Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

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d_rek
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Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby d_rek » Thu Sep 07, 2017 3:33 pm

Hi All,

I have a large tract of public land available to hunt about 30-40 minutes from my home in SE Michigan. I put about 40 miles on the GPS in late winter this year doing my post season scouting and found some good sign from last season. Just looking for input on stand location and entry/exit routes, and timing. I did not locate any buck beds, but am still not quite tuned into what I ought to be looking for in that regard.

Image

The first spot is interesting for several reasons:
    It is almost 1 mile walk from the nearest access.
    You have to endure a few 60-80ft elevation changes to access.
    It was very swampy in late winter, and with the wet spring/summer we had i'm assuming it will be swampy again this fall.
    There was a RIDICULOUS amount rubs isolated to this one area. Some of which appeared to have been made by one or more nice bucks.

Below the yellow line is private land. The area above it is public.

The two yellow pindrops are trees I identified for possible stand locations depending on the wind.

How I *THINK* the deer are moving through this area...
    I think they are bedding in the swamp area to the south of the rub cluster.
    I think they move from their bedding area to the CRP field north of the rubline adjacent to the two ponds.
    I think they are doing this primarily in the late afternoon/evening. In the morning I bet they are mostly cleared out of the CRP field and well on there way back to bedding by daybreak.

Couple of questions concerning timing:
    What would bet he best time of season to hunt these stands? I know a lot of rubs are made under cover of darkness, but I was thinking an early season sit the first or second day of the season and then visit it again closer to rut?
    Is there a better time I should be looking to hunt this spot?
I am thinking this is a good AFTERNOON HUNT spot? Am I wrong in thinking so? I think I will be able to catch the bucks moving from bedding before dark on their way to the CRP field to the north.

Questions concerning entry/exit routes:
The gray line is the path I came in when I scouted the area in the late winter. I was thinking that the northern most line would be a good entry route since we primarily have westerly winds that time of year. Plus it's a creekbottom and I think I could walk the edge and in it since it's shallow and minimize my scent footprint by doing so. Plus it should help me make a relatively stealthy entrance.
I could take the southern most line on my way back out and skirt the CRP field as to not spook deer feeding it in at dusk/dark, and hope that deer are out of the woods before then.

Thanks for your help!

Regards,
d_rek


"I don't know what the f*** this is but it's weird as f*** so i'm leaving."
-The Deep
d_rek
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby d_rek » Sat Sep 09, 2017 3:42 am

Here is the second spot I plan on hunting this fall on public land in SE Michigan.

Image

In this area I think I was able to identify a buck bed and a fairly large bedding area composed of tall grass/weeds along with some mast bearing trees (looked like crabapple trees). The bed was immediately south of Stand 1 underneath a small tree with some canopy. I found several large droppings around the base of the tree. Further to the east, along the riverbank I discovered a travel corridor with a nice scrape and a rub cluster.

I think the deer are bedding on the oxbow peninsula and moving to the crop fields I have identified in the NE corner and also one on the SE corner (sorry I cropped the picture too close).

I like entry route 1 because it follows a creek bottom and i would be walking into the wind towards my stand. My concern is cutting deer trails as I walk in, which shouldn't be too problematic until I get to the river.

I'm torn on exit routes though. Exit route 2 is easy access because there is a foot trail at the pinch point in the peninsula that goes all the way to the parking access. Two is nice because it is also along a creek bottom but then I have to cut through some hardwoods and thicker understudy closer to the access.

Any thoughts on the stand locations and what time they should be hunted? This is the one thing i'm not sure on yet. Open to ideas here.

I am concerned they will be pushed off of the peninsula until pressure ramps up as the season goes on though. I am thinking that as pressure ramps up they will move back onto the peninsula to the thicker bedding area there and it might be wiser to hunt those spots later in the season?
"I don't know what the f*** this is but it's weird as f*** so i'm leaving."
-The Deep
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Hatchet Jack
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby Hatchet Jack » Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:36 am

First thing that jumps out to me is water access.
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jmaas07
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby jmaas07 » Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:47 am

Hatchet Jack wrote:First thing that jumps out to me is water access.


Agree, but if you haven't had previous recon I wouldn't float it, I have had disasterous water access missions, blow downs, too shallow, ect.
d_rek
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby d_rek » Sat Sep 09, 2017 6:53 am

Hatchet Jack wrote:First thing that jumps out to me is water access.


Water is very high and current is pretty swift throughout the river right now. Plus I haven't floated down that part of the river recently. If I was accessing the land on the west side I would totally consider a float down.
"I don't know what the f*** this is but it's weird as f*** so i'm leaving."
-The Deep
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mihunter101
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby mihunter101 » Sat Sep 09, 2017 12:55 pm

I can't see the images :confusion-shrug:
Let's go Brandon!
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Net Guy
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby Net Guy » Wed Sep 13, 2017 2:04 pm

mihunter101 wrote:I can't see the images :confusion-shrug:


Me either :think:
d_rek
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Re: Public Land Stand + Entry/Exit Route Help

Unread postby d_rek » Wed Sep 13, 2017 4:38 pm

Sorry I took the images down. I probably put a bit too much information in my post for enterprising beasts...
"I don't know what the f*** this is but it's weird as f*** so i'm leaving."
-The Deep


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