Why didn't this spot pan out???

[ihookem]

I had my eyes on a rigde with swamp on both sides of the ridge. As the ridge went north it ended . About 75 yds north there was another ridge as you can see on the topo. I went out today thinking for sure a bunch of rubs and beds would be at the end of the ridge. Only one track crossed that ridge. Does this ssem like it would be a good spot to you by the topo map and pics or am I missing something. It is .45 mi. from the nearest road and no human tracks were anywhere near the area. The end of the ridge is in the center of the topo map. Is this what most of you guys look for when scouting? Also, I took a pic of the deer tracks. It looks wide, so do you think this is a buck track. ? he

[Crazinamatese]

The deer might not be in the area this time of year if there isn't a good food source nearby to hold them there. Especially this winter. Where I hunt there are some hot spots I seem to notice aren't used or traveled on in the winter too. Might be a stellar spot during the rut though.

[Spysar]

Can they cross from your ridge to the one to the north, or is the water deep there? Or is it iced now. If they can't cross, easily, that spot could be kind of a dead end. Also, I wouldn't expect to see many human tracks this time of year. It doesn't mean there are no humans in there in deer season.

[ihookem]

The river is real small so they have no problem crossing to the next ridge. I saw very little food there now that I think of it. No human tracks but I did see where someone shot a big maple tree 3 times and clipped a nice 2" hardwood so there are hunters there in gun season. It seemed there was only one deer frequenting the area so I took a pic of the tracks. From what others say about buck tracks , it seems like one.

[dan]

My thought would be that there is probably hunting pressure there that would put some of the deer down in the swamps. I would also say the deer are probably grouped up somewhere else right now feeding which would mean no beds now. It also looks like very open woods without much cover... If there truly is not much pressure there I would expect at least occasional bedding there. But if it gets hit hard in deer season they will avoid the spot.

[Spysar]

I agree with Dan. Did you try walking the transition lines like Dan teaches? Or look at an ariel for that one lone tree or small cluster of trees right in the swamps? And is that a road on the west side?

[ihookem]

That is a horse trail on the west side. The sawmp is not cattails though. It is a swamp with brush and ash trees all over. I will go over there in spring and look for sheds. I am sure the deer tracks were from a buck. He was eating in the swamp all over but seemed like the only deer there. Dan could be right, there is hunting pressure there in the gun season. I saw a small tree shot in half and 3 more round put in a big maple tree. This was 2 months ago however.

[Stanley]

A lot of areas are void of deer right now. In March when the yards are broken up check again.