My little slice of heaven

[WNYBuckHunter]

Last year we decided to start looking for a bigger house. We would have been fine with just a few acres, but I really wanted something a bit bigger, and hoped for something huntable. We ended up finding a great deal on a nice house that came with 15 acres. This property is a couple of properties away from where my girlfriends ex hunts. He was good enough to tell me a lot of info about the hunting in this area. Last season he took a mainframe 10 that he said scored in the low 150s. I suck at guessing scores, but I saw photos of the buck and it’s a hell of a good deer. The year before he took an 8 Point that was close to 140. According to him, there are only 5 or 6 guys that hunt this tract. None of them do drives ever, they all hunt low impact and no one shoots deer younger than 3 1/2. He consistently sees plenty of deer walking around during daylight hours all through the season. We moved in a few weeks ago and I finally had some time today to go for a walk and get a good look at the property.

I had already done some looking with satellite photos, choosing 2 spots that might be good for a couple of food plots. I confirmed that they will be good spots. I also found some very good looking bedding areas, a good sized white oak flat and a ton of Beech trees. I checked Some of the deer trails and located 2 pinch points, with one being absolutely phenomenal looking. There’s a bunch of scrapes and some nice looking rubs from last fall  throughout the woods.

I decided on an area where I will Be concentrating on with some hinge cutting this year. We are also having a logging company come in to selectively harvest some of the trees, and they will be leaving the tops, which should create some more thick stuff. 

I am stopping at the farm to collect trail cams tomorrow, and I will Be putting some of them out back to start seeing what’s wandering around. 

I’ll post an aerial photo and some pics of the plot areas soon. 

[grampy]

Congratulations on your slice of heaven John. It sounds like it will be everything you wanted and more! Wishing you much happiness and hunting success on your land.

[goosifer]

congrats. I would like to do a similar move, to a property with huntable land, but tough to find a house that checks all the boxes.

[Four Season Whitetail's]

Sounds like a place most would like to be. BBH...Congrat's!

[Robhuntandfish]

Gotta love just walking out back of the house to hunt.  Awesome.  Sounds great.

[Bowshotmuzzleloader]

Good deal I have 10 acres and the surrounding landowner lets me use much more than I am alloted ..

Nothing  like your own land .. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

Here are some pics of the first plot area. It is bordered on one side by some brush and pines,  and an oak flat on the other. These pics were taken standing in the oak flat. First pic is the plot area. The large pine in the center of the pic is the tree I will Have a stand in. It’s on the predominant downwind side of the plot. 

Second pic is to the south, that is where the really good pinch point and main bedding is. 

Third pic is to the east. The second plot will be going there. 

Last pic is north, going up the hill, which is mostly oak and Beech with a large stand of pines on the neighbors property at the top. 

[Jeremy K]

I've always wanted a house i can hunt at . I finally settled on just being able to put a range out to 80 yards with individual targets with lighting for night time shooting . Super bad time to buy a house right now i've discovered .

[landtracdeerhunter]

Congrats. I know you and your family with enjoy. Good luck!

[Robhuntandfish]

That looks great.  And that pine tree would be a great spot for a nice concealed stand.  Nothing like being able to plan and work on ypur own land.  Even if you don't get a monster buck you'll be stoked to take your first deer there.  I always love figuring out new land it's part of the fun.  Show us pics once you get the setup done. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

23 hours ago, Robhuntandfish said:

That looks great.  And that pine tree would be a great spot for a nice concealed stand.  Nothing like being able to plan and work on ypur own land.  Even if you don't get a monster buck you'll be stoked to take your first deer there.  I always love figuring out new land it's part of the fun.  Show us pics once you get the setup done. 

This is my first time working my own land with my own ideas and no one else to work around. I’m hoping to take a nice buck this year, but my main goal is going to be getting to know deer patterns and getting Haley her first deer. 

Im going to use this thread as a chronicle of the planning and work I’ll be doing. 

[grampy]

Looks really good! When I do hunt a tree stand, it's almost always a pine or hemlock tree. With the cover, you get away with a lot more, and the stands just blend right in too. Sounds like you have a solid plan in place, to make this year, a special hunting season. I'll be following the progress through this thread. Right up to the smiling pic's, with you and your daughter's deer! You really do got something special going here! And a lot of joy will come from the anticipation and work you put into your own land.

[GreeneHunter]

Congrats ... Put a pillow on the window sill and keep the end of the barrel outside the window and hunt away !  

[E J]

Looks like a nice place. How big will your plots be? Is there any agriculture in the area?

[WNYBuckHunter]

Here is the area for the second plot. 

First pic shows the plot area with the thick bedding and pinch point behind it. There is a pine tree that you can’t see very well that will have a stand tucked into it. 

Second pic is looking North where there is a small brush area and the edge of the oak flat. 

Third pic is the oak flat leading to the Beech stand and up the hill. 

Last pic is the oak flat, where I will Be putting a tower blind for gun season, and the other plot on the opposite side of that. It should be a great spot to reach I to Both plots and have deer feeding on acorns between them. 

[Dom]

I think it is a nice piece of land from looking at the pictures.This will bring lots of enjoyment to you and your's.Is there a water/spring that you could convert to a small pond watering hole?The last picture reminds me of a spot that I used to hunt

[fasteddie]

Looks like a great spot and glad that you scored a good deal on the property purchase . My youngest son lives about 3 miles (as the crow flies ) from you On Co Road 33 . 

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 hours ago, E J said:

Looks like a nice place. How big will your plots be? Is there any agriculture in the area?

Total of the 2 plots should be around 1.5 - 2 acres. There is some, but the closest fields are close to a mile away. Mostly hay lots. I have Not seen any other food plots on satellite photos. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 hours ago, GreeneHunter said:

Congrats ... Put a pillow on the window sill and keep the end of the barrel outside the window and hunt away !  

Lol there isn’t much of the property that you can see from the house. 

[WNYBuckHunter]

3 hours ago, Dom said:

I think it is a nice piece of land from looking at the pictures.This will bring lots of enjoyment to you and your's.Is there a water/spring that you could convert to a small pond watering hole?The last picture reminds me of a spot that I used to hunt

There’s a creek at the bottom of the hill. I may End up installing a few watering holes by burying tubs in the ground. 

[BizCT]

Congrats!


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[nyslowhand]

Congrats! Nothing like being able to go out the back door to hunt!

Not to rain on your parade, but... Know you'll do this, but I'd be getting chummy with the adjacent property owners this spring/summer and hinting at retrieval rights, at least. You have some career skill-sets that might be worthy of bartering. Lets assume your purchase of this piece of  heaven does NOT come with any unknown historical hunting access issues!!! In the grand scheme of things, 15ac is not a huge property, meaning a lethally wounded deer running onto an adjacent property wouldn't be unheard of. Just my 2¢....

Enjoy!!

Edited January 29, 2018 by nyslowhand

[Robhuntandfish]

one of the spots I hunt is only 12 acres and In reality its only about 100 yards by 30 yards cause most of it is fenced in and leased to a farmer for cows.  I can hunt one little corner of it and just got permission to hunt there this last season.  First evening out got a doe!   Doesnt need to be big to be productive.  

[nybuckboy]

Congratulations on the new place to lint! live/hunt

[52 farmer]

Congrats on your new place.Nothing better than being able to go out the back door and be in your stand in 10 mins.,and to be able to do exactly what you want with the landscape.