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Water hole?

I hunt in a thick 40 acre block that has a fast moving creek on one side. I would like to add a water hole in the center of the property closer to the bedding area. The land is mostly thicker slashing/bedding area.

I know the source does not need to be large for the animals to use. What would you suggest?

We are very dry where I am hunting at the present moment and I am sitting close to water and food right next to their bedding area. The deer have been hitting the water right after they get up and then walk to the wheat/alfalfa plot. It’s amazing how routine they are in doing that. The water is a very small pond, probably not 25-30 feet across. Although your deer will hit the creek for a drink, I think if you put water, food and bedding close together you will have made a difference.

Depends on your funds. On the expensive end, put in a shallow solar powered well that pumps into a small shallow tank. On the other end of the spectrum, there are tanks that hold several hundred gallons that drain into a trough. I believe there is a float mechanism that controls the flow. These are made commercially, but I can’t remember who makes them.

I put a 20 gallon stock tank in about a 3 acre island of woods off a CRP field. I put a large rock in the bottom, along with a paver that was there when someone baited for bear, to keep the board in place on their hollow log. We had to carry 5 gallon buckets in there to fill it up, and with the rock/brick, it took about 12 gallons. It was a relatively dry summer and I had to top it off every 2 weeks when it would be about half full. This tank was even burried and there was a natural slope in the terrain above it.

I also have one of those 75 gallon plastic ponds in my backyard, and it too is in a drainage portion of the yard. Above it, I put one of those rubber liners, about 12' long and 4' wide, and I never have to top it off; although, it doesn't get visited nearly as much as the one in my hunting woods.

I shot a buck October 9th, it was 78 degrees and that buck visited the pond that day around Noon, and again in the evening, just before coming out into the picked bean field to feed. He did the same thing two days prior to me hunting there.

I'm thinking of putting in a larger pond next year.

Dale is this it.

I’ve seen where guys take a 100-150 black plastic stock tank and bury it in a low lying area, where rainwater can drain into it, or they will haul water and fill it during dry periods. Be sure and put a log or branch in it for the critters to crawl out, if they fall in.

How does a gravity feed watering tank work?

Thanks for the ideas. I will have to carry water and everything into this spot. There is no ATV access. I know that if I build it, they will come. I just need to figure out how to make it work and not have to carry 20 gallons of water every few days.

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