this month glassing the field before dark to see where deer are entering the field from that woodlot and back track those trails until you find where you can kill them on their approach.

Of course the primary wind will dictate which location may be the better option.

[Woodjr55]

Is this for bow hunting or gun hunting ? Is it a patch of woods that's surrounded by corn fields?

[Doc]

My first stop would be at the farmer's house for a brief conversation about what he has been seeing and where and when.

[fasteddie]

You could also go to GOOGLE Earth and get a map of the area . Then walk the area and look for tracks in and out of the wooded spots . Mark those on your map . It might give you an idea of where to expect to see the deer .

Like 4 Seasons said , set up a camera and get an idea of what is there and also ask the farmer where he is seeing them . Farmers are out all day long and see things that we wouldn't unless we were there several hours .

[Four Season Whitetail's]

So I dont have much experience hunting farms as I usually hunt small patches of woods in suburban areas. I recently got permission to hunt a farm near me. I walked the property with the farmer today and he advised me to hunt a certain area where he always sees deer year after year. It's a patch of woods about the size of a football field that is in between 2 corn fields. he says the corn is cut by mid october. There is an old logging/farming road that goes through the patch of woods. The question I have is...should I set my stand at the edge of the woods patch on the border of one of the corn fields or should i set up in the middle of the woods (most likely on the edge of the logging road)?

For those of you who have experience hunting farms...please share your experiences and observations about what would be best. Thanks!

 

 

My first stop would be at the farmer's house for a brief conversation about what he has been seeing and where and when.

[growalot]

Wind,  time you will be going in and special features like preferred natural browse (acorns,apples ect,),water...rutting buck drink a lot of water...natural pinch points to fields and or diverting land features in woods....all these things need to be considered when choosing the best site...or 3 if you have the stands...

[Five Seasons]

transition areas between fields are good spots, you just want to be careful they're not bedding areas and they probably are. I would recommend hunting the edge of them. if you disturb their beds they'll start shacking up elsewhere. Deer need a spot where there is no pressure and a lot of hunters dont realize this and put stands all over their property.

 

Hunt the transition zones between food and bed.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

transition areas between fields are good spots, you just want to be careful they're not bedding areas and they probably are. I would recommend hunting the edge of them. if you disturb their beds they'll start shacking up elsewhere. Deer need a spot where there is no pressure and a lot of hunters dont realize this and put stands all over their property.

 

Hunt the transition zones between food and bed.

Agreed and a transition zone most times end at a staging area when fields are involved and dealing with mature animals. Many younger deer will go through the transition zone(bed to food) and pass right through the staging area and go out into the field(food) Mature bucks will never do that unless they have their nose up a does ....... Anyways great advice to see the deer that are in that area.

[Five Seasons]

Agreed and a transition zone most times end at a staging area when fields are involved and dealing with mature animals. Many younger deer will go through the transition zone(bed to food) and pass right through the staging area and go out into the field(food) Mature bucks will never do that unless they have their nose up a does ....... Anyways great advice to see the deer that are in that area.

 

the few mounters i've shot have all had a case of doe fever. the little head gets them in trouble every time haha

[NFA-ADK]

Take the farmers advice, he is their all the time and knows what he is talking about. 

[G-Man]

take the farmers advice where they enter and exit the field and head into the woods 50 yards. look at a map on google, or my topo. patches of woods left in farm field usually have water in them, ditch,or stream. if you find a crossing in the woods there is where i would start. i would be great to walk around and find nuts/apples but its getting late in the season for that. best done in winter after season. the logging road may be useful for access in to your stand area. if your set up and deer keep moving 50 yards away every day move your stand. personally id start with the topo and look to see why the woods were left and not cleared for farming. raviines,possible. then move to habitat type mature woods against younger brushy growth is a good seam/ edge to hunt as well. the woods doesnt sound to big so scout smart using maps and photos , confirm with a visual inspection hang your stand and get out. then hunt smart when you do hunt it.

[HUNTINGS IN MY DNA]

So I dont have much experience hunting farms as I usually hunt small patches of woods in suburban areas. I recently got permission to hunt a farm near me. I walked the property with the farmer today and he advised me to hunt a certain area where he always sees deer year after year. It's a patch of woods about the size of a football field that is in between 2 corn fields. he says the corn is cut by mid october. There is an old logging/farming road that goes through the patch of woods. The question I have is...should I set my stand at the edge of the woods patch on the border of one of the corn fields or should i set up in the middle of the woods (most likely on the edge of the logging road)?

For those of you who have experience hunting farms...please share your experiences and observations about what would be best. Thanks!

thats going to be a great late season spot as soon as the corn falls those bucks are going to be hitting it for energy corn is a great late season food plot due to it hi in energy source what the bucks are looking for after chasing these does around during the rut. Depending on that time of year and what these bucks are doing you might want to put a blind in the middle of one of those corn fields when the deer are hitting it hard anyway it's kinda hard in the beginning to pick a spot or two on new territory my advice too you is watch there patters over there find the bedding areas cause you know where the food source is going to be and set up in between

[Culvercreek hunt club]

I would be looking at the woods and asking why the farmer is seeing the deer there. How are the deer using that  woods. Is there a bedding area in it? is it mature woods and the deer pass through to head to the fields. Maybe the bedding are is off the end of that "football field" sized woods. You may be able to get in there easily. As Growalot said...once you answer a few of those questions it will be wind....wind....wind...and how is the wind moving.

[HectorBuckBuster]

See if there is a natural funnel in the woods. I hunt a lot of farm land that has small patches of woods, and have great success setting up in natural funnels. I don't always see lots of does, but boy do I see the bucks.

 

[BBDEric]

When hunting a new farm I would be doing a lot of preseason scouting. Learn every inch and get a good topo map of the property. Then make you own map to over lay from scouting. Label bedding areas/food/ travel corridors / and funnels.

[tibio]

Play the wind and set up a couple of stands where there are old rubs, scrapes. Set up some cameras and do some sitting. Hunting a new area is fun. Especially a farm. Good luck!

[PREDATE]

Is this for bow hunting or gun hunting ? Is it a patch of woods that's surrounded by corn fields?

Regulat0r, These are important details that will help in determining stand placement and even scouting techniques. So what say you?

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Edited August 20, 2014 by PREDATE