I hunt 2 properties...one is the undeveloped land in my neighborhood (about 600 acres I would guess...boarded on 2 sides by more woods that hunt clubs...read chasing deer with dogs...are). There are no fields on this land..all woods...a few creek bottoms with oaks and then some pines.
second place is a horse farm - total size about 1000 acres. Hunt clubs boarder the north and west boundary. Some hay fields and power line right of ways. Also has a food plot about 150 yards long by 100 yards wide right in the middle of the woods. There are some thinned out pines (logged a few strips in there a few years ago), and then some oak bottoms. The oak bottoms tend to butt up against some very thick sanctuary type terrain (so thick I doubt I could crawl in there easily).
Quite a few good deer in there and I have had them patterned for most of the year - I have a stand setup along a creek bottom with a small foodplot in the woods on property 1 above. On property 2, I have a stand just inside the treeline at the foodplot and another stand in the oak bottoms that but up to the pines (near a mineral lick I have had there all year). Then, Irene came along. Since then, I am getting very little on cams at either place and have hunted all three places Saturday and Monday and saw nothing at all (perhaps the barrage of shotguns from dove hunting on the adjoining property yesterday had something to do with it?)
I guess I need some advice on early season hunting...september is antlerless only in this county...october starts the regular season. Should I be focusing on the food plot fields in the evenings? What tips and tricks do you all have for early season success? This is the first time I have hunted this early in the year, as this antlerless early season is new for this county. TIA!
second place is a horse farm - total size about 1000 acres. Hunt clubs boarder the north and west boundary. Some hay fields and power line right of ways. Also has a food plot about 150 yards long by 100 yards wide right in the middle of the woods. There are some thinned out pines (logged a few strips in there a few years ago), and then some oak bottoms. The oak bottoms tend to butt up against some very thick sanctuary type terrain (so thick I doubt I could crawl in there easily).
Quite a few good deer in there and I have had them patterned for most of the year - I have a stand setup along a creek bottom with a small foodplot in the woods on property 1 above. On property 2, I have a stand just inside the treeline at the foodplot and another stand in the oak bottoms that but up to the pines (near a mineral lick I have had there all year). Then, Irene came along. Since then, I am getting very little on cams at either place and have hunted all three places Saturday and Monday and saw nothing at all (perhaps the barrage of shotguns from dove hunting on the adjoining property yesterday had something to do with it?)
I guess I need some advice on early season hunting...september is antlerless only in this county...october starts the regular season. Should I be focusing on the food plot fields in the evenings? What tips and tricks do you all have for early season success? This is the first time I have hunted this early in the year, as this antlerless early season is new for this county. TIA!
