Looking for any tips, tricks and advice on hunting small tracts of land. I hunt on 40 acres of land near the border of Webb and Duval County. Our tract is surrounded by other family and they usually shoot some pretty nice bucks but don't ever see any nice ones on our side. This is all low fence, not aware of any high fence anywhere around that area.

They don't do anything different from what I do which is just feed corn. Their property does border larger tracts of land though. Wondering if there is something I can do to try and bring in some of the bucks that frequent their tracts. We do have an easement that runs through the center of our property which sucks but nothing we can do about it. Coworker mentioned feeding protein but on such a small tract of land I don't see it benefiting me much.

I did my best at trying to show the different tracts of land owned by our family. Tract #3 in red is where I hunt, the yellow line is the easement that runs through it. The green lines on the last pic are senderos that are already in place. The fence line around the property is also cleaned out. The blue spot in the corner is where I have a blind and the yellow circle area is where my feeder is. Any advice would be much appreciated. At the end of the day I'm just happy to have a place to go and enjoy our time.

Keeping a trace mineral block or two out all year and some alfalfa bales out a few days before you hunt might be a way to offer something your neighbors might not. 'Could draw something interesting in and relatively inexpensive. If there's no water, is there a way to add a little?

What direction is the prevailing wind?

Thanks and will definitely give the mineral blocks and alfalfa bales a try. We don't have water on our part but there are two small pounds nearby marked in yellow. I can set up something using a water trough and just haul in water to keep it filled if that is something that would help.

Usually blowing from the NE side.

With more pressure to your southern area, I'd place more emphasis to the top half of property. Key is to do something that those around you are not. I agree on a full fledged protein program year round being a waste but consider putting up some feeder pen t post protein feeders, 75lbs. or so during season only to more attract visitors to your property. I like you hunt my own small tract and this has really helped draw in traffic and more importantly buck traffic. Also, be quiet on your property, minimize the noise and distractions, I'd forgo any ATV traffic and minimize your vehicle traffic all together. Last of all, good luck!!!

With that road thru the middle animals are used to traffic along it. If you don't have a feed pen then build them and make them large enough for deer to be comfortable. I feed protein year round and it makes a huge difference on early season traffic and post rut traffic. I would invest in an All Seasons 600lb timed trough feeder to feed protein year round....24/7/365. Gets you a budget friendly feeding program and you control the feeding rate and times as needed. Makes a huge difference in traffic when combined with a corn feeder. You get multiple feed times to keep deer in your area around the clock. Water...water is key in all management and hunting plans.

As stated above. Water if no one else has it would be the first thing I would add. Put it in the shade to help keep it cooler.
Even if you can't see it, you will have deer going to it. And lastly, a small food plot of oats wouldn't hurt at all.

I have my feeder fenced in which helps out big time with the hogs. Is it big enough to throw a protein feeder in there?

Feed, feed, feed..........and then feed some more!
If you can, plant a food plot of winter wheat or oats in the fall. If there is no other around near you, you'll be surprised how it brings deer in from a distance.

One other thing I noticed is that you are a N/S & E/W sendero that cross on the north side of the easement road. That is exactly where I'd have my stand at most likely and have 2 feeders going, one to the north of the stand and one to the south of it.

It is not easy to kill really good deer off small tracts, but certainly not impossible either. I passed up many good, young deer only to never see them again including a 2.5 year old that was already a 5x5 with 5 scoreable extras and a 3.5 year old 5x5 that was easily high 140s. But, I have killed two really nice 8 points and one true monster for our area.
My place is 32.5 acres in far eastern Bexar County.

Here are the two 8 points I watched for 4 years and took them both 2 weeks apart in 2015. Both were 6.5 years old.



In 2019 I got this one after watching him for 4 years also. This deer was only 5.5 and we would have let him go another year but they sold 250 acres next to me and were splitting it up into 'ranchettes' and we knew he wasn't going to get past anyone on those 11 acre tracts.

Sure
Move your corn feeder over slightly and drop in the protein feeder next to it

Buffet is what you are looking for, I agree with others protein is a good draw and will help. We have water troughs with floats that are fed by a 300 gal tote they hold water for a few months when filled and will help for sure.

Not knowing what that easement is it may have a lot of traffic or very little, I would suggest keeping the place as quiet as possible. If you have the time and availability to get them accustomed to an arc/truck and road feeder great, we don’t and road feeding has. It been that productive for us.

How large is this in diameter? Is there a standard or minimum diameter this should be?

You have room for a PF in that pen. I always make my pens 9 panels minimum. You already have a ton of good advice here. The only thing I would add is stay out of any potential bedding areas. I hunt a 160 and the majority of the place I have never set foot in. I'm always tempted to go find sheds but keeping it quiet and as much of a sanctuary for the deer as you can should be of utmost priority.

On small properties scent control is much more important. Only access spots when you have a favorable wind and stay out of the middle of your property. You can be a safe heaven for high pressures deer around you just by keeping pressure low and having consistent food.

Put some stand on that north side as already mentioned, and put one on each corner both NW …..looking SE down the sendero that runs parallel to the easement, but can’t be seen from the easement, and on East side where that sendero runs to property 4 (blind needs to look West) from property line). Put both of them on the property line looking into your property. This gives you options for various winds. Put a feeder at both locations. These need to be timed feeders. Make the time on the West feeder to only go off in the afternoon (you are facing East, morning sits there would be tough). Do the opposite on the East feeder, make it only go off in the morning. Also put protein feeders out. In my opinion, this just matches up to give the deer what they need. Also put out minerals like Lucky Buck. I’ve found the bucks really love this stuff over in Alabama. The does love it too. They will dig a hole in the ground. Keep this spot freshened up about every month with a bucket of minerals. They will initially visit it often for a week or so, but once their bodies get the nutrients, they will leave it alone and you can gauge how much you need to freshen up and how often after that. They will continue to visit at the times they need the mineral. This isn’t for attracting, this is for causing the deer to prefer your spot.

Put the water out. Also, if you can, plant those senderos, but do it all as far from and out of sight if possible from that easement. What you want to do is as much work as possible that isn’t noticed by the neighbors to cause any kind of curiosity on their part.

Last but not least, try some items that may not be common to your area, that gives you something a little different than your neighbors. Is it possible to grow a clover there? Try it. Do some research and give them something different. Contact the at schools and see what they are experimenting with in their wildlife programs. Try some peanut butter rice bran, try some acorn blended bran that’s popular back East. You may just find that you start attracting more deer by creating a preference.

Biggest thing, once you get all set up in the off-season, unless you are going to fill up feeders, stay out the middle of that property. It’s set up where you can enter and leave undetected and without scenting it up.

Never hunt the stands on the wrong wind where it’s blowing your scent towards the deer’s movements. Learn where they are coming from, even if they are coming from the neighbors, and adjust your hunting so they do not smell you. This may even mean walking the long way around to keep from walking past a trail the deer are using.

You are getting some great advice some of which I agree with and some not as much. I hunt on 45 acres with a few tricks this is plenty. First ...I would build a pen much bigger( 200ft. X 60 ft.) and put in three feeders.l Set each feeder to throw 2.5 lbs. of corn twice a day. This should bring in one deer for every 1.45 lb.s per deer. Then I would throw by hand 12 lb.s of corn every other day. By coming this often the deer will be used to you and what you do. Bring in 30 gal.s of water each time you come as water is my best attractant. Each time you bring in water clean the tubs first, then fill them up. ( I use 2- 30 gal. tubs).
Then use scents(Tinks 69). I put out a home made pad out of paper towels (2x6in. rolled up to form a paper rope..wrap around a limb tight) Add only one drop at a time on each pad. I use 4 pads in a circle ,,,then 4 more pads like a bulls eye circle..each only one drop of scent...then put out 5 more pads in another circle. I agree with minerals. I start using scents around September thru December.
I have been doing this for many years and you are guaranteed to see plenty deer. By the way I do not put out any protein. You will be putting out enough with this amount of corn. Everything you do make it an attractant.
I generally see many bucks at one setting (from 6 to 25). It will take time, but do this year around not just pre hunting. Over the years this will pay off. Your neighbors will set up camp around your fences.
While I am putting out corn and filling water containers bucks come in the fence with me,,I have had as many as 6 large bucks at a time. Which I will throw corn at them to chase them out as this could be dangerous.
Some will disagree and this is ok with me but this does work!! For me..lol
I also put out two cameras at each end near the feeders.

Thanks for all the great advice, will be putting lots of to use this year. We are planning on setting up a new blind and had been looking at placing it on the North corner on this pic with a feeder somewhere down the sendero that runs parallel to the easement. It would allow us to see down the fence line where I know deer cross over from plus at the feeder. Good or bad idea? I already have another feeder (marked in yellow) placed out there on the sendero that runs to the east corner but didn't use it this past year due to the neighbor having a blind on that same corner and can see my feeder so was planning on moving it. What's the most feeders and blinds you guys would recommend on a 40 acre tract?

Consider moving the fence and feeder. You’re asking a deer to cross open ground to get to the groceries.
I once read that whitetails are “creatures of the edge” and prefer close cover. I see them in the middle of the small 5 acre pasture at my place but, unless in the rut, they will prefer to stay close to the sheltered escape route which is the brush. Admittedly, I saw 19 does and young in the middle of a neighbors pasture last week. However, nobody hunts that area for about 5 miles.

Hunt the wind and leave your pickup a couple hundred yards from the feeder; still considering the wind on your approach.

Although I have a shooting range, I don’t use it after the middle of summer.

Have experienced on our place in south texas deer do not like feeders tight to brush. I assume it provides easy approach for predators, but we had a few feeders on pretty tight Senderos clearing more brush away helped more deer use them.

I would put the new blind where the two senderos cross near the north corner and your feet towards the dead end.

If no one in your family bow hunts then you need to be the one doing that. It gives you a month of hunting before they get started. Don’t tell your family your bow hunting.

Like this and place the feeder down that same sendero? (Blind in white and feeder in yellow.)

I have to ask…
Why would you want to have to access the middle of your property like that if you placed stand and feeder in those positions? No matter what way the wind is blowing, you’d be scenting up a good piece of your property and pushing those deer onto neighbors that you know hunt. In my opinion, on a small place, you need as limited amount of pressure on yours as possible.

Honestly I’m just looking at what my best options on the property would be of seeing good bucks.