how to hunt this land?

[nuhf]

ok here we go. i have been hunting on my wifes parents land(152 acres) for about five years. The first year i hunted there 80 acres were clear cut and planted with pines. I have some nice pics of bucks on the property, but now that the pines have grown up and inbetween the rows are just thick masses of briars. the wooded area is nice to hunt but that is where everyone else likes to go and sit. i am wandering if anyone has any sugestions on how to hunt this area. I have climbed pretty high on the tree line to try and watch the pine thicket, very little visibility. the thing is i see a tone of tracks going in and out the pines every where. so i am wandering if anyone has any sugestions on hunting this sort of land or just waite and try and catch them coming through the woods.

[Xen]

you can spend a lot of time and energy trying to sneak through stuff like that, you'll probably never see a deer, unless one is deaf - it's hard hunting, best bet would be to try and get high up in a tree, or, get on one end and have a couple of people walk through from the opposite side and push them out towards you

[Orion_70]

Your best bet is to find the most heavily used trails going in and out of the thicket and hunt the edge of the transition area. Barring cutting a lane through the pine thicket that's about the best option. When they grow up and get that thick, it's nearly impossible to hunt inside. I know people who will cut lanes throught the thickets about 10 yds wide and 300-400 yds long then plant those. They kill a lot of deer this way.

[deadeye270]

Hunt the edges of the pine thicket and make sure your downwind.... cutting shooting lanes works very well but will require alot of work and maintenience. Good luck.

[huntinsonovagun]

If you can, hunt where the pines and the hardwoods meet. They should wander back and forth along that line....

[generallee]

Since you from GA you know of GON magazine....there was an excellent article in there in the october issue just on huting planted pines. There are some biggins in the pines, but it is extrememly hard to hunt it, but there are ways to do it. Most people said they cut shooting lanes, and got as high up in a tree as possible. The author also said he was never able to see very far, which makes sense with it being so thick. I personally have always hunted the edges of the planted pines on my property, but am considerinng changing it up a little and heading inthere and check things out. It will be more difficult, but there are ways to hunt the pines if you really wanna get in there.

[TheNumber1Young1]

[ QUOTE ]
If you can, hunt where the pines and the hardwoods meet. They should wander back and forth along that line....

[/ QUOTE ]
Ditto, because normally deer bed down in pines/thickets, and they pass through in the morning and afternoon, so catch em going back and forth.

[double_drop]

I have hunted pines quite a bit with good success.I have either put a stand up in the pines and cut a couple of opening to the trails or have made a wooden box blind and put it in the pines in the spring and the deer get used to it by fall. They both have worked well for me.

[wtnhunt]

[ QUOTE ]
Hunt the edges of the pine thicket and make sure your downwind.... cutting shooting lanes works very well but will require alot of work and maintenience. Good luck.

[/ QUOTE ]

Thats exactly what I would do. Good luck.