It has been a rough start for us, so far, this year in West Central Georgia. I did not do any pre-rifle bow hunting this year, but I’m starting to wish I did. The property we have started hunting on this year is my dad’s little hardwood, back twenty plot in Thomaston, Georgia.
While there have been many deer taken around the county, we haven’t been able to connect yet. I should mention my son is really getting into hunting now and has been with me on the few trips so far this year. We live an hour away in Lagrange, Georgia, so we haven’t been sitting as much as I would like to.
Layout
Before moving to Lagrange, a few years ago, we lived at the front of this property, so I tended to food plots and the land religiously on a weekly basis. The plot sits between neighboring hardwood plots with two streams flowing through it. There is also a fescue/rye planted field that sits at the front. So far, we have mainly hunted the field, mornings and evenings. We have also sat for an evening hunt in a fifteen foot two man overlooking one of the streams.
This is the roughly 3-4 acres field at the front of the property (closest to the road). The field was cut in late summer and a lack of rain stunted the growth of the rye big time this year.
A Lot Of Pressure
The pressure from our neighboring plots seems to be keeping deer movement to a painful minimum. The only deer that have come anywhere near my line of sight were a small pair of does one morning around sunup in the field. Other movement has included: three White-tails hauling butt after being spooked by the neighbor walking the next door property’s trail and a very thin, maybe four point, buck another neighbor spooked, from riding a dirt bike, on our way in to the two man stand for an evening hunt.
All in all, this property has seen a lot more pressure, even non-hunting pressure, this year than any other time that I can recall. We will be back for a few more hunts this season, but I will soon be focusing on navigating and scouting some potential public land spots around West Point Lake, near our home. There are three main WMA spots here, but I’m going to focus on some of the Army Corps of Engineers land that covers a wide range of hunting opportunities around this lake. I will update my progress with that along the way in some upcoming posts.
If you haven’t yet, check out my welcome post to learn more about me and also see what topics will be covered here.
Y’all take it easy!
