Any ideas on habitat development?

[courtgreene]

I’m working on buying 13 acres bordering where I currently hunt. What I hunt is family owned, and while I don’t own it, I’m allowed to do most anything, but other than tree stands and a trail now and then, I don’t change it. So long as the deal goes through, I will own this parcel outright, so I can do whatever. It’s heavily wooded, and I know it holds deer, because often the deer I hunted from adjoining parcels came from it. Now that I can shape it to some degree, what might you suggest as far as making it filter deer past me. Since it’s already into the summer, I imagine clearing trees and putting in a good plot is out.
It’s got two streams on it, an ancient barn if it’s still standing, and lots of acorns.

I’ll post a pic. The yellow “x” is the parcel in question the three narrow tracts to the left are where I’ve been hunting

 

[skeeterfogger]

Put up a tower stand in a large viewing area. Make it big enough and tall enough you can use it for housing and hunt from. Add a few ground stands for alternates.

 

[courtgreene]

The housing thing sounds interesting.

 

[Sniper66]

Put up a couple of trail cameras to help assess the wildlife traffic through the 13 acres. In the future you could put in a one acre food plot which is a bit over 200' square; plenty to attract wild life. Your local fish and wildlife organizations can advise you. I've had some success with mineral or salt blocks that encourage deer to follow a certain path.

 

[jmorris]

Unless they are tame enough, that they watch you put out food, they are often going to want cover not open clearings during the day.

If you know it holds deer I wouldn’t run them away by clearing the heavily wooded area out. You can cut lanes out though and they will likely use them for travel. Food is a good attraction but doesn’t have to come in the form of a wide open field they are only going to be in after dark.

Hungry enough and all bets are off though. That said, 13 acres isn’t a lot to work with, if they bed down there, you might be better off trying to get them leaving or coming back. A lane from the more wooded area above the X down to the open field below, with a feeder in the middle would be a good start. A game camera to see their travel patterns will tell you a lot.

 

[skeeterfogger]

The housing thing sounds interesting.

Saw an article years ago where a guy stripped down a VW camper and hoisted it on some heavy beams across 2 huge trees. He could house and hunt all in one. From your pix it looks as though it's not extremely wooded. A tall tower could cover the enter half that borders the adjacent field and bottle necks leading to it.

 

[rdnktrkr]

We built a 4x8 platform stand with walls and a top, used canvas curtains to retain heat from a small heater, used 6x6 post, 2x6 floor joists and 2x4 walls, at another leases property we used scaffolding ancored with screw in pet anchors and cable with a canvas covering and tin roof, its been used for at least 5yrs and still standing, purchased used for $20 a section.
We put out mineral blocks partially buried and corn to bring deer in, one mineral block area has been used 3yrs and the ground is tore up.

 

[courtgreene]

It’s actually heavily wooded, mostly oaks and maples, but it’s a bad pic.

thanks for the advice. I’ll start putting up cameras this weekend.