How to hunt a tag alder swamp

[Jwjack0128]

I’m a little stuck. I’ve got a 20 acre piece of property that is primarily a tag alder swamp. Bordered by more swamp To the south, a large overgrown hayfield to the north, and subdivisions east and west. I’ve hunted this property for about 8 years. Never seen a ton of deer, and I’ve only hunted the edges where there are trees to get in. The middle of the alder is a maze of trails with lots of rubs. I’ve always been intimidated by the middle. It’s thick and I would have to hunt on the ground. And the thought of bumping deer is always in the back of my head. When I hunt the edges I never see a lot of consistent deer movement.

Do you think these deer stay in the tag alder primarily and and bed in there, or would the overgrown hayfield be their first choice? I know I need to scout it, but I just wanted to get some advice from you guys with more experience with this type of habitat.

[DaveT1963]

If you want to hunt the swamp then you are looking at finding bedding. If you have not done that it can be a crap shoot. Knowing in advance where the bedding is you can then select ambush sites. I would say, get your waders on and jump in there and find out where they are bedding. Also, 20 acres is a small spot, so if they are NOT bedding on it your options are limited to trying to catch them moving through it. Can you hunt the larger swamp? If so, scout BOTH and find the bedding areas then pick your ambush spots keeping wind & thermals in mind.

[headgear]

If it were me I would just slip in there and ground hunt it within shooting distance of those rubs, he could be bedding right there or nearby but the rubs are likely where he is staging. Maybe save it for a windy day to cover your entrance a bit more. They key will be to figure out when the buck is there so keep your eyes peeled for tracks or run some cams and wait for the right time.