Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all beasts

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dbltmn
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:09 am

Image

Did it work? here is the topo (maybe), now for the arial

Image

hope this works... getting frustrated.


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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Fri Dec 09, 2011 9:16 am

copper/albums/userpics/10026/Hwy_64_North_side_topo.pdf

copper/albums/userpics/10026/Hwy_64_North_side_arial.pdf

ok maybe this.... :doh:

The area I have marked conifer swamp below cedars is a reall thick pine tree swamp with a thick mossy layer of soft bottom brush, we call it a bluelerry marsh. I have jumped deer in there bedding TIGHT under "christmas" trees. It is heavily used in winter as I think it stays warmer with the ground being insulated by the spongy plants and the low lond with pines keeping wind out.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:31 am

dbltmn wrote:http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/copper/albums/userpics/10026/Hwy_64_North_side_topo.pdf

copper/albums/userpics/10026/Hwy_64_North_side_arial.pdf

ok maybe this.... :doh:

The area I have marked conifer swamp below cedars is a reall thick pine tree swamp with a thick mossy layer of soft bottom brush, we call it a bluelerry marsh. I have jumped deer in there bedding TIGHT under "christmas" trees. It is heavily used in winter as I think it stays warmer with the ground being insulated by the spongy plants and the low lond with pines keeping wind out.



Nope still not working...hate to be the one to point it out. Anyways there are two options that seem to always work. Use photobucket and copy their "img code" at the bottom of the picture and just paste it to your post here. OR you can upload your picture from your computer right to the beast. Here is a link:

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/copper/
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby Carol » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:53 am

dbltmn wrote:Image

Did it work? here is the topo (maybe), now for the arial

Image

hope this works... getting frustrated.



I tried to fix these images for ou. However when I went into your profile on the photo gallery it said you have not uploaded anything yet.

SO..... you can try again with the directions I gave you. Or I will PM you further instructions on how to post pics.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dan » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:56 am

dbltmn wrote:OK here's a few questions I cannot seem to find an explanation of. Alot of guys post topos and some of you help out with bedding area locations. Can you tell me based purely on the topography, what specifically are you looking for? Also thie 1/3 rule you speak of, Is this that deer wil typically bed about 1/3 of the way down from the highest point of a ridge top?


In hill country bucks typically bed along ridges. They want the wind blowing from the top over the vally so when bedded on the ridge the natural wind is hitting them in the back alerting them of anything up top while they look below. They typically bed within the top 1/3 ( more like top 1/4 ) but specifically right where the graduale downslope drops off fast... Because they want the wind from behind the best spots for them to bed will be on points along the ridge. This is likely because a minor shift in the wind will not expose them to danger by just shifting to a different side of the point.
You will see I go into great detail about that on the DVD you bought... Like others suggested, I would also recommend Marsh bucks. M/B was the 1st tactical DVD I made and therefore I lay out the whole premis of how I hunt, and cover a wide spectrum.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Fri Dec 09, 2011 3:46 pm

copper/displayimage.php?pid=179

Image

ok heres a topo of my long time hunting area. This is public land the large semi flat ridge in the middle is mostly mature hardwoods and mixed pines the swamp on the left start out on the south end as a very thick conifer swamp with a "boggy" soft bottom that is very well insulated. the ground in this area is very spongy and it is very quiet and dense. moving north in the swamp it turns into cedar swamp, then thins out as it swings east at the north end. When it swings south at the east side it turns into a large thick cedar swamp. The areas west of the cedar swamp and south of the large middle ridge were clear cut 25 years ago and are now 20 foot tall popples and thinning out.

Thank you in advance for any input on bedding areas or ideas on stand placement. I will also work on an arial map.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby BackWoodsHunter » Fri Dec 09, 2011 4:42 pm

I tried to help and post the picture for you but that's a goofy link. I am not the one to mark up maps but thought I could at least help get it posted. Sorry and good luck to you!
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby KLEMZ » Fri Dec 09, 2011 11:52 pm

dbltmn, this link should help post up your pictures.
http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/viewtopic.php?f=28&t=5754
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby Carol » Sat Dec 10, 2011 12:41 am

[img]http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/copper/albums/userpics/10026/n_side_topo.pdf[/img]



Dbltmn, your link above wont work because you have to save your map as a .jpg or .jpeg to post. You can't post a .pdf and use the image link. It wont work.
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dbltmn
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Sat Dec 10, 2011 3:37 am

One more time. I saved it as a jpeg and here we go.

As a side note, the only thing I am finding could be easier on this site IS posting pics. Other sites all you have to do is click a box that says upload pic and select a file and blam.

http://www.thehuntingbeast.com/copper/displayimage.php?pid=180

Image

:pray: :pray: :pray: :pray:
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dbltmn
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Sat Dec 10, 2011 4:59 am

Yee haw, Here is an arial view.

Image



The big ridge in the middle is all mature hardwoods with xmas trees around the swamp edge. The swamp starts out at the SW end as a thick dense conifer swamp with a spongy moss like bush floor. as it moves north a few hundred yards it turns into cedars. then it thins out at the north end swings east and then south where it turns into a big nasty cedar swamp.

The area to the west of the swamp was clear cut like almost 20 years ago and is not 3-4 inch diameter popples

The area to the north is all mature thick forest mix.

The trail in that ends at the south end of conifer swamp has a strip of 50 foot tall pines that were planted just before I started hunting 27 years ago and they are now about 50 feet tall and there is no undergrowth.

I have seen the best deer activity around the conifer swamp, and have kicked deer bedded in there as probly the safe area when pressure heightens or when it gets real cold or windy. They can hunker down right in the soft bedding of the floor under a xmas tree sized pine and you will walk right past them.
Last edited by Carol on Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:55 am, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: edited image url to show image
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dbltmn
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Sat Dec 10, 2011 5:00 am

Image

maybe this work better.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dan » Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:49 am

I marked up your Topo a little... I added red dots where I would expect bucks to bed based on the land topography and wind... The blue arrows show the general wind direction the bucks would prefer to bed in these spots with...

Image

When they bed in these spots, with the wind indicated ( roughly ) the natural wind and the thermal air current should both collide right where the beds are enabling bucks to smell above and below... ( wind tunnel therory )
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dan » Sat Dec 10, 2011 7:57 am

Your likely to have some bucks that also prefer to bed in the timbered swamps... Those can be tricker to find, but are more often not relient on a specific wind direction. To find the bedding in the swamps, walk the transition lines. A transistion line is the edge where two different types of vegitation, elevation, or terrain meet. The types of transitions I would walk in the swamps is islands of differing tree types, ( usually slightly elevated from the predominant elevation of the swamp ) The swamp edge ( where it meets hardwood or hills ) Anywhere the vegitation changes and along its edge.. While walking these transitions ( preferably in winter or early spring before green-up ) look for trails and deer sign. Try backtracking and looking for bedding from sign you see along the transitions.
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Re: Public land-big woods- please help- And: Kudos to all be

Unread postby dbltmn » Wed Dec 14, 2011 5:23 am

Holy cow Dan, I must admit that having hunted in that area off and on for 25 years you just pegged one spot that I shot a mature 8 point when I was 16, and one spot where I repeatedly have had encounters with good buck sign. I am impressed for sure. However I have never had any information as to how to find a bucks core area before this so hopefully this will help me put a few pieces together to increase my opportunity for success. I plan on doing some winter and spring scouting in the areas you marked. I have normallythe southern "half" of this map area mostly due to convenience, but am going to do more in the northern areas from here on.

So to sort of sum up how to use mapping for buck areas you are looking for steep slopes with points that allow visibility off of the slope, wind from the backside and thermal effect from the front side. Then I'm thinking land cover has to be appropriate for a buck to use. Meaning of these areas I need to find the "spot on spot" where there is a thicket, a blow down, small pines, or something for a buck to call home, within the area that the topography suits his other needs.

It has been exactly 10 years since I have shot a buck, with only 2 good mature 8 point bucks on my wall. I have always spent a good amount of the 9 day gun season in the woods, but this past year, since I bought a place in the woods, I am finding more and more time to venture out and explore on the weekends. I have spent more time in the woods this year than I ever have. I have learned alot, but I can see that I have a long way to go if I want to call myself knowledgable. I have always been fascinated by deer, and I think my fascination is only growing the older I get. I have a much higher respect for deer the more I learn about them. Amazing critters they are.

I may post another map if you dont mind taking a peek again. I am really amazed at how much sense the spots you mentioned bring up past sightings, encounters and sign. Thanks again... still havent got "Hill Country" but it shipped so I'm waiting anxiously.


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