First, let's get the big picture of the area we are going to scout for the rut.
On
the right side of the map the winding line is the Leon River, it comes
down the right side and across the bottom. Grain fields (400 acres worth)
are to the left of the river. The large block of green jutting down from
the left corner and through the center is dense woods consisting of cedars,
live oaks, white oaks and briar thickets. We call this the Horse Pasture.
(It is not one, but the first year we hunted here a farm horse was always
in this area. Actually, he was quite a nuisance so we labeled the area
the Horse Pasture.) The Horse Pasture is 2.5 Miles long. It ends at the
top left and also down near the river. Bedding Area #1 is the major bedding
area. RUT is the Core Rutting Areas. The December Tree Core rutting
Area is in the bottom 3rd of the map. RH Home is my place. Alex is
the home place for the land we lease to hunt. Camp is our deer camp. And
the white line is a gravel road.
There are many internal
fences but the boundary fences for my place and the lease are marked in
dark blue. The areas marked Coastal (grass) are for cattle grazing. From
the left side, the dark green area is primarily live oaks and cedars. We
call this the "Strip" and the Point and Strip stands are located here,
in this classic Deer Funnel that brings lots of deer to the fields and
the Horse Pasture.
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The easiest way to the December Tree area
is to cross the Coastal field to the wooded area we call the Horse Pasture.
Deer come through the funnels on the map into this dense woods, where they have the best possible cover and are also close to a preferred food source as well as water from a creek in the Horse Pasture and the nearby river. |
| Let's hop the fence and check it out. Don't rip your hunting pants on the barb wire. :-) | 
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