There are three characteristics to look for in a Land Specialist:

The first thing is simply finding someone you like. This will help ensure that it’s an enjoyable adventure. When you go online to do your preliminary research, pay as much attention to information on the Land Specialist as you do on the properties. Read their biographies and watch any videos that may be available. You will be sharing many hours in a truck with your Land Specialist, so you’ll either be thankful you hit it off or you’ll be dreading the next day of touring dirt.

The second important Land Specialist attribute is knowledge. If quality, big game hunting is a priority, your Land Specialist should be a knowledgeable hunter. Are they passionate, or just pretend, or never even been in a treestand? The best ground may be ‘off the radar’ but if you have a networked Land Specialist he will have the connections. Your Land Specialist also needs to understand dirt. Do they know water and mineral rights? Do they know what needs to be researched during due diligence? Can they recognize red flags? Do they understand the importance of a sustainable agricultural plan and the positive impact this can have on wildlife populations? Do they have experience solving the problems that will come up during the purchase process? Do they have a track record of negotiating good deals for their clients?

The third critical Land Specialist asset is trustworthiness. When you build a relationship of trust with a Land Specialist who is a passionate hunter and a knowledgeable farm professional, you will have an excellent likelihood of finding a property that will fit your interests and provide you, your family, and your friends years of enjoyable activities and memories. Trust is the key. Is your Land Specialist trying to sell you every piece of dirt he shows you or are they looking at every property through your eyes and only getting excited about a tract that fits your needs? Is he listening, paying attention to your reactions, and understanding the vital factors beyond hunting? If the rest of your family doesn’t want to be at the property, you won’t be spending much time there. Every land transaction has its issues. Does he tell you the good and the bad? Some you will be able to live with, some you may not.

After you do some research, call a Land Specialist that seems like a good candidate and discuss your intentions for securing a property. Once you’ve found and settled on a knowledgeable and trustworthy Land Specialist you like, stick with him. You’ll know you’ve found a good broker when he calls and tells you a property has come on the market and you need to get out as soon as possible to look at it. You will, because you trust his judgment!

Conservation easements are a potential incentive to provide for wildlife habitat. When talking about rural land for sale most conservation easement payments are based on the value of the land as wildlife habitat, and/or the value of the land to be developed in the future. Although conservation easements may not appeal to everyone, it is another tool providing the landowner flexibility in determining the long-range goals of the property.

Fee hunt and leasing can provide substantial cash flow to the landowner, and if managed properly by the landowner and/or outfitter, it can allow for sound wildlife and habitat management. The key is utilizing the right outfitter and/or group of hunters that will adhere and contribute toward your management goals.

Non-consumptive wildlife use on land for sale such as wildlife photography, bird watching, and big-game watching is a valid opportunity for some landowners to generate income, without the taking or harvesting of animals. There are a growing number of people that are willing to pay for the opportunity to view and photograph wildlife, in a non-park type setting.

Think slightly outside-the-box when it come to selling your land if wildlife seems to be giving you concern, because it can become a very marketable asset for sellers.

With land prices down as much as 30 percent and returns holding steady around 3 percent a year, land is looking more attractive for a place to invest your money.

Such dreams cost a lot of money to keep going. The land may be appreciating in value but the continuing costs are substantial, so some of the return has to come from your personal satisifaction. Why own a farm if you’re not going use it?

As a pure investment agricultural land has long offered steady returns, particularly as food prices have risen. All three measures of farm sector earnings experienced strong growth in 2011. According to today's numbers, farmers are earning 28 percent more for their products than they made last year. Crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton saw a 19 percent rise from last year to $204 billion.

Also, depending on how someone buys and sells hunting and farmland, there are special tax treatments for what the Internal Revenue Service call like-kind exchanges, which can defer capital gains taxes. The same rule, known as 1031, can apply to other real estate transactions where the properties are owned as investments. Something to keep in mind is that the IRS has a hobby-loss rule to keep gentleman farmers from gaming the system. If you buy a farm, plant some crops or throw some cows on it. If you make a profit or at least attempt to make a profit on the land for three of the last five years, you are in compliance.

Land is an investment, that is something would-be buyers should remember. Many tracts of land are gorgeous and can increase substantially in value and while owning a hunting or farmland tract may satisfy your dream, you need to consider the many advantages of owning the land beyond your initial interest. Make it work for you! 

1. Sporting Quality

Properties that seem similarly situated can be vastly different. Some factors that impact sporting quality:

Variety, quantity and quality of wildlife species

Quality of habitat: land and water

Control and access

Availability of tags

Adjacency to public land

2. Income Production

For years the focus on properties has been on the recreational component with little focus of the income potential. With the global demand for food products and rising commodity prices there has been a real increased demand and focus on income-producing properties. While the traditional buyers are out there, much of this demand is coming from sophisticated investors who seek not only land appreciation with the safety in investing in real property, but also the rising income generated from crop production sales.

3. Conservation Values

Properties for sale with strong conservation values can certainly enhance the value of a farm. Protected natural amenities such as pristine scenery and wildlife help sustain property values and attract new investments. Landowners frequently  take advantage of the inherent conservation values through conservation easements. A conservation easement is a voluntary agreement where a landowner permanently restricts uses on the land in order to protect certain conservation values. Easements may provide a number of financial advantages for landowners including:

Federal income tax breaks for a donation

Real estate ad valorem tax breaks

Estate planning and family heritage preservation

Land value enhancements due to adjacency to protected land

Properties with high sporting quality, income production capability and strong conservation values will greatly enhance the value of any hunting or farmland tract. As a land buyer or seller definitely make sure to add these three attributes to your checklist when performing your property evaluation. Our Land Specialist can draw from their own experience as big-game hunters, outfitters and guides, wildlife biologists, and farmland specialists in assisting buyers and sellers in evaluating a property and its attributes.

"Today's farm income forecast shows that the American brand of agriculture continues to be a bright spot in our nation's economy. Following on a strong 2010, all three measures of farm sector earnings again experienced strong growth in 2011. According to today's numbers, farmers are earning 28 percent more for their products than they made last year. And it is making a real difference for America's farm families, whose household income was up 3.1 percent in 2010 and is forecasted to increase 1.2 percent in 2011. This is good news for rural America and for our national economy." says U.S. Agriculture Secretary, Tom Vilsack.

Crops such as corn, soybeans, wheat and cotton saw a 19 percent rise from last year to $204 billion. The importance to the land buyer or seller, these increases in farm income drove agricultural real-estate prices to a record $2,350 an acre this year according to the USDA. In fact, the Federal Reserve banks in Chicago and Kansas City released reports in November stating farmland values in Midwest and Plains states were up at least 25 percent. This is excellent news for anyone buying or selling farmland.

Whitetail Properties believes in providing land options for both recreational and investment opportunities and our hunting and farm land specialist are monitoring these benefits daily to help their clients to make the best decision. So, when considering purchasing that dream property, pay close attention to the potential income production of that land. These benefits often get you kicking your own dirt sooner than later!

Soon the glow from the car lights was slowly replaced by the faint glow of dawn’s first light, and the stillness of night gave way to sounds of wildlife stirring beneath my stand 18 feet up in a pine tree.  At the chill of dawn, the woods came alive with an orchestra of sounds; all different kinds of birds were singing, woodpeckers were violently beating trees, while squirrels scurried around scratching for nuts.  Overhead, endless angular formations of migrating Canada geese were beginning their long journey south for the winter.  Later, as the sun warmed the air, four blue jays winged into a nearby tree and distracted my concentration with their almost deafening conversations.  Fortunately, they left as the sun rose in the pale morning sky.  Relative silence again returned to the timber as I regained my hearing and resumed a watchful ear.  Suddenly, I heard a faint grunt somewhere behind me in the hollow.  I pulled out my grunt call and produced four very low guttural grunts.

Seconds later, I could hear the unmistakable sound of a deer’s silent steps in the leaves, my heart pounded harder with each step he took.

With an arrow nocked and ready for actions, I stood motionless as each crunch in the leaves was louder and closer than the last.

At 35 yards the whitetail’s ivory tipped rack became apparent.  The buck stopped to spar with a small cedar.  Satisfied he was the victor over the sapling, he proceeded along the trail towards my stand.

In many parts of the Country, some of today’s most impressive whitetail live within a stone’s throw of houses, airports, shopping malls, and other such development.  These new suburban bucks are a special breed that have learned to elude house dogs, dodge traffic, refuge in unhuntable sanctuaries, and do it all while living in someone’s backyard.  It’s this constant interaction with man that makes the suburban buck the most unpredictable and challenging deer in North America.

Through the inspiration of desperation and the backlash of necessity, the suburban buck has evolved.  Where there once was endless forest and vast meadows, there are shopping malls, new businesses and houses divided by expanses of cash crops.  What remains are brushy drainage ditches and fence rows, small wood lots and sections of swamp and river bottoms unsuitable for cultivation.

The suburban buck as I refer to him here, generally resides in farm country and among people.  He is unlike his wilderness brother, which has never seen a farmer, heard a tractor or has had to dodge hunters every day of the season.

To properly bowhunt the suburban buck it’s important you understand that the most significant difference between wilderness and suburban bucks lies in their priorities for survival.  Wilderness bucks place their survival emphasis on food and survival through stress periods.  In contrast, bucks living in the midst of civilization center their priorities around surviving the dangers presented by man.  These differing priorities cause substantially different behavior and travel patterns and, consequently, require different approaches for successful bowhunting.

Because of the quality and availability of food in farm country, suburban bucks don’t have to feed as long, consequently, it’s very important to pattern these deer in order to intercept them during daylight hours.  I normally will set up three or four treestands, between bedding and feeding areas and will very seldom sit in the same stand two days in a row.  Wary suburban bucks quickly recognize man’s patterns too, and will adapt accordingly.  When that buck moves out of his normal living area, he goes to an area where all of his senses can be activated by the slightest intrusion.  He moves into a place where he can see, hear and smell and, if necessary, slip away undetected before a bowhunter can get too close.

Patterning the suburban whitetail is often much more difficult than it might seem; unlike the wilderness bucks which spend the majority of their lives within a two square mile area, suburban bucks may regularly visit a number of farms in a three to 10 mile area.  Undisturbed, they will settle into a somewhat circular pattern that normally takes three to six days to complete.

Patterning is often a slow and confusing process when visual sightings are relied upon to predict travel.

Patterning by sign reading is quite a bit more accurate, but also a slow means to accomplish the objective.  Knowing what bucks are going to do before they do it can save you a lot of time.  I use the term “knowing” loosely, because many unpredictable incidents may alter buck movement.  However, by understanding the lay of the land, either with the use of a topo map or by firsthand experience, and understanding what the primary food sources in the area are, as well as a working knowledge of the four rut periods, along with sign reading and visual sightings, you can predict travel patterns; that is, determining where the bucks want to go, before they get there.

When hunting a particular buck, I prefer to concentrate my efforts during the rut preparation and pre-breeding periods because the buck’s travel patterns are more predictable at those times.  During the rut preparation period, I bowhunt a rub line pattern which normally begins at the food source.  I look for fresh rubs along the perimeter of prime food fields, then follow trails away from the fields toward the bedding areas to identify them.  I look for those trails with the most fresh rubs, and soon a “rub line” can be deciphered.  It also will be the buck’s predicted travel pattern.  A treestand set up along his line of travel will probably prove productive.

During the pre-breeding period, I hunt scrape lines instead of rub lines.  The last two to three weeks of this phase should be spent watching breeding area scrape lines.  In unpressured situations, treestand ambush tactics for all four periods can be very successful.  However, bowhunting pressured nocturnal suburban bucks can be exasperating.  One method is to use a silent drive.  I prefer to wait until all else has failed before resorting to the drive technique, because if you don’t get him on your first try, you’ll never get a second chance at him!  This technique is simple once you’ve identified his sanctuary and the most likely escape routes to be taken by the buck.

At a pre-determined time, your driver or drivers begin to walk slowly with the wind along the travel corridor toward the sanctuary.  If you have more than one driver, preferably each man will walk parallel to the travel corridor while you set up at the most likely escape route.

Hunting for a particular buck during the breeding period can be a long shot proposition because of his unpredictable travel pattern at this time, but it’s a period when more of the “monster” bucks are caught in the open during daylight hours than at any other time. 

During the post-breeding period my tactics usually involve relocating a nocturnal buck.  If the hunting pressure is not too extreme, he will likely return to his core area of early season and preferred bedding sites.  Regardless of when, where or how we pursue him, every possible precaution must be taken before entering the suburban buck’s domain.  Precautions such as using scentless soap on yourself and clothes, wearing rubber boots, using buck lure properly and most important of all, being aware of wind direction should all be taken into consideration.  Your approach and your stand should be downwind of where you expect your buck to appear.  You want to make sure that none of your scent is blown into your buck’s bedding area during an evening hunt or feeding area during a morning hunt.  And, even after you’ve painstakingly taken every precaution, discouraging as it may seem, odds are, he will still catch you!

Through years of living alongside man, the suburban buck has acquired almost magical senses.  This deer knows from the creak of your kitchen door shutting whether you are leaving to go hunting or to work.  He understands from the sound whether or not the neighbor’s barking dog means danger.  How and where a vehicle stops as it passes down the highway tells him immediately whether or not there’s cause for alarm.  He knows the difference between a tractor and a hunting vehicle.

Imagine for a moment, the distractions and pressures this deer has to deal with on a year-round bases: horseback riders, kids riding dirt bikes and four-wheelers through the woods, people cutting firewood, hunters running their dogs before and after bird season, small game hunters, tractors, cars, trucks, trains, joggers, hikers, walkers, and combines.  You name it.  It’s as a result of these distractions and pressures that the suburban buck has evolved such magical senses.

The approaching whitetail mentioned at the opening of this article was now less than 156 yards away and steadily walking straight towards me.  Patiently waiting for my shot I allowed the buck to walk directly underneath and past my stand, placing him slightly quartering away at 12 yards.  Picking a spot that would give my arrow the best angle through the vitals, I smoothly drew back the string on my bow, found my anchor point, steadied out and unleashed the razor sharp Rocket Sidewinder broadhead.  To my disbelief, the buck trotted off without showing any sign of being hit.  Contemplating the situation I nocked another arrow, pulled out my grunt call and sounded three consecutive grunts.  The buck then stopped, turned with his head up high and started back my way.  Just as I started to mentally prepare myself for a second shot, I noticed him stumble.  Three steps later he collapsed!

Before lowering my bow to the ground and walking over to claim my price, I sat on my stand a few minutes to reflect and relish the moment.  There’s nothing more gratifying to me than to tag what I consider the most intelligent and evasive buck of them all—the suburban whitetail.

Dan Perez

Principal Partner, Broker/Agent & Pro-Team Member

"May this sweetest oldtime greeting
Heavily laden with good cheers
Bring content, and peace and plenty
Enough to last through all the Year."

Please be safe and enjoy the celebration and we look forward to enjoying 2012 with you...

Whitetail Properties extends to you a wish of warm home, great friends full of cheer and the hope of a childlike heart. We wish the joy of the heavens to be upon you.

Merry Christmas

WP Staff

“Fantastic,” thought Craig.  “This is going to be the day!”  Along the way he thought about the hours of scouting that went into the selection of his stand location.

Once he reached the big pine tree, he quickly climbed 18 feet, set the bow across his lap and prepared himself for daylight.  Shortly, at a distance, a horned owl proclaimed sunlight was on its way.

As light slowly peeked out over the eastern horizon, the darkness began to fade.  Suddenly, the sound of a twig snapping sent a surge of adrenaline racing through the hunter’s body.  Craig eased up from his seat and lifted his bow to a ready position, his eyes focused on a small clearing 25 yards away.  Craig figured that’s where he would first see the deer.  Seconds later, a small doe stepped out of the brush.  Craig just watched as she fed by.

“Well, that’s the way it goes,” he told himself.  Seconds later, as he laid his bow back across his lap, out of the corner of his eye he caught another flicker of movement.  Craig’s mouth fell open as he spotted many tall tines extending upward from two massive main beams moving through the brush toward the clearing.

Less than 26 yards away, in the middle of the clearing, stood a colossal 16-point buck!  In his 25 years of whitetail hunting, Craig had never seen such a superb animal.  “I must be dreaming!” the excited hunter told himself as he raised and drew his bow.

Upon release, the sound of a solid hit echoed through the timber.  The arrow entry hole was visible as the deer crashed through the brush.  It appeared just behind the shoulder, a few inches higher than it should have been.  Thinking he’d executed a perfect double lung shot, Craig quickly climbed down from his perch and headed in the direction where he had last seen the deer.

Everything seemed too good to be true: a perfect shot at a perfect distance of 25 yards.  Craig mentally measured his wall at home where his first real trophy would hang.  He frantically busted through the brush in a blind search for his arrowed buck.

Five hours later, a dark cloud of fear and depression had fallen as Craig studied his surroundings, realizing that not only could he not find the arrowed buck, he also had no idea where he was or how he would get back.  Craig couldn’t help but despair.  On all sides towered giant cottonwood trees.  Unable to locate the sun, he hopelessly wandered in circles until exhaustion and eventually shock drained his body.

B.B. Craig did not go to bowhunter heaven that October afternoon, because “B.B. Craig” is a fictitious person.  However, many of the mistakes made by B.B. are made by many bowhunters every season.  Fortunately, most of us at least find our way back to camp.

B.B.’s story illustrates a number of important points about tracking arrowed game.  An excited bowhunter’s eyes can easily be fooled as to the location of a hit.  Most shots are taken in low-light conditions: dusk and dawn or in forest shadows.  Even with optimum conditions—bright sunshine overhead, 20-yard shot, brightly colored vanes and fluorescent nocks—the eyes can still be fooled.  The reflexes of many big-game animals are extremely quick.  As illustrated on many bowhunting videos, animals often begin reacting before the arrow reaches them.  It can be in a different position when the arrow connects than when the arrow was released.

The eyes also can be mistaken as to whether or not an animal was hit.  Occasionally, you may lose sight of your arrow.  The animal may give no indication that it has been hit.  Always assume that the arrow scored.  After a minimum of a 30 minute wait, quietly make a thorough search of the area for your arrow and/or blood sign.

It is absolutely critical that the archer mentally mark the exact spot where the animal was standing at the moment the arrow was released.  Light-footed game is quickly lost from sight.  Use nearby vegetation, trees, stumps or anything that will help you get a good mark.  Remember, the eyes can be fooled as to exact shot placement.  Unless you actually see the animal collapse, do not move from your location for at least a half hour.  Death by hemorrhage is painless, according to medical experts.  However, it does require a bit more time for the arrow to do its job.  A wounded animal will almost always lay down within several hundred yards.  Any noise created by the hunter may push it from its bed, complicating the recovery process.

After the waiting period, quietly proceed to the spot where the animal was standing.  Do not take a step until you’re sure you can stand exactly in the animal’s location when the arrow was released.  From there you will be able to draw an imaginary line from where you are standing to where you were when you released.  If the arrow passed completely through the animal, this will help find the arrow.
“Reading the arrow” will help you determine how to effectively track the wounded animal.  Ideally, the arrow will be coated with clean blood, indicating a major organ hit.  If the arrow is coated with a greenish brown, slimy substance or has food particles on it, along with a strong foul odor, this indicates a gut shot.  Gut shot animals frequently hunch when hit.  They remain that way as they run or walk away, seldom traveling more than 300 yards before lying down.  There they will stiffen up and die, if undisturbed.

The recommended procedure for recovering an animal with this type of wound is significantly different from that of a major organ shot animal.  At this point, the hunter should stay put or mark the spot and quietly leave the area.  Resume tracking in no less than six hours, unless the weather is warm and/or there is a large population of coyotes or other predators in the area.  In that case, I would wait between four and five hours.

Sometimes, finding the arrow is impossible.  Don’t spend all day looking for it.  The arrow could be buried in the ground or brush, or it may have remained in the animal.  Start your search at the exact location the animal stood when you released the arrow.  If you don’t find blood right away, don’t worry.  The bleeding doesn’t really start until the animal has taken a few bounds and the heart has begun pumping harder.  If you’ve made a good hit, blood evidence should show up within 20 yards.

Blood shows up best on dead leaves and rocks.  It can be difficult to spot on dirt or green vegetation.  For this reason, I always pack two flashlights, extra batteries, bulbs and a roll of fluorescent surveyor’s tape.  Unless the blood flow is visibly constant, I always mark the first blood evidence with fluorescent tape.

Markers are beneficial when determining an animal’s direction of travel as well as relocating where the last spot of blood was seen.  This may be especially important if the animal turned off the trail or doubled back.  The trail of markers you leave behind will also make it easy to return to the starting point, should you be tracking after dark or in unfamiliar territory.
Do not look for blood only on the ground.  Blood is often found at wound height on brush or trees that the animal has contacted.  There may be blood spraying from the wound, especially in the case of a lung-shot animal. 

Ideally, the archer should concentrate efforts on penetrating both lungs.  Big-game animals seldom live longer than several seconds with a hole through both lungs.  Often, shots taken from a tree stand at a downward angle appear to the archer as a double lung hit.  In fact, it may take out only one lung.  An animal can travel a long distance with one lung.  The blood trail is still usually constant.  Bright red or pink, frothy blood indicates a lung hit.  Thirty to 60 minutes is ample time to wait before tracking.

If you find dark, rich-colored blood, this indicates a liver shot.  A decent blood trail is usually produced.  Wait at least two hours before tracking.
Finding a pool of blood after a series of occasional drops indicates the animal stopped, stood or lay in a spot for a while before moving on.  Proceed slowly and quietly; you may be the reason he moved on.  A number of pools a short distance apart may indicate the animal is weakening or listening to your progress on his back trail before moving on.

Don’t give up on a sparse blood trail.  With only one entry hole or if the arrow remains in the animal, internal bleeding may be severe, but there will be little blood to follow.  I you lose the trail, circle outward from the last blood spot in widening circles until you pick up the trail again.  When possible, get help.  Two or more pairs of eyes are better than one.

Where legal and available, employ the services of a good cold-trail dog.  I shot a Florida whitetail buck on the E.K. Ranch in October 1987 as it fed in a food plot.  The deer was broadside at about 25 yards.  The hit looked good.  The deer wheeled and headed for the cypress swamp.  Confident of an easy recovery, I waited 30 minutes and took up the trail.

I was about to learn a valuable lesson on the incredible stamina of a whitetail deer and the unbelievable sense of smell a hound dog possesses.  It took two of us with lanterns six hours in waist-deep water to realize we weren’t going to find that deer without the rancher’s dog.  At two o’clock in the morning, I knocked on the rancher’s door, explained our situation and asked to use his dog.  After only 10 minutes in the swamp, the hound located my buck.  Moreover, with the exception of his floating tail, the buck was completely submerged in murky swamp water!

Dogs are most useful in situations where there is little or no blood to follow, such as when the animal takes to water or rain that washes away blood.

If unable to find an animal you know you have hit during the day, pay attention to scavenger birds: magpies, crows and ravens.  Their calls are easy to pinpoint.  Approach the area quietly so as not to spook them or the animal.

The best of assurance of an easy recovery is to know your shooting limitations and take only high percentage shots.  Try to connect with the lower portion of the chest, preferably broadside or quartering away.  This maximizes the chance of complete arrow penetration.

As bowhunters, we owe it to the game and to the sport to spend as much time and effort learning how to recover the game as we do learning the when, where and how of shooting.  It’s an unwritten bowhunting law: If we score a hit on an animal, it’s our duty to put all our know-how together and trail it down.  Regardless of how difficult it gets and before we throw in the towel, we should be able to say, “I did the best I could,” and mean it.

Remember B.B. Craig’s predicament—don’t let the excitement of the moment cause you to forget—the hunt begins when the arrow is released.  A successful blood trailing job is an enriching and rewarding part of any hunt.  It adds to the memory and pride you derive and retain from your accomplishment of harvesting game with a bow and arrow.  Until the opportunity presents itself to release another arrow, keep your blood-trailing skills as sharp as your broadheads.

Dan Perez

Principal Partner, Broker/Agent & Pro-Team Member

Through the use of maps, many top bowhunters are now doing the majority of their pre-season scouting from the comfort of their homes, more efficiently, effectively and with far less human disturbance to the area the intend to hunt.  These bowhunters would no more consider scouting unfamiliar ground without the use of land maps than they would drive cross-country without consulting a road map.

There are basically three types of maps used by hunters: plat maps, topographical maps and aerial photographs.  I recommend using all three in conjunction with each other.

THE PLAT MAP

The plat map is an extremely useful tool for quickly sizing up the lay of the land.  At a glance you can determine who owns what tract of land and where the prominent landmarks lay in relation to the property boundaries, rivers, streams, houses, lakes and roads.  This enables you to develop a quick sense of direction as well as providing an invaluable resource for tracking down property owners of potentially new hunting territories.  County plat maps are created for the purpose of assessing property tax and can be obtained through the area tax office usually located in the county courthouse.

TOPOGRAPHICAL MAPS

In my opinion the topo is the most useful of the three maps.  With a little practice you can become expertly familiar with any given tract of land.  By using the contour lines, cartographers are able to portray land elevations in feet (normally 20-foot intervals), thereby enabling you to identify valleys, ridges and every change in elevation in between.  If contour lines are space far apart, it means the terrain is formed of gradual slopes.  Contour lines spaced closer together indicate the terrain is quite steep there.  No contour lines mean flat ground.

Through the use of colors, topo maps also depict the nature of cover.  Blue is generally used to represent water, such as a stream, pond or lake; green is used to represent forest land, and white represents fields, croplands or clearings (open ground).

Scouting with the use of a topo map is almost like hovering in midair above your intended hunting area.  You are able to study the different configurations of land without setting foot on them.  With topo maps you can pinpoint forest bottlenecks between crop fields, narrow corridors of cover, ridges, hollows and wall barriers.  Understanding of these different land configurations makes it easy to accurately predict the travel routes of game animals during the course of their daily activities.  By knowing the key areas to explore in advance, you can make better use of valuable scouting time.

AERIAL PHOTOGRAPHS

Aerial photographs, although likely more current than topo maps, are not as clear or as easy to understand, therefore they are used less by hunters.  There are two aerial photo types: one-dimensional prints which look basically like common black and white photographs; and two-dimensional aerial photos which look blurry without the use of a stereoscope.

With an aerial photo it’s quite easy to evaluate the characteristics of flora covering the landscape.  Large trees will be depicted by large dots while immature trees will be represented by small dots.  Aerial photos also reveal deep canyons, saddles, draws and clearcuts.
Two of the most convenient source for obtaining aerials on the internet is www.maps.google.com and www.bing.com/maps

MAPS IN THE FIELD

Once you have narrowed down primary areas to physically scout, I recommend you photocopy your maps and carry copies into the field.  This allows you to plot and record any pertinent information right on them.  After exploring and establishing the animals main food source, bedding area and travel routes—along with any other special findings, such as scrapes or rubs—take several different transparent colored markers and indicate each of your findings in different colors so that you will not confuse them with each other.  For example, you might color travel routes in pink, bedding areas in orange and food sources in yellow.  You can effectively apply this type of map scouting to any species of game animal you wish to bowhunt.  I use read –through color markers rather than dark magic marker or pens so that I can still see the map lines for my own reference.

After thoroughly scouting the hunting area, you are ready to review all the important information you’ve gathered.  By this time it should not be difficult to pick out ideal locations to place stands, place game trail cameras and intercept game.

TREE STAND PLACEMENT

As noted, maps and time afield will give you a pretty good idea of several good areas to hang a tree stand—but which exact tree?  The first, and in my opinion the most critical consideration in positioning a stand, is that your stand and your approach are downwind of where you expect your quarry to appear.  You want to make sure that none of your scent is blown into your hunting area.

If you are hunting a specific trophy animal, increase your odds of scoring regardless of wind direction by selecting alternative stand sites on opposite sides of the travel route.  Whenever possible, I set my stands at least 18 feet above the ground (lower in some cases and higher in other others) generally in trees, which provide enough cover to break up my silhouette while affording me ample room to fully draw my bow in each direction and at various vertical angles.  If necessary, I do a little pruning to insure a reasonable number of open shooting avenues, especially in the directions I expect my quarry to approach.  I personally prefer portable tree stands.  They are light fast to set up, reasonably comfortable and don’t obstruct the beauty of nature or permanently injure the trees.

After securing my stand and making all necessary adjustments, I hang a15-foot cord from it to pull up and lower my bow and arrows.  Trying to hold onto your bow and broadhead-tipped arrows while climbing a tree can be dangerous.  Last but not least, I securely fasten my Hunter Safety System’s belt securely around the tree.  An 18-foot fall can kill you just as dead as an 18-story fall!

By this time you should be anxiously awaiting a monster buck.  You’ve studied you maps, reviewed game camera pics, patterned your quarry, you understand the lay of the land and as a result you have complete confidence in the location you have chosen to hang your tree stand.
Remember, there is absolutely nothing at all wrong with scouting by randomly roaming through unfamiliar terrain for hours.  However, if your primary reason for being out there happens to have something to do with finding the best place to harvest a deer—or whatever game animal you desire to bowhunt—the use of maps could easily prove to be the difference between a trophy hanging on the meatpole or the memory of a walk in the woods.

Dan Perez

Principal Partner, Broker/Agent & Pro-Team Member