Scouting my Property and where to locate my stands

[Jerry2]

I am 68, and I don't have a lot of mobility due to arthritus and being a cancer survivor. My property here in Amelia County Va. is 88 acres of mostly hardwoods. I have about 20 acres of relatively new growth Pines which have not been thinned yet, and I suspect that the pines are a bedding area. There are no fields on my property, and none immediately adjacent to it either. The pines were planted when my father-in-law owned the property and are where the agricultural fields were once located. About 10 acres of the pines died out due to a pine bark beetle infestation, and that section is now mostly poplar trees. There are hardwoods containing a lot of oak, hickory and beech trees on either side of the poplars. So far, I've done some scouting in and around the largest hardwood section, but I haven't seen any sign. I had a trail camera set up along an old fire trail adjacent to the ridges where most of the oaks are located. I have took a couple of bucks in the area several years ago. But after being set up for 8 days and nights, my trail camera had no pictures on it. I know that there are deer on my property because I see does and fawns several times a month right out in my front yard.

There is a small creek which runs behind my house and is the property line on one side of my property. I have found several places along the creek where deer are crossing the creek as evidenced by tracks. However, the area is so thick that a deer would have to walk right over me before I could get a shot, and with my physical problems, I'd never get a deer out of there even if I managed to get one.

I am going to scout the smaller section of hardwoods next. It has some oaks in it and is directly adjacent to the thick stand of pines. +Putting out feeders during the season is illegal in Va, so that idea is out and I don't really have any place to plant food plots either

[DouglasSpear]

Hi Jerry. If I were you I would find the pinch points. Pinch points are the places where all different kinds of terrain (water, woods, valley, fields) meet together or when thick dense woods funnel down to an opening area where there is least resistance of passage or possibly even only one possible area for deer to pass through, that eventually leads back to woods again. Think of a pinch point as the small mid-section of an hour glass. If you scout and hunt in these spots you will greatly increase your chances of seeing and taking a deer. I would also recommend minding the wind direction too. So make sure to have multiple stands up so that depending on the wind, it's hitting you in the face when looking in the direction of where the deer will be coming from. The deer are moving a little slow right now because of the fawns, they play and take up more time so the does can't take a full route that they might when pressured by rutting bucks or during the winter when they have to travel a greater distance for food and to keep warm.

[WIDeerSlayer]

Good analysis, Douglas.

He summed it up pretty good, but one thing I would like to add is; look at an aerial map if possible, mark out your stands and where you've seen deer, it always makes it easier to talk about it and analyze with a map.

Also; look for natural funnel areas, like Doug stated.. One of the main "funnel" areas deer use to cross is what we call "saddles" in my neck of the woods. Where two hills run paralell and there is normally a saddle type hill in between which deer naturally cross and use.