Pothole hunting

[mauser06]

The other post on potholes got me thinking..maybe you guys can help me understand them and how to hunt them.

Last year I found an area of big woods the has a series of potholes on the interior of the big woods block

Average size we'll say is 100yd square.

Some are wetter than others. The ones I gravitated towards are swamp grass/cat tails.

I didn't look specifically for bedding..though I found some on the transition.

They are basically depressions maybe 20-40ft in the ground.

Being a series of potholes, there are land bridges between them.

Big woods lowland setting so food is basically everywhere. The pothole rims have oaks.. scattered oaks through the wood block. Other browse and such...


Deer density isn't great.. so what in observed last year is limited.

Soil is Sandy so sign basically looks amazing everywhere. All the rims have deep worn trails. Most have rubs and scrapes. The scrapes seem to be where trails intersected.

This will be gun season. Rut action still taking place. It is interior so any pressure from any direction could send deer that way..

Last year I walked and walked and walked. Opening day I setup in a spot that looked as good as any. Rubs, scrapes, acorns, rutted down trails. I was winded in the dark across a pothole. Seemed (he) was heading toward these bigger potholes.. Near dark I had 8 doe come from the bigger potholes.

Not sure what to do those year to improve. I couldn't really corrolate the movement with wind direction or anything.


Any thoughts or ideas??

[Ragingun]

This goes back to wheels on a spoke theory particularly if you don't know where the target animal is bedding. If you walked a lot I'm confident you have a fairly good idea where most of the activity is in relation to the pothole they will likely use for bedding and have a good idea of the where the majority of trails intersect.

[oldrank]

Number 1 and 2 issues to beat are thermals and access.

[mauser06]

That's the thing...I walked this area for literally days. The potholes and surrounding woods.

It's mind boggling. All the trails look as well used at the next and they are very abundant. The bedding opportunity is abundant and doesn't seem one is better than another.

Not only are there 6-8 of these bigger pot holes..but there are countless small ones..wetter ones..and heck..I'm sure they are bedding on surrounding ridges too.

I confirmed 1 buck bed. I was talking to a buddy that doesn't hunt and pointed towards a little tree 10ft into the pothole and said that probably has a buck rub and is a bed...it was. Lol. But I could do that 1000x and not run out.


That's why last season I basically setup on one of the rims and hoped....not exactly ideal. I dont like hoping. Lol.


This year I'm not going to "scout" before hand. Last year I trampled it to death for days prior expecting heavy hunter pressure. That wasn't the case lol.


Access I have. I have various routes I can take into these spots...don't know where the deer will be when I walk in in the dark...thermals...it's usually pretty windy..wind seemed to trump the thermals..but with the wet ground and elevation etc, I can certainly see how that'd be a nightmare if the wind wasn't strong.

Actually ground hunted because of the scattered pines and such. Can actually see farther from the ground...with a rifle in my hands, I rather see more...

Just a really interesting place....Everytime I thought I found THE spot, I'd find one that looked just as good..my GPS is full of marks and I followed so many trails I had to delete the tracks just to mark my access routes lol.


I tried finding funnel features..but the best funnels are the land bridges and pothole transitions..which from the right spot, I can cover a fair amount of ground with a gun. One spot I can shoot across 2 of the potholes and cover a land bridge.

[Ragingun]

Sounds like you have multiple good spots available. That's a good problem to have. It also sounds as though you're over thinking/under scouting it. You know of one buck bed and that told you the wind he will be there on. Sit that bed since you know how to hunt it first on the right wind. If it's not being used then it's observation sits and/or waiting til you know what's there scouting after season.

[mauser06]

I wouldn't disagree with over thinking/under scouting.

It's about 9 hours from home and a bit difficult to scout...lol


Trying to learn as much as I can with the opportunity I have..last year I went up to visit the girlfriend's family..while there I figured I might as well hunt...lol


Just didn't know if anyone hunts similar habitat.. because after literally a number of days, I can't make sense of it...we all know that deer bedding and movement isn't random...

Just tough making sense of it with low deer density and abundant bedding..


My "actual" hunting tactic is still hunting..tracking if I hopefully have snow. That way I can walk till I find the hot sign and then hunt it..cover ground and try to find deer..while logging the GPS of points of interest.

Opening day I just like to go in under the cover of darkness and setup.


I guess in this situation finding the smoking sign is the way to know where to hunt...

[matt1336]

I would take a couple hunting friends and post them a strategic spots around the pothole. Then send someone in there. The guy waking should zig zag to every bush and tree he can. Take your time and keep hitting the holes until you’re dragging a deer or your a$$ on your way out of the woods. Take turns posting and walking. If you can, pick a windy day and keep your nose into the wind as much as possible. I prefer to make things happen instead of waiting when I have a gun in my hands

[oldrank]

What I find is they may use all of them. I hunt them pretty much exclusively. One pot hole I have seen 5 different bucks use this yr. Never the same buck twice. One of the ways I can tell if they are using them is by sweeping by a few hundred yards out and checking for sign, be it rubs, scrapes or tracks. The small ones are usually wind specific. They seem to position themselves where they can scent human access and have a quick backdoor out.
Also getting close is tough. They may have a sight advantage if you are trying to drop down from hills. A few of the ones I hunt are like that. I can't crest the hills or I'm busted.

[mauser06]

Matt, I agree...with a gun in my hands, I try to hunt em down. Either tracking, still hunting or pushing with friends like you said.

Up there, I have no friends. The hunters I do know, sit over bait.


Old rank, sounds VERY similar! I agree, they have quite the advantage there..between the wind and thermals they have sight to their advantage.


I was thinking maybe hunt the downwind side and hope for cruising bucks..?

The buck to doe ratio seems well out of whack. 2 buck state and nearly Impossible to get doe tags... backwards IMO..


Hopefully there is snow and I can jump on big buck tracks and hunt him down. Snow will also allow me to learn the area and deer habits better/quicker.


It's 9 hours away...I'm learning as I hunt... applying what I know..it's a true test because the landscape is so foreign...the bedding is abundant..deer density is low..

Looking forward to next week.