new tactics for future public hunting
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new tactics for future public hunting
I the last 5 yrs. or so it has I am starting to realize that public land hunting is going to get better and harder to hunt. I am starting to see it here in S.E. Wisconsin with all the Ash trees coming down. This will help the tall grass grow and will give deer more places to bed along side and under the fallen ash trees. Last year I was scouting and stopped for a minute. Just then a deer comes blasting out from under a fallen tree . That deer snuck under the tree and the grass was grown up over the downfall. As I looked in there , it was just like a tent in there. and was used a lot. I was so surprised I was 10' from that deer and if I didn't stop It would have sat tight. These deer are going to get hard rot hunt in these marshes and harder to find a tree to climb. Seems that 90% of the trees will be down in a few years. Is i like that in your area? Even some oaks and Silver Maples are dying .
- Dewey
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
Ash trees are dying everywhere. I was amazed how many were dead or dying in Iowa since I was last there four years ago. No doubt it will change the landscape.
- Ryan549
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
I’m seeing the ash dieback very first hand at my home where I have a tiny 12 acres. Very flat land with black muck soil, mainly ash trees, red maple, hornbeam.
With nearly every ash dead, I did a burn of about 6 acres and the native grass and swamp milkweed exploded back on my property within a few months due to the massive increase in sunlight hitting the ground.
This did multiple things for me:
Burned all the old thatch left by decades of native grass,
exposing seeds that had been dormant for who knows how long.
Created a habitat for more than just deer with literally an acre of 6’ tall swamp milkweed- deer bed inside of it and the monarch butterflies were there by the 1000’s.
But back to the trees, since most were ash, I have lost 80%+ of my woods- now I am focused on planting a ton of seedlings that I am starting. Red maple, silver maple, box elder, honey locust, black locust, more black gum, some white spruce..... the list goes on.
I can manipulate my piddly 12 ac and the ash dieback may not be so bad in a few years. Tough to manipulate public- but those pockets of new regeneration with be dynamite to hunt. A lot of scouting and you will locate these areas. New browse will be plentiful.
Best of luck!
With nearly every ash dead, I did a burn of about 6 acres and the native grass and swamp milkweed exploded back on my property within a few months due to the massive increase in sunlight hitting the ground.
This did multiple things for me:
Burned all the old thatch left by decades of native grass,
exposing seeds that had been dormant for who knows how long.
Created a habitat for more than just deer with literally an acre of 6’ tall swamp milkweed- deer bed inside of it and the monarch butterflies were there by the 1000’s.
But back to the trees, since most were ash, I have lost 80%+ of my woods- now I am focused on planting a ton of seedlings that I am starting. Red maple, silver maple, box elder, honey locust, black locust, more black gum, some white spruce..... the list goes on.
I can manipulate my piddly 12 ac and the ash dieback may not be so bad in a few years. Tough to manipulate public- but those pockets of new regeneration with be dynamite to hunt. A lot of scouting and you will locate these areas. New browse will be plentiful.
Best of luck!
Ryan
- justdirtyfun
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
I have seen Ash dying near me also. In riverbottom areas.
Picturing future layout is interesting but change is always a given on public.
Picturing future layout is interesting but change is always a given on public.
You don't have to be the best, just do your best.
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
Don’t find many pit blinds.....that would be a different tactic....for the terrain you describe. Could be prepped in the spring, provided the water table isn’t too high....
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No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
No sponsors. No camera crew. No team. Just me and my bow. And that’s the way I prefer it.
- Southern Man
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
What is killing the Ash trees?
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
Southern Man wrote:What is killing the Ash trees?
Emerald Ash Borer. It’s an insect whose larvae feed just below the bark of Ash trees until the tree cannot survive. Another gift from our friends in China I believe. From what I’ve read there’s a good chance the affected species of Ash will go extinct in my lifetime. We don’t have a ton of Ash in my particular hunting area, but the ones we do have are almost all dead or dying. I’m capitalizing on the firewood aspect, But would rather not have all the ash trees turn into firewood.
Big Tracks Matter
- Ryan549
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
DeadHeadSpread wrote:Southern Man wrote:What is killing the Ash trees?
Emerald Ash Borer. It’s an insect whose larvae feed just below the bark of Ash trees until the tree cannot survive. Another gift from our friends in China I believe. From what I’ve read there’s a good chance the affected species of Ash will go extinct in my lifetime. We don’t have a ton of Ash in my particular hunting area, but the ones we do have are almost all dead or dying. I’m capitalizing on the firewood aspect, But would rather not have all the ash trees turn into firewood.
At least on my property in Upstate NY, some of my ash that have died are starting to push new growth close the the ground. If nothing else, that will provide new browse for the deer.
Ryan
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
Sounds like an emerald ash borer. They can kill a tree in no time flat! That’s sad it’s not a lot they can do about it
- G-Patt
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Re: new tactics for future public hunting
Ash trees will be around for a long time still, but they won't become the giants of the forest they once were. I see a lot of ash regeneration in Ohio. In fact, a good portion of the understory in the public land I hunt are immature ash trees. They make good woody browse for deer.
On my deathbed, I will receive total consciousness. So I have that going for me, which is nice!
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