Beast Hunters Opinion

[ProHuntR]

http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h43/v ... kaarbc.png

I've small game hunted this spot for about 15yrs and for the last 3yrs I'm starting to bow hunt this general area. It seems like all the deer are coming out from the cattail marsh from the north and working there way south to feed and back up north to the marsh to bed. My question is how would you beast hunters go about scouting and prepping up for the upcoming season. I gonna be going out soon to hang a few trail cameras and wanted some pointers. Any suggestions?

[Stanley]

Welcome to the Beast. I attached the picture for you.

[ProHuntR]

Welcome to the Beast. I attached the picture for you.

Thank you Stanley.

[bkraus]

There's a lot more seasoned guys on here but I'll take a shot at this.. I would start by walking the transition line of the woods and cattails to see if you can cut any trails or sign of mature bucks. I would definitely pay close attention to the points of woods that go out into the cattails to look for bedding or any bowls of cattails that come into the woods.

[ Post made via Android ]

[Jackson Marsh]

Where is the access from? Is that line through the map a road or railroad? The best looking area looks like the NE where most of my read marks are. I would scout the whole transition line marked in black. I would expect the best bedding to be in the thick brushy area mostly to the NE. Depending on where the pressure is you probably want to scout along the river/creek edge too. Nice looking property.

[Lockdown]

^^^ solid advice ^^^

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[ProHuntR]

the red lines are known trails that are used yearly. the yellow dot is where the 168 7/8 buck was shot last gun season by my father and I missed a bigger one that same day. which has drawn me to believe there are bigger bucks in the area. I hung a trail camera in the southeast part of the property(which is not shown on the map) and all I got were night pictures at around 2am-4am. it seems like all the deer were coming from the north and going south. most activity that was caught on camera was with any kind of south winds which I plan on hunting with. once a north wind was recorded the sightings were minimal.
the line in the middle there is actually a railroad. the access point is from the northwest which is like a 1.5hr hike to this remote area. I don't have to worry about anyone getting back there cause its too far for the average person to walk to. the northeast part of the area is where I always bump groups of does (12+) and they always head into the cattail marsh.
my question is where would be a good place to set up and hang trail cameras to check census on a certain buck?

[dan]

I would put the trail cameras on the trails you marked in red "away from the marsh edge" and I would hunt the trails coming out of the marsh. No doubt the larger bucks are bedding in the marsh.

[Florida]

It sounds like you are 90% there already on a great piece of land. Figure out where they are exiting the march and you got em. Pick the right day and kill him. Good luck!

[ProHuntR]

time to put in some leg work and walk those transition line and see where they are entering the wood from. I'm more concentrated on the northeast part of the property. now what about entrance to the stand coming from the west or northwest? since this is all mainly flat river bottoms and the high area is the railroad about 10ft higher. do I stay south of the railroad and walk parallel with it and then over the tracks and go north or walk on top of the railroad and then north to the spot with any south winds?

[jmaas07]

Determining access; I find the beds first, get in them and see what the deer can see, determine if they are wind specific, in the marsh they might not be, then determine where they are going when leaving the bed. then pick a tree or 2 that I can set up in. then I determine the best access as to where my scent is not ever blowing directly at the bed and also so the deer will not cross my scent trail before he gets to me

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[dan]

Determining access; I find the beds first, get in them and see what the deer can see, determine if they are wind specific, in the marsh they might not be, then determine where they are going when leaving the bed. then pick a tree or 2 that I can set up in. then I determine the best access as to where my scent is not ever blowing directly at the bed and also so the deer will not cross my scent trail before he gets to me

[ Post made via iPhone ]

Jmaas gives solid advice! Some of the biggest marsh and swamp bucks I have shot were shot within 100 yards of there beds and any closer would of blown the hunt, any farther back would of kept them from getting to me... Knowing where the beds are is a big advantage.

As far as access, each situation is different. Try to come in from a way where you don't cross his trails and your wind never blows his way...

[mainebowhunter]

Determining access; I find the beds first, get in them and see what the deer can see, determine if they are wind specific, in the marsh they might not be, then determine where they are going when leaving the bed. then pick a tree or 2 that I can set up in. then I determine the best access as to where my scent is not ever blowing directly at the bed and also so the deer will not cross my scent trail before he gets to me

[ Post made via iPhone ]

X2 -- Good stuff.

[ProHuntR]

thanks to everyone that has put their input into this piece of property. I will soon be putting in some leg work and will be posting pix of my findings accordingly to everyone's opinion. cant wait for the season to come sooner.