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Question on food source

Hey guys. This is a piece of property I am hunting...north is at 12 o'clock. The lines are the property borders. Its private and is over 20 acres. I have seen deer move across it from NW to SE. There are wetlands on it and I have seen at least one deer stop to drink there. There are woods all around it for miles aside from the cow farm across the road (on the right) which has a fence around it. Its east of the river as well. 1. Where would you guess a food source would be? 2. If you were hunting it this time of year, where you set up? Just looking for some help.

Good luck . Tough to say with picture and not a topo map but being on the ground I'd skirt the property to find crossing points usually a fence is not a problem for them to jump and they often find a spot just right for it when the food is what they are after. That's ofcourse if you have no white oaks dropping nuts .

I've seen plenty of squirrels, not sure about the white oaks.

i would look for the thick stuff in the swamp area and hunt the edge...find the deer trails....any edge or transition area

With a year with no acorns, look for chest high or lower browse, Russian olive, birch saplings, hemlock etc.. the deer are munching on this stuff as grass has little nutrition for them this time of year.

TS, would that stuff be in the swampy areas? There is that swampy area to the NW corner.

Yes swampy areas are perfect browse areas, but they also like to bed in the swamps, safe and out of the wind, so hunting directly in the swamp isn't ideal.

Any red berry bush's on the property ? I would be there a day after the snow ,you can learn a lot .

Steve yes there are some red berry bushes with berries on them still and the stuff on the ground as well. We got a coating of snow last night, hopefully there will be enough left tomorrow for some recon. This is the first year for me on this property.

TS, I will check out the swampy area tomorrow.

thanks guys for your help, anyone else with suggestions, I'm all ears.

I like the looks of the swamp looks like there r 2 side by side I’d be willing to bet there is a trail between the 2 of some sort that’s where I’d be looking

Nearly impossible to provide good info based upon the picture. Need a topo and I would walk the perimeter of the property to determine where the trails are and where they'e going. Also, are the deer browsing as they walk from nw to sw? There may not be a single food source so they just walk around munching.

BBB, I know its tough to tell by the pic but I thought I'd see what you guys have to say. I saw about 8 does on day, about 50 yards from my stand and yes they were browsing. It was about 2 weeks ago. There is a prominent trail going thru the property which is east of my two stands. I have found a few small rubs/scrapes and scat along the trail. I spent 2 days last week, one in each stand and nothing showed.

Swamp

Let me guess, you saw the deer as you were in the south stand? Could be they use that heavy cover I circled in yellow as a staging area before crossing the road to the field on the other side. What is the open area in the pink circle?

Hello all. I would second what Wild Bill said about the brushy field. I see a lot on that photo that would help me look for deer. There is a brook or wet drainage just south of your property. Not a barrier but may steer their traffic and may also be a good place for them to browse. I also see a couple spots with a little soft wood or rhododendron. More edge or thicket for them. There is the wet area in the north west corner. Something they will browse in or along the edge of.

Lastly I see a stone wall is the northerly boundary line. Walk that wall and look for a break or low spot. That is the spot they are traveling across it.

The last thing you mentioned was seeing deer to your east. I would set my stands up so I expect to see deer to my west or north west or south west as those are the prevailing winds.

in these temps they are likely trying to do a little sun bathing out of the wind so I would be looking for south or west facing slopes if there is any terrain.

I am a long time lurker. I like to see what you are all up to and the state of affairs in CT. I have family in Preston and Bozrah area. Most years I try to make it down to hunt with family. Best of luck with your property. Looking at photos is like looking at a map with some practice. Erik

Wild Bill, actually saw the one deer from the south stand and the 8 or so doe from the north stand. Came to the north stand this morning and as I was almost there i heard a few deer taking off to the north. Hopefully i didn't ruin my hunt for this morning with just a few deer being around the property. I will go check out the swampy area to the NW after I stay in the stand for a while, unless of course I get lucky and am dragging one out.

Well just heard a gun shot in the direction the deer went this morning. Not too far away.

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