Buck sanctuaries take many forms. One of the best situations occurs when your property, or the land you hunt abuts against a large sanctuary such as a national park, state park, or other area that is not or lightly hunted. Sanctuaries range widely in size. Normally, you want a couple of acres (1 acre +1 football field) of dense cover so that deer can bed and hide.
Build Your Own
If you are fortunate enough to own or manage property, consider hiring a timber company to conduct a clear-cut. At first you or your members may question this decision as you see a wooded area stripped of its flora. However, nature will do her thing and soon you will have many types of weeds, bushes, and small shrubs. This is also a great time to plan persimmon or other trees that deer will use for food.
About the 4th year after the cut, the forest will be so thick that humans will have a difficult time walking through it. As you’ll see in this Realtree video, that’s exactly what you want to happen. As sapling grow and turn into younger trees, some shading will occur and the underbrush will become less dense.
No Trespassing
The hardest part of implementing a sanctuary on a hunting property is keeping your friends and fellow hunters out of it. You an bet deer will flock to it and reluctantly leave that safe haven, yet you and your group must adhere to a strict no-entry rule. If you have a problem holding deer on your property, this video may be just the information you need. It’s a great deer hunting strategy:
