need some help

[EatDeer]

ORIGINAL: The Rookie

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[/align][font=arial]I'm new to the forum and need some help. I have 21 acres and I would like to know how big of a food plot I should make. It is in the Adirondacks NY and It boarders thousands of acres of state land. I have a large creek that splits 3 acres on one side and 18 on the other side. The creek is about a foot or two deep and 25 feet wide so I would think think that deers would cross over it. The three acres on the other side of the creek borders the state land.. I was thinking about making the three acres across the river a bedding area but im not to sure if the deer would cross the creek. Please help the rookie out. [/font]


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[/align][font=arial]Thanks,[/font]


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[/align][font=arial]The Rookie[/font]


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Don't worrie about the creek, I'm sure deer are crossing somewhere in the creek already. If your not bordering any ag  or hardwood mast crops you'll need as much plot as you can maintain. Planning the plot locations are vital in your small land parcel situation, prefurably you should center the plot to avoid fence sitters. Consider wind direction and how the sunlight will shine on the plot as well as hunter access. You can get away with a smaller plot if its clovers, but if your planting annuals you will want a larger plot or the deer will devastate it before season starts.  Ther is a lot more to consider than size of your new plot or plots then I can ever quote here, be carefull planning your land management ,and it will pay off. I recommend visiting the QDMA forums to reasearch the volumes of information you will need before making a jump into plotting.

[vipermann7]

Its hard to say what spooked the deer. I had a doe come in tonight to my pop-up blind, 20 yards away. it was rainy and i was set up under some oak trees. a gust of wind blew a big wave of rain drops out of the leaves and on to the blind, made a whole bunch of racket. spooked the crap out of that doe, was kind of funny actually. anyway, point just being that any weird thing can spook deer.

if you did all you can to keep the scent down and they didnt appear to spot you, im sure youre good. if they smelled you, they would have been able to find you and would have looked at you in your stand. if that didnt happen, im guessing they didnt smell you.
also, youre near a corn field, thats a big deal. theyre going to be hitting the corn pretty hard this time of year. i have some areas that are dead all year long, but now that the corn is ripening, the areas are hot as hot can be with activity. besides what ever other reasons they have for using the particular area your hunting, they are likely using it because it is near the corn. i'm guessing you dont have a ton to worry about, theyre going to use that area at least until the corn is harvested. then, depending on why else they are in that area, they may or may not leave the area after the harvest. i would hunt it. keep to your routine of sneaking in and out, keep the wind in mind, and keep the scent down, all things im sure you already do. if you get in one night and they do obviously spot you, i would still hunt it, just move 30 or 40 yards so youre not in the same tree. we're creeping up on rut activity getting the bucks moving around more. i would get in there and hunt as much as possible if you want a shot at those bucks, it wont be long and they might be 2 counties over chasing does. and for now, the corn will keep them in the area. if you notice a sudden drop off in activity, i would try looking for other main routes to and from the corn field, they may just be skirting you. but if you play the wind and keep the scent down, i think you'll be good to go and keep hunting. if they obviously bust you, you may need to move a little, but if you keep getting in and out fairly undetected, you should be able to hunt it as much as you want.

[mhouck06]

thanks alot, i appreciate it. everything you said made sense.. thats a good idea if i do get spotted just to change trees, never thought about it like that. thanks again!

[danesdad]

Even if you did spook them, I doubt they'd give up on such a prime food source.  At worst, they may enter the field in a different place.  So, as the other poster said, you might have to move a bit, but I bet the deer are still in the area, using that cornfield.

[Squirrelhawker]

I agree with the moving part and the climber allows you to do that easily.
 
I have been picked off a number of times by standing up with deer right under or facing away from me. It can get tricky sometimes. You may have been screwed a little by swirling and or sinking air currents. You can have a technically good wind but when things cool suddenly in the evening your scent can sink down around the tree and "pool" But from your account I believe most of the behavior had to do with the deer interacting amongst themselves. That 6 and 8pt may have to get a few things straight between them, if they are of similiar size.
 
I disagree with the statement that the deer could find you if they smelled you. Many times deer detect human odor but can't verify it's direction, amount, age, or actual range. It is why we use scent control and why many deer are converted to steaks.

[fasteddie]

I feel more comfortable shooting in the standing position . I put a 10' ladder stand in my back yard a few years ago and practice shooting from there sitting down .
I would give that original spot another chance and see what happens . If you have doe coming under the stand , the bucks will show up .I would personally like to get a big buck , but if you shoot one early , it kinda screws up your season . Try the same spot . It sound s like a good one .

[sbo1971]

I live in central Alabama and even though I am not new to deer hunting it has been over 24 years and back then I only did stalk hunting. I will be hunting on private land that has not been hunted in over 10 years, I know where the deer are bedding down and there are several trails in the area where I will be setting up. I have some questions that I was hoping some of you could help me with. I am planning on using a mock scrape for the first time and was thinking of doing the following; about four weeks before gun season starts (Nov 20), create my mock scrape and then use the Wildlife Research Center Magnum Scrape Dripper to drop the buck urine into it. About a week before gun season opens I will swap to using doe estrus either in the dripper or on a wick. Does this sound like a good idea or am I missing something? My second question is this; blind or stand? I figure that it's too late to put up a stand for this season but once again I not sure. Thanks for any help you can give me.

[blueeyeddragon76]

what you have planned sounds good to me... as far as a stand... I would think you still have time to hang a couple.. just be real careful about scent control when you hang them, and make sure you make your way to the stand locations without disturbing any of the deer corridors... one other thing you could use when you do finally hunt it is use some buck bomb along with the estrus, if a big buck smells both it might bring them in even better

[MSHunter]

I'm no expert on using mock scrapes, but all the literature I've read about then mention a "licking branch" as an important element of the mock scrape. You may want to give this consideration.  As far as hanging a stand or placing a blind, I think you have time to do either. As Blueeyeddragon notes, pay attention to sent and the time of the day you go out to place your stand or blind. Good luck. Be sure to let us know how this works out.

[sbo1971]

Thanks for your quick responses, I really appreciate your input.