Small raw land--what to do?

[walker1983]

I'd make 1 perfect spot in the best area of your place:

Drill a water well, and put it on a low volume solar pump

2-3 acre food plot - but selectively leave oaks or cedars in the middle

Extra large feed pen w/ protein, cotton seed, and a corn feeder.

Fill everything, and stay out of the area as much as possible.

[Greylight318]

Food plots. Lay them out to maximize the time deer spend on your property. Do you have an aerial?

[tdwinklr]

60 acres isn't a small plot, in my book. Plenty room there to work with.
-Clear out cedars several feet from around any oaks or other hardwoods you find, regardless of size, so that light can get in and the oaks will grow. Yeah, cedars provide some bedding but provide NO feed. And the ground erodes under them because it will practically be bare under thick stands, no grass to hold it.
-If there is any terrain at all( rolling, or gullies, terraces, etc.), use that to determine where you place any clearings.
-I would leave some cedars but you said it was entirely covered. That would make it very difficult to hunt unless you clear some definite shooting lanes or clear off a few acres here and there for future grain fields and/or grass growth.

Good luck!

[Ætheling]

Water above all else.

[Walker]

I'd clear all the cedar except on the borders. Cedar is a major water leach and cedar needles keep anything else from growing. The deer won't miss the cedar at all and more room for oaks to flourish. Small food plot and a couple feeders.

[Txhunter3000]

I'm looking at possibly purchasing a small place around 60ac. Raw land, completely covered in cedar and few oak, no water source on the place. Mostly larger land owners as neighbors. No major elevation changes on the place.

What would you focus on doing first to make this place ideal for whitetail? How much cedar do you clear? Do you put in a water source or not? Clear out an area for food plots or not?

Part of me says leave it alone and slap up a corn feeder or two in Aug and be done. The other part would want to develop the place over the next few years and transform it into something special, but will it be worth all the work and money?

Thanks for all ideas and input.

Did you purchase the property?

[BayouCat]

Did you purchase the property?

Nope. Missed out on it, but I appreciate everyone's input for when I do find a place.