How to hunt near stone walls

[regulat0r]

Hi all. I recently obtained permission to hunt a large property (200 acres) that looks to have some great potential. I walked the property today and noticed that the entire property was divided by football field sized stone walls. There are gaps in certain sections which I’m sure will be travel corridors for deer. 

Another point to consider is the property has a distinct slope/elevation change. There are breaks in several of the walls mentioned above. Should I hang a stand 25 yards off to the side of one of these wall openings? Should I be on the high side or the low side? It appears that there are mature oak trees throughout the whole property. I only hunt mornings and prefer to get in well before first light.

Any strategy advice on how to hunt these walls would be much appreciated. Thanks!

[turkeyfeathers]

Dominant wind play in your favor ? Trail cams to set up ? 

[nyslowhand]

When deer can jump an 8' fence, a stone wall/fence won't provide any deterrent to their travel routes. I owned an abandoned farm land parcel until a couple years ago that was checker-boarded with stone fences like the OP mentioned. Like a naive fool I tried to move stones around & dump dirt/gravel  on top of remaining base stones so there was an easier path for the deer to get across these obstacles. Guess what ... the deer still continued to use their traditional paths jumping across the fences making me look like an idiot. Hint - look for beaten paths to/from each side of the stone walls/fences.

BTW - You can slightly influence a deer's travel patterns when you cut small paths thru super thick brushy areas, clear-up areas with a lot of branches or tree tops littering a woodlot or install large plastic/metal drainage pipes with gravel on top to cross a large run-off ditch or small creek. But in the end it benefits the hunter more than changing a deer's travel routes.

[Rattler]

Forget the stone walls.  They are insignificant when it comes to where deer will travel.  Find the trails and play the wind when looking for stand sites.

[greensider]

Here’s a little trick I used a few times take the brown hemp twine make a fake barbed wire fence you can run a deer right by your stand 

[Nytracker]

Hunt the deers natural  trail .

My neighbors cutback trail  from there property into a bedding zone on my property once.  It was very thick ..deer started using that trail bypassing  my stand .  Deer will take the path of least resistence. 

I remedied  my situation by  dropping 2 dead trees criss crossed against their  trail .  At the property line a staked a no trespass sign  in the middle of the trail. He got the clue. 

[JALA RUT]

I have a stonewall that runs along the backside of my property. There is a strip of pines that fingers down towards the wall that some deer follow. When they get to the wall a number travel one way or the other along the wall but I noticed a low spot in the wall there, where the deer also jump the wall traveling towards a pond. I keep the east side of the pond as a thick sanctuary and only go into this area if a blood trail goes into there so it is a pretty good bedding area. I actually removed a few more stones from the dip in that wall and the deer use it pretty regularly as a crossing point jumping over the wall at that spot and continuing down to the pond. The 8Pt I passed on yesterday jumped the wall there and walked by my stand at 11yards. My stand is about 45 yards from the wall along a travel corridor they use to travel towards the pond. I took a 9pt that jumped the wall there a few years ago that I grunted in when i saw him traveling across that finger of pines. The grunt turned him and he traveled down the finger of pines, jumped the wall, and gave me a 35 yd shot. Over the years Ive watched countless bucks use that path going to the bedding area to check for hot does. Plus it's pretty cool watching them jump the wall...LOL

[dbHunterNY]

it depends on how far a low spot in the wall would divert their path of travel. i agree with the info that you could likely find a path/trail the deer will follow. i wouldn't blow off the idea a low spot in the wall means little to nothing though. deer often travel the path of least resistance or effort.

[Daveynewman]

Do you have a map of it ?

[airedale]

Can't say much about Deer hunting around stone walls but will tell you that they can be a small game hunter's honey hole, with a good den Terrier like a Jack Russell an big old stone wall will provide more fun than a hunter should be allowed. Just about every small game species will use stone walls to hole up in, Rats, Rabbits, Squirrels, Possums, Coons, Foxes, Woodchucks and Skunks.

Al

[brownclown]

Most of the properties i have hunted have had numerous rock walls. I have found as others said deer do indeed take the path of least resistance. They will definitely use breaks in walls and low spots when traveling there typical routes.

[BizCT]

Every property down by me is loaded with stone walls. Deer definitely prefer the openings. I typically setup against a stonewall within shooting of an opening. The stone wall also blocks me up to my neck when sitting on a chair or ground.

[Marion]

Every property down by me is loaded with stone walls. Deer definitely prefer the openings. I typically setup against a stonewall within shooting of an opening. The stone wall also blocks me up to my neck when sitting on a chair or ground.

They always make me wonder who made this wall. You'll see stone walls in some of the thickest crap I've ever seen and it always makes me wonder who built this wall and how. Some of the rocks are gigantic! But I guess people did it by hand? Maybe they were just super jacked

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[BizCT]

8 minutes ago, The Jerkman said:

They always make me wonder who made this wall. You'll see stone walls in some of the thickest crap I've ever seen and it always makes me wonder who built this wall and how. Some of the rocks are gigantic! But I guess people did it by hand? Maybe they were just super jacked

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I believe they were used as property boundary markers. They are everywhere in our area.

Edited October 30, 2019 by Biz-R-OWorld

[moog5050]

To answer your question on high or low side - mornings I would want thermals to work for me with scent rising and be on the high side.   Evenings low side as thermals drop.   (That said you take a look globally at the topography of the property and the cover types - it may help you to assess where they moving). You should be able to tell from scouting whether the breaks in the wall encourage travel through them or whether the deer just jump the wall.

[Marion]

I believe they were used as property boundary markers. They are everywhere in our area.

That's what I always figured must have been from homesteaders

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[phade]

The openings are almost irrelevant. Deer are transition creatures. They relate to it and live by it. 

You want to focus on sections where the deer are willing to walk parallel to the walls and set-up accordingly given wind/thermals/time of day and location specific details. The openings themselves will not present a high probability of shooting scenarios as you'll have traffic moving to/from different lines of travel and do so at a risk of being busted. The parallel travel routes can be targeted to specific conditions that will allow you a way to take advantage of a behavior/action without being busted. It's alot like creekbottom hunting.

[46rkl]

The first settlers to clear the land cut trees to use for building and firewood. Removing the stumps was brutal work but necessary in order to till the land. The stumps were lined up to contain the livestock and help deter predators. As the tilling took place, all the rocks that turned up we’re carried off and tossed among the stump fences. As the stump fences rotted away, the stone pile fences left behind were adequate but somewhat low. Only later did some of these stone fences get organized into true stone walls. In many cases, this never happened so it is very common to find stone pile fences running through 2nd and 3rd growth forests. 

[46rkl]

As for hunting them, I don’t have any on my hunting lands. Unfortunately. 

[DirtTime]

3 hours ago, phade said:

The openings are almost irrelevant. Deer are transition creatures. They relate to it and live by it. 

You want to focus on sections where the deer are willing to walk parallel to the walls and set-up accordingly given wind/thermals/time of day and location specific details. The openings themselves will not present a high probability of shooting scenarios as you'll have traffic moving to/from different lines of travel and do so at a risk of being busted. The parallel travel routes can be targeted to specific conditions that will allow you a way to take advantage of a behavior/action without being busted. It's alot like creekbottom hunting.

^^^^^ This! This right here!