How much is to much?

I have gotten on a new lease, a lil over 600 acres, and wanna do some exploring, follow some trail, set up a few cameras and dump some corn. Try to find a few potential feeder spot.

There are 2 others already established and I know the general location of them so I will stay away from there.

When should I have decided on a spot by?

When should most the action shut down?

For me too much pressure is just when you can tell a slight change in behavior. I won't hunt a stand more than 4 times in a row If the wind is right because the deer can pattern you too. If I get busted in the stand and it sees me and starts blowing I wouldn't hunt it for a few days. I have hunted one the next day before and the deer get to where I can barely see them and start blowing before even know they are there. Overall though I think it all depends on how spooky the deer are.

A lot of variables in your question. Around here you could probably throw out corn in the morning and sit in your truck in the afternoon and see deer. Other places in the state it is completely different. It all depends on your particular area.

It really depends on your location. Last year, I got on my lease in mid-October and walked it a few times and set my gear up and still saw good deer all year. I do try to limit my activity with a 12-volt and reliable timer and motor. All that said: it is important to find trails, feeding, and bedding areas.

Does the place have a lot of human activity? Daily driving of pasture, weekenders, campers etc? The more isolated it is and little human activity the more offense the deer will take to your activity. You can still get away with a lot.

You shouldn't have to cover every inch of the place to find some major game trails. Easy access to a hunting spot is critical, dropping into the woods for the deepest darkest spot is unnecessary unless thats your bucks one outing spot.

Generally speaking, deer prefer quiet over noise but since that's not practical the answer is that it varies from place-place, region-region of Texas. The size of a place also plays a factor. Any pressure on my small place in NTX puts the deer on high alert, when we've hunted thousand to multi-thousand pastures in South Texas, the deer would commonly come out to senderos while driving vehicles around. Deer densities also play a part; the more deer, the less spooked they seem to be compared to lower density areas/properties. My experiences anyway.

Hunters often rationalize about the impact that hunters have on deer behavior in order to justify such things as riding their ATV's every time they go to their stands, or driving their vehicles around their lease throughout the season. Despite what they believe, studies have shown that deer, and especially mature bucks, respond quickly to the presence of humans. And in most cases, it doesn't take much to make deer alter their travel patterns.

A very exhaustive study was done recently by a grad student at Auburn using radio-tracked deer and well over 100 different deer stands. His findings will surprise some, while others are sure to scoff at it.

"After a hunter had sat in a stand just one time, bucks would stay out of the danger zone of that stand for the next three full days, meaning they wouldn’t return, on average, until the fourth day,” explained McCoy. “This finding held regardless of whether the hunter had shot at a deer. Just occupying the stand made bucks stay clear of it for several days.”

IMO, deer somehow recognize hunting pressure from other reasons why humans invade their areas. It's as if they have a calendar that tells them once everyone is after them. There's no question that every area of every county that we hunt is a lot more quiet during the off season. Once October rolls around, hunters are scattered everywhere making all types of noise and visual signals that the woods have been invaded. Little wonder that 90% of the harvest usually occurs during the first two weeks of the season. After that, the deer just seem to have gone underground.

Study

I am in loving Texas. About 3 miles south of highway 16 and 114 intersection.

I am not sure of the activity in the area. This is my first yr on the lease. I have no clue what kinda deer are there except for what the land owner said to me! Last season 2- 8 points and and 1- 12 point was taken.

Go pound some ground - half the fun to me is learning a new spot and strategizing where to set up based on your recon. Plus, the knowledge you gain will help you focus your scouting in future seasons, allowing you to minimize pressure in the years to come.

That would include finding the best "no go" zones where older bucks can hide with no pressure on them. Then choose good stand sites around them where these same deer will likely exit to find food and water, not to mention cruise for doe during the rut. Creating these sanctuary areas are one of your best moves for keeping mature bucks in the area. Otherwise, they'll go looking for and spend more hours in good hideouts somewhere else, especially once all the shooting starts.

I know I know squatt. Have been told many times. Feed the heck out out of the place where you are going to hunt. Get as many does as you can coming to feed. When they start coming into heat the Bucks will show up. Bucks at that time of year could give a rats rear end about hiding places. Years ago I had a hunter that was after a particular Buck. We found him chasing a Doe. She would not stop long enough for a shot. I told him to shoot the Doe. After a little arguing and explaining he finally did and the Buck stopped to check out the dead Doe and he got it. Hunting pressure running around your lease or whatever does not mean anything when the Does are in heat. And they do not all come into it at the same time. Like I said feed the Does and if there are Bucks around they will show up.

And another thing. You may be seeing Bucks now or you may not be seeing them. Bucks all through the Summer are all big buddies. They hang around together. In another month or so that will all change. The testosterone takes over and they all go their separate ways. They will have their territories until a doe in heat comes by or they get a wiff of her in the distance. Then territories mean squat and the fight begins. What usually happens is that the two largest Bucks will be scrapping with each other and a spike will come in a breed the Doe.