Hunted Sister's 18 Acres

[postoak]

I went out there last weekend with my 15YO grandson. This is the Texas Hill Country, so conditions are just as far away from the national forest I hunt as can be. I had enlisted one of my hunting buddies at work to help out in slaying the deer, and he and his two sons went twice in bow season and once in rifle season and, although, deer are there in such numbers that my sister and BIL want to get rid of them, it turns out the deer aren't so anxious to be killed. So, my buddy only has taken 2 doe and 1 small buck so far.

Since I didn't know the land, I spent some of both days scouting the land. So, I left my scent around just about everywhere, which I'm sure didn't help matters. Still, on Sunday morning we had 5 doe approach to within 50 yards and then turn around and trot off after they winded us. The prevailing winds are from the south, and I thought I was hunting cross-wind, but now looking at google earth, I see I wasn't.

There are natural funnels that have trails that are like deer super-highways. The place is, basically, bounded on the east and north by a creek, and on the west by the road, and a neighbor's field, and on the south by a 20 foot arroyo (very steep sides).

[postoak]

Besides the wind, I have to deal with the sun, and my sister's stipulation that I not fire in the direction of any neighbor's land if a bullet could carry across. That last is a pretty big pain when we are talking about only 18 acres. I plan on going back in two weeks with my climber and seeing if I can find a strategically located tree of sufficient size (most cover on the place except for along the creeks and arroyos is junipers that all Texans call "cedar"), that way I can be shooting down into the ground. (I say "I", it will be my grandson.)

[postoak]

Here's a deer superhighway. It's a natural strong funnel because of an open "quarry" where material was taken for the road in front. The quarry is about 15-20 feet deep, and was dug out to within 15-30 feet of the high bluff alongside the eastern boundary creek. Deer feel comfortable taking a route from across the road, alongside the southern arroyo, and between the quarry and the bluff, across the driveway to something that attracks them to the north.

They are regularly seen crossing the driveway north-to-south in the morning, and at 2:30 PM going south-to-north.

[postoak]

Here's a telephone ROW that seems a natural place to hunt for does and young bucks. It has the advantage of dipping toward the bluff and them rising to it, so bullets will stay on the property. The deer superhigway also crosses it, and it's a crosswind shot. However, in the morning the sun is in your eyes. The deer were also seen sneaking around the end of the ROW instead of using their trail, when my buddy sat on it. My grandson thinks he might have seen the same thing happen.

[postoak]

Here's the rock quarry.

[postoak]

This dot is where I would like to put a treestand if I can find a suitable tree. It would be an afternoon-only stand location tho, as the wind won't be right in the morning. I would be facing to the south.

[postoak]

There's no real good way to hunt that trail in the morning, as the wind is wrong on the north-south segment, and on the east-west segment, the sun would be in my eyes.

Across the driveway, to the north is the thickest cover on the place, and where I would go if it were ME hunting for a big buck. (And I've seen TWO rubs here on trees about six inches in diameter!) For my grandson's first deer, the trail is better tho, I think.

[postoak]

Heavy Cover. The deer cross from there to the south side of the driveway at 3 places where my BIL has made dirt roads going west of the quarry. But, I don't know when they cross. The ROW is in their path, but again, the wind is wrong for them when they come out of the heavy cover and go south, and if they are returning from the quarry area in the morning, the sun is wrong for the ROW.

[postoak]

Here's the interior arroyo in the heavy cover.

[postoak]

I'm curious as to how you would hunt the heavy cover. Where, and when, so as to deal with the wind and sun and direction of deer movement, and how to get in without alerting the deer that I'm hunting.

[venado]

Postoak, by all of your overlays it is quite obvious that you are doing your homework. Since they are not combined it is hard for me to keep it all in my brain so my question would be, can you setup where the "wall" of the quarry serves as a backstop? That would assure safety and with scent control I can't imagine that you can't sit almost anywhere if we are talking about rifle range shots. If they basically follow that "highway" across the property just make a ground blind of natural materials for cover and watch that trail. They will be there twice a day if your info is correct.

[postoak]

Yes, I couldn't figure out how to make multiple marks with google earth.

The problem with hunting the quarry itself is that it is sort of barren in the bottom, and the trail alongside makes it clear that the deer don't use it as a travel route. The trail skirts the quarry, so sitting in the quarry would mean shooting up at deer on the trail. That's why I want to get my climber set up to look down on the trail.

But my main confusion is the heavy cover. The driveway is up wind of it. So to get on the downwind side, I have to cut through it.

I think if my sister is still allowing hunting next year, I will get permission to blaze a little trail alongside the front fence line to the northern creek and find a place where I can see back into cover, and thus have the wind in my favor.

[venado]

postoak, I'm a bowhunter with a very limited range and with some of the things available today a guy can really reduce his odor footprint sustantially. I'm also betting that you are making too much of potential scent problems there as opposed to the public land you are used to hunting. Those deer are always smelling humans. Clean up yourself and your clothes, use one of the bio sprays and maybe you can just go sit and see.

[Alan R McDaniel Jr]

Wow! There's not a deer in the Texas Hill Country that doesn't know what corn is. Dump a 50# sack every day for a week where the road crosses the trial (up and down for about 25 yards) and there'll be more deer there than you can scare off.

Or you can do it the old fashioned way and Not use the corn. Use apples.

Alan


Alan

[postoak]

My self-imposed limitation is no baiting, Alan. Definitely won't be necessary for does and young bucks, and it often doesn't work on the big old boys. Even if it did, I want to earn my deer the old fashioned way -- and I want my grandson to not even start going down that road.

[pepaw]

Don't worry too much about that sun. It doesn't alway pop up bright as it did yesterday. By the time it is up, your hunt may be over. Hunt into the breeze of the day.

Good luck.

pepaw

[postoak]

Thanks pepaw. I'll reconsider my options in light (no pun intended) of that. :)