Hey BRL,
I hope you don't mind if I give you some friendly advice. When I first started deer hunting, I didn't kill a deer for four years. Why? Because during the first three years, I was hunting where there were no deer. It was like fishing in an empty pond.
Why was I hunting in areas where there were no deer? Because those were the only convenient places I could find to hunt. Very big mistake. Total waste of time.
If you go to where there are lots of deer, even with heavy hunting pressure, you will see lots of deer. The more you see, the more you learn, and eventually you will get one. Once you get your first one, your confidence goes sky high, and you will get more.
So how to find areas where there are lots of deer? Easy. Go on line, and find out the annual deer harvest for every county in your state. I will guarantee that two or three of those counties will stand head and shoulders above the rest, with large numbers of deer. Then, place an ad in the local papers of those counties, saying that you are a hunter looking to join a hunting club. In most of the south, these clubs have 500 to 1,000 acres under lease, with maybe 5 to 10 members. Yes, it will cost you $1,000 to $2,5000 or so a year to join, but then you will have a large area to hunt in a place that is full of deer.
Once you start hunting at the club, you can get to know every little farm and back road in the vicinity. Stop and talk to people in their yards. Stop and talk to people at the little stores. Stop and talk to the owners of the gas stations and little country stores. If you put the right feelers out, you will find someone with maybe 30 to 40 acres, who would be willing to lease it to one person only, as long as they meet you first and like you. Tell everyone that you don't like clubs, because there are too many people and too much noise.
These folks typically hate clubs, because they have had bad experiences with them (slob hunters, 4-wheelers, cut fences). If you make clear to them that you won't use a 4- wheeler, and will park exactly where they tell you, and will leave a little flag up at their doorstep (red hankerchief) to let them know whenever you are there on the land, and will give them half the meat they want, and that you will only take TWO deer per year max, and will never bring a guest except for one son at a time under your direct vision, then you will find someone who will lease their little place to you. Very often, it is an older person in their 70s, so you will have to take the time to talk to them and listen to all of their stories, and say yes and no maam. You should also routinely knock on their door after every hunt, just to say high, and leave them a pie or other small gift. A Christmas card every year is a must.
One big issue with these small areas, is that you always want to get the EXCLUSIVE right to hunt. Often, these folks will have a nephew or grandson who wants to show up now and then, just enough to ruin your hunt. You just have to be honest in advance, and tell the owner that this is really the only condition that you really have to have, i.e. exclusive, because you have to drive so far and have so little time to hunt. A one sentence "lease" is always enough. (In return for payment of $X, I hereby give Mr. X the exclusive right to hunt on my land during the 2013 hunting season, located at ________________.) I use to just handwrite it on a piece of paper in front of them. One time, I had a person who was reluctant to lease (sitting just on the edge of the fence), and I told them that I understood that it affects them to take a deer off of their place, so I agreed to pay them $100 cash bonus if I took a deer. They jumped at the chance.
You don't need a large amount of land to successfully hunt deer. Just the exclusive right to hunt on 30 to 40 acres with mixed terrain in a county where there are lots of deer.. Don't sign a lease for a 40 acre place that has a 38 acre planted field, with just a tiny fringe of woods or brush surrounding it. These are rarely productive, as the deer learn to "time" you, and will make sure they never come into or out of the field unless it is pitch dark.
Also, you are lucky to be somewhat near central Alabama and Mississippi. These places have huge deer populations, with really big deer. There are always hunting clubs that are formed up in these areas every summer.
If you hunt at a large hunting club, then find that little patch of 2 to 3 acres where nobody else in the club hunts. It could just be a patch of thicket, right on the side of the entrance road. It could just be a little wooded ridge, separated by a small ravine, that is only 150 yards from the hunting camp. It could be the caved-in wooden tenant shack surrounded by brush. It could be a filthy swamp/marsh, with just a few trees around the edge. That is where the big deer will be!
Hope this helps.
Mannyrock
