Hunting new land in 2018

[Iluvracks1359]

Hey guys, Im going to be hunting new land this fall, its 100 acres, with a nice 5 acre pond nestled in the center of it. How would you go about scouting a new property for the first time?

[Robhuntandfish]

would start with a couple of trail cams for sure and a few walks around.   Love scouting new ground!  Have fun!  one of the best parts of hunting for me 

[G-Man]

I would look at Arial and topo to give idea of lay of the land( if your experienced you can tell tree types from Arial photos as well)

and if you can I would walk the property now.. heavy trails old rubs,beds  and stands will be visible.  As well as piles of deer poop . Take a tree guide with you and identify what trees the poop is under if need be. Mark on, your maps. Come June take a pair of Binocular  and go to these tree sites and look for nuts or fruit on them. This will Give you good idea of where to set stands in July for season.with minimal disturbance to deer.

[Zag]

Google Earth the spot, and walk it. Look for old rubs and scrapes. Look for any spots where the woods transition from pines to hardwoods. I have a great great spots in those areas

[virgil]

I would try to walk the property while there’s snow on the ground in order to see fresh tracks. Also, can you hunt the land for turkey in the spring?  That’d be a great way to get to know the land. Trail cams also. 

[Iluvracks1359]

Did I mention there is also about 10 acres, maybe more, that is an apple orchard as well?

Yes I am turkey hunting their this spring, I was gunna head up this weekend and set trail cams

[Iluvracks1359]

Did some scouting this past weekend, still over a foot of snow on the ground in the woods there, thank god my uncle let me borrow his snow shoes. HAHA. Seems very promising, spooked 15 deer 5 minutes into scouting, set some cameras, didn't even cover half of the property though, there was just too much snow! Also found a really nice double latter stand that was from one of my cousins friends, whom they told to take the stand out about 5 years or so ago, and he never did, so its mine now! haha. Even if the guy comes back looking for it, im probably gunna offer him some money, save him the trouble of taking it out and and moving it, because its a big heavy stand.

[GreeneHunter]

Shed Hunt .... Now !

[phade]

dont shed hunt...scout and walk the whole thing.

[Robhuntandfish]

probably wont get much good intel on deer until later in the season.  Right now they are generally yarded up in any spot that has just a little bit of food around.  So common deer numbers and runs for the fall might not be evident.  I usually dont even put out cams until at least late july into august.  But with a new piece of ground might be helpful to put them out.  Only thing is you dont want to be going out there all the time in the same spots and way in etc. But i would def walk the entire property once to see whats there.  I usually put my cams out for a good month straight from Aug 1 - sept 1.  Then move them again til the Oct opener.  You can tell where deer are coming thru and what trails the most by wear and sign. The first year of hunting there will tell you the most for sure.  I would look for trails and ways to get into them without getting busted and plan on putting a stand in those spots.   

[phade]

I learn more about the deer I will be hunting in the fall between snow melt and green up, with the only exception being the last bit of cam intel and glassing just before opening day.

Sign is almost never more clear than it is right now.

[Nomad]

Agree, Now is when it’s easiest to see sign. Also I’ve noticed on my spot old wooden stands I find tend to be in good spots . I try to stay out of my thick stuff, but this time of year I walk it, there is an area I’d like to, hang a stand but access is difficult and it’s pretty darn thick.

I  find a spot and think this looks promising, if I could trim some lanes this could be what I’ve been looking for ,then I realize a few yards away are a few old green 2x4s at the bottom of a tree , all that was left of a stand from many years ago .

[moog5050]

2 minutes ago, Stay at home Nomad said:

Agree, Now is when it’s easiest to see sign. Also I’ve noticed on my spot old wooden stands I find tend to be in good spots . I try to stay out of my thick stuff, but this time of year I walk it, there is an area I’d like to, hang a stand but access is difficult and it’s pretty darn thick.

I  find a spot and think this looks promising, if I could trim some lanes this could be what I’ve been looking for ,then I realize a few yards away are a few old green 2x4s at the bottom of a tree , all that was left of a stand from many years ago .

Hunters didn’t spend time building those old wood stands without knowing first it was a good spot.  Little more work than plopping down a modern ladder stand.  

[Nomad]

My thoughts as well . It easier to build one in the open hardwoods, but dragging the lumber to this spot took effort , heck I don’t want to carry in a ladder stand !