Bought this property last week. Its completely off grid so will be puting a camper on it with generator, etc. Have cameras out and there's great deer moving through the property but currently nothing really holding them there.

The property is surrounded by 6000acres of Timber Company land. So nice big trees, not a lot of underbrush, but streams on that property. My 8acres is part of 75 acres that was sold in ~10 acre lots for cabins. Only one lot has a cabin on it currently which shares my east property line. All the parcels are very thick without many mature pines (~8" diameter) but have some oaks as well. My question is, after this season i am planning to prep the property for hunting. Currently i cant see over 30 yards anywhere on the property.


Everything i've read and watches says i need to add food plot and clear some trails for travel. I've never been down this road before so looking for advice. My uneducated mind makes me want to put a plot in center of property and set up stands on each corner with 5' cut from each stand to the food plot. Kind of like a wagon wheel. I'm about certain thats a bad idea but... Also property is split by a county maintained dirt road. East side of road is currently where i'm seeing most traffic consistently on camera.

Thanks,
Dale

Below is a crude drawing of the property. As well as the only clearing on the property which i set a stand on day i closed. Other two are the two deer im chasing rest of this year.

Good luck!

First of all congratulations on owning your own place. I know that you know but on 8 acres you will probably only need one stand unless you are only bowhunting - a half or one acre food plot in the interior would probably be a good thing - food plots are tough to keep unless you have a water source or lots of rain. I would not clear much other than for the food plot and around the stand - At any rate have fun with it!

Nice bucks passing through! Good luck!

I appreciate that! Water will be an issue unless get good rain. In places where trees aren’t so thick, native grass seems to grow great. My thought is a half acre space that can get sun and rain cleanly at worst will grow grass which currently can’t be found in any quantity. OK now season is Oct to Jan, rifle is 2 weeks a year… so I’ll need set up for different winds for archery for sure.

My so called research online keeps talking about 3’ or so paths where deer can walk easily around the property are needy to route them around the property and past your stands. I am worried about clearing too much though being it’s small.

Have camera on north east corner and one on south west side and it’s taking about an hour for deer to go from one to the other currently. If some paths and open field doubles that time, could be huge difference

You need to be sure that your stand and feeder are located so that you are not shooting towards the road
or the cabin. Just looking at your place I would put my stand in the southwest corner and my feeder straight
north of it, that way you will never be looking into the sun and you will be the farthest away from the other lots
that you can get.
First year, I would just brush hog a 10-20' wide lane from my stand to my feeder and throw a lot of corn. You did
not say anything about hogs. They can be a problem and you might need to put a pen around your feeder.
I love food plots and always have them, but in your case a feeder will be more productive.

I appreciate the advice! I haven’t seen a pig until this morning. Damn pig came in with a beef cow… this tells me I will need a pen around feed because that cow stayed from 3am till 10am so I assume cleaned me out. Fun part is, there’s no farms near the property