By:  Jake Barnett

            How many hunters have read about creating a deer sanctuary on the property you are hunting?  The idea is to give deer on your hunting property a section they feel safe in.  This is a place deer will not hear, smell, or see you.  In an ideal situation, a hunter will have the middle of their property devoted to a deer sanctuary so that the hunter can place stands around the perimeter of the property, and the hunter can access these stands without spooking any deer in the sanctuary.  The hunter could then place food plots out from pinch points, where mock scrapes were made, that lead to bedding areas.  A stand could then be placed over mock scrapes to catch deer movement between bedding areas and food.  This would essentially make this property a deer’s home range, and a hunter could keep deer movement in a circular motion around the property and maximize daylight movement.  The only problem with this is each property is different and has different property features from one property line to the next.

            There is a multitude of reasons why this approach may not work.  A particular property I hunt is extremely steep, and access to stands is the primary cause our sanctuary is not located in the center of the property.  When I say steep, I mean terrain you cannot walk up, and a hunter has to climb down.  This problem can offer an opportunity.  Since this property is extremely steep, it creates travel corridors by terrain features alone.  For example, a ditch line created by water erosion, a thicket close to a rock bluff, or a mountain spring that runs through the property.  What I am getting at here is to use the property features to your favor when selecting a deer sanctuary.

            Actively think about access to and from your stand locations and having the ability to get in and out without spooking deer.  On a small parcel, I would rather have fewer stands with ways to access them without deer in your sanctuary by being able to see, smell, or hear you.  When hunting stands close to a deer sanctuary, play the wind accessing and leaving the stand so you are not educating a large portion of your deer herd to your scent.  Many times, laziness gets the best of us.  It would be extremely easy to drive a side-by-side through the middle of a property rather than walking the edge of a property to access a stand.  I’ve not heard many stories where a hunter says, “Yeah, I just drove right by our deer sanctuary, parked the four-wheeler at the stand, and out walked a mature buck.” 

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Thank you for your time and consideration,

Whitetail Property Improvement