A Field Edge Exception

Usually, field edges are unproductive on pressured ground.  The deer, and specifically the bucks, don’t venture into the open until the cover of darkness provides some relief from the hunting pressure.  Most times, the sign we see along field edges is night sign, and hunting it is a waste of time and serves to just leave scent and further educate the does and young bucks who arrive at the food source as the hunter leaves his stand at last light.

Sometimes though, there are exceptions to this rule, and mostly they apply in situations where the field edge is adjacent some other cover, such as terrain features, standing corn, etc.  This serves to give the deer added security while moving along the edge, and thus the field edge becomes more of a simple transition line.  The bad thing about banking on movement in the buffer between the timber and standing corn is that the farmer will likely harvest the corn at some point during the archery season and throw a wrench in your plans.  This has happened to me too many times to continue to rely on these spots for anything more than an early season sit where I am trying to take a doe and have little impact on the rest of the property.

This past season I located a spot through the use of an observation stand which I feel will position me for a good chance at a buck and also allows for covert access into and out of the stand.  The spot it situated more on a field edge than I would normally hunt, but a couple unique features serve to keep me enthused about this location.

First, this spot is adjacent to bedding cover in the form of an overgrown orchard.  Observation stands have confirmed that the deer predominately use the West-central part of the orchard for bedding.  In the evenings, the deer venture off the hill to the food plots east of the bedding area.  I have noticed that the deer use this bedding most with a Southern wind.  There is also a good many deer who travel off the side hill, out of the orchard and down into the creek bottom, where they cross the creek, pass through a primary scrape area under an apple tree and enter a CRP field on the way to a destination crop field food sources beyond the CRP (currently in alfalfa).

The deer that do not drop down into the creek bottom cross an old barbed wire fence where it has fallen down (Just West of the Black “X” marking the stand location) and work either due East or Northeast.  To the East are food plots planted in alfalfa and turnips.  A layering approach intended to provide desirable food sources into the late season, and perhaps the topic of another blog.  The deer heading Northeast are moving into the same destination alfalfa field as those traveling through the CRP.

The creek bottom contains dense cover and any deer moving along the trail on the west bank of the creek is completely shielded from view due to the vegetation cover of the creek bottom and a sharp 20 foot elevation change in the goldenrod they are moving through.  Once they get to the elevation change they completely disappear from sight and you will be lucky to see them again before they get to the alfalfa at dark.

Last year, I positioned a stand on the North side of the creek, overlooking the CRP field.  Unfortunately two things were wrong with my set up.  First I was hunting down in the creek bottom and my wind was being constantly affected by swirls and drafts because of how the current related to the water temperature as well as how it eddied off the structure of the tree line I was in after moving across the open CRP field.  Secondly, I was too far from bedding, and the deer were getting to me in the waning minutes of shooting light.  Additionally, I did not have a good exit route and after a few hunts and bumping deer off the food source on my way out, they began to approach the area with more caution and later in the evening.  Buck sightings dropped off dramatically after a few sits.  What I did notice were bucks utilizing the cover of the golden rod and the elevation change in the terrain on the South side of the creek to conceal their movements as they used to creek bottom as a travel corridor connecting two pieces of cover.  Last year I witnessed a buck use this piece of cover as he traveled West to East on a South wind early in the morning so he could scent check the hillside for bedded does without ever leaving the cover.

The new location, indicated by the black X, solves multiple problems.  First it takes advantage of the natural funneling effect the creek bottom has, making it a good spot to catch a cruising buck in late October.  Secondly, it is in closer proximity to bedding cover, positioning the hunter closer to the “hub” of the wheel rather than sitting at the end of a “spoke”.  This gives you the opportunity for more deer to pass your location before they branch out and utilize different trails which lowers your odds of encountering them.  Third, I can hunt a South wind with little chance of detection.  Deer that do travel North of the stand location are 30 feet below me because of the 20 foot elevation change (the stand is only 10 feet off the ground), allowing my scent to travel over them. A fourth benefit is that I am in a tree with much better cover and I am set up for a 12 yard shot, instead of the 25 yard shot I would be required to make from the tree I set up in last year.  In addition, the deer have more cover and a buck can move by the stand location without committing to entering a relatively open CRP field which borders the roadway.

Normally field edges are unproductive in high pressure areas, however, finding areas that deer are comfortable utilizing in daylight hours can prove productive.  In this case, this is the closest I can push the bedding area because of property boundaries, but it still allows for a reasonable chance for a shot opportunity.

What are your thoughts on hunting field edges?  Do you think there are exceptions to the rule?