Does anyone have any tips

[clandestine.misfit]

The area i hunt in is filled with many islands with small ridges and peninsulas in between. Some areas thicker than heck and lots of marsh grass (very shy on cattails)

I can go ahead and assume areas that hold water won’t be good for bedding. But I’m trying to scout this rather large property and i keep coming up empty handed. There’s no real way for me to cover all of it.

I have killed a 145(gun season my first buck ever haha) and have seen other quite large deer during gun season but i can only assume they’ve gotten bumped and relocated during the hunting season.

I’ve found tons of evidence of bucks but the rubs are so low they don’t suggest really anything bigger that your typical basket 6/8 and I’d love to just even see a giant during bow season.

[Huntress13]

Can you see on satellite pics any places where the vegetation looks different? Sometimes that can show higher spots. Also you can often see trails and hubs of trails from those higher spots. Just because there is water there now doesn't mean there will be in early bow season.

[Bonecrusher101]

I don’t know what state you are in but I’ve noticed bucks here move beds based on hunter pressure and preferable food sources. I have a very hard time getting on bucks on public land until the guns start going off and acorn drop late Oct through Nov.

Ive noticed does near the swamps and grass and creeks during spring and summer. I think that’s due to them dropping hiding and raising fawns. I think most of the bucks spend August and September in the ag fields. After harvest, and when acorns drop they migrate back to the woods and then bed in swamps for cover during a lot of hunting season.

The bucks might only use the cattail beds during gun season. Again the best bet is walk the transitions and attempt to find the key areas that stand out that deer prefer.

Every time you scout is a success. You are getting exercise, and you either find somewhere that gets you excited or you don’t. Finding bare spots will show you where not to hunt. Both will help you deer season gets here.

[Jackson Marsh]

It's hard to say without looking at an aerial (not recommended to post). If you've killed a big one, they have to be a few around.

[clandestine.misfit]

The issue is there’s just so many transitions and islands and so many trails on aerials. Also there’s no Ag around it so it’s hard to shine. It just seems so vast and overwhelming i can’t figure out the best way to locate something.
What I’ve been doing is picking a section. Marking spots on my map I’d like to see. Boots on the ground. And afterwards questioning myself like where are these deer hiding. I know they’ve gotta be here

[mipubbucks24]

I would suggest walking all the transitions before you jump into the islands. If you find sign on the edge of a transition going into a marsh then you can start following that back. When I scout in season it’s always trying to tip toe around the outside edge of marshes looking for hot sign, and when I find it trying to slip in a little closer and setting up. It works. I don’t have the crazy wall to prove it because I blow most of the opportunities, but I went from about 1 shot at a 2 plus year old dear every 5 years, to multiple encounters every year.

If your in a heavy pressure state you can find whole marshes that don’t have much sign. I find it’s a year to year deal. If everything was equal and there was alot of mature bucks then new bucks would move into the bedding every year, but that does not always happen because there is not always a mature buck to move in. Sometimes it take 2/3 years.

Keep grinding and walking eventually you are going to run into the sign and everything will come together, it just takes time and a lot of exploring.

[Dewey]

Bump

[dan]

QUOTE:I can go ahead and assume areas that hold water won’t be good for bedding.

This might be part of the issue... I would say the majority of great buck bedding in your area exists on small high spots surrounded by or within water