The Hunting Beast

Hello everyone. I have stumbled onto this site about a week ago after seeing Dans article in Field and Stream. I have been planning a trip to Crawford/Grant for the past few months. I have narrowed my options down to Kickapoo SNA and the Mississippi River Federal Ground. I have looked at Sat images and located many funnels on each tract of ground. I have never put boots to ground on either location.

What are the primary tree types on either tract? How's hunter pressure on both locations? Deer quantity? Age structure? Hunter success rate.

I am coming up November 2nd and staying an entire week.

Where would you recommend I start?

I have hunted nearly nothing but river bottom ground here in Arkansas.

Thanks for all the help to come and good luck to all!

[ Post made via iPad ]

Welcome to the BEAST... What you need to know is that in hill country during the rut, bucks cruise the leeward ridges at the top 1/3 of the ridge... I marked a red line around the elevation where most daylight buck activity should occur. I put two orange dots in spots I would be interested in sitting... Im not real positive on the boundary, so double check my marks so youi don't trespass. Should be a lot of hardwoods up on the ridges.

The west icon you put on the image is just north of a saddle I am interested in looking at. It is on the SNA. Thanks

[ Post made via iPad ]

There is a ton of MFL & FCL private land open to public in that area too. Im headed out for a couple days in gun season

[ Post made via Android ]

AR_Swampman wrote:The west icon you put on the image is just north of a saddle I am interested in looking at. It is on the SNA. Thanks

[ Post made via iPad ]

Yea, I saw that saddle, but in that saddle your limited to bucks traveling up and down that point... The spot I marked should get that travel and some cross over to the next ridges.

hunter_mike wrote:There is a ton of MFL & FCL private land open to public in that area too. Im headed out for a couple days in gun season

[ Post made via Android ]

Right on... A little homework will get you off the main public property where everyone goes and get you onto smaller more isolated properties that don't get as much pressure.

I have heard many times that the islands along the missy have alot of deer on them. Does anyone hunt the islands and is it really hard?

Many of the islands of the Miss get hunted more than they used to.There are some tough breed river rats
that pound them pretty good.You will have to find the few that dont get 'hit" at sometime especially during the
gun season. Its getting tougher in over hunted Wisconsin to find any sleepers anymore especially on public.

AR_Swampman wrote:Hello everyone. I have stumbled onto this site about a week ago after seeing Dans article in Field and Stream. I have been planning a trip to Crawford/Grant for the past few months. I have narrowed my options down to Kickapoo SNA and the Mississippi River Federal Ground. I have looked at Sat images and located many funnels on each tract of ground. I have never put boots to ground on either location.

What are the primary tree types on either tract? How's hunter pressure on both locations? Deer quantity? Age structure? Hunter success rate.

I am coming up November 2nd and staying an entire week.

Where would you recommend I start?

I have hunted nearly nothing but river bottom ground here in Arkansas.

Thanks for all the help to come and good luck to all!

[ Post made via iPad ]

Hey swampman, I know its late and your already gone...but I hunted WI (peirce & pepin co mostly) for the first time this year and they have a program that I believe is relatively new called the VPA(voluntary private access) program, and had good success if you ever decide to come back. This program pays landowners per acre of land that it opens to the public access. There was less pressure and I saw several nice bucks, just botched a shot and wasnt within striking distance on the others...