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Is 3 miles hike in worth it? Or can I try a smarter and closer setup plan?

If it were me Id hunt everything including your 3 mile in consideration, let the sign tell you where to hunt thus the saddle offers change up in a fluid fashion. Canoe or kayak along with a tree saddle would be my approach 90 percent of the time. water craft would be a real asset in the sense of limiting the human scent potential of messing with the deer movements. Can't over emphasize the advantages of getting elevated with a saddle or a stand.
 
For me, the question isn’t whether it’s worth walking 3mi in to hunt, it’s whether it’s worth dragging a deer three mi out. So for me to walk back in there, I need some indication that there is a deer there worth dragging out before I routinely walk all the way back there. I mean, I can pass up little bucks sitting at 1 mile for a whole lot less effort. But if there’s an indication that theres a good one at 3 mi, I’m down for it. If you are just looking to stick something brown with your Trad, I would start out closer and hunt deeper on successive hunts If need be.
 
Remember you might be hiking in 3 miles, but someone with access from the private might only have to go 100 yards. That's the issue I run into.

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This is exactly one of
My greatest challenges on public here too. The adjacent private property owners/users have a clutch deal buttressed up to public but sometimes that can be a problem for them to depending on the type and kind of pressure coming from the public land.

I say try to find the densest areas within those sections of terrain you notice is forcing deer movement that is away from pressure or somehow under the radar of pressure and try setting up along the thick transitions of cover within those areas and where you can access them. Sometimes looping around
or going past a likely area like @DroptineKrazy described and hooking or looping back around from a different location can be the deciding factor.
Also what will the deer behavior be when you plan on hunting there? In other words? Are you trying to hunt bed to feed or feed to bed or rut? It has a bearing on where you should try to set up too.

Look for the travel corridors where it is thick and steep or thick and wet, and where you can access those travel corridors without busting out deer or crossing where they will be coming through them.

Sometimes those travel ways everyone is using can be used as a blocker and an attention concentrator. Thick cover or tangles where a nice buck is watching that roadway may be an ideal set up to get too before he does in the morning.
Finally, sidehill travel in pressured areas picks up a lot during the season.
 
I have spots that are 3 miles deep my deepest is 3.6 if I remember correctly but I also have spots that are a few hundred yards and I can watch the public land parking area all day and still see deer. If I found a spot that was 5 miles in and knew I’d see deer there I’d go with it. If I was on my way to a deep back country spot and found a scrape with warm pee in it or a hot oak tree that got hammered the day/night before well that boils down to us being mobile hunters. Why are we mobile if our brains are dedicated? Break that routine and hunt the fresh sign. If there’s properties that have a shorter access to the area and you’re concerned with someone else hunting it find out. Do they hunt? Do they allow hunters? Is there another stand near by? Hang a few cameras to do surveillance and see if you catch other hunters. Many times it’s best (especially in public) to run cameras for the first year and never even hunt the spot. I’ve grown fond of doing that and you quickly find out why you get burnt on the spot you thought was gold
 
For context this property is a narrow ring of timber that’s rarely more than 1/4mile at the deepest. A body of water is the center, you can access by kayak, with some hoops for permits & inspections of the craft & launches are farther away than the hike in most cases. There’s a fire road that cuts the timber in half top to bottom . The deer bed up against the private if it’s thick or down near the points against the water…… there are a few anomalies but pressure takes care of that. This is also 1 of 3 places that I used to get frequently harassed on my way to setup. Find the pockets that don’t fit this mold, timber away from the lake & or across a road that are overlooked there’s a few dozen of them.
 
My experience hunting that particular body of water is that the deer don't move all that much, hunting on weekends sucks, and access is key.

You will find deer bedded in most, if not all of those white circle areas, if there is food near by, so you really don't have to walk all that far. Food doesn't necessarily mean agg, there are pockets of white oaks and people's yards count too. It was hard to get used to hunting near houses and the sights and sounds that come with that. I shot one of my biggest bucks just on the other side of the bridge from where you show your parking spot. I watched the bus drop kids off on that road, just above me, and listened to the dog bark behind me as I watched the buck come in.

If you are able to hunt weekday evenings (or mornings if your job allows) you shouldn't run into too many others.

I knocked on a number of doors and was fortunate enough to get parking privileges so I could hunt the reservoir property where others couldn't access. I also parked along back and side roads (where allowed) to access various areas. I drove around a lot to find areas to legally park and walk in.
 
Hiking three miles just for the sake of hiking and scouting as I go would be well worth it to me. Getting to hunt as I go would be a bonus. I have a lot of free time I can spend doing that and understand not everyone has however.
 
I’d say hunt wherever there are deer that are active during hunting hours, so long as you can get to them without alarming them. Any details can be worked out with creative problem solving.
 
Some of my best hunting memories are of really long drags in the dark with friends. Last year me and some buddies dragged a deer 4.5 miles with a sled In the dark. There was a meteor shower that night which made the experience magical.
 
Are the deer actually using the purple circle? Are they crossing overland through the choke point in the blue circle, or staying put, or swimming/wading to other shores? If hunting pressure is pushing them to the purple circle, that's a great option. If they're crossing water to eat flowers in the housing development to the south, you might be squeezing more than the juice is worth. I'd do some observation sits before committing to anything.

Also if you can find a a cheap canoe on Craigslist, or build a plywood pirogue or punt, you'll open up a bunch of opportunities.

 
For context this property is a narrow ring of timber that’s rarely more than 1/4mile at the deepest. A body of water is the center, you can access by kayak, with some hoops for permits & inspections of the craft & launches are farther away than the hike in most cases. There’s a fire road that cuts the timber in half top to bottom . The deer bed up against the private if it’s thick or down near the points against the water…… there are a few anomalies but pressure takes care of that. This is also 1 of 3 places that I used to get frequently harassed on my way to setup. Find the pockets that don’t fit this mold, timber away from the lake & or across a road that are overlooked there’s a few dozen of them.
@HuumanCreed This is obviously a voice of experience and there is an almost infallible old saying...Dont guide the guide.
 
Used to hunt off Ward Rd, walk down the driveway across the bridge, fire trial on left, follow that back about a mile to almost the SD area, where the trail made a S. Did OK, really not that far back, and only people I seen were hikers, mountain bikers, and horse people....use to your advantage, they'll kick one up once in a while.
 
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