Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
- Dewey
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Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
I decided to switch gears a little today and get out of my comfort zone in marshes and scout some different terrain for a change. It was a nice change of scenery.
I headed over to some State Forest land I have hunted frequently in the past. It is a great combination of cedar swamp and steep hilly country. It pretty much has it all and a place I should spend more time.
Did you ever scout a spot and have a "gut feeling" about it and just know that you need to hunt there? I found such a spot when I was scouting last spring. I found a great spot that a mature buck was frequenting. This is located in a large cedar swamp with a river winding thru it.
I had beds located, confirmed many large tracks and all of that good stuff plus found a perfect ambush spot for a west or northwest wind but got so into hunting my marsh spots that I never gave it a chance.
Well......my first time back to that spot since last spring and my heart about dropped into my stomach!! The following pics were taken within 15 yards upwind of the tree I planned on sitting in!
This tree was 7' in diameter and the center of the rub was 43"
This tree was part of the same cluster of rubs all within 10 yards of each other.
This tree was slightly larger than the first one at 8 1/2" in diameter and the marks were about chest high at 49".
After looking around a bit I found this bed and thinking this is a primary bed due to the location. This was a very large bed and measured 55"
This bed looked to be a little older but had plenty of hair in it.
Found plenty of fresh decent size tracks nearby. These were only a few hours old.
Another decent track but not as fresh as the others.
Funny thing is that I finally get out of the cattail marsh and wouldn't you know it...........all of this mature buck sign was right by the only patch of cattails I have ever seen around here!!
I did some more looking around and headed to a spot that I know deer yard up in the winter in the cedars. Some of them are browsed up as high as you can reach in most areas.
Found a few dead deer back here the year we had over 100" of snow. They were curled up in there beds when I found them in spring. The skulls are still here and the one that I hung on the tree has been there for a few years. Must not be any tree rats around to chew up the bones!
Spent a bit of time in the cedar swamp and then headed to the hills. Many of the deer were using this trail out of the swamp using this saddle between ridges.
I don't have a whole lot of experience hunting hill country and still have a lot to learn there. I will have to watch the Hill Country video again to brush up on the tactics. The side of the ridges were very steep but the deer were using a trail on the downwind side of them about 1/3 down from the top. I didn't take any pics of this! I was too busy watching my footing so I didn't end up at the bottom.
Here are a few pics of the terrain. Not real good pics but I could barely climb some of the steeper ones.
Almost every bed I found here was right on the top of the ridges. Every one had plenty of hair in it.
It was an interesting day and it was nice to change up the tactics for a change. I spent every day last season bowhunting marshes and need to keep some variety in my hunts. You can bet I will be hunting that spot at the top of this post when the wind is right this coming season. My goal this spring is to find the sheds so I have an idea as to how big this buck actually is but I want to be careful to not pressure this spot too much.
September can't get here fast enough and I am counting down the days.
I headed over to some State Forest land I have hunted frequently in the past. It is a great combination of cedar swamp and steep hilly country. It pretty much has it all and a place I should spend more time.
Did you ever scout a spot and have a "gut feeling" about it and just know that you need to hunt there? I found such a spot when I was scouting last spring. I found a great spot that a mature buck was frequenting. This is located in a large cedar swamp with a river winding thru it.
I had beds located, confirmed many large tracks and all of that good stuff plus found a perfect ambush spot for a west or northwest wind but got so into hunting my marsh spots that I never gave it a chance.
Well......my first time back to that spot since last spring and my heart about dropped into my stomach!! The following pics were taken within 15 yards upwind of the tree I planned on sitting in!
This tree was 7' in diameter and the center of the rub was 43"
This tree was part of the same cluster of rubs all within 10 yards of each other.
This tree was slightly larger than the first one at 8 1/2" in diameter and the marks were about chest high at 49".
After looking around a bit I found this bed and thinking this is a primary bed due to the location. This was a very large bed and measured 55"
This bed looked to be a little older but had plenty of hair in it.
Found plenty of fresh decent size tracks nearby. These were only a few hours old.
Another decent track but not as fresh as the others.
Funny thing is that I finally get out of the cattail marsh and wouldn't you know it...........all of this mature buck sign was right by the only patch of cattails I have ever seen around here!!
I did some more looking around and headed to a spot that I know deer yard up in the winter in the cedars. Some of them are browsed up as high as you can reach in most areas.
Found a few dead deer back here the year we had over 100" of snow. They were curled up in there beds when I found them in spring. The skulls are still here and the one that I hung on the tree has been there for a few years. Must not be any tree rats around to chew up the bones!
Spent a bit of time in the cedar swamp and then headed to the hills. Many of the deer were using this trail out of the swamp using this saddle between ridges.
I don't have a whole lot of experience hunting hill country and still have a lot to learn there. I will have to watch the Hill Country video again to brush up on the tactics. The side of the ridges were very steep but the deer were using a trail on the downwind side of them about 1/3 down from the top. I didn't take any pics of this! I was too busy watching my footing so I didn't end up at the bottom.
Here are a few pics of the terrain. Not real good pics but I could barely climb some of the steeper ones.
Almost every bed I found here was right on the top of the ridges. Every one had plenty of hair in it.
It was an interesting day and it was nice to change up the tactics for a change. I spent every day last season bowhunting marshes and need to keep some variety in my hunts. You can bet I will be hunting that spot at the top of this post when the wind is right this coming season. My goal this spring is to find the sheds so I have an idea as to how big this buck actually is but I want to be careful to not pressure this spot too much.
September can't get here fast enough and I am counting down the days.
- Czabs
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Nice Dewey! Gotta love Cedar swamps! Those rubs are wicked . Keep at er man, every day in now will pay off. I'm with ya on counting down the days...
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- BigHunt
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
wow nice finds dew.....thats awesome, that marsh and hill country mixed good stuff......and nice rubs
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Nice
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- headgear
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Good scout Dewey, looks like that spot deserves a sit this fall.
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Good looking spot!
- addisonlee
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Looks good
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- Dewey
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
I am really loving this lack of snow we are having this winter. Sure is nice getting some productive scouting in now instead of waiting till April.
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- RaisedByWolves
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
nice scout session dewey, those rubs are awesome!
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- Singing Bridge
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
That looked like a VERY productive scout, Dewey... cedar swamps are my favorite.
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Great post - thanks
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- Singing Bridge
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Dewey wrote:Funny thing is that I finally get out of the cattail marsh and wouldn't you know it...........all of this mature buck sign was right by the only patch of cattails I have ever seen around here!!
Large cedar swamps can be confusing places to scout for many hunters. Difficult to penetrate, hard to tell where you are when you can't even see the sun, tons of similar cover... etc. One overlooked method of getting on to bucks in large cedar swamps is viewing aerials of the swamp and looking for interior marshes and beaver ponds, etc. The bucks utilize the marshes inside the huge swamps just like they do elsewhere. With the added security of the cedar swamp surrounding the marsh, they are great places to look for buck bedding. If you do not have great aerials, follow the rivers and creeks through the cedar swamp... often you will run into this type of habitat.
- Dewey
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Singing Bridge wrote:Dewey wrote:Funny thing is that I finally get out of the cattail marsh and wouldn't you know it...........all of this mature buck sign was right by the only patch of cattails I have ever seen around here!!
Large cedar swamps can be confusing places to scout for many hunters. Difficult to penetrate, hard to tell where you are when you can't even see the sun, tons of similar cover... etc. One overlooked method of getting on to bucks in large cedar swamps is viewing aerials of the swamp and looking for interior marshes and beaver ponds, etc. The bucks utilize the marshes inside the huge swamps just like they do elsewhere. With the added security of the cedar swamp surrounding the marsh, they are great places to look for buck bedding. If you do not have great aerials, follow the rivers and creeks through the cedar swamp... often you will run into this type of habitat.
Great tip. Thanks for the advice Singing Bridge, it is very much appreciated. I found this spot along the river pretty much exactly like you described. Looking forward to when I get a chance to hunt it.
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- headgear
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
Very good tip SB, I do the same thing. Finding a bed in 2 square miles of cedar swamp is nearly impossible, but if you work those trasitions within the swamp you can hit pay dirt. Very similar to marsh hunting, except the cattails are a mess of cedars.
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Re: Cedar swamp/ hill country scout 2-5-2012
headgear wrote:Very good tip SB, I do the same thing. Finding a bed in 2 square miles of cedar swamp is nearly impossible, but if you work those trasitions within the swamp you can hit pay dirt. Very similar to marsh hunting, except the cattails are a mess of cedars.
That's a great way of looking at it headgear.
Many of the transition lines are fairly obvious... marsh or beaver pond edges where they but up against the cedar swamp (inside or out), the transition of the swamp against higher ground / hardwoods, etc.
There are also transitions within the cedar swamps that are not quite so obvious- but the bucks utilize them regularly. One such transition that may be present in large cedar swamps is the edge of old growth cedar against younger cedar trees. The younger growth is often mixed with tagalders / spruce / other types of thick cover that make it nearly impenetrable. The older growth is often quite open, where I may be able to see for quite a distance through the cedar bottoms. Sometimes visibility in the old growth may extend seventy (70) yards or more. Bucks often utilize this transition line for bedding within the interior of the swamp... a very secure area. I often find buck beds adjacent to a blowdown (tree) right along the transition line. The bucks like to bed with the young growth to their back while they watch down through the open, older growth cedars. While the bucks often bed with the wind to their back from the super dense young growth behind them, these areas are so secure that they sometimes utilize a specific bed seemingly irregardless of the wind direction. Any predator approaching through the open old growth cedars is very visible... and because of the nature of cedar swamps, they make a lot of noise during their approach.
Careful study of aerial photography will often reveal these transition areas, within the cedar swamps themselves. The old growth cedar stand has a very different look on aerials when compared to younger sections of trees. These are very secure bedding areas for bucks, worth the time of any cedar swamp hunter to investigate.
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