i recently received permission to hunt a wooded 40 just north of shawano and i have some questions on how to set up my stands. its rolling hardwoods with alot of oaks and i dont believe its hunted hard around my 40 other that some public across the road. the deer just seem to wander around thru it as theres really no thick bedding area on the 40 so would i be best setting up my stand on a hill in there overlooking the ravine going thru it?
General Hunting Discussion
new land for deer hunting question?
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I don't know as if I would put a ground blind in a ravine for deer hunting. You're asking to get busted by everything that comes anywhere near that point. If you want to hunt from a ground blind, I would stick to higher ground with more consistent winds. Ravines, bowls and the like tend to swirl the winds and if you are at ground level, it's going to be trouble. High tree stands are about the best bet for hunting ravines, and even those can be iffy.
i was out there today doing some more scouting and its solid red oak everywhere with some maple too. the front of the 40 has a ridge running east and west and a ravine in the middle running east west too. i only found 2 rubs going from the hill down to the thick cover in the bottom. i did jump a 6 pt down there that was bedded so i backed out and walked along the edge of the ridge and ravine going west. if i sit up on the hill i dont have a ravine shot so as i walked west i found a old trail running north south at the west end of ravine and when i went down there i had nice shooting thru the ravine so im thinking of putting a blind in down there?
I own a 40 like what you are talking about, over the years I have had very good luck hunting saddles.Low spots on ridges,bottom areas are very hard to hunt but when the wind is right it can be done.If you get a day with very strong wind hunt the leaword side of a ridge.
If it were me, I would take a stand and set it up on a ridge or high spot on the property for an afternoon sit and just observe. Obviously, take your bow with you because you never know. Had you been granted permission earlier in the year, I would have recommended trail cameras to scout, but with most of the leaves off the trees, you should be able to see quite a ways in the open hardwoods you described. What you need to figure out is what general travel routes the deer use on that property as well as if there is a hot oak tree that produced more mast than the others in that woods. Squirrel activity will help locate these as well, not just deer. Don't be discouraged if you only see does. With the rut just about to kick off, if there are does, there will very soon be bucks. Knowing where those does are feeding and bedding are the pieces of the puzzle you need to know. Fresh scrapes are also a great thing to look for. A lot of times, they will be along the travel corridors mentioned above, but not always.
Once you figure out where the deer are traveling, pick out a couple trees on each side of the travel corridor to hang stands. This will give you options with different winds. Remember these two things on your evening hunts: 1) generally, winds will die down at dark and 2) thermals will carry your scent downhill when this happens (opposite for the morning when thermals tend to rise once the sun comes up). Getting permission on a new piece of property is one of the best things that can happen for a bow hunter. Unfortunately, this late in the season you have somewhat of a time crunch if you plan to hunt this piece during the rut. It can be done though. A good climbing stand can be a great tool while you learn a new property. It allows you to be flexible without spending a fortune in stands. Good luck with your scouting and hope you get a shot at a nice one!
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