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Help, new farm.

at1010

at1010

*Supporting Member*
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Well just got a call from my Uncle, that back home the one farm we have permission to hunt got planted in soybean this year. I am pumped, but I have never hunted over soybean fields. I live in Athens, and most of my hunting is over small plots or in timber.

I am just wondering what are some suggestions in hunting the field. I know we have one stand about 30 yards into the woods, and it is a strip between two fields.

Any suggestions will be very helpful.
 
The beans will turn before season this year which means they will be abandoning them and looking for acorns or corn. If the strip of woods are not that large, the wind will be the deciding factor on where to place stands.. Set one for prevailing wind, and one for an off wind. But if it's nothing but beans on both sides you might want to start looking at neighboring corn or hope there is an oak in those woods.
 
Jackalope said:
The beans will turn before season this year which means they will be abandoning them and looking for acorns or corn. If the strip of woods are not that large, the wind will be the deciding factor on where to place stands.. Set one for prevailing wind, and one for an off wind. But if it's nothing but beans on both sides you might want to start looking at neighboring corn or hope there is an oak in those woods.
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ok this is kinda werid, but The guy who owns the farm at one time was going to turn it into a tree farm so the center of the field is all oak trees. They are only 10ft tall maybe a bit more, but my uncle said they had acorn on them. So basically you have 15 acres CRP then a strip of a few hundred young oaks, then 15 acres of soybean.

I think they said the farmer put the beans in really late, but do you still think they will be no draw once the season comes?

Also after they get harvested, is there a draw for them at all in the winter for whatever is left on the ground?
 
If they were planted late, you may get lucky and have beans that are huntable early in the season. But once they get that yellow cast to their leaves, the deer forget all about them over night it seems. There were a lot of beans planted late this year, so you may get lucky in that regard. As far as what happens after they harvest the beans, I have never had any luck hunting the slim pickings. It seems if you watch hunting shows, the deer are all over the beans in the late season, but I have never experienced that. But that's not to say it can't happen, so it may be worth glassing the field a couple of evenings in the late season (or in your case, have someone do it for you) and then adjust accordingly.

Is the strip of young oaks connecting larger blocks of timber? I love hunting the edge of CRP and the deer will like to work that edge as well. If those young trees connect blocks of timber, you have a regular deer highway on your hands...
 
The young oaks run the length of the field, then connect to the larger block of timber. The larger block of timber runs the width of the field. We have stand right on the edge of the large block of timber, we only have permission to hunt about 30 yards into that spot.

The CRP runs along the oaks, then buts up to the larger block of timber. I am asking more for my uncle honestly, I have quite a few places to hunt down SE ohio, but I go home a few times during hunting season, and I always try to hunt somehwere just to kill a doe or two.
 
Jesse said:
Sounds like the makings for a killer inside corner to me...
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I hope so, this farm has always been decent hunting, but at the same time the spottiest place I have ever hunted. One night we saw 20 some does coming into the field to bed, then we wouldnt see a deer for a few weeks no matter what we tried.

During a early november morning I was only 15 I think, I counted 5 or 6 different bucks in a two hour sit. The one we saw cruising was a HOG! Biggest buck to date, I ever saw while hunting. Last year they didnt see a lot of deer there, but did see another large 140s 10 point cruising. I passed on a 120s 8 point last year too.

So as you can tell the deer are there, but with what we have to hunt it has been hard to get them out into the field, and pattern them. I was hoping with the late bean planting maybe we would be able to get a somewhat pattern on them.
 
i wouldn't count on the late beans being there either. One thing that may happen is if the farmer has corn, he may get caught up in harvesting that before late beans. Its gonna be a real early harvest this year.
 
Not much to add to what the guys said above. Personally I've never had much luck hunting on/near soybean fields. Based on what you've described, though... It sounds like the inside corner where that oak stand meets the main timber would be a good starting point.
 
If you look closely, you may find the oaks to be scarred up from rubs. I know they generally like to rub on softer trees like cedars. However, if they are young oaks, producing acorns, and running parallel to the CRP, it sure sounds like a hot spot from late October thru November (or at least mid November)!
 
JBrown said:
Not much to add to what the guys said above. Personally I've never had much luck hunting on/near soybean fields. Based on what you've described, though... It sounds like the inside corner where that oak stand meets the main timber would be a good starting point.
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Ditto Goodluck!
 
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