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Why young growth matters

An ATV trail, power line, gas line, or other opening can provide excellent feeding opportunities.

Sunlight reaches the ground in these areas and encourages young woody growth and other vegetation that deer can reach easily.

That makes these openings something of a buffet for whitetails.

Tulip poplar is a good example.

Young tulip poplars produce tender new growth, and deer will readily browse them. On this property, several young tulip poplars showed obvious signs of repeated feeding.

The same was true of hazelnut and sumac nearby.

When you see multiple preferred browse species being used in one small area, that is worth paying attention to.

What pawpaw can tell you about deer pressure

Another interesting clue on this property is the amount of pawpaw growing in the woods.

Deer generally do not prefer pawpaw.

When pawpaw becomes especially abundant, it can sometimes suggest that deer have been heavily browsing other competing plants while leaving the pawpaw alone.

Over time, the plants deer do not eat can gain an advantage.

That does not tell you exactly how many deer are on a property, but it can help you understand historical browsing pressure and how deer have influenced the understory.

Oaks, acorns, and hunting the edges

This property also contains a good amount of both white oak and red oak.

That matters because acorns can become an important seasonal food source for deer.

There was already a noticeable acorn crop during this walk.

Some acorns were beginning to fall, although early drops can sometimes be caused by insect damage, such as acorn weevils, rather than normal maturity.

From a hunting standpoint, I would pay close attention to the edges of both the power line and the gas line.

Those transition areas can bring several things together at once:

• Feeding areas
• Woodland cover
• Young browse
• Oak mast
• Travel routes
• Visibility for hunters

That combination can make an edge much more interesting than either the open right-of-way or the woods by itself.

Gas line and power line right-of-ways

Both right-of-ways are important features on this property.

The gas line appeared to have been mowed more recently than the power line, but both can provide year-round food because periodic mowing encourages fresh growth.

That young growth is within easy reach of deer. It also creates contrast with the surrounding timber.

Any time you have woods meeting a maintained opening, you have an edge. Deer often use those edges for both feeding and travel.

That does not mean every edge is automatically a good hunting spot, but it gives you a logical place to begin studying the property.

Saddles are worth investigating

The property also contains several saddles.

A saddle is a lower spot between two areas of higher elevation, and deer will often use them because they can provide an easier route across steep terrain.

When hunters ask me where to start on a property they have never hunted before, saddles are often near the top of the list.

That does not mean you should blindly put a stand on every saddle.

You still want to look for tracks, browse, rubs, scrapes, nearby cover, wind direction, access, and other sign.

But on unfamiliar ground, saddles give you a logical place to begin.

Reading the property map

Looking at the property map adds another layer to what you see on the ground.

The access trail leads from the road toward the gas line right-of-way.

Several saddles on the property stand out as possible starting points for hunters.

There is also a flat area to the northeast that is worth investigating.

Another interesting area is along the gas line near thicker cover on the neighboring property to the north.

Thick cover adjacent to a feeding or travel corridor can create a productive transition area, especially if deer are moving between bedding cover and food.

The longer point extending across another portion of the property also deserves attention.

The key is not to pick one spot from a map and assume it is automatically the best location.

Use the map to identify possibilities, then confirm them on the ground.

What I look for when walking a hunting property

A walk like this is not just about finding one big deer track or one impressive rub.

I am looking for patterns.

I want to see whether deer are using multiple food sources.

I want to see browse spread across the property.

I want to know where openings meet cover.

I want to identify terrain features that may influence movement.

I want to know where the oaks are.

I want to see whether deer are feeding along trails and right-of-ways.

And I want to find places where several of those features come together.

On this Athens County property, there is deer browse throughout the areas I walked, multiple oak species, two maintained right-of-ways, ATV access, saddles, and several locations that appear worth investigating further.

A good hunting property still requires scouting

No property map, aerial image, or video can tell you everything you need to know.

You have to walk it.

Look at the plants.

Look at what has been eaten.

Look at the terrain.

Pay attention to where the cover changes.

Notice where the easy travel routes are.

Then compare what you see on the ground with what the map shows you.

That is how you begin turning a piece of ground you have never hunted into a property you understand.

The more carefully you look, the more the property will tell you.