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How much isolated woods to hold deer? Water Crossings?

CptFrank

Active Member
Joined
May 22, 2019
Messages
136
I am looking at a relatively small wooded section of public land (600 acres of woods) that is part of a much larger refuge. Surrounding this woodlot there is a dense suburban neighborhood to the east ( i dont think there is any movement this way since there are more houses than trees for a mile or more), a small but deep creek with a suburban/rural neighborhood (deer might be able to slink through this neighborhood unseen but the creek is still 50 yards wide that they would have to swim) to the North, a 100 yard wide deep creek with nothing but brackish marsh for about a mile to the next wood lot, and about a mile of marshes to the south before it turns into more water than land.

I havent had the chance to scout it yet but i do believe there are deer there and i also dont think. In your opinions, how would deer enter or exit this piece? Could a herd be self sufficient on a piece of land this small? Would a buck try to get to this place during the rut or leave to find new does? I am less looking for hunting tactics but am curious to everyones thoughts on the biology of and habits of deer on isolated properties. Thanks.
 
I can't much speak to whether deer will stay on the property year-round, but I can confirm that deer will occupy blocs of woods much, much smaller than that. I hunt a 30-acre wooded property in the middle of suburbia that holds deer (at least a dozen, I think). There's a 30-yard wide treeline between a set of offices and a neighborhood that serves as their only highway out of there, and the trails through that aren't nearly as worn out as you might expect, indicating they're not coming and going too often.
 
I hunt properties as little as 5acres as long as it is the right 5 acres! Meaning there has to be something they want or like on the possible spot or it has to afford them cover to somewhere else they are going providing "safe" passage, at least until you start hunting it! I have one spot between a golf community and farmland that is only 5 acres but just about any deer coming from the golf community has to cross that particular 5 acres if they want to get anywhere other than the golf community, like the farmland, because the other side is a pretty big river about a mile across! Not saying they will not swim the river but they really don't want to!! So size is just a after thought!!! Good hunting to you!!!
 
One of the biggest bucks I've seen alive was standing in a 20 yard strip of grass between two big box stores W/not a care in the world and cars screaming past.
 
Yeah, Ive found deer in similar areas in the past but I always wonder how or if they mingle with other populations when they are that isolated

I grew up in south Louisiana swamps and marshes. We would jump deer off of logs far away from land while duck hunting. It’s nothing for a deer to swim a river back and forth to feed, breed, and bed.
 
I grew up in south Louisiana swamps and marshes. We would jump deer off of logs far away from land while duck hunting. It’s nothing for a deer to swim a river back and forth to feed, breed, and bed.
I used to commercial fish for a living and we would see some nice bucks swimming our bigger bodies of water but we have alot of dog hunters running our deer all over so I don't blame them swimming the river is easiest way to lose the dogs! But they also do some crazy stuff around breeding season!!!!
 
600 acres will support a good bunch of deer if there's food. And those marshes you mention are going to bed a lot of those deer. The housing developments around you probably see plenty of deer traffic as well even if it's mostly night movement. And don't discount the possibility that people in those houses feed them, legal or not.
 
Find the neighbors that stay inside the most and watch deer from their coffee table.


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One of the better spots I had was 3 acres and most of that was the guys garden. If they feel safe the houses mean nothing to them. Use to hunt a spot where they would purposely bed within 50yd of backyards.
 
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