SeaHunter

One of my friends bought 30 acres about 3 months ago and he has been hunting only on one side of his property. I just recently figured I'd give hunting a try and got some camos and borrowed his old gun. I usually only go on the weekends he can't because he only has one tree big enough for a tree stand on the dry piece of his land. He does have about 20 acres of wet swamp land that he has not even explored yet and he keeps begging me to get some waders and find a tree in the swamp. He borrowed a tree climber for me to use but I'm not sure if it is worth it but he insists there should be big bucks on that side.

What would be better to wade through the swamp with a tree climber or to build a blind on the ground on the dry side.

basserman

Very difficult to answer. My advice is to scout and explore the other half. Hunting is not just climbing a tree and watching for deer.

"Semper Fi"

SeaHunter

I did explore some last Wednesday until I was up to my knees in cold water/mud. I followed what appeared to be a path about 400' to 500' but I kept thinking why would a deer live in such wet place. About ever 20 to 40 feet it would go from wet to semi-dry there were some deer tracks but I could not really follow them because of all the water.

kc_bowhunter

you will find the biggest deer on the most unusual places. I've ran out HUGE bucks out of very small draws with one or two trees and 100 sq feet of tall grass while pheasant hunting.... I've seen deer walking out on the open field heading out for water where there are no trees within hundreds of yards. I've seen deer swimming at a private lake while I was fishing...
My point is try to find a good spot, and either climb or sit on the ground real still where you can see most of the area. If you are careful with the wind and move VERY slowly and NOT very often, you can shoot a deer from the ground. My father in law shot a 10 point buck 3 weeks ago from the ground at 15 yards. He was sitting against a large tree next to a trail.
I'd give the swamp a try if you see deer signs leading to it. Big bucks like to stay where noone else goes. That's why they survive long enough to be trophies...
Good Luck

Coastie

Go to the Regional Forum/Southeast and see if you can hook up with somebody that is familiar with hunting the swamps of Florida or South Georgia. Having been born and raised in Northern Wisconsin and now residing in North Georgia (mountains) I have no experience in the terain of a Southern swamp or what the deer do in those areas.

Coastie
"Children are tastier than Dogs or Goats and they're far easier for a Leopard to catch" Indian Magistrate Hari Prasad Tivari

Tree climber

I have found here on the gulf coast of Fla. the big boys like to get just as deep in the swamp as they can.they will go till they find a little tussit or island and lay out the day.
if you can scout the swamp and look for bedding ares,or if you jump a deer.find you a good tree on the edge of the swamp where the enter.look for trails from the high ground to the water.
I have taken many deer in the water.I don't wear boots or waders because I always go over them and get wet anyway.

good luck,and get wet for a buck.



I am not a hunter I am a whitetail population reduction specialest

remember keep your back to the sun, your knife sharp, and your powder dry.

Bucky10

I have always heard that big bucks love swampy and secluded areas. But who knows whitetails are unpredictable.

SeaHunter

My friend can have his dry side.

Monday I put a climber on my back but my back pack on my front and took his old 30-30 and walked back into the swamp from a new angle. I followed what looked like a trail till found a tree that looked climbable and used the tree climber (for the first time) to get as high as I could. I could see 3 trails and got my self comfortable and settled in for the afternoon. After about an hour I could hear some rustling behind me and my heart started pounding then about 15 minutes later a raccoon swam by. About an hour after I calmed down I heard some more rustling then what I can only describe as a cow mooing through a trumpet. I did not see anything else that afternoon.

http://24.27.226.54:85/hunting/treestand1.jpg Monday's Tree Stand View

Tuesday did not take a gun because we were expecting rain in the afternoon but I did end up getting a chance to kind of explore deeper. I did my best to look around where I assumed the mooing from the day before was coming from. I found a dry ridge and followed it to a nice opening with tall grass it was about 25' X 40' I scanned the horizon and found a tree that had a good shot to the opening. I made the decision to sit here Wednesday morning and made my way out looking for land marks to get me back in the morning.

Wednesday morning the rain had stopped. I suited up with the climber and gear and made my way back in the dark. I was up the tree and settled in about 5:45 am and waited to the sun rise. Just about the time the sun was coming up a big mosquito landed on my forehead. I slowly leaned my head down and brushed it off and as I looked back up there was a deer. All I saw was it's shoulders and hind end as it wiggled it's tail and disappeared into the brush. I sat there until 11:00 am and made my way back to the truck. All my friend saw a few gobblers strutting around field. I figured since he took some picture he must not have been very still or quite.

http://24.27.226.54:85/hunting/turkey_001.jpg Three hens and four gobblers
http://24.27.226.54:85/hunting/turkey_003.jpg Little jake

I was so amped up after seeing my first deer we decided to get some lunch and come back till dark. I made my way back to where I saw the deer duck in to the bushes and followed the trail till it lead me to a spot where 5 trails came together and standing in the intersection I counted 12 scrapes. I spent about 5 minutes decided if I want to try this spot or go to the tree I sat in during the morning . I figured the spot I was standing in just looked too good so I used the climber to go up the nearest tree, by now I've gotten good at with the climber. I never saw anything the rest of the day but I enjoyed every peacful minure of sitting up in that tree. I'm sure I be in that tree next chance I get.


This week was my first real attempt at hunting and I fell in love with hunting and the swamp.






Edited by - SeaHunter on 01/02/2003 20:01:01

Who

Sounds like you got it bad. What you ask? You are now a hunting junkie.
You will find yourself spending time and money in the sporting good stores, on line, in anything that has hunting. You will find that your clothes are hard to find becouse they are all camo.
You will get the shakes when people start to talk about hunting.
You will forget your wifes birthday and aniversery but remember when hunting season starts and ends.
You will find that if you have kids you will plan for their birth during off season.
Any hope? nope your hooked!
Good luck.
Rick

Lifes not about knowing the answers, its about asking the questions.

huntingbgbucks

I hunt swamp bottoms only. I love it. There is some monsters there and we have been killing them for 4 years now in there. I have seen bigger deer in the swamp then eanywhere else. I love it. I would scout it this spring and summer and get some good trails. They use trails in swamps. But if there pressured they will stay int he water. I have seen a 8 point buck swimming in a part of the swamp for over 40 minutes could not shoot him because it would bave been to hard to get a canoe in there to get him out of the water.