Terrain Timing

[NorthStar]

I am fortunate enough to live in an area where I am 30 minutes from Marshes, Swamps, Hill Country, Farm Country, and River Bottoms. This is the year that I have decided to get serious about scouting and I am starting to consider something that was completely off my radar until now. My scouting is having me believe that some terrain features hold deer only in the early season while others seem to hold deer later in the season. This might be an obvious observation for those of you who are experienced, but this was like a light bulb going off for me.

Many of the marshes and swamps in my area are small acreage and get hit hard by pheasant and duck hunters. I have hunted spots like this after these bird seasons start and haven’t seen a thing. Scouting post-season has showed me that there isn’t a square inch of these properties where a pheasant hunter hasn’t touched. At the same time, I am finding decent buck sign(not tracks but rubs). This is telling me that these spots are good early season. I am seeing the same thing with Farm Country as well. It seems like as soon as someone even mentions deer firearm season, the deer are gone.

River Bottoms are proving to be the opposite in my area. I am seeing fresh tracks during scouting and I will even see deer on their feet using these river bottoms when driving by in the evening. I can only assume that the deer find shelter in the heavy cover that these river bottoms provide this time of year. I am still somewhat surprised by this as the food seems to be scarce in areas like these.

So, based on what I am seeing, I am leaning towards marshes, swamps, and farms in the early season and moving to hills and river bottoms as the season moves on. Does anyone else consider the time of year when deciding what terrain feature to hunt?

[<DK>]

Everybody has to set their 'plans' or goals' their own way. Personally what iv found is the season nevergoes as planned... Attention changes based on sightings or feeling or weather or wind. Your marsh spots may call for certain winds but in Oct we dont get those winds bc of a hurricane or odd year. There is a fine line between sticking to the 'plan' and staying in the game. Its a tough deal.

So, based on what I am seeing, I am leaning towards marshes, swamps, and farms in the early season and moving to hills and river bottoms as the season moves on. Does anyone else consider the time of year when deciding what terrain feature to hunt?

Id say you have a good grasp on what you want to do. I agree with about the late season thick cover. Im a early season hunter so I am a little biased... The hills are easier/funner to hunt mid-late season but early season is a fantastic time to capitalize on a mature buck. Id say the same goes for farm land. Since youre local to all these spots then I wouldnt back into a corner one way or the other. Obviously the rut is great in the hills bc of terrain features but at this point I just get after it when the time is there.

PS - I wouldnt want to be anywhere near standing water early season but you use what you got based on your area. You guys can keep the swamps and marshes haha

[NorthStar]

Everybody has to set their 'plans' or goals' their own way. Personally what iv found is the season nevergoes as planned... Attention changes based on sightings or feeling or weather or wind. Your marsh spots may call for certain winds but in Oct we dont get those winds bc of a hurricane or odd year. There is a fine line between sticking to the 'plan' and staying in the game. Its a tough deal.

So, based on what I am seeing, I am leaning towards marshes, swamps, and farms in the early season and moving to hills and river bottoms as the season moves on. Does anyone else consider the time of year when deciding what terrain feature to hunt?

Id say you have a good grasp on what you want to do. I agree with about the late season thick cover. Im a early season hunter so I am a little biased... The hills are easier/funner to hunt mid-late season but early season is a fantastic time to capitalize on a mature buck. Id say the same goes for farm land. Since youre local to all these spots then I wouldnt back into a corner one way or the other. Obviously the rut is great in the hills bc of terrain features but at this point I just get after it when the time is there.

PS - I wouldnt want to be anywhere near standing water early season but you use what you got based on your area. You guys can keep the swamps and marshes haha

These are really good points, DK. I think a light bulb went off for me when I started to hunt/scout spots based on hot sign and less on what looks good or a feeling. Hunting the sign allowed me to see that there seems to be a correlation on when deer use a terrain feature based on the time of year. But this is just what I am noticing in my specific area.

[PK_]

Perfect world:
Early season: marsh... easy to set up on beds
Rut: Hills... You can read cruising trails like a road map if you understand leeward hills
Late season: Farm... If you got the food, your in the bucks. Most patternable.

Dan has talked about this quite a bit, this is just one quote of his from another thread. He has dove deeper into the reasoning before but I can’t find the posts...

[CattailCommander]

I'm in S. MN as well and have noticed the same about deer vacating the areas that get hit hard by pheasant/duck hunters. I usually try to find the areas that aren't worth hunting ducks in and too wet for pheasant. I always make good intentions to hunt these areas early season before those seasons open but its such a short window and I get side tracked by other areas. Gun season is a good time to go back to the areas that get duck hunted, seems like a lot of those places aren't getting hunted quite as much so the deer feel a little more safe and the guns in the timber drive them out as well. Also some if not a lot of those rubs you're seeing in the pheasant hunted areas you mentioned have a good possibility of being sign made at night and they're bedding where the pheasant hunters don't/won't go.

[strutnrut716]

I agree NorthStar. There are so many things that influence the "when" of deer spots. Small game hunters, pheasant hunters and duck hunters have a huge impact here in Wis. I'd like to believe I'm starting to get a grasp on what works according to the time of season. What I do know is I have kept VERY meticulous notes/written logs over the years . The more years you got, the more intel you got.

I will never forget finding "the beast" and locating my first buck beds. I was so excited...only to realize these beds were vacant during small game hunting and duck hunting.

I once heard a saying …"Hunt the hunters". I think this has gone a long way for making my deer hunts much better. Go where the hunters aren't....

[NorthStar]

I'm in S. MN as well and have noticed the same about deer vacating the areas that get hit hard by pheasant/duck hunters. I usually try to find the areas that aren't worth hunting ducks in and too wet for pheasant. I always make good intentions to hunt these areas early season before those seasons open but its such a short window and I get side tracked by other areas. Gun season is a good time to go back to the areas that get duck hunted, seems like a lot of those places aren't getting hunted quite as much so the deer feel a little more safe and the guns in the timber drive them out as well. Also some if not a lot of those rubs you're seeing in the pheasant hunted areas you mentioned have a good possibility of being sign made at night and they're bedding where the pheasant hunters don't/won't go.

I hear what your saying with the tight time window and if you are hunting spots like mine, we are talking small acreage and not these 1000+ acre marshes/swamps that others hunt on this site. I think I am going to plan my PTO for the first week of the bow season as opposed to the Halloween time frame I have been hunting hard in the past.

[perchsoup]

I am noticing greater sightings with terrain timing. In my area, pressure, cover, rut and time of the season all seem to influence a little bit when I can expect certain areas to hold more deer.

[CattailCommander]

I'm in S. MN as well and have noticed the same about deer vacating the areas that get hit hard by pheasant/duck hunters. I usually try to find the areas that aren't worth hunting ducks in and too wet for pheasant. I always make good intentions to hunt these areas early season before those seasons open but its such a short window and I get side tracked by other areas. Gun season is a good time to go back to the areas that get duck hunted, seems like a lot of those places aren't getting hunted quite as much so the deer feel a little more safe and the guns in the timber drive them out as well. Also some if not a lot of those rubs you're seeing in the pheasant hunted areas you mentioned have a good possibility of being sign made at night and they're bedding where the pheasant hunters don't/won't go.

I hear what your saying with the tight time window and if you are hunting spots like mine, we are talking small acreage and not these 1000+ acre marshes/swamps that others hunt on this site. I think I am going to plan my PTO for the first week of the bow season as opposed to the Halloween time frame I have been hunting hard in the past.

Yep, tiny spots. A WMA or WPA of a couple hundred acres is ginormous. One of these years I've thought about doing the same if I can get a good handle on where or what a buck is doing but haven't yet. Even early-mid october I've thought about.

[may21581]

Dont quote me on this but I believe dan said he likes the marshes in early season presumably because they havent been pushed by small game hunters yet. The rut is in the hills to take advantage of seeking bucks and the the thermals provided by the topography. And he hunts the farms late season due to quality food sources when the weather gets nasty. I also remember him saying he likes to throw three sits at a stand to see when it needs to be hunted. Early season, the rut time, and late season. Then this tells him in the future when he needs to be there if at all.
I find pressure to be your biggest influence on where you will find bucks. Spots that get hammered and people booger up early on pushes them out. When you do your scouting and find these beds you need to take all this into consideration. So next year you have a leg up, you know where the beds and sign was so then when you go to hunt it you look for hot sign there and hunt it if it shows. If not move on till you find it. Maybe they shifted a 100 yards or maybe a half mile. This is where scouting in season comes in.
So with pressure being #1 you need to think about good cover and quality food sources next. Maybe an area doesnt have one or the other or maybe it doesnt have either. So when you think about deer and terrain types think about what it will take to hold them. Then ask yourself if the property has all of them. It can't be one or the other you need it all.
Have you listened to others on here talk about scouting a property? One of the first things they do is mark areas off that are close to parking lots, access trails, and other hunters. Then they look at specific terrain types that holds them. Then they consider timing on when to be there. Combine this with all your scouting in the spring and in season scouting and your well on your way to success.
I will quit rambling after one last thing here and I promise to shut up. Talking to my deer processor his favorite stand is in a funnel and he waits for the pheasant opener and the hunters push them past his stand. He has shot some good bucks from this stand. So sometimes pressure can work to your advantage. So look at the whole picture and try to unravel what makes a spot work. Good luck