Private land tactic help

[Taylord9]

I hunt 25 acres in Wa. There is multiple pieces around me that are about same size. Mine is in middle of 5 bait piles (that I know about) I’m thinking instead of baiting and competing that way. I sit and wait in the middle of the place I can hunt and catch them traveling early and late to the bait piles on all sides. Is that a thing? Someone smarter than me please help

 

[gentleman4561]

Could certainly work, did you plant any food plots? Here in GA the corn is abundant, and deer certainly like it, but they also come feed in my clover plot everyday. I imagine deer get sick of eating nothing but corn, so having alternative food sources can be beneficial.

 

[Sapcut]

Find travel routes and hunt them. I never hunt destinations, only travel routes for several reasons. If a buck has decided to travel during the light, that decision is made after ruling out danger potential, it seems. Deer make more noise walking allowing for me detecting them and them not detecting my string release, as much. Just less cautious in general when traveling to and fro versus being at their destinations, whether that is their rest areas or feed areas.

 

[wind gypsy]

Isn't baiting illegal in WA?

Not enough info to give good advice IMO. How your property lays out compared to your neighbors and how your adjacent neighbors hunt would help. If everyone around you is using bait to draw deer there's a good chance they are putting a lot of human intrusion on their land to bait. If they bait like most (frequently refreshing the bait and messing with the cam sitting on it) a deer with half a brain is going to hit the bait at night and find somewhere with less human intrusion to hang it's head during daylight hours. Make that spot your land. I like @Sapcut's advice above.

 

[Binz17]

Give them something they don't get on the other properties. Food plots are good, but a little sanctuary/safe place could work too. You have to hunt the small parcels smart.

 

[WCB]

man made water holes work decent as an attractant. As mentioned above depending on how the deer use the properties and travel routes would determine my tactic. I know hunting travel routes to bait sites most times works better when I bait in North Dakota. The bigger bucks tend to get to bait right at dark or right after. Hunting off the bait allowed me to catch them earlier and get out without spooking them.

 

[Rich M]

Corn works great.

Spread it out, by hand at road crossings and open areas. Mix it up but the deer will show you where they want it. Be sporadic and it will be fun.

Do it every time in same spot and youll get nothing.

Works much better than a feeder or trough.

Good luck

 

[Jesse Rose]

Newbie to rockslide, but have had success in private land in WI. We can’t bait and have poor soil, so we focus on travel corridors. I have even cut some in and deer use them. We make sure to access from edges where deer can hear, see, and most importantly smell me. We use long linear winter rye food plots that we hand seed with a spreader to help dictate movement. I have gotten all this from Jeff Sturgis on YouTube. Whitetail habitat solutions is his companies name. All his content is free on YouTube.

 

[fatlander]

25 acres isn’t a lot of dirt. Be careful how you access your stand sites and pay attention to the wind. It won’t take long to turn every deer there nocturnal if you’re hunting it Willy-Nilly. I’d leave it completely alone until Halloween. Let the pressure on the other pieces turn yours into a sanctuary.

I know that’s easier said than done, but with whitetails hunting them less is always more productive. If you haven’t killed him in 3 sits, your odds of ever seeing him in the daylight are pretty crappy. He knows you’re there.


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[Jesse Rose]

Meant to say can NOT hear, see, or smell me.

 

[journeyman713]

Put yourself between where the sleep and where they feed, and you'll do just fine.
Or in this case, between where they feed, and where they feed.

 

[Btaylor]

If there are limited water sources in the area, sinking a kiddie pool or similar in thickest part of your 25 acres close to travel could pay dividends.

 

[ForkieLivesMatter]

What’s your 25 acres look like? If you can let that property grow up (if it’s open) or if it’s timbered do a select cut or micro clear cuts I would. It’d turn your property into the bedding and I’d much rather own the bedding area than the feeding areas