Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

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Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Oct 26, 2012 11:04 am

This is a small parcel of land. Maybe a couple hundred acres at most. However, I have scouted this land and cannot figure out a game plan to hunt this one. I have seen on two occassions bucks traveling on the top of the ridge line in the early a.m. hours.

The green field to the South of the pic fills up with deer in the evenings just after dark. I have seen a couple of really good deer here.

The places I notated as "not a road anymore" they used to be access routes by the private owner. The one to the east of the map is an access road to the owners barn.

The access I have can be on the access road I left blank on the west boarder....or I have permission to walk in from the green field edge.

I would like any suggestions you guys may care to share with me. Hunting spots, access, bedding, etc.

I should have noted where I have hunted and how I approached last year. I want to try this area again later next week or the following week.

THANKS IN ADVANCE!!

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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:02 pm

Failed to mention....extended forecast shows winds mostly from west directions. 3 days from WNW...2 days from W and 3 days from SWS

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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:32 pm

wow, where to start...

I see a lot of potential bedding on top of your ridges and there may be decent bedding in the creek bottom areas if it contains some thick cover.

The saddles on top of your ridges are great rut spots to set up on...

The flooding in your creek bottom has great potential crossings at the ends of the flooded area... if the flooding has ceased there is tremendous potential for a crossing between the two high ground points, especially in the middle of that "S" curve of the river/creek.
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Oct 26, 2012 1:44 pm

[quote="Singing Bridge"]wow, where to start...

[glow=red]I see a lot of potential bedding on top of your ridges and there may be decent bedding in the creek bottom areas if it contains some thick cover.[/glow]
Could you help with the potential bedding areas on the ridges? The creek bottom around the old grown up field is really thick. Late spring and early summer that area is chest high. By now it should be well over my knees. So its thick.

[glow=red]The saddles on top of your ridges are great rut spots to set up on...[/glow]
I have hunted the saddle behind the buck travel line I posted. But my entrance was straight up and across the hill from the dead end access road. I kind of feel like I ran everything out on my entry.

[glow=red]The flooding in your creek bottom has great potential crossings at the ends of the flooded area... if the flooding has ceased there is tremendous potential for a crossing between the two high ground points, especially in the middle of that "S" curve of the river/creek.[/[/glow]quote]
Everything thats flooded in the pic is what it looks like year round. Unless it freezes over.

SingingBridge thanks for your reply, and I hate to ask but would you mind to show me the areas you are referring to? I especially dont know what spot you talking about the two high ground points. Could you show me that too????


THANKS
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Oct 26, 2012 3:00 pm

Here is a map of where I have hunted. How I approached. I hunted the spots basically under Westerly winds. I hunted these spots two years ago. Never seen a deer.

So I went back this pass March and scouted. Inside the circle was a lot of buck sign. Looks like that may have been an overgrown field years ago.

To the east of this snipped pic, 200 yards is 160 acres of 14 year old pines. They are so thick you cannot walk through them. I dont have permission anymore on that property. Landowner passed, and new owners are out of state, and anti-hunter!!!

ANYONE, Please feel free to be as critical of my setups, and routes(Its easier for me to learn)

PLEASE feel free to mark any thoughts and/or advice.

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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Fri Oct 26, 2012 4:00 pm

backstraps wrote:
Singing Bridge wrote:wow, where to start...

[glow=red]I see a lot of potential bedding on top of your ridges and there may be decent bedding in the creek bottom areas if it contains some thick cover.[/glow]
Could you help with the potential bedding areas on the ridges? The creek bottom around the old grown up field is really thick. Late spring and early summer that area is chest high. By now it should be well over my knees. So its thick.

[glow=red]The saddles on top of your ridges are great rut spots to set up on...[/glow]
I have hunted the saddle behind the buck travel line I posted. But my entrance was straight up and across the hill from the dead end access road. I kind of feel like I ran everything out on my entry.

[glow=red]The flooding in your creek bottom has great potential crossings at the ends of the flooded area... if the flooding has ceased there is tremendous potential for a crossing between the two high ground points, especially in the middle of that "S" curve of the river/creek.[/[/glow]quote]
Everything thats flooded in the pic is what it looks like year round. Unless it freezes over.

SingingBridge thanks for your reply, and I hate to ask but would you mind to show me the areas you are referring to? I especially dont know what spot you talking about the two high ground points. Could you show me that too????


THANKS


Here are some potential beds on your topo:

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To access your saddles, such as the purple X's on the East side of the map, I would try and go up the cuts leading up to them. On a North wind, I would approach from the South cut, for example.

your wetland may contain bedding in any areas that are slightly elevated- The flooded area of the creek should get some decent movment from deer around the North and South end of it as bucks trade between your ridges. It is easy to forget the potential of your creek bottom areas when you have nice ridges adjacent to them.
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Fri Oct 26, 2012 10:45 pm

Thanks SingingBridge

You are correct I have never hunted the flooded creek portion of this map. Your reply
gives me the confidence to give it a try again.
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Sat Oct 27, 2012 12:35 am

backstraps wrote:Thanks SingingBridge

You are correct I have never hunted the flooded creek portion of this map. Your reply
gives me the confidence to give this area a try again.

Im curious though...how can you identify high spots near the flooded portion? Is it something you see on the aerial or the topo? Is is spots in the aerial that the water looks more shallow?


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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Sat Oct 27, 2012 3:39 am

TTT

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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Oct 27, 2012 4:46 am

backstraps wrote:
backstraps wrote:Thanks SingingBridge

You are correct I have never hunted the flooded creek portion of this map. Your reply
gives me the confidence to give this area a try again.

Im curious though...how can you identify high spots near the flooded portion? Is it something you see on the aerial or the topo? Is is spots in the aerial that the water looks more shallow?


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I find high spots in floodings and wetlands through prior scouting if possible... if that hasn't happened and I have access to high quality and recent aerial photo's of the area I can usually see them. If I have neither, I will sometimes strap a stand on my back and scout the transition area along the edge of the wetland and the higher ground. When I see buck sign, I set up... or, during the rut periods, I may count on a buck running a parallel trail along that transition line to check the doe runways going in to the potential bedding area. That transition line can be a great place to hunt and learn... sometimes my stand choice will end up being an "observation stand" where I learn more about how the deer utilize the wetland and am then able to make a move on a future hunt.

Your particular wetland, down in between a couple of high ground areas, can have some very tricky wind patterns... no one said it would be easy, its best to jump in and learn followed by logging it (recording it) for future reference.
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby backstraps » Sat Oct 27, 2012 5:44 am

Im going to go in with stand on back

The transition line is going to be the plan. I will have a couple days extra on this first hunt
Hoping to learn a little about this area and hunt it again in a couple weeks.

Thanks for the advice...I will report my progress next Friday

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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed?

Unread postby Singing Bridge » Sat Oct 27, 2012 9:26 am

sounds good- looking forward to the progress report.
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Re: Tough one for me...how would you proceed? (UPDATE)

Unread postby backstraps » Sat Nov 03, 2012 3:19 pm

Hello Singing Bridge

I was able to make it to the Wetlands a couple days. WOW was that area thick and nasty! To be honest someone who has more experience scouting land such as this would have done much much better than I did. However, one observation I was able to do was a close comparison to the land details and terrain features to my maps.

I began the scouting with walking the transition line separating the woods from the thick overgrown vegitation surrounding the woods. While walking this line I noted many heavily used trails entering and exiting the woods. I had suspected the majority of them were heavily used doe trails, as I never cut a bucks track in these trails.

There was a parralel trail on the East side of the biggest knob. East side would have been the leeward side during prevailing winds. I made notations of that trail for future reference.

I made my next scouting looking at the transition between the thick overgrown crp and ironweed field and the creek surrounding it. I found a dandy staging area between the bedding area you marked on the southern point next to the creek and green field. There were some huge, deep trails crossing the creek. There were also many old rubs from different years in there. Some scrapes that had some younger buck tracks in them.

Next I made my way into the woods to search along the wind tunnel, to look at the saddles and the small cut along the south west portion of the property. Only one of the saddles in my opinion was huntable. The others had so much sunlight exposure they were thick as hair with scrub bushes, blackberry briars, green briar and 10 foot tall saplings. However one of the saddles was in a open area that was surrounded by big mature oak trees. Sad enough, looked like the oaks either wasnt producing this year or already gone. Still looked like a promising crusing area.

I wasnt able to make it the more hilly regions to the west side of the property. The creek was about 20 foot wide, and probably 7 feet deep. I guess with all the rain and snow while I was there.
The two property owners that have access trails to the property would neither grant permission to cross their property...so I guess that scouting trip will have to wait for another day when I can figure a way across the water or during a more dry weather period.

The area where the bigger ponds are I didnt scout at all. I am thinking there must have been a youth waterfowl hunt going on. There was a lot of shooting and decoys out there, I didnt want to venture out and mess someones hunt up.

I took some pictures of the area... I really liked the staging area, but wouldnt have an idea how to hunt it. Reasons being,
a) I do not know how I would access the portion of property without intrusion and running the deer out of there.
b) being able to get between the bedding and the staging area would be super tough due to the wind. I could get away with the wind if it were from the West or N West, and as long as scent wasnt pulled up the hill into the bedding from the thermals.

I am not sure if I scouted as I should, I just done what I felt was best at the time. I got some intel for future hunts, maybe shotgun season the week after Thanksgiving. This area gets invaded by the amish and the orange army though during shotgun. Thats the reason I like to get my tag punched prior to bang season!


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