Railroad Beds

Discuss the science of figuring out our prey through good detective work.
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funderburk
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby funderburk » Mon Apr 29, 2019 8:14 pm

greenhorndave wrote:The railroad bed I saw was, maybe not surprisingly, on the upper 1/3 of the slope. 8-)

You can see the flattened area and a tuft of belly hair right in front of it. (in it as well)

Image


Very cool. I wish I had taken pictures of the two I found. One was up on a point jutting out overlooking a huge area. The other was on the lowest, thickest spot down below me. Both completely worn. And huge.


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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby may21581 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:06 am

Prolly be worth your while to throw some cameras up in the area now to see if you can catch him in the area. I would back off the bedding area to not alert him and hang those cameras up higher so the flash isn't in his face. I'm curious as to what you stumbled on as well.
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funderburk
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby funderburk » Tue Apr 30, 2019 3:23 am

may21581 wrote:Prolly be worth your while to throw some cameras up in the area now to see if you can catch him in the area. I would back off the bedding area to not alert him and hang those cameras up higher so the flash isn't in his face. I'm curious as to what you stumbled on as well.


You know, I was thinking about doing that. It seems to be pretty wind specific so I can slip in via the tracks and only intrude very lightly and hang a cam. If I decide to do it, I’ll certainly post results here!
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Swedishbowhunter » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:03 am

Anyone know the laws about hunting & crossing tracks? I know there was a huge deal made about it in Wisconsin a few years ago, but I don’t remember the outcome. I noticed a potential hidden spot by the tracks yesterday but did not get the chance to check it out before I ran out of daylight
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby BackCoverBowHunter » Tue Apr 30, 2019 6:31 am

I find a ton of travel corridors paralleling the tracks. In my area the tracks are pretty low to base of the mountain I hunt. I find lots of activity near creek culverts and thick areas near that water. The deer tend to bed down here in the late evenings. I have had success hunting track crossings from these tracks on the higher side in the mornings first light.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Hawthorne » Tue Apr 30, 2019 7:02 am

One piece I hunt has a railroad. At the base of the berm there is a row of trees and thick brush then a huge crp field.Runs for 2 miles.I could walk it and find hundreds of beds probably. The problem is it heavy pressure with small game and deer hunters that use the tracks for access so by oct 1 they vacate that area. I’ve kicked up some nice bucks along it and have seen nice bucks come out of the tracks in summer.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby matt1336 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 11:29 am

Pudster wrote:Anyone know the laws about hunting & crossing tracks? I know there was a huge deal made about it in Wisconsin a few years ago, but I don’t remember the outcome. I noticed a potential hidden spot by the tracks yesterday but did not get the chance to check it out before I ran out of daylight



Can’t walk on them can’t cross them and I can’t believe that dumb law keeps me from hunting great properties
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Jonny » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:22 pm

matt1336 wrote:
Pudster wrote:Anyone know the laws about hunting & crossing tracks? I know there was a huge deal made about it in Wisconsin a few years ago, but I don’t remember the outcome. I noticed a potential hidden spot by the tracks yesterday but did not get the chance to check it out before I ran out of daylight



Can’t walk on them can’t cross them and I can’t believe that dumb law keeps me from hunting great properties


Its a very stupid law. Although guys were crossing the tracks in la crosse this year and I walked down tracks to some of my best river fishing spots. Even stopped some railroad workers to ask them about it and they told me that nobody really cares if people do it aside from their insurance companies.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby may21581 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 12:30 pm

I'm curious as to what you find, I'm excited to what you find! This is just the reason I came to hunt like a beast! Thinking outside the box!
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby matt1336 » Tue Apr 30, 2019 4:11 pm

Jonny wrote:
matt1336 wrote:
Pudster wrote:Anyone know the laws about hunting & crossing tracks? I know there was a huge deal made about it in Wisconsin a few years ago, but I don’t remember the outcome. I noticed a potential hidden spot by the tracks yesterday but did not get the chance to check it out before I ran out of daylight



Can’t walk on them can’t cross them and I can’t believe that dumb law keeps me from hunting great properties


Its a very stupid law. Although guys were crossing the tracks in la crosse this year and I walked down tracks to some of my best river fishing spots. Even stopped some railroad workers to ask them about it and they told me that nobody really cares if people do it aside from their insurance companies.


I’ve might have crossed and walked down a few as well. But here in Washington county the deputies will ticket you $300+. So I’ve only done it a couple times and don’t really plan to do it in the future. Guys do it all the time, and some have been fined. Landowners that boarder the public nobody can get to without using tracks call people in all the time.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Dpierce72 » Wed May 01, 2019 12:00 am

If you use them and if they are active and cover broad stretches of water, make sure you know the schedules. While they are loud, they can also sneak up on you. In our area, they are a combo of ground and poles.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Jonny » Wed May 01, 2019 5:07 am

matt1336 wrote:
Jonny wrote:
matt1336 wrote:
Pudster wrote:Anyone know the laws about hunting & crossing tracks? I know there was a huge deal made about it in Wisconsin a few years ago, but I don’t remember the outcome. I noticed a potential hidden spot by the tracks yesterday but did not get the chance to check it out before I ran out of daylight



Can’t walk on them can’t cross them and I can’t believe that dumb law keeps me from hunting great properties


Its a very stupid law. Although guys were crossing the tracks in la crosse this year and I walked down tracks to some of my best river fishing spots. Even stopped some railroad workers to ask them about it and they told me that nobody really cares if people do it aside from their insurance companies.


I’ve might have crossed and walked down a few as well. But here in Washington county the deputies will ticket you $300+. So I’ve only done it a couple times and don’t really plan to do it in the future. Guys do it all the time, and some have been fined. Landowners that boarder the public nobody can get to without using tracks call people in all the time.


Yeah its definitely a place by place thing. Really sucks that the county is enforcing it by you. Insane how much public is no longer accessible because of that law. Especially pieces that are public on both sides and you just can't cross. I know one of the big fishing barges in la crosse almost lost his business until he found a permit from when the railroad was first put in granting him legal crossing.

Have only seen a half dozen people while doing this. Very low population area. Had a warden walk in the long way to check my license a few years back and never mentioned it being illegal to be there. And had an amish guy ride his bike back there to fish. Must have been one rough ride with steel wheels. And a couple amish chicks kayaking is about it.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby PAridgerunner2 » Wed Oct 09, 2019 2:43 am

This thread is great! I've been honing in on railroad beds recently in the past 2-3 years. A good portion of the public where i am in PA has a major railroad running through the heart of it. Though i can't 100% confirm, it seems as though the good bedding i've found works for any wind. Often the bed will have the bucks back towards the railroad, looking out to whats in front of him. It seems as though that way he can pick up any direct or cross winds, while having the security cover and rail road behind him. Looking forward to learning more about this unique bedding!
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby Oceana » Tue Oct 15, 2019 1:25 pm

PAridgerunner2 wrote:This thread is great! I've been honing in on railroad beds recently in the past 2-3 years. A good portion of the public where i am in PA has a major railroad running through the heart of it. Though i can't 100% confirm, it seems as though the good bedding i've found works for any wind. Often the bed will have the bucks back towards the railroad, looking out to whats in front of him. It seems as though that way he can pick up any direct or cross winds, while having the security cover and rail road behind him. Looking forward to learning more about this unique bedding!


See similar in Michigan. I seek out the railway access on public where there is no immediate parking which makes it overlooked most of the time. I swear the deer are attracted to the railroads. If it’s thick along the tracks it’s pretty easy to spot crossings and then tip toe in to find staging areas where the deer seem to hang out waiting to cross before dark.
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Re: Railroad Beds

Unread postby toadtracker_41 » Thu Nov 28, 2019 2:38 am

I've been hunting some railroad areas the past two years. The trouble I have been having is accessing the set-up and not spooking deer. The area I am hunting is an urban zone, so there are some tight areas that hold a lot of deer. I am starting to become more mobile and I think that will help with getting to the right spot. I have been finding encouraging sign and tracks, just need to backtrack to the exact bedding area.


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