My folks bought a 106 acre hunting property in northeast Texas back in 2007 that is entirely wooded. The place was selective-cut in 2000, so picture this property as a monoculture of young, brushy woods without much of a canopy. Our biggest trees are only a few feet in diameter. A mix of oak, elm, and ash. Plenty of briars, dewberry vines, and poison ivy. Nearly the whole property looks the same with no edge habitat or pinch points that I have found. It’s a tough place to hunt.
Though we have harvested a couple of deer (a small 8 pointer and a doe) and a bunch of hogs since 07, most of our hunts yield no deer sightings. I’m sure that a lot of the problem is not an absence of deer but our inability to see much past 20 yards anywhere on the property due to the brush. Dad and I have cleared a couple of walking trails and several tree stand locations along them. We have two feeders set up but have only ever seen hogs at those. Deer sightings have been random, seldom, and very close. Most deer bust us the second they step out into the trail. Hogs are easy. Cut a 10-20 yard shooting lane anywhere, add corn, and wait.
I’m thinking that we need to clear a 1+ acre opening near the center of the property to serve as a food plot/rifle blind site. An opening like this would allow us to see past 20 yards and hopefully allow the deer an alternative food source and edge habitat. I’m hoping noticeable deer trails would develop and give us a better idea of deer movement on the property. Perhaps a protein feeder and/or a fenced corn feeder inaccessible to hogs would help.
What says TBH? Is my thinking flawed or spot on? Who has dealt with a property like this before? I’m open to any ideas of how to better manage and hunt this property.
Though we have harvested a couple of deer (a small 8 pointer and a doe) and a bunch of hogs since 07, most of our hunts yield no deer sightings. I’m sure that a lot of the problem is not an absence of deer but our inability to see much past 20 yards anywhere on the property due to the brush. Dad and I have cleared a couple of walking trails and several tree stand locations along them. We have two feeders set up but have only ever seen hogs at those. Deer sightings have been random, seldom, and very close. Most deer bust us the second they step out into the trail. Hogs are easy. Cut a 10-20 yard shooting lane anywhere, add corn, and wait.
I’m thinking that we need to clear a 1+ acre opening near the center of the property to serve as a food plot/rifle blind site. An opening like this would allow us to see past 20 yards and hopefully allow the deer an alternative food source and edge habitat. I’m hoping noticeable deer trails would develop and give us a better idea of deer movement on the property. Perhaps a protein feeder and/or a fenced corn feeder inaccessible to hogs would help.
What says TBH? Is my thinking flawed or spot on? Who has dealt with a property like this before? I’m open to any ideas of how to better manage and hunt this property.
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