Evaluating land for deer

[Al Bundy]

I'm looking at a 25 acre parcel for deer and turkey. Mostly for deer though. I just walked t and looks like great deer potential. Lot of swail, some smaller saplings fairly thick. Some larger pines. Not many mature trees but some. I could find a tree for stand, but maybe ground blinds might work better. I saw a number of trails and an fresh small scrape and an old rub. I didn't cover even a fourth of the parcel though. Seems there has to be deer there. This is a bit out my Territory so I am not familiar with the area. Any thoughts other than walking and looking for sign?

[jjb4900]

maybe if you give the info on what County and Town the land is in, someone may be somewhat familiar with the area and tell you an overall impression of what you can hopefully expect?......

[turkeyfeathers]

Maybe Google image the surrounding area . You may see bodies of water, possible bedding areas or something of help. Any chance you could set up a cam next visit ? I'd encourage walking the whole 25 acres paying attention to what's going on the property lines too. any turkey scratching in leaves? I covered 70 acres in scouting last week in a pretty quick time frame. Found 3 different areas of turkey scratching/where they roosted  , some new scrapes and rubs and a few old scrapes being hit. So if you get a chance I think hands on experience is the best. Sitting in the wrong spot for hours on end or most of the season is more time wasted than a proper few hours scouting mission IMO

[WhitetailAddict11]

Old rubs would be what I would look for. Particularly old rubs on sizable trees. Scrapes don't tell the whole story, a small buck can make a lot of scrapes. If you're just looking for a place to shoot deer, general deer sign would suffice.

[dbHunterNY]

look to see what the neighbors are like.... is it a neighborhood, farm land, or public land.  you're only 25 acres so what does the surrounding land have to support the deer and how does it make them use the property.  also is where you're at huntable.  not all properties that get deer traffic are truly huntable.  will the wind at some point be predictable.  neighbors can make changes to positively or negatively impact your 25 acres but things like an ag field, water source, or standing oaks stay the same 99.999% of the time.

[dbHunterNY]

http://wiredtohunt.com/2010/05/06/quality-deer-management-on-small-pieces-of-land/

see if you can do these things to it.

[virgil]

Any chance you could request to lease the property for the hunting season?  That way you could try it out before committing.

[chas0218]

I would be looking for where the food sources are and bedding areas. If you are somewhere between you should be good or you have the bedding area or food source on your property. Just look for sign.

[Al Bundy]

Some good advice Thanks. I went back yesterday and walked almost entire property. Not much sign.. Maybe one old rub. Some old scraggly Apple trees, some acorns. Somebody been hunting it as I found a blind. No ag at all close by though. It does not look great. The surrounding area is identical and nothing special on this plot. The deer have their choice where to go. I suspect there are better areas. One neightbor house is spitting distance from the property line. They have horses also that are very close. I suspect they would not be happy me shooting. Going to give this parcel a pass. Thanks for the good advice. I'll use it on the next potential. Hopefully I'll find something. Sick of sitting and seeing just about nothing.

[moog5050]

There is an article in the current QDMA magazine about things to consider when purchasing hunting property. It's covers the basics pretty well. Worth a read if you have it

[chas0218]

Is there enough room to throw in a food plot? It might really be worth your time and effort if you did especially if there aren't any green fields or ag fields around.