Got on a lease...opinions

Got on a lease for the upcoming season in Franklin Co, NW of Russellville. This is NW Alabama, close to MS. It's a 40-acre square pine plantation surrounded by hardwoods. Got a creek running through it, east to west. The pine is THICK in most places, and it hasn't been hunted in years. I'm the only person that will be hunting it. I spotted a couple of stands on neighboring property (in the hardwoods). My thoughts are that my place is obviously not a food source, but a likely bedding location for the entire area. I'm not the most experienced deer hunter, so I'm looking to you guys for your thoughts. How would you hunt this, and do you think I'm holding some deer? Have only been able to get out there once, so I haven't scouted it out too well.

How old are the pines? I would walk perimeter and look for trails.

12-14 years old

12-14 yr old pine plantations are normally a pine straw desert with little cover and no food you need to take a closer look at the interior

40 acres can be pressured really quick and the deer will disappear. I’ve got a 40 that I bought after leasing for a couple years and it’s is very productive but I only hunt it when the time is right and keep food there all year for the deer. You might have to fight the neighbors though because they probably have been hunting it or are catching deer coming off of it.

Your 40 pine?

Burn it. And let it come back.

On 40, the most important thing is your way in and out. Only hunt it when you can walk into wherever you hunt with the wind in your face.

Set a stand 100yds or more inside your perimeter in conjunction with every single feeder and pay really close attn to the wind on the days you hunt....In other words...Let them bait the deer so you get first crack at them when they come from your place....Should save you a ton of money...Happy Hunting...sounds like a perfect scenario to me....Ps...you may have to do a little trim work before the season.....And hide you some cameras up just inside your perimeter facing into your woods on intersecting trails going to the feeders also, If they feed yr round do that ASAP...Thats what I would call being a good neighbor...lol

Used to talk with some TV hunters. They loved little 40 acre leases like that. Said they get a few and pay the timber company to put a big field right in the center of it. Like 3-5 acres big. They’d plant it and put cameras on it and not hunt it till the big boys started showing up in daytime

Good luck - most of what i would say been said

🤣 I’m sure that won’t violate the terms of the lease agreement-

But it would help the habitat if he could.

Would you put a feeder out?

I would want to walk that creek and see where the crossings are and look for spot downwind for a stand.

If there is a creek running thru it you may could walk and look at the SMZ beside it and find an open place to set one up....but like others have said point of your access is gonna be key to a small place like that....how you access and even where you park the truck could be a determining factor....You really need to tiptoe around in there and pay attention to trails and fresh sign like jacannon said, you dont want to be slamming your doors or rattling chain if you have a gate....The reason I say all these things is Ive kinda been thru it...My best friend and I bought a 42 acre tract in Illinois that is dynamite...It has a small river that runs thru the middle of it, but baiting is not allowed up there. The less you mess around in there the better....we dont even check cameras unless we happen to be close to them coming in and out hunting....we also put them out at night using red lights instead of regular ones to keep our presence down during the day...We park on down the road from it, slip in and hunt, and slip out....

Maybe, maybe not.

+1

My guess is the transition areas between the pines and hardwoods will be the most trafficked. I’m not a fan of hunting property lines though especially with the neighbors already having stands up nearby. If the creek has any hardwoods or open areas where you can see, that’s your best bet especially if you can find a heavily used crossing. Sounds like this will be a tough spot to hunt until they thin the pines, then it should be great.

A lot of good advice from everyone and I have hunted similar areas and still do.....if you can get in the hardwoods in a streamside zone, that's your best bet.....they will be coming out of the pines somewhere.....

Whatever you do, make sure and head shoot them so they don't escape across the line.

Yep! And if possible, use a Creedmoor.

...

Got to the middle of the pines, Cut the lower limbs so you can see down the lanes in all 4 directions. Put a feeder on the ends of the 2 of the lanes opposite each other. Put a ground blind in the middle of the X and have fun. Your good for all wind directions.

I hunt a small property most of the time. 22 acres bordered by 2 roads, a cow pasture, and a small neighborhood.

3 most important things are wind, wind, and wind. If it ain't right, go back to bed. Trust me, the deer can tell the difference between the normal stuff and you sitting in the woods for hours. And the only thing worse on a small place than the wrong wind is no wind at all.

What benefit does thinning the pines provide? Allows some brush growth?

Yes, once sunlight can hit the ground again you will get all kinds of natural woody browse, legumes, etc for the deer to browse on. If it is currently thick mats of pine straw on the ground, deer have no reason to use it except crossing from one spot to the next, or maybe bedding depending on how thick it is.

It is as you say.... thick pine straw. Would you put a feeder out?

I have 2 feeders, a pond, and mineral sites at both feeders on 22 acres. Interesting thing is that while I have deer that show up on both feeder cameras, I always have bucks that will only be on one camera, never the other.

I have had more success not putting up feeders on small tracts of land, I usually just scatter feed out on the ground from time to time, never a lot........

FIFY

Lot of good advice here. I have 15 acres I live on that back up to a number of acres of timber co land. The deer really only use about 1/2 the acreage to move around on in daylight, though we see em in the front yard or close by from time to time. Wind and pressure are your two enemies on a small tract of land. I came real close to killing a really mature buck on my piece this year. I’ve passed a few 3.5 year olds the last two years. It’s taken me a solid 3 years to figure out the right conditions to kill deer crossing my property. If you can find crossings in the SMZ that are huntable, that’s where I’d start. The setup you have sounds awesome. Run some cams early season and you may be surprised what is hanging around one of those small tracts.

Thanks for the encouragement! Was starting to get a little discouraged.

Have it burned, and enjoy it next year. Get rid of the pine straw and get new green stuff.

Would need to be burned AND thinned, right?

Thinning would definitely help, but burning all that old stuff would help the soil and give room for plants to grow.

I've done several burns on old small tracts that had just been sitting for years. Burning all that old crap improved every one of them.

You get a timber company to handle this?

If your lease is with a timber company, they won’t thin the pines until whenever they want and likely won’t do any burning. You definitely can’t do it yourself and they are not going to give you permission.

Yep! I've been lucky that our Paper Company burns ours about every 2 years. Looks great afterwards. They're actually getting ready to burn ours in a week or so.

Maybe they’ll miss nesting season

I know. They typically burn around the end of deer season. This is the latest they've done it.

You'll need some good disc too!🤣

😂😂😂😂

What am I missing here?

Hard to explain. Pay me no nevermind though.

There's solid advise here. Small properties can be very rewarding if you hunt smart. All I hunt is small tracts but it can be tough. As already said, if the condition ain't right, stay home cause you'll screw it up

You Sonofa!