Big Woods Deer Hunting

Discuss deer hunting tactics, Deer behavior. Post your Hunting Stories, Pictures, and Questions/Answers.
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MichiganMike
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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby MichiganMike » Sat Oct 15, 2022 8:56 am

I've shot a lot of good bucks over the years in this terrain in MI so Ill try to keep it short and simple.
For this time of year- their checking for does a little bit more now. Find where the does are bedding. I like to focus on swamps and river bottoms, their a good bet as you can find sign easier in there too. Look for those access trails going into the swamps and follow them in, you'll start to see rubs I'm sure. Ill stay out of of big woods/high ground unless I'm scouting, there's a good clear-cut, or its gun season and Im seeing them being stupid.


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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby -db- » Sat Oct 15, 2022 1:16 pm

Awesome, KLEMZ. This is huge. Thank you!
Go afield with a good attitude, with respect for the wildlife you hunt and for the forest and fields in which you walk. Immerse yourself in the outdoor experience. It will cleanse your soul and make you a better person. - Fred Bear

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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby CEG017 » Fri Dec 23, 2022 3:17 pm

KLEMZ wrote:I have some information that will help "northwoods" big woods hunters. Up north we don't have white oaks, only red oaks. Red oaks in my northern area are still holding leaves in late October even after all other upland trees have dropped. With todays availability of aerial/satellite photo's it is easy to identify red oak tree patches and relate them to other cover...if the picture was taken at the right time. (October 18---28th ish...in my area...later if further south, earlier if further north).

Is that a big deal? Heck yeah!! Knowing the location of a 2 acre isolated oak patch near deer security cover is as good as it gets in the northwoods!! Granted, not every isolated oak patch is good each season, so it takes on the ground scouting during season to decide if it's worthy. Each season is different, but, 75% of the time there are oaks being fed on somewhere. It's up to you to find them.

Here is a link to a satellite website that will give you the information you need to find those oak gems.
https://apps.sentinel-hub.com/eo-browse ... 2MAPZEN%22

Here is a general look at what you should be looking for...this is northwest Wisconsin.
Image



A closer up view of what you should be looking for....these a 1-2 acre patches
Image



Here are the settings you want to use to make the oaks stand out
Image


I hesitated to post this info\rmation because I'm concerned that other hunters may find my hidden gems. However, I have decided That only 10% of northwoods guys reading this will actually do the homework to figure out how to use the software. Also, I factored in the fact that Dan has shared everything he knows on this public forum and doesn't seem to be suffering too much...did you see the buck he shot last early season?

Anyways, let me know if you have questions on how to navigate the EO Browser.


Hey KLEMZ,

I have been working on trying this mapping tactic out for finding isolated patches of red oaks. One thing that is tripping me up a little bit is the color. In your pictures it looks like you are zeroing in on the dark red color as an indicator for red oaks. Is this always the case or am I missing something? I have been looking at some maps around the late October time period and I see a mix of light and dark red as well as large patches of green still in the wet areas.
Any help is much appreciated!
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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby KLEMZ » Sat Dec 24, 2022 10:03 am

The red oaks will stand out as red or orange depending on the photo and the filters you use. Again, this is only after the other trees have dropped their leaves. If you go back to 2018 and check all the pictures available during the October 18th---24th ish timeframe each year until the present, you will probably only get 3 or 4 good pictures to work with based on cloud cover, time of day, etc. But thats all you need.

Once you have identified the picture dates you want, you should navigate to a known oak ridge to get a reference as to what you are looking for. Now is the time to tweak the filter controls until the oaks stand out to your eyes. Each years pictures will take different adjustments on the filters. There is no best setting, you just have to play around with it. I gave some example settings earlier in this thread.

I like to tweak each picture for the best oaks visualization, and then add them to the "compare" que. (bi directional arrows in tool bar/filter section). This way you can use a slider and switch pictures back and forth which helps see more subtle differences between pictures.

I also suggest opening up a separate window with a Hi rez leaf off picture of the area (county GIS aerial) and adjust the altitude and positioning so the pictures line up and you can click back and forth between the two. The main reason this is helpful is to verify that the red/orange trees are for sure in upland areas where oaks grow. There is some confusion of colors in swampy areas because (to my eyes) tamarack trees can resemble the oaks. Also, you can weed out areas with too easy access for other hunters by comparing it to hi rez info.

Once you find the oaks you should spend the time to trace them onto Google Earth, Onyx, Huntstand, etc (again, by lining up the aerials and click back and forth and just draw an outline around the oak patch). This is super helpful when navigating in the field to check the oaks you have found.
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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby Hodag Hunter » Sun Dec 25, 2022 4:09 pm

KLEMZ wrote:ZanderBones didn't state what time of season, so I'm gonna assume rut influenced phases. It seems to me there are four basic bowhunting strategies I see hunters using in the rut in the northwoods. I'm gonna assume mature bucks as the goal, but ZanderBones didn't state that.

1) Hunt based on terrain setups.. Find a funnel.... a river crossing, a cruizing corridor... hill country hub of ridges or leeward edges, edge of complex swamp, a saddle in the hills, a dry ground crossing through a swamp, a convergence of terrain/vegetation edges (terrain multipiers), etc. Sit and wait for the buck to cruise through.

2) Scout until you find fresh deer activity and THEN set up using the terrain based hunting method.. In this case you are typically using micro terrain influencers of movement to pick your setup....(assumed bedding, feeding area, micro funnels around blowdowns or small swamps, isolated food source, wind/thermal influencers etc... then set up on the fly in an appropriate tree).

3) Set up multiple mock scrapes/bait spots and run cell cams...

4) Scout in the spring and/or track mature bucks in the snow/rut AND figure out the unique travel tendencies of a mature buck...The good news is that each buck will stick to his unique travel pattern. Then, track and kill him with a gun or find a spot in his unique personal travel pattern that makes him vulnerable. This seems to me to require the most woodsmanship of all the methods. Also, the hunters doing this are killing the BIGGEST northwoods bucks alive. Guys like Brad Kuhnert, Bobby Worthington do this. The only reason I know of this buck vulnerability is because Todd Havel (a tracker...talking in this thread!!) pointed it out.

So, I spent 20+ years hunting method #1 during peak rut in northern Wisconsin National Forest, and had a 20% success rate on mature bucks, (one week rut hunt, mature being 3.5 yrs old for this discussion).

I swithched to method #2 eight years ago and surged to a 50% success rate on mature bucks, one week rut hunt, (this is all with a trad bow for reference). My biggest buck is 140" (2017), last year I killed a 130" using this method...again, northern Wisconsin National Forest. Scouting is just as fun as hunting to me so this is a great way for me to hunt! So fun!

I have a hunting buddy who hunts northern Wisconsin using method #3 with cell cams/bait. He hunts using Troy Pottinger's techniques and killed a mature buck with his bow around November 12th. I will admit I don't know much about this method but it does kill bigwoods bucks!

Method #4 is probably the best way to kill the BIGGEST buck in the northwoods. However, it requires the ultimate in woodsmanship to understand that the sign you are seeing is the king of the forest. Also, you must be so confident in your understanding of the caliber of the buck making the sign, and the preferred travel habits of that huge buck, to commit to sitting for a week straight in the same exact tree. I'm not man enougth for that....yet!


Great advice as usual Klemz.

I can say I've killed bucks in the northwoods using all (4) of your strategies and combinations a time or two.

Congrats on a great 2022 buck in the northwoods of WI. He looks like a real nice one!
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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby Findian » Tue Oct 17, 2023 1:50 am

Hodag Hunter wrote:
KLEMZ wrote:ZanderBones didn't state what time of season, so I'm gonna assume rut influenced phases. It seems to me there are four basic bowhunting strategies I see hunters using in the rut in the northwoods. I'm gonna assume mature bucks as the goal, but ZanderBones didn't state that.

1) Hunt based on terrain setups.. Find a funnel.... a river crossing, a cruizing corridor... hill country hub of ridges or leeward edges, edge of complex swamp, a saddle in the hills, a dry ground crossing through a swamp, a convergence of terrain/vegetation edges (terrain multipiers), etc. Sit and wait for the buck to cruise through.

2) Scout until you find fresh deer activity and THEN set up using the terrain based hunting method.. In this case you are typically using micro terrain influencers of movement to pick your setup....(assumed bedding, feeding area, micro funnels around blowdowns or small swamps, isolated food source, wind/thermal influencers etc... then set up on the fly in an appropriate tree).

3) Set up multiple mock scrapes/bait spots and run cell cams...

4) Scout in the spring and/or track mature bucks in the snow/rut AND figure out the unique travel tendencies of a mature buck...The good news is that each buck will stick to his unique travel pattern. Then, track and kill him with a gun or find a spot in his unique personal travel pattern that makes him vulnerable. This seems to me to require the most woodsmanship of all the methods. Also, the hunters doing this are killing the BIGGEST northwoods bucks alive. Guys like Brad Kuhnert, Bobby Worthington do this. The only reason I know of this buck vulnerability is because Todd Havel (a tracker...talking in this thread!!) pointed it out.

So, I spent 20+ years hunting method #1 during peak rut in northern Wisconsin National Forest, and had a 20% success rate on mature bucks, (one week rut hunt, mature being 3.5 yrs old for this discussion).

I swithched to method #2 eight years ago and surged to a 50% success rate on mature bucks, one week rut hunt, (this is all with a trad bow for reference). My biggest buck is 140" (2017), last year I killed a 130" using this method...again, northern Wisconsin National Forest. Scouting is just as fun as hunting to me so this is a great way for me to hunt! So fun!

I have a hunting buddy who hunts northern Wisconsin using method #3 with cell cams/bait. He hunts using Troy Pottinger's techniques and killed a mature buck with his bow around November 12th. I will admit I don't know much about this method but it does kill bigwoods bucks!

Method #4 is probably the best way to kill the BIGGEST buck in the northwoods. However, it requires the ultimate in woodsmanship to understand that the sign you are seeing is the king of the forest. Also, you must be so confident in your understanding of the caliber of the buck making the sign, and the preferred travel habits of that huge buck, to commit to sitting for a week straight in the same exact tree. I'm not man enougth for that....yet!


Great advice as usual Klemz.

I can say I've killed bucks in the northwoods using all (4) of your strategies and combinations a time or two.

Congrats on a great 2022 buck in the northwoods of WI. He looks like a real nice one!


I’m giving this one a bump. This year I don’t got any targets that I’m after and I’m just going to go back to winging it. I’m going to focus on number 2 all fall long. With a bit of Number 3
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Re: Big Woods Deer Hunting

Unread postby Groundhunter@1 » Tue Oct 17, 2023 3:37 am

I got service in the middle of no where. Wish I knew how to post a photo. I am in western UP, seen 2 bucks this am, so far. I am in a pop up blind in a staging area, set in August and brushed in with boughs. I have no acorns. So I am above a river oxbow. I use fermented apple juice as my cover spray.
This is the week I rattle. 41, Cloudy, light rain, just enough wind......
I use a atv to get halfway in here, 2 miles, then about a 500 yard hike.....
No one hunts around here, till gun season, and then it's only trackers.......
Wolves ate them all, ha ha........ good luck to everyone. If you want to hear total silence, this is the place. It's my church.


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