Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

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NCmedic
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Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby NCmedic » Sat Oct 04, 2014 4:42 pm

Hey everyone,

It's been a long time since I've been on this forum. Last year I was planning on trying to hunt public land, "beast style", but I ended up joining a hunting club with pre-set stands and easy hunting. I killed a doe and saw lots of deer (no shooters). It was my first successful year of hunting as far as scouting an area and being correct with the wind and deer activity so I learned a lot. I tried public land two years ago and it was miserable and after multiple trips and driving for hours I never saw deer from the stand.

This year, my wife and I had a baby a month ago so we decided to save money and not pay for the club membership. Now I'm back to considering trying my hand at public land again. I know it is late in the year and the archery season has already started so I will have to "go in blind". This area I'm planning on hunting has marshes, creeks, and a lot of topo. I've been there once before two years ago and it looked very promising.

I've done some reading on the forum and understand the ideas of looking for points, funnels, transition lines for scouting. I was curious what things do you guys look for as far as going in blind?

Here's the topo for the gameland.

<iframe width="500px" height="500px" src="http://caltopo.com/map.html#ll=34.86222,-79.85302&z=15&b=t&o=f,r&n=1,0.25&a=sf"></iframe>


NCmedic
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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby NCmedic » Sat Oct 04, 2014 4:58 pm

The link didn't work so I'll try this.

Image

Here's the aerial photo as well

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phishy
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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby phishy » Wed Oct 08, 2014 11:44 am

not that i am an expert at anything and to be honest i am new to this site, but if i may...

pick a spot that you think looks good with heavy cover nearby and go to it, put some boots to the ground, pay attention on your way in and don't get distracted by simple sign but don't overlook great sign, but make it to your destination. and sit for a hunt,

pay attention to the wind blowing into heavy cover and pick this spot based upon the wind.

your going to mess it up, but I can 100%guarantee you're not going to shoot anything from the couch

I'm not a gambling man, but if i was id put more money on a person that spends as much time sitting in the woods even if it is the wrong spot on more occasion than the right spot vs a person that only hunts a few times with the same knowledge.
Happiness is 10% what happens to us and 90% how we react to it, so with that happiness is a choice one can consciously make, although often challenged by what happens to us, it is a choice nonetheless.
NCmedic
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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby NCmedic » Wed Oct 08, 2014 12:59 pm

I whole heartedly agree with your posts. The reason I asked for help is because this place is almost 2 hrs away from where I live so I wanted to get advice to maximize my opportunity of seeing deer. I plan on scouting heavily this next year so I can make my own assessment but I know alot of guys are great at picking spots based on topos and aerial photos so I figured id see what theyd say so that when I went I could have a better shot. Thanks for the response!

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seazofcheeze
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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby seazofcheeze » Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:30 pm

Topographically, this map looks amazing. If there are deer in the area, there are a ton of promising looking hunting spots. Search Autumn Ninja's posts about "crow's feet", a few food looking saddles, tons of points, benches, etc. It looks to have it all.

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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby PK_ » Wed Oct 08, 2014 1:58 pm

I like the whole area. Everything looks so good...

Did you post a zoomed in aerial of that marsh section before? Someone has…
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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby Swampbuck » Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:23 pm

I would be scouting that like a madman, it looks awesome!!

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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby justdirtyfun » Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:04 pm

Pre rut go for bedding points with specific winds, part observation part hunt.
Rut go for saddles and funnels
Post rut could be used for deep analysis of marsh area since by then all beds should be easy to make out.

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Re: Public Land advice "Going in Blind"

Unread postby NCmedic » Wed Oct 08, 2014 5:18 pm

Any spots in particular that really stand out to you guys?

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