I read an article in
North American Whitetail last night that talked about managing small tracts of land. In southern Indiana it is uncommon to be able to take a small tract of land and know that your deer are staying on your property. It is well known that bucks often have a range of at least a square mile. So the trick for the middle class whitetail hunter that cannot afford more than 100 acres is managing deer that aren't always on your property. I will be a minister a teacher as a wife for the rest of my life. I will be lucky to get 50 acres.
Here's the question. If you get 60 acres in southern Indiana on the Ohio River with public land all around, how do you go about managing a herd?
My strategy: If I am in this situation with a slightly limited budget, I'm going to look at the following strategies. First, I'm going to contact my state CRP program and have them tell me what I can do. I want a lot of tall native grasses that will make the deer feel safe for bedding. Ideally, such grasses will take up much of the property. Deer bed more than they do anything else, so I want them on my property for this part of their day.
Second, I will contact various tree planting programs around the state. A lot of these programs will donate trees to be planted. First order of business is to surround the most secluded 20 acres I can find with evergreen trees after it is planted in native grasses. I will not allow myself inside the area enclosed by the evergreens. This creates a "sanctuary." The deer should feel maximum security and comfort in this 20 acres.
Third, I have to provide food. Food plots are the best place to start. This will be an even mix of green and grain. Deer like a healthy balance of the two. There will be four five acre plots that are at least 50 yards removed from the evergreens that circle the bedding area. Persimon, crabapple, apple, and pear trees are also good investments, but they are exactly that, investments. They will not produce much food for several years.
Last, I want to provide about a 30 yard wide buffer around the property of thick assorted evergreens. I will also put a cheap, yet visible fence around the property. After all of this, it is important for me to stay off of the property for most of the year, and hunt carefully so that my presence is not detected. Deer have to feel completely safe on my property if they are going to stay.
I think I can do this all for less than $10,000 with the assistance of government programs.
So with a picky eye for shooting bucks, how many quality mature bucks would rome this 60 acre piece of land in an average year? My guess is that I could consistently have 2-4 mature bucks on the property each year.
What would your strategies be? How effective do you think it could be?
