Swamp and marsh Safety

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checkerfred
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Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:44 am

Please post anything related to swamp or marsh safety.

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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:44 am

dan wrote:Marshes are often floating bogs. Under the cattails is just muck and water. Some spots are like walking on a water bed... Avoid spots where there are no cattails or brush. Often, if it can't support a cattail, it can't support you. Do not walk in the center of the trail. Deer hooves cut holes that make that area weak. Deer often travel down these trails on there bellies more hopping than walking. Walk to the sides and step on top of cattail roots. They will support you... No matter how cold it is, never trust the ice. Rotting vegetation in the muck creates heat and you never know where these "hot spots" are... I have gone thru bad on many occasions, if your in bad shape you may want to take someone with you.
When YOU GO THRU, bend at the waist anmd reach out to grab cattails or ground then crawl out of the hole forward if you can... We had an older guy go thru here once to his arm pits and they put plywood around him to pull him up and still couldn't so they got a snow mobile and hooked a strap around him and pulled him out... He came out with no boots, but they got him out.


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Twenty Up
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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby Twenty Up » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:31 am

He's referring to the "Dirty South" swamps.
First off Thermacell with backup gas/pads
12"+ Boots depending on the area
Snake Gators
Side Arm if dealing with a hog infested area
Rubber band around legs/wrists to keep the ticks & chiggers out

I also found that drinking a shot glass full of apple cider vinegar a day helped keep the ticks and chiggers off me. You need to start this 4-5 days before the hunt even starts though. Might not be "fist hand" safety but if you've ever been lit up by chiggers or know someone with Lymes Disease you'll think differently.

I try staying out of the swamps but it seems the mature bucks prefer to hang around these areas.
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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby mauser06 » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:43 am

Carry a compass (and know how to use it...) As well as a GPS....

I've found that the vastness and the thickness of the marsh and surrounding brush/woodlots etc can get you turned around quickly...


On the same note...the vastness creates almost a mirage sometimes...I've looked out and thought an island or whatever wasn't too far away...well the walking is usually far from easy..which means more energy exerted and slower going...and it ends up being farther than I realized...


Ice was mentioned but I will echo it...we've had snow covering everything every time I've been out....I've fallen through multiple times in places I didn't even expect to be on ice/water...

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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:49 am

Pulling pant legs over boots is a good way to keep feet dry and clean. If your pants are tight over your boots it keeps objects and muck and water from getting inside your boot.... boots that are loose on top with pants inside become what I like to refer to as "foot aquariums" when you hit a soft or deep spot.
You would be surprised at how well denim can keep water out if you pull your foot back out real quick...
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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 3:53 am

mauser06 wrote:Carry a compass (and know how to use it...) As well as a GPS....

I've found that the vastness and the thickness of the marsh and surrounding brush/woodlots etc can get you turned around quickly...


On the same note...the vastness creates almost a mirage sometimes...I've looked out and thought an island or whatever wasn't too far away...well the walking is usually far from easy..which means more energy exerted and slower going...and it ends up being farther than I realized...


Ice was mentioned but I will echo it...we've had snow covering everything every time I've been out....I've fallen through multiple times in places I didn't even expect to be on ice/water...

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Real good point!
I have found that you can get in trouble in unfamilar swamps and marshes if you don't have a map and compass... You can keep running into water barriers and have a heck of a time finding the way out... With an aerial you can notice things on the aerial that give you a clue to where you are and you can use your compass to direct you to another area of the marsh/swamp or an exit.
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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:24 am

dan wrote:My quote was in reference to marshes, not swamps... But I assume you are referring to both. I can change the title if you like to "Marsh & swamp safety"


Pulling pant legs over boots is a good way to keep feet dry and clean. If your pants are tight over your boots it keeps objects and muck and water from getting inside your boot.... boots that are loose on top with pants inside become what I like to refer to as "foot aquariums" when you hit a soft or deep spot.
You would be surprised at how well denim can keep water out if you pull your foot back out real quick...


Yes please change the title. I hope this can be a good comprehensive thread on both. I'm not sure what my area classifies as. I assume swamp because it has wet and dry hardwood bottoms with marshlike areas (cattails and I guess boggy areas) mixed in.

I have to deal with ticks and chiggers as well as a variety of poisonous snakes and alligators. This is my first year in the area and I only went in once during this winter. I stayed on the dry flats the other times. I'm not sure I'll be brave enough to enter in the early to mid fall

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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:25 am

One idea I had was to take a collapsible painters pole for a walking stick/depth detector

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Re: Swamp Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:28 am

mauser06 wrote:Carry a compass (and know how to use it...) As well as a GPS....

I've found that the vastness and the thickness of the marsh and surrounding brush/woodlots etc can get you turned around quickly...


On the same note...the vastness creates almost a mirage sometimes...I've looked out and thought an island or whatever wasn't too far away...well the walking is usually far from easy..which means more energy exerted and slower going...and it ends up being farther than I realized...


Ice was mentioned but I will echo it...we've had snow covering everything every time I've been out....I've fallen through multiple times in places I didn't even expect to be on ice/water...

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Also I do this in the big woods Hills. I carry two flash lights as well as extra batteries for the GPS (2-3 sets), and one extra set for a flashlight. Call me paranoid but I had two flashlights go dead because the button accidentally got pressed in my pack. I always make sure batteries are charged before going out too. And I carry a compass.

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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby dan » Mon Feb 09, 2015 5:58 am

A friend of mine from work went hunting with shotgun in a large marsh he was not real familiar with... He wandered by chance thru a small land peninsula and spent hours trying to find his way back out... He told me that it was almost to the point of panic cause every direction he hit un passable water and muck and did not find the passage until nearly dark. He showed me the spot on google earth, and I am pretty sure this is it... The red line shows his entrance into the area...

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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby headgear » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:50 am

In the fall or on ice in winter a little brush or vegetation can be your friend, there is usually at least some ground there or some solid-ish ground a little ways down. A lot of time the less vegetation the deeper the water or muck. With that said there are deep hole EVERYWHERE and they will get you eventually. Like Dan mentioned before, bend at the waste and see if you can get your arms out if you go through.
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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:52 am

I think another key thing to do is always let someone know where you are. Whenever I go out, I leave GPS coordinates with my wife of the area I plan to be in. I've I move a good bit from the area, I use one of my smartphone map apps to send my exact GPS coordinate to her through a text and also using Facebook chat. Sometimes texts don't go through even if it shows. I usually even email it to her too.

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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby checkerfred » Mon Feb 09, 2015 6:55 am

headgear wrote:In the fall or on ice in winter a little brush or vegetation can be your friend, there is usually at least some ground there or some solid-ish ground a little ways down. A lot of time the less vegetation the deeper the water or muck. With that said there are deep hole EVERYWHERE and they will get you eventually. Like Dan mentioned before, bend at the waste and see if you can get your arms out if you go through.


What does this do? Keep you from going under?

How deep can some of the holes get? This is really some scary terrain.

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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby Swampbuck » Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:04 am

A walking stick helps as well but don't rely on it fully. take steps slowly. I've fallen into my chest more times than I can count but it's usually always from going to fast

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Re: Swamp and marsh Safety

Unread postby Twenty Up » Mon Feb 09, 2015 7:37 am

I should have clarified, I'm from South GA. We don't get ice thankfully but our Swamps aren't anything like y'alls swamps or marshes. I'm originally from NY and hunted in the Catskills & Saratoga area for years. No marsh up there compared to what we have down here, I personally hate hunting swamps but that's where big bucks go..
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