Big flat hardwoods where to start??

[wolfie729]

Ok guys so this year I'm going cheap dropping my leases and going strictly public land but a lot of the local state land is just massive hardwoods and its mainly flat where do you start Im looking at these giant maps and its overwhelming

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[checkerfred]

I'm sure some other guys more experienced will chime in, but I'd look for transitions and breaks. Post up a map too. That will help

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[Tennhunter3]

Was at first I'm no pro but this is what I look for most of my hunting is logged or hardwood public land around 450-550 elevation .When I look at a map I look for east sides of ridges and then find south facing points since here in tennessee the wind is so often from the northwest in the fall. I also look at a few north facing points on east side incase of a gulf wind from south. Imark these spots on topos. Then I note any saddles or funnels in the area. Then I pull up ariel photos and look for any change in terrain near these east facing ridges like pines meeting hardwoods creating a edge . I also avoid hardwoods near roads which to me screams hunting pressure. Now walk the areas you marked on topos and I keep notes of each find. During hunting season I mark cars and if I cross any other hunters positions this tells me chances are they are killing my young bucks before they get old so I avoid. Where I hunt I know several areas everyone drives right by I look for these. Just think of overlooked places or areas most hunters say I'm not going there. I've never hunted flat land so that would be new to me. Hope this helps you it's just my routine.

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[wolfie729]

Wheres the cheapest best way to find maps i have the all outdoors atlas but it doesnt show much and onlines ok but i want a big printout to look at

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[john1984]

Type in your county and state then GIS map on google They might have Ariel's with leaf drop

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[Wlog]

Wheres the cheapest best way to find maps i have the all outdoors atlas but it doesnt show much and onlines ok but i want a big printout to look at

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Google earth,bing maps, cal topo, all free.

Look for cover. If it's mainly flat, mature hardwoods, water ways are a good place to look. Usually around creeks or low spots that hold water, enough light gets through the tree canopy to have some under growth and good browse.

Ox bows in a creek.
Logging activity new or a few years old. There will be younger growth there which means plenty of food and bedding cover.

Deadfalls. Places where a storm or insects caused some of the big mature trees to fall and create an opening in the canopy.

Any place where the tree types and vegetation changes. Follow these transition lines looking for buck sign. Also look at interior transitions. For example, maybe there is a thicket that is ten acres in size but there is an opening inside the thicket that's two acres.

Not every transition is gonna stick out on an aerial. Some of them can only be found on foot.

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[wmahunter]

caltopo can give you both an aerial and topo at the same time. Aerial topo hybrid - you can do shading , draw lines, measure distance, print a kmz for your gps if garmin as well.

[dan]

Think small.... Break the woods down into sections and learn those sections. Look for logged areas that grew back thick, and stick to the transitions. Find over looked or remote areas that receive little attention.

[wolfie729]

Thanks guys ill give this a go

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[Kraftd]

I would add that for me big flat hardwoods are one of the easiest places to eliminate cover. Generally, the open flat hardwoods portions don't have the structure to hold reliable deer patterns during shooting light. It really lets you break it down into the transition areas and thicker cover. Some of this may be pretty apparent, especially if you can find a good aerial photo without leaf cover, otherwise it should be come pretty apparent once you get out there.

[wmahunter]

Think small.... Break the woods down into sections and learn those sections. Look for logged areas that grew back thick, and stick to the transitions. Find over looked or remote areas that receive little attention.

Dan is not kidding about thick vegetation areas, transitions and do not forget the points on the topo no matter how flat the land. There is a contour and may be small. Scouting down here in Florida I found such a place. To start I had to find some open dirt areas on a trail to find the tracks and the direction the deer were going, otherwise all I was seeing were deer walking on leaf clutter on the trails because the leaves were kicked up slightly. It is hard to find a good track that way.

I started on the vehicle trail and found where the deer were crossing. I back tracked from there. I found a spot this past week after walking around for 2 hours in this thick nasty stuff you cannot see more than 3 yds in. I was walking along and saw a tree sapling with just the slightest mark on it from an antler so I back tracked it. I found one more on a bigger sapling, Knew I was getting close.

Sure enough I busted the deer out of there. It was thick and nasty. I am still trying to find a way to hunt it.