Justin

With the late season upon us here in Northen IL there's snow on the ground and it's nice and cold out. The deer have been hitting the food sources hard in the evenings so naturally that's where my two choices for setups are tonight.

Choice 1 - A small ground blind that overlooks a CRP field that for some reason has some standing soybeans in it. I've always had good luck in the past out of this spot at the does funnel out of the woods directly in front of me and give me a great shot. Have never seen a buck within shooting range from this spot but if nobody drives a snowmobile or quad through my property tonight I should almost have a guaranteed shot at a doe.

Choice 2 - My "swamp stand" as I call it. It's situated right on the edge of a corn field that was cut late in the year and has a lot of corn leftover that the deer are hitting. I know that one of the bucks I am hunting is living in this swamp, but it's hard to get to without being seen as all the fields have been taken in and I really only have one access point. If I can sneak in there undetected chances are I might get a crack at a buck if he comes out to feed, but it's gonna be tough.

The wind is right for both setups so I will let you folks decide for me. I have the snow camo all set for the ground blind if need be.

I will post the pictures and story after my hunt tonight.

sr77

That swamp stand sounds pretty decent. Good luck either way.

Shane

BowHuntingFool

I agree, go to the swamp!!!!!! Its cold and they need the cover! Good luck!

jayuu

try the swamp. leave early and stalk your way to the stand to not be seen.

Cougar Mag

Swamp......no, the ground blind. No, the swamp.......uh no, the ground blind.[8D]

Actually the swamp sounds like its worth a try. We will be waiting to see how it went.

Rockey100

If you hunt the swamp you might get them comin in for some water.

Rob/PA Bowyer

Am I too late, I voted swamper.

Justin

Well, I tried the swamp because that's what everyone wanted. On my way out I noticed a LOT of tracks in the CRP/beans section not too far from my ground blind but I kept going. Once I arrived at my stand I noticed a few pretty good trails within shooting distance. Unfortunately one of them is right under my tree! I dont' know when the deer started using this one, but that's gonna have to get fixed for next year. Some selective tree harvesting should do the trick.

So I got in my stand and not 30 minutes later some kids on the other side of the swamp from me come out of their house and decide to snowboard and play tackle football. This happens on occassion and it never fails that they bust deer out of the swamp. I decided to forego the stand and hightail it back to the ground blind before it was too late.

Once I got there and settled in for the night it wasn't 20 minutes and 2 guys on snowmobiles come by. [:@] After they tore up my fields for a bit I just gave up and called it a night. Luckily I was able to chase them down with my truck a little while later and give them an earfull about trespassing on private property (not to mention screwing up my deer hunting).

So there you have it. Tonight was a lose-lose situation no matter where I sat!

jayuu

dig some sled traps where the snowmobilers frequent. that'll teach em.