That is exactly what I am doing this year brother! I will not be hunting mornings till the rut. I have about 10-15 spots picked out on the map. I will go in around noontime, scout, and set up the LW once I see what I am looking for!
Well, my scouting trip was BRUTAL......but so worth it! Getting that deep via walking, then scouting, then walking back, was just about beyond my limits and at the dangerous level for me. I need a mountain bike and kayak to be able to hunt back there. anyways, here is what I found! The east side of the steep ridge was very very thick with mountain laurel, but there was a well defined run on the military crest. the YELLOW line is the runs that I found that are very very very active!! I found a well used scrape and licking branch in the saddle where the black dot is. The GREEN dots are beds that don't appear to be too active this time of year. The BLUE line will be the trail that I hack through to get in with the least amount of disturbance possible. The RED line is my navigation route via kayak. the BLACK line on the far right is the path I will mountain bike in on. I found everything I was hoping to find. There is still very few rubs on the military crest , but quite a few that I did find were all lower near the swamp (Which is exactly what I thought I would find, rubs and scrapes down low, which are all made at night) I saw a few signs of hunters, but it was all very old orange tape leading to an old loggy bayou hang on stand 12" from the ground down low (with beds overlooking him up the hill) where all the rubs where found. I'll atach pics of the size of poo that I found. This area is going to be amazing during the pre-rut and rut at the saddle with all of the intersecting trails. I just need alot of things to fall into place to be able to hunt back there. I might have to hold off on that area till next year. I didn't scout the 2nd area because I was extremely fatigued and worried If I could even get back up to my car. Next time!
Sounds like you found what you were looking for Joe. Keep it up! I spent a lot of time last year just walking during season and didn't hunt until I found what I was looking for. My mature bucks sightings went up 10 fold! And this was thru out the entire season, not just the rut. Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
First cam check of the year tomorrow... Always exciting. Until you find there are no shooters roaming around. Hoping that't not the case!
So I was excited from my finds yesterday and was sharing this excitement with my wife and the need for a mountain bike and kayak. She said, instead of spending money on that, why don't you go back to Illinois, or wherever......... I'm not falling for it, LOL!!!!
You can hang out with me, I hunt southern Illinois (Metropolis area) a few times a year. 1:45hr from the house or get a cheap hotel and I can cart you around. We'd have to do a little planning/logistics, but I can usually get time to get up there, I know the area decently, not scouting wise, but I can guarantee you can kill a doe within 1hr of sitting.
Thanks for the offer bro, I'm sure us two army guys would get it done for sure! I'm holding off on any hunting trips for a few more seasons though, as I'm sure my wife didn't really mean it, or she wasn't thinking of the overall costs and logistices of getting me out there! I appreciate it, and maybe we can make plans in the future!
Jeesh swamp, your going to be a triathlete after the end of the season. How far is that travel route? I’d almost dread having to drag a deer back. Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
I'd say we could do Ft. Campbell or Land Between the lakes, but the $$$ you'd spend getting here and on license/permits, it would be worth the extra effort to get Illinois licenses/permits. My neighbor claims he can send my DD214 to IDNR and get a free license saving my $57/year, still need to purchase the $411 permit/tags though. If you get serious about getting down this way, I'm sure one of us can get you setup for success. Maybe by the time you get here, I'll have a few of the public land spots scouted well.
Joe, Im always of the mindset, kill first and worry about the drag out second. Haha. You might just have to quarter that thing up and make multiple trips. If the temps are right, you could rope the meat up and pull it up into a tree so as to retrieve it the next day.
I just can't figure out how you can mountain bike a kayak to the pond, plus hunting gear, without also needing a bike trailer...
Im pretty proud of this. 47 yds (so I can practice holdovers between pins) after dark using just the porch lights so I can (barely) see the target. I am definitely going to leave the arrows in so my yard man can marvel at it while he mows tomorrow.
What is that, a 10-12” group at 50 yards? Nice shooting! Sent from my iPhone using Bowhunting.com Forums
