100 acres white tails too small?

depends on how many people you plan to have at camp. Is there any crown land around you can access.
A few guys will cover 100 acres pretty quick. If you stand hunt, then its doable. But if you like to walk, you will be looking for more land pretty quick.
 
Depends on how you hunt and and the size of your group... I hunt one property that is 2000 avres and it is too small for my dad, my son and I... there are just two decent bottlenecks that funnel movement off the crops and with three guy's, we end up cutting each other off... however there are so many deer that it doesn't really matter. On another property my son and I bowhunt there is only 20 acres, but it is the major bottleneck for deer in the whole region... with two stands up about 300 yards apart we see dozens of deer, including several bruiser bucks.

There are ways to maximize your space... figure out the movement in the area and sketch it out on a topo map, then position stands so that you cover the maximum area without impeding other members... also, limit random movement and scent around the property, otherwise the deer will pattern you quicker than you pattern them.
 
I wouldn't say it's too small. There's lots of factors to consider though, such as how many other groups in the area, travel routes, and bedding/feeding areas. The 100 acres I grew up hunting in Ontario improved drastically when we limited the amount of guys we allowed hunting and also when we planted food plots. If you take your time and hunt it smart I'm sure it would serve you very well.
 
I hunt two fifty acre plots that produce nice deer every year. It's what's on those small plots that count. On both of them I have some crops/foodplots, water and cover, so it works ... however small size plots require that you limit hunters or harvest or both in order to keep it producing year after year. The only real downfall about the small areas is that you must really be in tune with what your neighbors are up to, including hunting, logging, farming etc as it can really affect even the best laid plans when you show up to hunt.
 
I have 65 acres, ajoining the 55 acre agricultural property i sold to my neighbor that i can also hunt on. It's a +1 situation, as i have a partner who hunts it with me. Every year it's a little different, some times we are lousy with them (I saw over a dozen in the first 2 days this year) and other years we would be hard pressed to see one.

Lots of factors involved. More acreage can certainly increase your chances, but not always.
 
If you are stand hunting/sitting it should be fine as not to stir the area up.I like to set up on natural escape routes and funnels,letting others on surrounding properties get the game moving.Harold
 
Four to six of us hunted a 100 acre tract of land from a camp in Muskoka for 14 consecutive years. It was surrounded by other private and for the most part, undeveloped land.
Great mix of hardwood, some open meadows, a beaver pond and a couple of smaller stands of pine reforestation from the 40's. There was a creek running through the property and some good areas of balsam and hemlock cover. Decent habitat, and from all signs, more than adequate feed.

We shot "bucks only" as a camp rule, and never failed to put at least a pair on the meat pole each and every year. As often there were three or four by seasons end.

I'd say 100 acres is not too small at all ... but dependant more on habitat, cover, feed and surrounding habitat & use.
 
yomomma said:
We have up to 8 guys on 100 acres. Lots of adjoining bush from other farms. Never have an issue getting deer.
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I'd quit hunting if there was 8 guys for every 100 acres. Seriously.

That is just mind blowing to me. I never dreamed hunting would get to that point in Canada, but I understand the more populated parts have access issues. But 8 guys on 100 acres is not what I imagine when I think I want to go hunting. I can only feel sorry for those forced to do it, depressed about the future of hunting if that is "acceptable" in today's hunting world, and fortunate to have what I still have where I live and hunt.
 
rral22 said:
I'd quit hunting if there was 8 guys for every 100 acres. Seriously.

That is just mind blowing to me. I never dreamed hunting would get to that point in Canada, but I understand the more populated parts have access issues. But 8 guys on 100 acres is not what I imagine when I think I want to go hunting. I can only feel sorry for those forced to do it, depressed about the future of hunting if that is "acceptable" in today's hunting world, and fortunate to have what I still have where I live and hunt.
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OP is from Ontario and is speaking to establishing a hunt camp..... He is not speaking in regards to how many hunters we have per 100 acres.... Hunt camps here include those that stand hunt and those that push bush and dog out deer.... Our hunting style is very different than Saskatchewan's..... It matches our landscape...
 
rral22 said:
I'd quit hunting if there was 8 guys for every 100 acres. Seriously.

That is just mind blowing to me. I never dreamed hunting would get to that point in Canada, but I understand the more populated parts have access issues. But 8 guys on 100 acres is not what I imagine when I think I want to go hunting. I can only feel sorry for those forced to do it, depressed about the future of hunting if that is "acceptable" in today's hunting world, and fortunate to have what I still have where I live and hunt.
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I'm one of those 8 hunters and can verify what Yommoma says. One season we tagged out on opening morning.
 
norlandgeese said:
LOL funny, so your vote is it is too small eh.
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Indeed I find it very small....eh. However, I just noted that the OP is in Ontario....eh. I have heard that hunting land is rare to find in Ontario....eh. I'm most fortunate that I live in Alberta where hunting land is unlimited.....eh. Where my son and I hunt mature whitetails (our favorite big game animal) we have 200,000 sq. mi., not including private land....eh. Tell me what you think?...eh. My vote that it is to small....yes...eh. LOL!!!
 
I think it would depend upon the surrounding land. If you have 8 hunters on 100 acres, situated between two other properties of similar size with similar numbers of hunters, then I doubt anyone would deny that it's too small. The same size acreage situated next to a large stretch of crown land or no-hunting-allowed private property could be very productive.

But just being able to produce deer doesn't make it a property that you will want to hunt. If you don't mind 7 other guys on stand in that same 100 acre patch, have at 'er. Personally, I just wouldn't be able to enjoy that. I do a lot of my deer hunting alone on my own patch of just over 100 acres, and I have to treat it very cautiously so as not to burn out my stand locations...either by overusing them, or by approaching and/or leaving them in a careless manner. Depending upon wind direction, I often need to drive several kilometers on the surrounding roads, leave my truck in a safe spot, and then walk a couple kilometers...all to hunt a particular stand that is, as the crow flies, less than a kilometer from my back door. It's also worthwhile to know what your neighbours are planning to do on any given day, with regards to such operations as baling or plowing. If I have friends or family hunting, there's a good chance I won't even go out on the same day, depending on those other variables. There are plenty of days when I consider only one spot to be prime for that day, and bumbling around nearby will only sour the odds for that prime spot.

Of course, if you think that type of strategy is useless or silly...then you should be fine on any old 100 acres...eh? :)
 
Deanx said:
I'm one of those 8 hunters and can verify what Yommoma says. One season we tagged out on opening morning.
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Well, if your goal is simply to tag out, then go for it. I don't doubt that several people on 100 acres would likely see some deer. However, I like to hunt.

I have never tagged out on opening morning. I have passed on many, many deer on opening morning because it would have meant my hunting was over for the season. Unless it was the biggest buck I have ever seen, I likely wouldn't ever shoot on opening morning. My goal is to shoot a decent buck or big doe in the last hours of the last day of the season, and my wife will tell you she laughs at how often I let too many go by during the season and end up with nothing. Until then, I hunt as many days as I can in areas where I will encounter the fewest hunters possible. My partners (a couple of close friends, and maybe our kids) and I often go whole days hunting and encounter fewer than 8 people.

My point is that our goals are not just to kill an animal, but to hunt in satisfying, enjoyable ways. We often stop at noon, start a fire, and cook sausage while we talk about the day or maybe our lives, or even the state of the planet and make plans for where to go in the afternoon. We really like to eat deer, elk, moose, antelope, ducks, geese, upland game, rabbits, make our own sausage, jerky, etc., but hunting is the primary goal. We still hunt almost exclusively. The goal is to shoot a huge buck in its bed. The crown land community pasture that starts about 10 km south of my house is over 100 square miles. A mid week hunt will have us encounter maybe half a dozen hunters in a day, and we usually try to talk to them so we can avoid each other the rest of the day. Occasionally we will see another truck from a half mile away, and just go somewhere else. If we really want adventure, we will sometimes drive to areas we know that are much larger areas of forest land and hunt there, sometimes camping as well. Somewhat less of that as we age, I guess.

So, although I understand that deer can be killed in many ways, our style of hunting needs MUCH more than 100 acres, and I love our style of hunting. At my age, if I was told I had only 100 acres to hunt on from now until I died, I'd just stop hunting. I know that access to hunting land is diminishing rapidly everywhere, and just this last season one of the conversations around the noon fire was about how much access we have lost since I started hunting with my father and uncles 60 years ago, and how what we have would not likely last until our sons were as old as we are. I hope you can all understand how astonished and saddened I feel that we have a thread here talking about hunting on such small parcels of land.

I'm not trying to disparage anyone who does. I'm sad that anyone has to.
 
Just to clarify, most the the time it will be just myself and one more hunter, never more than 3. So the usual hunter density will be 2/100.

Sarcastically, I would love to own land the size of Britain in southern/eastern Ontario, and see game a mile off and have shots with my long range precision rifle at herds of animals smiling and waving at me. But unfortunately us lowly non-elite Ontarians don't have that luxury. Just kidding.
 
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