Looks like you found a good piece of ground. Since you're in Michigan I'd shine the area the next few nights, may get a feel for where they're crossing and what may be around. Once you hunt it go in slow, the grass will sound loud but other critters move through the area all day, just don't sound human. As good as getting high and looking over the area sounds, I'd caution against it. If there are deer bedded they may be able to see the tree line. I'd get just high enough to see. I'd also caution against a ground blind. Bucks on public aren't going to tolerate much near their bedding area, figuring this is where they're bedding. I'd stay mobile as stealthy as possible.
Look to see if the deer are moving around the end of the water holes to get to the bean field. There could be a really good pinch point there.
I heard broken ribs....Ouch! I can relate to that kind of pain. Take it easy dude, they hurt but will heal. No advice for the area, ... get out there, be quiet, knock an arrow! Good Luck Bra -
I'm sorry. I didn't see your request. Here's what's going on . I've been out 3 times, haven't seen a deer. I placed a trail cam out there. Since it's public, I tried to hide it as much as possible but still get possible pics. So it's not in a ideal location. I had it out for about a week before I went and pulled the card while I was hunting. I got 5 pics in 5 days. Obviously not a blockbuster picture haul. All of the same deer, a large doe. No bucks, nothing else. That was on Oct. 28. I was actually out there last night for about an hour or so. Don't let this discourage you about your potential spot. The deer are in there, I just haven't been able to pattern them, so every time I go out there it's a crapshoot. I'll continue to hunt this for the rest of the season, and then work on trying to get some better patterns of them for next year. If you look at the pic at the top of the page, look on the left where I typed "WHERE I MADE VIDEO". to the left of that is some heavy brush. I think that's where they're at during the day. There are a lot of trails leading from that clearing directly into the brush. Bottom line, they're in there. They're just smarter than me right now.
I just think it is very cool and if you could work to harvest a mature buck from there it would be very rewarding! When you pull the cam, maybe you could update the map so we could see where it was?
Here's a new mock up of what I've done so far. I'm convinced that no other whitetail hunters are on this property. I've not seen any sign of any ground blinds, tree stands, etc. There are some waterfowl hunters out at the edge of the lake on occasion. At this point, I'm going to continue to hunt that funnel/pinch area. I've got the tree stand set up so I have a shot in the clearing, and into the treeline where it's located. I'm convinced that they're moving in that open area in between my treestand and that heavy brush. Unfortunately, my camera was pointed into the woods and not the clearing. I'm also concerned that now that the corn has been harvested that they may have only been using this area as a highway to get from to and from the corn. Now that it's gone, they don't have a reason to travel teh same corridor. Stay tuned. I'll keep updating for you.
Can you make it larger like you did last time? I just can't see it. It seems I am your most loyal and most demanding follower!
You're preaching to the choir my friend. I've got 9 days left. In the next 9 days, I'll be out there for at least 7 of them days. I'm going to do everything I can to thin the herd. dragging a deer out of there will be another story altogether. It won't be easy. But it'll be memorable.
Since we can't keep ground blinds on public land day after day, I thought it would be unproductive to drag one in and out everyday, since I'm certain the deer would immediately know it didn't belong. So I dug out a natural blind. Here's a pic. The picture doesn't really do it justice. I'm pretty proud of it. It's kinda sweet. My boys love sitting in it. The picture is taken from my treestand.
Here are the details. It's about 4 foot tall, you can climb into it and shoot from the angles marked. It took me longer to make this then it did to hang my treestand. It's basically a fort made out of field grass.
Man do I love that ground blind! That would be awesome for shotgun season or for knocking out some coyote as well!
Thanks guys. That makes me feel good. My wife wasn't nearly as impressed. But what does she know anyway. LOL.
