Thicket is too dang thick...options here?

[FCAndrews71]

Started scouting this past weekend on a semi-public parcel (Navy base). I found a large swampy section that is UNBELIEVABLY thick. Walking down small runways, I was only able to fight into this stuff 10-20 yards.

Dont let the picture fool you...what looks like nothing but grass is actually a mess of a tangle of saplings and young trees. Canopy is probably 15' with heavy understory. It looks like it was clearcut less than 10 years ago and left to grow on its own.


You can see the deer trails in yellow coming in and out of this parcel. They werent any major runways...just slightly more beatdown than the ground (assuming they feel safe to travel anywhere through here because it is so thick?) I KNOW theres deer bedding here, but I wasnt able to find any buck sign. Any pressure this area receives is gun hunting pressure just because its so dang thick. The existing stands are setup where shooting lanes can see close to 100 yards.

Im not going to be able to get a shot off from the spot in the large stand of trees in the thicket without doing some major trimming. Id basically trim two narrow lanes...a "viewing lane" then a shooting lane towards the field edge. With no defined travel routes and no buck sign, is this a spot I should seriously consider, or best to keep moving on this one? Im not entirely sold on the other 2 potential stands to the south of the river either...

[FCAndrews71]

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Cant get this picture to load...I NEED AN ADULT!

[dan]

[dan]

Cut shooting lanes now, for next fall... And, I would consider hunting the edges of extreme thick cover. .

[Bucky]

Bucks will stick to edges.... drainage ditches... rarely do you find the big ones in the middle of the super thick. Usually they hang next to the thick in an opening... look for lone large tree or slight rise in elevation.

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[PK_]

If it were me, I would go in with a machete, a canvas jacket, brush pants and leather gloves. I would follow runways until I found some little open pockets where there will be beds. From there I would formulate a plan.

Other wise I would cut some serious shooting lanes in V shapes for various winds. I would keep the beginning of the lanes deep enough so they aren't visible until up in the tree...

Either scenario calls for a lot of effort.

Good luck.

[FCAndrews71]

Thanks for the pic fix Dan. Ill get that figured out eventually...

Bucks will stick to edges.... drainage ditches... rarely do you find the big ones in the middle of the super thick. Usually they hang next to the thick in an opening... look for lone large tree or slight rise in elevation.

The issue I was having with sticking to the edges was the lack of buck sign around the entire section and the fact that there were so few "no doubt about it" runways leading in/out. I had to do a double-take on a lot of these trails that I marked.

Is it possible that there might not be well defined runs because the deer feel so secure moving anywhere through here?

Something else of note around this entire property...seems to be a huge amount of poaching going on. This weekend alone I found 8 carcasses along the roads in groups of 2-3. Not sure if its from poaching or animal control to keep the airfield runway clear, but whoever is killing them, theyre cutting off antlers.

[checkerfred]

I've thought about cutting shooting lanes out like a wheel spoke. Put your stand at the intersection. Set it up with your most common wind. Also, there should be some favored browse like honeysuckle. Lime and fertilize it. I'm gonna do that with some of mine as well as on my white oaks. I know for a fact that works because they'll eat the acorns in the yard over anything. Because I fertilize it.

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[Twenty Up]

I think poachers would completely ruin the area. Those deer probably hold to the thickets areas if there are any mature bucks left. This is just my assumption, I've never hunted a heavily poached area but this is what I would assume & go about hunting the area.

[DaveT1963]

You might consider focusing on the downwind side of this thick stuff? My experience is that a mature buck will always want to scent check a thick area like this before he enters in. You could pick out two entry points based on the two predominate wind directions. Also, if you use cameras note specifically which way the wind was blowing when bucks entered this area. I am still learning the beast mode but I have been pretty successful setting up on downwind approaches to bedding areas.

[dan]

You might consider focusing on the downwind side of this thick stuff? My experience is that a mature buck will always want to scent check a thick area like this before he enters in. You could pick out two entry points based on the two predominate wind directions. Also, if you use cameras note specifically which way the wind was blowing when bucks entered this area. I am still learning the beast mode but I have been pretty successful setting up on downwind approaches to bedding areas.

Its very common for bucks to bed on the down wind side of thick areas... Or woods that but up against fields. Getting close to them is the hard part.

[FCAndrews71]

Predominant wind direction here is southwest in the evenings, so that puts the downwind edge right at the field.

I think Im going to bust in to the tall trees and take a good hard look inside before I decide if Im going to hunt it. If I find something worthwhile, plan to keep trimming to a minimum. A looking lane and a shooting lane, maybe to each direction if the sign is there. The more I think about this spot though, the more Im thinking it might be a rut spot. No buck sign but deer are definitely bedded in here. Assuming its does. With as thick as it is, I think a good amount of chasing could go on entirely unseen.

[Stanley]

Man o Man I love thick stuff. I always look at it like this; open fields are best suited for feeding. Thickest are best suited for bedding & hanging out during daylight hrs. Do you think you would have more deer hanging out in the open fields during day light hrs? Or do you think there would be more deer hanging out in the thick stuff during daylight hrs.? I know exactly where I would be doing some looking right now and it's not the open fields.

[FCAndrews71]

Update on this location...had a few hours yesterday to head out. Been wanting to get into the woods while there was still snow on the ground, and it looks like I hit it just in time. I broke through the thicket to the north, just to the left of the lone tree in the runway field. Got to the big stand of trees and found everything I thought I would. The heaviest runways Ive seen on the property and rubs leading out of dense thickets from every direction.

The only thing I didnt like was that the only way in/out is on a deer trail leading in from the field. Hoping that fact doesnt turn this into a one & done spot, because Id really like to sit this early in the season and again closer to rut as well.

[DeerDylan]

Can you cut your own entrance and exit trails on this land? If so I would do that

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