Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

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BigHills BuckHunter
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Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:40 am

Im confused about several things:

1) In the marsh do bucks leave their bedding earlier because of the cover of the cattails etc?

2) If they are bedding in a marsh do the bucks use different beds because of the wind or do they use more hearing to detect predators because of the swamp muck making noise as we and other predators walk?

3) On a public land I hunt there is hardwood hills surrounding the marsh, but I found the biggest buck beds in the marsh. Wouldnt the buck rather take advantage of thermals and prevailing winds from the hills instead?

4) One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?

Thanks for any advice...I realize some of these questions might be stupid but I really dont know much about hunting marsh, my marsh bucks dvd is at my friends house right now and he hasnt returned it yet.


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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby ryanm » Wed Oct 13, 2010 5:54 am

BigHills BuckHunter wrote:4) One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?


One of John Eberhart's videos he show a nice ground blind setup where he takes the grass down to dirt where the blind sits, and trims two shooting lanes in a "V" toward the trail he's hunting. so if he sees the deer in one window, he could prepare for the shot while the deer walked into the second opening. He trimmed the cattail grass in front up the blind just under the windows so it broke up the outline of the blind. This may have been private property because I think he left the blind out there for the deer to get used to it.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:42 am

Yea I remember seeing that on Ebarharts dvd but like you said I cant just leave a blind out on public land becuase Im afraid of someone stealing it or worse using my blind to kill a big buck out of. Eberhart does make some good points tho about bowhunting pressured deer.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby Indianahunter » Wed Oct 13, 2010 8:59 am

BigHills BuckHunter wrote:Im confused about several things:

1) In the marsh do bucks leave their bedding earlier because of the cover of the cattails etc?

When comparing "Marsh Bucks" to "Hill Country Bucks" DVD's I don't think that the necessarily leave earlier than any other location just staging in a comfortable area where they feel secure near bedding.

2) If they are bedding in a marsh do the bucks use different beds because of the wind or do they use more hearing to detect predators because of the swamp muck making noise as we and other predators walk?

Wind

3) On a public land I hunt there is hardwood hills surrounding the marsh, but I found the biggest buck beds in the marsh. Wouldnt the buck rather take advantage of thermals and prevailing winds from the hills instead?

He will bed where he has the best advantage. There is a reason he is there. I have to quote Andrea on this one "The sign don't lie". Gotta go to him brother.

4) One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?

Same as the others said, but remember the deer have to become used to the ground blind and you do run the risk setting one up this late in the game of running him out of that particular bed for a good while, maybe even the season.

Thanks for any advice...I realize some of these questions might be stupid but I really dont know much about hunting marsh, my marsh bucks dvd is at my friends house right now and he hasnt returned it yet.


No stupid questions here! Good Luck :D
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Wed Oct 13, 2010 11:24 am

Some great posts already- I'll add mah two pennies...

BigHills BuckHunter wrote:1) In the marsh do bucks leave their bedding earlier because of the cover of the cattails etc?

Not at all- it depends on a lot of factors, with hunting pressure being a large contributor as to how early a buck will stand up and move to his staging area in the marsh. Sometimes there is very little daylight left.
BigHills BuckHunter wrote:2) If they are bedding in a marsh do the bucks use different beds because of the wind or do they use more hearing to detect predators because of the swamp muck making noise as we and other predators walk?

Both... some marsh buck beds seem to be used with a specific wind direction, while others may hold a nice buck with a wind blowing from a number of different directions.
BigHills BuckHunter wrote:3) On a public land I hunt there is hardwood hills surrounding the marsh, but I found the biggest buck beds in the marsh. Wouldnt the buck rather take advantage of thermals and prevailing winds from the hills instead?

I find the bucks prefer the location with the smallest amount of hunting pressure and interference from other predators. Many of my high pressure public land areas have big hills crawling with hunters and coyotes. The thick and nasty marshes and swamps next to them have very little pressure by comparison.
BigHills BuckHunter wrote:4) One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?

If its a marsh there's no need for a pop-up this late in the game. If you have a buddy that's a duck hunter, borrow one of his marsh seats that sticks in the muck or make a T shaped seat out of 2x4's to stick in the mud. Find a natural opening, sometimes quite small, downwind from the run and use the cover to conceal yourself... make sure you can launch an arrow through it. I've had bucks and does pass me at ten yards and never have a clue I was around when doing this. Try to match up your camo to the cover as best you can, but I've been in faded jeans/shirt with no face camo/mask and pulled this off by screening myself with the cover fore and aft.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby dan » Wed Oct 13, 2010 1:22 pm

Here is my 2 cents.

1) In the marsh do bucks leave their bedding earlier because of the cover of the cattails etc?

No... As others said, there are many factors that dictate when a buck rises from its bed. Weather, moon phase, pressure, how long its been bedded, the bucks age and experience, etc. I find that there really don't seem to be a true nocturnal buck. All bucks rise before dark most of the time. The trick is they don't move very far from the bed in daylight though a lot of the time, especially older bucks.

2) If they are bedding in a marsh do the bucks use different beds because of the wind or do they use more hearing to detect predators because of the swamp muck making noise as we and other predators walk?

Both.. They bed more based on sound in a marsh than wind. But there are certainly some wind based beds too, as well as some based on eyesight.

3) On a public land I hunt there is hardwood hills surrounding the marsh, but I found the biggest buck beds in the marsh. Wouldnt the buck rather take advantage of thermals and prevailing winds from the hills instead?

They bed where they feel the safest... I think someone else hit it on the head. The marsh has less predators.

4) One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?

Personally, I would steer clear of blinds. I would take a seat like a lawn chair that won't sink if its all grass and cattails, if there is some dogwood brush to set up in I would use a step ladder and use the brush or small trees as a backdrop.
It is tuff to be successful in this situation, but there are other ways to get this buck. If you look close you will find there are only a few trails coming to and from these beds. If you situate a bow hunter on each trail and have someone do a soft push it will likely land right in one of the hunters laps... If you don't have friends you can get to swim out there, you could just hard push the buck out of the bed so he relocates where you can hunt him.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby Indianahunter » Wed Oct 13, 2010 3:00 pm

dan wrote:Here is my 2 cents.



2) If they are bedding in a marsh do the bucks use different beds because of the wind or do they use more hearing to detect predators because of the swamp muck making noise as we and other predators walk?

Both.. They bed more based on sound in a marsh than wind. But there are certainly some wind based beds too, as well as some based on eyesight.

Dan, I guess I misunderstood you on the Marsh Bucks Video. I thought for sure you said it was primarily based upon the wind because it is noisy in the marsh and visibility is very limited. I guess I need to watch it again and brush up ;)
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby headgear » Thu Oct 14, 2010 3:59 am

One particualr buck bed on public I want to hunt has no trees around it within 100 yards how would I set up for this buck on the ground?


Personally, I would steer clear of blinds. I would take a seat like a lawn chair that won't sink if its all grass and cattails, if there is some dogwood brush to set up in I would use a step ladder and use the brush or small trees as a backdrop.
It is tuff to be successful in this situation,


Dan I was wondering if you could elaborate on this a little. I have a few spots where I might have to get into the marsh and hunt on the ground to be successful.

I don't think I want to push the deer out of there because chances are they could relocate to some private ground. Also a lot of my bowhunting buddies, well lets just say they aren't ready for this level of hunting yet. I can't even get them to connect with a doe after several close encounters.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Thu Oct 14, 2010 5:29 am

Thanks for the advice guys. Dan...I might try the technique of a push with my brother on one end and me on the other. Probobly have my dad walk it since he tagged out a few days ago on a buck.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Thu Oct 14, 2010 12:10 pm

i had a lot of the same questions thanks for posting this and for all the great answers guys!!
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby dan » Thu Oct 14, 2010 1:42 pm

Dan I was wondering if you could elaborate on this a little. I have a few spots where I might have to get into the marsh and hunt on the ground to be successful.


In a lot of the places I have found remote bedding out in the cattails with no trees around, it seems like a deer could easily escape you but really they have a hard time running thru cattails where there is not a trail. And there seems to only be a few trails leading into these remote bedding areas.
I know some people who have some great success taking a chair in and setting it on a piece of plywood or screen to keep it from sinking and use a clippers to cut a shooting lane...
Personally I like to find areas that naturally have lower cattails so they don't smell where you clip that cattails. Better yet, if you don't mind looking like a fool, you can carry one of those 6 foot painters ladders out there and put it up against a dogwood bush or other higher vegetation I have even had deer go right past me with no cover backdrop at all.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby BigHills BuckHunter » Fri Oct 15, 2010 12:33 am

I love the ladder idea dan! I am one of those people who would try something like that...:) I really dont want to go in there and cut cattails I think it would make too much noise and like you said the scent left behind could ruin your hunt.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby headgear » Fri Oct 15, 2010 2:22 am

Thanks Dan, I have one area that needs to be hunted this way, a large thick area without any trees but loaded with new and old buck sign. A few other stands in the area all stay about 100 yards off the edge of the nasty stuff so I know the bucks are holding tight in the middle of this mess. I have been getting out on the points as far as I can but I think I have to dive in. It might have to wait until late season or next year because I have hunted it twice already.
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Re: Marsh buck bedding confuses me help please

Unread postby Sam Ubl » Fri Oct 15, 2010 5:24 am

One of the most informative threads on the Beast! I love marsh hunting!!
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