First time scouting...Lots of questions...

[duckmanep]

Now is a good time to put out cameras. The more, the better (watch out for thieves though).
If the hogs are thick, putting a feeder up will just attract more. Try throwing a little corn out by hand and see how the deer respond.
Where exactly is the lease? I'm sure there will be a TBH member nearby that can help.

[bwssr]

drain off areas with oaks......

[BigThicketBoy]

Where at in E, Tx

[AustinTap]

Welcome, I've hunted East Texas all my life and just want to say good luck. No matter what anyone says there can be some good deer here, just takes a lot of patience to hunt them. If I where on a new lease the first thing I would look for are the hardwoods. When acorns began to fall in our part of the state this tends to be the deer's preferred food source. After you locate some hardwood flats, look for some bedding areas close by, ie clear cuts with a couple of years growth and try to find some areas to set along travel paths between the two. Trail cams are great. Also if you can locate some rub lines, the bucks tend to travel these same corridors. Also, be prepared to sit, we tend to see a lot of our deer late in the morning after a lot of our fellow hunters have left the blinds. Best of luck to you.

Thanks for the tips...

[AustinTap]

I did a similar thing this year in Oklahoma. I'm sure everyone else on the lease already have stand locations set up. You might want to ask the lease manager for a map of all the locations so you don't set up right next to someone else unknowingly (probably a rule against it as well). By doing that he/she will probably already have some good ideas about where you can set up that is not too close to anyone else. I just went up to OK two weekends ago to set up on a property I had never seen before. Spoke with the lease manager and he showed me a map of where everyone was set up at and I asked him about a few of the areas on the map and he gave me his insights to them and then even made a suggestion of a spot. I took it and set up. Worst case scenario I spend a season hunting it, but during that season I also get more familiar with the property and animal movements and can move accordingly. I actually do the same thing with my deer lease here in Texas. I probably moved locations three times in the first three years before I felt like I had the property figured out. And, I killed animals every year so they weren't wasted. Just felt like every move was a step up and I was right.

Good luck to you

Thanks for the ideas....

[TxGiant]

Where is the lease located, I'm on a big lease just like yours, wonder if we are on the same one?

[texasdeerhunter]

I've hunted East Texas for 15+ years. Just like Happ97, the first thing I do is look for oak trees, preferably white oaks. Since East Texas is pine tree plantations mostly, the only oaks you will find are along creeks and in river bottoms/sloughs. However, there are still a few oak flats around depending on the property. Deer, and more specifically bucks, love to travel creeks. They will use creeks to travel in between feeding/bedding areas. Hand corn is your friend, I have yet to see a mature buck under a corn feeder here. Also, the rut tends to be a bit earlier, from Oct 25 or so until Nov 10. Good luck

[AustinTap]

Where is the lease located, I'm on a big lease just like yours, wonder if we are on the same one?

The lease is in Red River County just north of Clarkesville. Where do you hunt?

[AustinTap]

I've hunted East Texas for 15+ years. Just like Happ97, the first thing I do is look for oak trees, preferably white oaks. Since East Texas is pine tree plantations mostly, the only oaks you will find are along creeks and in river bottoms/sloughs. However, there are still a few oak flats around depending on the property. Deer, and more specifically bucks, love to travel creeks. They will use creeks to travel in between feeding/bedding areas. Hand corn is your friend, I have yet to see a mature buck under a corn feeder here. Also, the rut tends to be a bit earlier, from Oct 25 or so until Nov 10. Good luck

So the rut in East TX is that early? Newb question, but is it fairly constant from year to year on the same lease?

[duckmanep]

Last week in October thru the First week in November is prime time up here.