Management thread for sub 500ac land

[MedicineMan7]

Subscribed.
Moved on our place in southern OK a little over a year ago. We've finally completed remodeling the house so now it's time to switch focus to the land. It's sad to say but I've still yet to walk the entire place out like I'd really like to, so hoping to get some serious roaming done as soon as season concludes.
Started protein this fall and plan on running it through march. Gonna hit the chainsaw hard this winter to open a few areas and increase the bedding in others. Also, planning on planting several spots this spring, then following up with fall plots later in the year.

We've already got a ton of enjoyment out of the place, but I truly feel like it is a diamond in the rough that needs polishing out.

[DuramaxDude]

On any property the components of wildlife habitat are food, cover, and water. Those things are even more important on smaller properties. I would add a 4th on smaller properties that component would be traffic from people. In my experience holding wildlife especially deer and turkey, that aren't used to a suburb life style, on a smaller property can be helped by reducing traffic as much as possible especially during fawning/hatching seasons and hunting season. If you crowd them or push them by ripping and romping through those smaller tracts on ATVs and what not to where they don't feel safe they won't hang around.
I spent 5 years on a 250ac place, supplementing feed after season was over to increase body condition until first green up then again if summer turned out really dry, kept water and mineral out year round, of course feed during season, and keeping traffic down. I placed water, mineral, and feed locations to split the property into thirds (roughly 1 per 80ac). I found the designated bedding areas and main travel corridors and stayed out of them and tried to make the mineral/water/feed location easy to hit up based on bedding and travel corridors. Numbers and quality by the last year were great. Then the landowner’s son got out of prison and started terrorizing the place and within 3 weeks animals on camera were none existent through the rest of the year. I picked up all my stuff and never went back.
Doing land improvements, I would definitely try to correlate what you are doing and where to bedding areas and travel corridors and leave them alone. You can sculpt brush to work to your advantage for stand/feeder placement and taking advantage of the bedding/travel areas, elevation changes and topography for predominant winds etc... Google earth is a heck of a scouting tool especially if you have a version to look back at prior year imagery. When you clear areas consider reseeding with grass/forb mix a few native grasses make sure some are tall grasses for bedding. Stay heavy on the forbs say 30-40 of the mix for deer browse. Google web soil survey and map out the property it will give you soil types historical plant composition and what not for creating seed mixes.
Try hitting up your local NRCS office and ask them about EQIP and EQIP-CIC programs. You can possibly get some help paying for brush clearing, fence, water systems, reseeding for wildlife, etc…

[KactusKiller]

Got out in the skid steer today and starting clearing brush again, prob got 2-3 acres done in about 5 hr . Got a long way to go.
Started with areas like this

Finished it looking like this

Trying to open up the thick overgrown areas and get more sunlight to the ground.


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[pure lefty]

I’m just south of you in Leon county and part of my plan is also opening up areas and getting rid of yaupons. Also have cattle on the place, but starting around October 1st, they are moved to another pasture. Probably, the best decision I have made is to have a government trapper come in for coyotes. Last year, he got in a little late but we got some. This year, I will get him back in within a month from now. Friend of mine had him come in on a place equal in size of mine about 400 acres and he got 37 and said there were a lot more. He will also take out hogs also.

[toledo]

My opinion, be careful what you clear. Mature bucks dont like to travel across open spaces any more than they have to. Lots of edge is good but try to keep the wide open view down below 50 yards in all areas.

You can always cut more next year. Putting it back can take decades.

How positive are you that the bucks arent there? I have a 32 acre property that Ive been hunting for 3 years. Normally see a few bucks at the feeder around rut but that was it. Swapped to hand corn out of the feed pen this season and there were 5 bucks on it in the first night. I bet I saw 25 bucks over the season where they didnt exist before.

[EastTexun]

On any property the components of wildlife habitat are food, cover, and water. Those things are even more important on smaller properties. I would add a 4th on smaller properties that component would be traffic from people. In my experience holding wildlife especially deer and turkey, that aren't used to a suburb life style, on a smaller property can be helped by reducing traffic as much as possible especially during fawning/hatching seasons and hunting season. If you crowd them or push them by ripping and romping through those smaller tracts on ATVs and what not to where they don't feel safe they won't hang around.
I spent 5 years on a 250ac place, supplementing feed after season was over to increase body condition until first green up then again if summer turned out really dry, kept water and mineral out year round, of course feed during season, and keeping traffic down. I placed water, mineral, and feed locations to split the property into thirds (roughly 1 per 80ac). I found the designated bedding areas and main travel corridors and stayed out of them and tried to make the mineral/water/feed location easy to hit up based on bedding and travel corridors. Numbers and quality by the last year were great. Then the landowner’s son got out of prison and started terrorizing the place and within 3 weeks animals on camera were none existent through the rest of the year. I picked up all my stuff and never went back.
Doing land improvements, I would definitely try to correlate what you are doing and where to bedding areas and travel corridors and leave them alone. You can sculpt brush to work to your advantage for stand/feeder placement and taking advantage of the bedding/travel areas, elevation changes and topography for predominant winds etc... Google earth is a heck of a scouting tool especially if you have a version to look back at prior year imagery. When you clear areas consider reseeding with grass/forb mix a few native grasses make sure some are tall grasses for bedding. Stay heavy on the forbs say 30-40 of the mix for deer browse. Google web soil survey and map out the property it will give you soil types historical plant composition and what not for creating seed mixes.
Try hitting up your local NRCS office and ask them about EQIP and EQIP-CIC programs. You can possibly get some help paying for brush clearing, fence, water systems, reseeding for wildlife, etc…

Google Earth on your desktop is the ticket to look at historic imagery. I use it for management activities but also for looking at lakes when they were low.

[EastTexun]

Got out in the skid steer today and starting clearing brush again, prob got 2-3 acres done in about 5 hr . Got a long way to go.

What attachment were you using? Looks like a mulcher, but wasn't sure.

[KactusKiller]

I’m just south of you in Leon county and part of my plan is also opening up areas and getting rid of yaupons. Also have cattle on the place, but starting around October 1st, they are moved to another pasture. Probably, the best decision I have made is to have a government trapper come in for coyotes. Last year, he got in a little late but we got some. This year, I will get him back in within a month from now. Friend of mine had him come in on a place equal in size of mine about 400 acres and he got 37 and said there were a lot more. He will also take out hogs also.

Wonder if he gets stray dogs as well? I need that in Oklahoma along with coyotes

[KactusKiller]

My opinion, be careful what you clear. Mature bucks dont like to travel across open spaces any more than they have to. Lots of edge is good but try to keep the wide open view down below 50 yards in all areas.

You can always cut more next year. Putting it back can take decades.

How positive are you that the bucks aren't there? I have a 32 acre property that Ive been hunting for 3 years. Normally see a few bucks at the feeder around rut but that was it. Swapped to hand corn out of the feed pen this season and there were 5 bucks on it in the first night. I bet I saw 25 bucks over the season where they didn't exist before.

I run feeders, hand corn and food plots. I also have cameras in random areas. I see a pretty good sampling of the deer. Deer are around but keeping them consistently around is tough. Might pass by for a week off and on then gone. My resident does and their fawns are around consistently. Trying to start making it more buck friendly.

As for the brush in our area its super thick, too thick to be utilized by deer or cattle. This will allow some sunlight to hit the ground and create more browse and the deer will be able to actually travel thru it. The creek bottoms will still be super thick. I'll post more pictures as I proceed. I won't be wiping the slate clean. Just thinning some areas so its actually usable.

[KactusKiller]

What attachment were you using? Looks like a mulcher, but wasn't sure.

its a Rut mfg Terminator XP, More of a brush hog shredder but has mulching teeth as well.

[EastTexun]

its a Rut mfg Terminator XP, More of a brush hog shredder but has mulching teeth as well.

Interesting design and unit. Thanks for sharing.

[KactusKiller]

Interesting design and unit. Thanks for sharing.

It's as HD as it gets, in my opinion almost too heavy for a 75HP unit like mine but they say it is fine.I think a 90-100 hp unit would be better.

[KactusKiller]

Was out at the ranch today and thought I’d take another picture to show some of the area where I started cleaning, but have not finished. You can see how thick some of these areas are and on the left what I’m doing on the clear out.

This area was thick last year. I cleared it out, plowed it and put a food plot in a feeder area.



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[EastTexun]

Looks real good. Hard to gain perspective from pictures, but that looks like a great candidate for some burning. Based on my math for my place, it is much cheaper to burn vs mulch. That is assuming you can get the right weather or have enough to burn.

[KactusKiller]

I have plenty to burn but grass is minimal now and those ultra thick patches are spread out. Also I would be worried about killing too many of my hardwoods. I do have an open area about 25ish acres thats just overgrown pasture with plumb thickets, scattered mesquite and native grass but loaded with dewberry and other trash brush. I plan to burn that in sections starting this yr.