Mojotex

This is the type of back and forth I enjoy. Here are guys from the frozen lands of Minn. and Wis. , and a guy that was hunting in short sleeves last week in 80F weather in south Ala. giving one another advice. Love it.

I have absolutely zero clue how deer manage in deep snow and months of very cold conditions. Heck, I have no clue how folks do !!! We just do not have that down this way.

Right now there are still plenty of acorns in the hard woods where I hunt, with Water Oak and Red Oak now beginning to dominate what's falling. So I am still hanging in those areas around mid day. Still fairly warm down this way too with the first cold snap started a couple of days ago. No joke, week of December 5 or so I was hunting in short sleeves. Browse down our is still in good shape because we have not had much frost and certainly no sub 20F weather which freeze burns this stuff down. Deer are still scattered out feeding on these vines and twigs.

Looking at the layout of your place, seems to me that the there is plenty of "edge", which down this way are prime travel routes. Can't tell what type of ag crops are north of you, but if corn, oats, milo or soy beans ... somehting like that ... I suspect that the deer will be looking for tailings left from the fall harvest. If there are pasture crops going such as wheat or alfalfa, like we had in the Montana area I have hunted, the deer are probably working the edges of these fields for food ... scraping away the snow to get to the green.

I think that the deer would walk the edges of that low area. I doubt that they would use a trael route through the middle except maybe as an excape route.

I am intrigued by the "ridge" . Are there oak tress up there? If so might be a good idea to check it out prior to next season for acorns.

Ever thought about a food plot in that SW "corner" of the "12 Pt. Buck Field" ? Looks like a 1 acre +/- food plot planted along that edge would be a good set up.

Clevinger

I guess the advantage we have up here, in the frozen tundra, is that snakes and alligators don't frequent my swamp

As far as the ridge there are two in the west central part of the property. You can identify them because the forest there looks darker and thicker. I marked one of them. There are oak trees. I plan to place a ground blind between the two ridges.

There is a ridge/hill on the South side of the swamp that is a REALLY high point for that area. I approach it cautiously as I think they may use it as bedding. Not sure though. I stay clear of its interior but hunt around it.

We have considered putting a food plot near that corner you mention. They seem to move through that corner frequently.

Love the back-and-forth too. Thanks for the input.

Bukmastr

Right now in the north they are feeding mostly on browse. But still find some stuff in some fields. red Dogwood along the swamp edges is a good staging food that is usually very close to bedding.
Your going to find buck bedding close to the top of hills,or ridges within the top 1/3 if there is adaquate cover. They tend to bed the down wind side catching the thermal rise from below, and the wind over the top at the same time... Along the swamp edge, look closely at the areas I circled. If you see little trees out there in cattails or brush, beds should be right there. If there is snow, they might not be there right now. The edge of the swamp along the transition line is normally where you would set up. Walk that edge and look for sign going in and follow it to the beds.

Bukmastr

Without the coordinates so I could zoom in, or a topo ( And I would recommend you DON'T post the coord's on a public forum ) Its really tough for me. On most propertys like this I can zoom right in and tell you exactly where a lot of the beds would be without ever setting foot on the property.

Here is a property I scouted for a guy. The green spots are the hunting positions, red is bedding. Note the deer trails in the cattails. You can zoom right in and look at where the deer trails go...

Clevinger

First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to look into that property. I find know matter how much I learn about hunting there is always someone who knows more.

Here is one dilemma...you see what I marked as potential stand 3 and you circled? We agree on it's potential. The problem is that the the thick-looking, isolated woods immediately behind it (to the east of it and on the southern edge of the swamp) is on top of a huge hill, and I think they may be using it as bedding.

Do you think my potential stand 3 is too close to that bedding area? I don't want to spook them out of there.

Clevinger

This is the other area I really need to scout and figure out. They move off the field along the white arrow I have below. I can't figure out where they go beyond that (trail harder to follow as it gets really thick). Those ridges with the thicker forest on them may in fact be their bedding areas in there.

I anticipate putting a ground blind in there in the lower area between the ridges and trying to catch them as they go to the field seen in the picture in the evening...

Thoughts?

Bukmastr

The last buck I arrowed was 160 class 11 pointer last September. I was set up about 45 yards from his bed... Last year in October I shot a 166 inch 10 pointer, I watched him get out of his bed 75 yards away... This is very typical for me.
Both of these bucks would of never left the area in daylight like the younger bucks do... I hunt mostly public land with high pressure, but mature bucks every where have a tendancy to move more at night... Closer to the bedding the better.
However, bumbling around and setting up without knowing where the bedding is can lead to bumping the buck out of there. I usually have these beds scouted out quite well in spring and know exactly where they lay, and what they can see , smell, and hear,. I pick out a tree and an access then, and don't come back till its time to kill... And I never hunt a stand more than 3 or 4 times in one year. Big bucks are awesome at patterning hunters.

Bukmastr

I would need to see a topo of that area...