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We settled on a secluded 80 acres tract at the end of a 13 mile oil/gas road on top of the Oklahoma mountains in SE part of the state. The majority of the property is usable with wet weather creeks and a rolling topography. The area has a maze of logging roads with most of them overgrown or damaged by erosion. There's several natural gas wells in the area and the oil companies keep most of the roads in good shape. The last half mile of road that crosses through a field from a well pad will be our responsibility.
The majority of the trees are pine and post oaks. The land was logged in 1995 taking every tree over 8
inches except for the pine. The pine trees quickly filled in gaps and many of the
remaining hardwoods were stunted by fast growing pines shading them.
The biggest issue with a secluded location is you must bring everything you need and include backups in case something runs out or breaks. The consequences of ignoring this can be annoying or even life threatening. A good example is our frequent use of a chainsaw which means I need tools to fix problems and extra parts. If the chain breaks then I can't continue working until I find a store that carries a compatible chain. This is a big problem because the surrounding small towns have a limited selection. If the truck breaks down or even a flat tire then I better have food, water, and shelter available until the truck can be repaired. The first rule is always have a plan A and plan B.
Neglected
The last owner had not been to the area for at least a two decades and was still reluctant to sell the land due to protest from his kids. He left a small food plot and a truck camper built in 1963 that had been there for at least 30 years. The camper has heavy water damage and bullet holes.
He told us that he found a marijuana field during the mid 1990's while scouting. He reported the location to law enforcement and the growers shot up the camper for revenge. He had fixed most of the broken glass but the appliances were beyond repair. A hail storm damaged the roof vents which allowed water to leak in during the years of his absence. The majority of the wood in the roof and over hang was rotting. A friend of his attempted to make repairs to the camper more than 10 years ago. He placed supports under the overhand and a tarp to cover the leaking roof vents. There was evidence of multiple failed attempts to fix the water leaks. He had replaced most of the interior panels but failed to replace the wooden frame of the camper.
The window screens were old and would tear with a slight touch which only left one window that could be opened without an army of insects invading. The interior curtains were in the same state as the fabric and tore like tissue paper. We filled all the gaps with foam and attempted to replace the roof vents which failed because of structural issues. We also attempted to replace damaged wood in the frame but this caused more issues since frame was made from 1X1 studs with metal panels nailed to them. Removing the rotten wood damaged the outside panels and the entire frame was in various states of decay. We decided repairing the camper would not be possible. This would also be difficult to complete since we have to bring everything with us and a 40 minute trip to get materials. We would need to find something else then dispose of the old camper.
Off Roading
We have a 4x4 truck but didn't want to take our only mode of transportation down questionable or non-existent roads. This was due to having a flat from lose rocks on a previous trip where it was our only transportation and forced us to stay over night.
We looked at getting a ATV/UTV, like a Razor, that could be used to get around the property. Having an additional vehicle would serve as a back up in case something broke down. It's much easier to throw a tire in the back for the 40 minute trip to town rather than hiking while rolling it through the hills.
We bought a used (1991) Jeep Wrangler. We chose a Jeep because they are easy to work on and cheap to repair. Jeeps have a strong social following which means there are endless aftermarket options. (Winch, light bars, etc.) Our Jeep has high ground clearance with aggressive mud tires. It's versatile enough to pull a light trailer and drag plows. It is also street legal with a good size fuel tank and storage space. It's easy to tow since many people flat tow them behind RVs. Buy a tow bar and you can tow it anywhere. (Check local regulations)
I wired permanent tow lights by adding side markers and brake. The straight 6 gas engine provide a lot of power for it's body size. It has never gotten stuck and has been able to go
over any type of terrain. I'm not saying it would go through an obstacle course but everything we bring out to the property must be practical due to the cost.
NOTE: "Flat tow" simply means the Jeep is not on a trailer and rolls on it's own tires. This is done by putting the transmission in 5th gear and the transfer case in neutral. The transmission should be kept in gear to keep the transmission from turning without oil during transportation. (The oil pump is on the input shaft of the transmission which means the transmission won't be lubricated unless the engine is running. Towing while the transmission is neutral will wear out the transmission.) The transfer case is set to neutral so the tires spin freely. (The transfer case oil pump is on the output shaft so it will lubricate anytime the wheels are turning.)
Home Sweet Home
We have spent several nights in the camper despite its current state. The thought of the overhang collapsing was constantly in the back of my mine but at this point we have little choice. We brought freeze dried food and bottled water. We use a camping toilet with a pop up tent. We have a propane camping stove and lantern. During the cold months we use a Mr. Heater which was enough to keep the camper warm and wake up hibernating wasp. It would run on the low setting for at least 8 hours with a 1 lbs propane bottle. It's cheaper to get a large propane tank and refill the 1 lbs bottle using an adapter. (Use at your own risk) You can refill a 20lbs propane bottle $20 while a new 1lbs cost $10. You need forceps to pull up on the vent to refill the bottle to the top. If it sticks open then quickly pull it up again and release. The heater used the most propane going through 15lbs of propane in a week.
I was paranoid about leaving the heater running during the night even though the heater says it is "indoor safe". Running the heater fills the camper with a smell of burning propane and fogs the windows. I always have an alarm for CO2 and propane and the alarm never went off while using the heater. We still turned off the heater before going to sleep. Another important lesson is to look at the rating of your sleeping bag to make sure it will handle the temperatures. A 32F rated sleeping bag is worthless when the temperature drops below freezing and leads to sleepless nights hugging the heater to stay warm.
I would say we were lucky to have the camper since the only alternative at the time was to pitch a tent. We didn't really consider this when we first got started on the land. None of the other properties we looked at had any kind of shelter.
The Hunt
We set up tree stands at various spots and have pop up blinds for every where else. We wake up in the early morning and walk to the stand for the hunt often staying all day in the field. Staying out there was a shock because living in the city makes you forget how beautiful the night sky is. The area is dead quiet at night with the occasional coyote.
We set up game cameras where there was any evidence of deer. The best camera we found for the price is StealthCam. The cheaper cameras were unreliable and filled the memory cards within a week with thousands of pictures of leaves fluttering in the wind.
We use Energizer Lithium batteries which last eight months or more. The cameras will reset their date/time when the batteries get weak even though they continue taking pictures. Every time we go to the property we check the cameras and reposition them if they aren't getting a lot of deer traffic. When checking the cameras, I check a couple of the batteries (out of 8) and replace the memory card replacing with a blank card. I have a portable viewer but most of the time I review the pictures at home.
Herd
The cameras indicated deer are moving in the area. It appears there is very little hunting pressure in the area. Most deer prefer to move along the edges. This could be the edge between the trees and a grassland or even the edge between rows of different tree species. The easy path you would take through the woods is often the same choice the deer make unless they are panicked. They don't like low branches hitting their heads or thorns any more than you. I have see a couple solitary does travel though the thickest parts of the forest and even come close to us.
The ground is hard and tracks aren't visible unless the ground is wet. Tracking the deer through the woods is difficult. We saw very little signs of deer even when regular travel is shown on the camera. In fact, most of our cameras are places by educated guesses. It random chance to see any deer even though the cameras indicated our presence didn't change their behavior.
Dinner Time
We realized that the deer were only traveling though our land. We don't have a reliable food or water sources giving them little reason to stay. We do have some creeks but they are lower than the surrounding area and deer won't go into places where they can't watch for approaching predators. This means that any encounter with a deer is by chance alone and backed by over a year of pictures from the game cameras.
We tried to provide food with corn feeders but deer would knock them over and wild pigs would destroy them even when strapped to a tree. This means we need to put in food plots since wild pigs don't see to bother with live plots. The cameras never found the pigs in the planted food plot but they would also come within a week of refilling the corn feeders. They must really like corn.
The food plot (20FT Squared) was small but we planted it in the second year. First, we would take soil samples then spray the area with RoundUp. We added a fertilizer and lime to the ground as indicated by the soil test. Two weeks later we dragged a cultipacker to flatten the dead plants then put out seeds. The plot was completely green when we returned for hunting two months later despite several cold snaps. The food plot is too small as the deer had ate the plants down to where only about an inch of growth could be seen. It was such a clean cut that the most attentive golf course manager would be proud to play there. At least the seeds germinated well and were a hit with local wild life.
The following spring the food plots were ignored by the deer leaving the grains and clover to overgrow. I suspect this is because the forest is filled with food sources during the warm months. Most of what I've read says this isn't a big problem because providing food year round will lead to many does since does tend to stay in the same general area and push bucks out.
No Trespassing
Trespassers will be an issue every where despite posting signs on the major access points. We have been fortunate that we have had few trespassers and little was stolen. The only thing we know was stolen was the memory cards of a couple cameras obviously to conceal their identity. They didn't see all the cameras and we got pictures of the same people moving though our land. I assume they were exploring or didn't know there was new owners that were active since they haven't been seen since. We reported them to the local sheriff's department. The sheriff department was helpful as they take trespassing seriously especially with fields of expensive oil equipment.
If the problem get worse we would consider installing a fence or blocking the road. Often these roads are the only way to get around the area and blocking a road could prevent people from reaching their land on the other side. I'm sure these people own property nearby but I have not received responses to any of my attempts at contact them and arrange access.
The last step we can take to contact them is to review the plot book at the county courthouse. We have been so busy with other task that we haven't taken the time to do this. We also need to explore the network of logging roads to see what's around us and possible alternative routes out.
Going through Changes
It seemed obvious that we need to make changes to the land to get deer to come and stay on our property. We read information from many authors include Whitetail Solutions. (Their site seems to be one of the better ones with lots of free material. )
We also contacted the local forestry department for recommendations. Our local department did a complete evaluation indicating the tree species and animals. Their biggest advice was to hire someone to perform controlled burns to remove debris from the forest floor. This is definitely something I would not do myself. They also recommended adding food sources and clearing trails through the heavily wooded areas.
We need to make improvements for our comfort as well. The camper is uncomfortable to stay in for more than a few days and the deer treat our land as a highway. Adding some modern comforts would make our hunt more enjoyable and adding a convenience store on the deer highway would encourage them to spend more time on our property which would make a successful hunt more likely.
Most of our neighbors don't seem to use their land for any purpose with the closest hunting cabin being 4 miles north of us. A large portion of the land to our north is used by a company as a natural stone supply. Any improvements we make should draw deer from the entire area.
Previous: Dreaming of Personal Hunting Property
Next: Making Our Own Path
