The land in question is flat 60 to 70% swamp with some small stands of mature oak trees. It’s about a 3000 acre parcel which was logged about 10 years ago. They left some mature trees in the middle of these cut areas. There is no fields and no definable food source other than some acorns but most of them are gone quickly. There are some logging roads that look like they have some kind of perennial going on it (maybe winter wheat) No right or wrong answers I just would like to know how you would go about hunting this tract of land.
I would first look over the maps and then wear out some boots finding the buck bedding areas... Trails should be very easy to find with the wet ground. Follow the trails and find the humps in the swamp that the bucks are bedding on. Beds in swamp land are some of the easiest to locate. If it is a wet swamp they only have so many options if they want to bed on dry ground. When you say no other definable food sources you are saying you cannot find any green brier or any other browse? All of the logged areas I have ever been into had a large and diverse selection of browse for the deer. The green brier entangled with the left over tree tops would serve as bedding outside the confines of the swamp and offer excellent browse (if it is thick enough).
For no definable food source I meant there is no 1 spot that the deer are going to travel to. There is browse all over the place but you cannot pattern there movements through a browseing area.
What about finding an area where the logging roads intersect travel routes into the swamp. You can plant some small food plots on the logging roads in those areas.
This is why I suggest locating their beds... You dont have to worry about where they are going after they rise from their bed. You will be there to great them.
Their are always patterns. At 60-70% swamp.. it's a safe bet that's where the older deer will be living.. cause they gots full advantage of anything they don't like by living in daylight in these hard to reach places. Use the swamp as your guide.. kinda like the center of the earth... the bucks your looking for will be coming out of this stuff heading towards the promise land (food sources.) Just guess the right food source based on time of year.. don't forget scrapes either (depending on time of year).. since NO scrapes exist where there is water bucks will be apt to check their personal scrapes when its that's time. Set up close to the likely bedding area within the swamp (islands.. points.. edges etc) and get in tight... like within 50-60 yards. But.. that's just if it was me.
Buckeye since most of the land was logged it is all pretty think and could almost all be used for bedding.I know what you are saying about finding a bucks bedding area but they can bed safely almost anywhere. Mike this land is right up your alley.Even though there are alot of trails through out the swamp the acreage is a little intimidating and with the lack of mature trees for stand sights adds another problem.
I know what you are saying by much of the area being thick. I think most of these areas outside the swamp will be used by does and young bucks. Most of the older bucks I am willing to bet will be bedded inside the swamp, not outside of it in the tree tops and green brier. Not many things are willing to tromp through a swamp and these older bucks know and take advantage of the fact.
Going back to the mapping the arean and getting your boots wet. i also like to use technology to my advantage as well....google earth is a great tool to really get a good veiw from above. not only do you see the roads and swamps and high areas. you can also locate(if big) the actual main trails going though the swamps. and you can set up stands and food plots according to that. just a suggestion i have found it useful, when tackling a new piece of land.
and when you find a good spot you really want to scope out. you can get the corridnates. and if you have a GPS plug them into it. and it will bring you to the EXACT spot you were looking at.
130, I am no big buck killer but I consistently kill deer in areas like you described above, and in some areas with a decent amount of pressure. My bread and butter spots are where the terrain features and cover tie in together. For example, a saddle sits out in the big woods...right within or right around that saddle the hardwoods run into some pines, creating an edge next to that saddle. That is my kind of place when the chips are down and I want to kill a deer. It may take some time but hunting terrain/cover tie in spots has really been good to me over the years.
Woodman, are there any creeks running through the property? They can browse everywhere, but they still need to drink. This sounds very similar to the area we hunt in Washburn Co. Close to 80% of our stands are on or near water. Two of our best areas are at the head of two separate creeks. The better of the two is basically a wide, shallow, hard bottomed creek head, with swamp along one side, and thick covered ridges along the sides. Cover, food, water all in one 10 acre strip of freezer packing land. Without seeing a topo, this is where I'd start.
So by the sounds of it the swamp is over 2,000 acres, that's a lot of terrain to cover! I would start by breaking it down into quadrants and walk the edge of the swamp looking for tracks/trails. Make lots of notes and GPS markings of key features/details, then go to a topo and punch this info in and see if a pattern starts to appear. A lot of times you will find crossings, in the swamp, that cutoff sections for quick deer movement, meaning, escape routes. This is key if your area see's pressure the deer will retreat to the comforts of the thick swamp... I have come to use the other hunters once muzzle loader season opens, it's actually fun to bag a deer that everyone else can't...
There is 2 creeks that make a "L" shape on the property. Where the right angle is at there is a beaver pond there. That place looks promising but again no mature trees around,I guess I'll have to get use to ground hunting again. One of the creeks is man made it was a cranberry bog about 40 years ago it.s a drainage ditch. Thanks guy's for all the advise. I'll see if I can put it to work.
Where in WI are you located? you dont have to be super specific cuz im from around central WI. I hunt land similar to this except we only about 200 acres and swamps bordering just about on every side. The problems I faced were the deer were hard to pattern, it seems they just go wherever they want each night or morning. I still don't have this land figured out the way I wish I did. But yeah one thing that did help was having a highline go through, we planted food plots on them and cleared out about 6-8 acres to put plots in. It wasn't easy though, but i think it did help and made the deer a little easier to pattern. But my experience is they really dont even bed in the swamps always. They seem to hang on large ridges or thicker parts of the woods. which makes it hard to get in the woods and leave without them knowing.
Black River Falls area. I've been hunting this area for along time I own 130 acres to the south of it. I've hunted the some of it but looking to expand my area. You are right the deer are hard to pattern, tey bedd where ever,eat where ever, and walk where ever. I can see this getting frustrating but challenging.
Call me arrogant I guess. But I don’t believe that. A good hunter is a good hunter anywhere he/she travels. If timing is everything.. imagine a hunter when they can travel at greater lengths.. no longer waiting for the buck they are chasing to come to them (on their 100 acres).. but for themselves to go to the buck (on his 1,000 acres). While hunting 100 acres may be an easier feat because that’s your boundaries.. a good hunter will only hunt these boundaries when they know it’s worthwhile. Give a hunter 1,000 acres and he simply has greater options.. and with that greater opportunity. If you're given the choice to hunt your 100 acres or his (the bucks) 1,000.. I'd hope you take his 1,000 everyday.
