Well I went up there, hunted Wednesday through Friday morning. It's a nice looking place, not a easy place to hunt, if you have never been there before or never hunted anything like that area before.
I kind of cheated, since I only had two and a half days to hunt, I wanted to be on the stand as much as possible. I took off down a trail not knowing anything about the place. Then followed one trail, obviously made by a local and went all the way to the end of that trail. That's where I started hunting. If a local thinks that's a good place to hunt, I should give it a try. Instead of spending my two and a half days scouting, trying to learn the area, then not have any time to sit on the stand.
Where I set up initially, was a great place to sit and watch woodpeckers all day. I don't know how many different types of woodpeckers there are in that area of the state, but I saw every different type there is in the area, that first day. I was sitting on the edge of a small rise, overlooking some bottom land. The high ground has younger trees, the bottom land has older trees. The bottom land, the trees are spread farther apart. When walking around in the bottom, I discovered there were lots of rooting or digging going on in the oak leaves. I was not sure if it was done by hogs or deer, but you can see something had been all over the area trying to get at something below the leaves.
The second morning I started the morning off, by dropping a live round from the stand into the oak leaves below. Later that morning I got down, started digging through the leaves looking for that round. I discovered that there are a lot of good acorns under the leaves. I started looking around and figured out that the whole area, the ground was covered with acorns, with leaves on top of the acorns. So there is no shortage of food, it's everywhere in large amounts. So the deer and pigs don't have to move very far to find food.
That first day sitting on the stand, I noticed a tree that a buck had torn up pretty good, farther up hill, behind where my stand was set up. I could see it without my binoculars, I spotted it without my binoculars. It was about 50 yards behind my stand. It really stood out.
So after the Thursday morning hunt, I got out of the stand to look around and to find another place to set up the stand. I have long ago figured out, when I am seeing a lot of birds from a stand, that's all i am going to see is birds, that's all I saw that first day. So I took a walk around the bottom area, found some interesting trees, nothing that looked promising for killing a deer. So I went back to the stand and then up on the higher ground behind the stand, where I saw that rub. That area, looked much more like it had potential. So I started looking around, then found another good rub, then another and another and another. So I decided that's where I would move my stand to. So I got the stand down, moved it and set it up farther up on the higher ground. Once I got it set up, and I was putting the seat on the stand, I saw there was something large and silver up in woods behind where I set up the stand. Behind where I set the stand up, there is a bunch of what looks like bamboo. I asked about the stuff and was told it's switch cane. Behind where I set the stand up, that stuff is thick. Then you can see a trail in the leaves running along the edge of the switch cane. Up in that switch cane, I could see something large and silver. Right off, I started worrying someone had a weed farm hidden back up in there. I was thinking if they did, that's really going to mess up my hunting. I got down, went in there to see what it was. Turns out it was what's left of a tin roof of some old shack or shed. That small building was in the middle of a small clearing in the middle of that switch cane. In that clearing, all of the small trees were torn up, most likely by the same buck. So I was really liking what I was seeing. I got back on the stand, sat there from about 11:00 that morning till dark. I saw a quite a few squirrels, a possum in the middle of the day out for a stroll and a small bobcat. No deer.
So I got up earlier Friday morning, got out there to the end of the trail, then got off and walked right to the line of switch cane in the dark, but got there way too fast. I was sure, I had walked the wrong direction. So I backed out and turned right and then wound up getting lost. Then realized I did not have any idea where I was and decided to walk short distances in a few different directions hoping to find something that I recognized, but nothing looks the same in the dark So I just hung out waiting for the sun to come up, but, turns out, it was overcast and foggy that morning. So I was not able to see the sun till maybe 8:30. So once I realized I was not going to be able to see the sun for a while, I took off walking again, then found some trees I recognized from my walk late Thursday morning. So I knew where I was and took off back to the four wheeler, found it, then went to my stand from there. I was in the stand by 7:30. So much for getting up early. I sat in the stand till about 8:45, then decided I should get down and walk the area. I wanted to walk the area farther back behind my stand, I was told there was a slough back there, then I also wanted to walk to the river and see it. Also I had heard some noises Wednesday afternoon, that I am sure had to be at least two people talking and I am sure I heard some metal banging together. At the time, I concluded, it had to be a couple guys in a boat or in kayaks going down the river, not sure what the metal banging noise was. So I wanted to know how far I was from the river. To try and determine if the guys I heard behind me, were on the river or if they were walking in my compartment. I don't know, I am going to assume they were going down the river. Turns out the river was a ways farther away from my stand, that I was guessing. I did walk to the river on my walk Friday morning.
On my walk Friday morning, I found the slough, turns out it has water in it, in some areas, mud holes in other areas. I found lots of hog sign and deer sign there. Lots more rubs on trees. I know where I will hunt, if I ever get to go back. I did see a group of does in the low area, near the slough, then later I saw one deer by it's self on the side of a hill. It looked like a doe, but I would assume it was a spike and I just could not see it's antlers. At that point, I had hiked for many miles and was not sure where I was. I was not going to shoot anything at that point, unless it was a good sized pig or a nice buck. My trip down to the slough, resulted in me getting lost, then I eventually found the river. So I turned around and went the other direction, eventually found another trail and followed it back out to the north east fence line. I then followed the fence line all the way back to my truck. Then once back at the truck I walked the two miles down the trail, back to where the four wheeler was, got it, then went and got the stand down and got out of there.
There are deer in that place, there are some pretty large bucks, judging from the rubs I found. But they are not easy to hunt by any means. There are definitely some pigs out there. If you are not familiar with the area, or like me, not familiar with that type of woods, vegetation, much less that particular place. It's going take the whole two and half days of the hunt, to figure out where and how to hunt. If they did a five or six day hunt, your odds of getting something would go up quite a bit.
I would say the earlier of the two drawn hunts would be the one to try and get on. The rut should still be going on, during that hunt. It was definitely not, going on, while I was there.
There is a over abundance of food, so you don't have starving deer, so baiting, if it were legal, would probably be a waist of time and money. There is a lot of cover. I am guessing from all of the well used trails through the recently fallen leaves and all of the digging and rooting around in the leaves, that the deer probably move a lot more at night. The two locations I set up my stand, I could see multiple obvious trails through the freshly fallen leaves, but no deer using those trails while I was hunting.
If you hunt there often, I would bet you will kill you limit every year, but just showing up there one time in your life and having two and a half days, to hunt, you are most likely not going home with a monster buck. But I think there are some pretty good bucks out there, but I never actually saw them, just saw their art work on some trees.
I kind of cheated, since I only had two and a half days to hunt, I wanted to be on the stand as much as possible. I took off down a trail not knowing anything about the place. Then followed one trail, obviously made by a local and went all the way to the end of that trail. That's where I started hunting. If a local thinks that's a good place to hunt, I should give it a try. Instead of spending my two and a half days scouting, trying to learn the area, then not have any time to sit on the stand.
Where I set up initially, was a great place to sit and watch woodpeckers all day. I don't know how many different types of woodpeckers there are in that area of the state, but I saw every different type there is in the area, that first day. I was sitting on the edge of a small rise, overlooking some bottom land. The high ground has younger trees, the bottom land has older trees. The bottom land, the trees are spread farther apart. When walking around in the bottom, I discovered there were lots of rooting or digging going on in the oak leaves. I was not sure if it was done by hogs or deer, but you can see something had been all over the area trying to get at something below the leaves.
The second morning I started the morning off, by dropping a live round from the stand into the oak leaves below. Later that morning I got down, started digging through the leaves looking for that round. I discovered that there are a lot of good acorns under the leaves. I started looking around and figured out that the whole area, the ground was covered with acorns, with leaves on top of the acorns. So there is no shortage of food, it's everywhere in large amounts. So the deer and pigs don't have to move very far to find food.
That first day sitting on the stand, I noticed a tree that a buck had torn up pretty good, farther up hill, behind where my stand was set up. I could see it without my binoculars, I spotted it without my binoculars. It was about 50 yards behind my stand. It really stood out.
So after the Thursday morning hunt, I got out of the stand to look around and to find another place to set up the stand. I have long ago figured out, when I am seeing a lot of birds from a stand, that's all i am going to see is birds, that's all I saw that first day. So I took a walk around the bottom area, found some interesting trees, nothing that looked promising for killing a deer. So I went back to the stand and then up on the higher ground behind the stand, where I saw that rub. That area, looked much more like it had potential. So I started looking around, then found another good rub, then another and another and another. So I decided that's where I would move my stand to. So I got the stand down, moved it and set it up farther up on the higher ground. Once I got it set up, and I was putting the seat on the stand, I saw there was something large and silver up in woods behind where I set up the stand. Behind where I set the stand up, there is a bunch of what looks like bamboo. I asked about the stuff and was told it's switch cane. Behind where I set the stand up, that stuff is thick. Then you can see a trail in the leaves running along the edge of the switch cane. Up in that switch cane, I could see something large and silver. Right off, I started worrying someone had a weed farm hidden back up in there. I was thinking if they did, that's really going to mess up my hunting. I got down, went in there to see what it was. Turns out it was what's left of a tin roof of some old shack or shed. That small building was in the middle of a small clearing in the middle of that switch cane. In that clearing, all of the small trees were torn up, most likely by the same buck. So I was really liking what I was seeing. I got back on the stand, sat there from about 11:00 that morning till dark. I saw a quite a few squirrels, a possum in the middle of the day out for a stroll and a small bobcat. No deer.
So I got up earlier Friday morning, got out there to the end of the trail, then got off and walked right to the line of switch cane in the dark, but got there way too fast. I was sure, I had walked the wrong direction. So I backed out and turned right and then wound up getting lost. Then realized I did not have any idea where I was and decided to walk short distances in a few different directions hoping to find something that I recognized, but nothing looks the same in the dark So I just hung out waiting for the sun to come up, but, turns out, it was overcast and foggy that morning. So I was not able to see the sun till maybe 8:30. So once I realized I was not going to be able to see the sun for a while, I took off walking again, then found some trees I recognized from my walk late Thursday morning. So I knew where I was and took off back to the four wheeler, found it, then went to my stand from there. I was in the stand by 7:30. So much for getting up early. I sat in the stand till about 8:45, then decided I should get down and walk the area. I wanted to walk the area farther back behind my stand, I was told there was a slough back there, then I also wanted to walk to the river and see it. Also I had heard some noises Wednesday afternoon, that I am sure had to be at least two people talking and I am sure I heard some metal banging together. At the time, I concluded, it had to be a couple guys in a boat or in kayaks going down the river, not sure what the metal banging noise was. So I wanted to know how far I was from the river. To try and determine if the guys I heard behind me, were on the river or if they were walking in my compartment. I don't know, I am going to assume they were going down the river. Turns out the river was a ways farther away from my stand, that I was guessing. I did walk to the river on my walk Friday morning.
On my walk Friday morning, I found the slough, turns out it has water in it, in some areas, mud holes in other areas. I found lots of hog sign and deer sign there. Lots more rubs on trees. I know where I will hunt, if I ever get to go back. I did see a group of does in the low area, near the slough, then later I saw one deer by it's self on the side of a hill. It looked like a doe, but I would assume it was a spike and I just could not see it's antlers. At that point, I had hiked for many miles and was not sure where I was. I was not going to shoot anything at that point, unless it was a good sized pig or a nice buck. My trip down to the slough, resulted in me getting lost, then I eventually found the river. So I turned around and went the other direction, eventually found another trail and followed it back out to the north east fence line. I then followed the fence line all the way back to my truck. Then once back at the truck I walked the two miles down the trail, back to where the four wheeler was, got it, then went and got the stand down and got out of there.
There are deer in that place, there are some pretty large bucks, judging from the rubs I found. But they are not easy to hunt by any means. There are definitely some pigs out there. If you are not familiar with the area, or like me, not familiar with that type of woods, vegetation, much less that particular place. It's going take the whole two and half days of the hunt, to figure out where and how to hunt. If they did a five or six day hunt, your odds of getting something would go up quite a bit.
I would say the earlier of the two drawn hunts would be the one to try and get on. The rut should still be going on, during that hunt. It was definitely not, going on, while I was there.
There is a over abundance of food, so you don't have starving deer, so baiting, if it were legal, would probably be a waist of time and money. There is a lot of cover. I am guessing from all of the well used trails through the recently fallen leaves and all of the digging and rooting around in the leaves, that the deer probably move a lot more at night. The two locations I set up my stand, I could see multiple obvious trails through the freshly fallen leaves, but no deer using those trails while I was hunting.
If you hunt there often, I would bet you will kill you limit every year, but just showing up there one time in your life and having two and a half days, to hunt, you are most likely not going home with a monster buck. But I think there are some pretty good bucks out there, but I never actually saw them, just saw their art work on some trees.
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