#2010903 - 07/29/10 11:08 AM
No terrain features?
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Poser
14 Point
Registered: 07/28/10
Posts: 8401
Loc: Tennessee
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So, we spend a lot of time talking about terrain -funnels, points, saddles, etc.
I like to spend as much time as possible closely studying topo maps for areas I hunt. The topo map will generally tell me the hot lists of areas to investigate.
That being said, my question has to do with swamps and bottom land. When you have no contoured terrain features to rely on, what do you look for?
In anticipation of a potential relocation to South Louisiana next year, I'm focusing some time on hunting swamps and lowlands this season to prepare myself. In the past, I've tended to stick to the high ground with terrain features. After scouting some swamps this Spring, I admit to being intimidated by the lack terrain. There are games trails, or better yet, tracks, every where. Often times, there is no reason for a deer to walk by a given tree as opposed to another. I'm not one to count on luck and I also understand that there are swamp hunters who consistently take trophy white tails. Obviously there are some keys to bottom land success, but I know not what they are.
_________________________
It doesn't have to be fun to be fun. Wild & crazy, can't be stopped. Only the strong will survive. Keep your knife sharp and your skillet greasy. http://www.GoCarnivore.com
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#2010916 - 07/29/10 11:21 AM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: Poser]
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stik
TnDeer Old Timer
16 Point
Registered: 03/12/99
Posts: 18546
Loc: lenoir city,tn
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i'm a hillbilly. got no clue.
_________________________
experienced hunters know its not just a bushy white tail, its a big middle finger.
nothing makes a fish bigger than almost being caught
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#2010942 - 07/29/10 11:42 AM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: tndrbstr]
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T-Bone
4 Point
Registered: 01/17/02
Posts: 272
Loc: Collierville, TN
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I have hunted flat, featureless bottoms and deer do wander more but the will follow any shallow ditch that runs through the woods.
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#2010956 - 07/29/10 11:51 AM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: Poser]
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BSK
Jerkasourous of the non-typical kind
Non-Typical
Registered: 03/11/99
Posts: 59670
Loc: Nashville, TN
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That being said, my question has to do with swamps and bottom land. When you have no contoured terrain features to rely on, what do you look for?
Habitat features that funnel deer movement.
_________________________
"Know where you stand, and stand there" --Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan
"There is no reasoning someone out of a position he has not reasoned himself into." --Clive James
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#2010970 - 07/29/10 11:58 AM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: Poser]
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BlueMarlin
4 Point
Registered: 06/04/07
Posts: 131
Loc: East TN
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Hunted in FL for over 20 yrs. Look for habitat features, fence line funnels, thick sectons of woods, shallow ditch crossings, etc. Good luck.
_________________________
Sieze The Day!
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#2010974 - 07/29/10 12:02 PM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: BSK]
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DUCK37101
"Link" Police
16 Point
Registered: 08/29/05
Posts: 18867
Loc: McEwen, TN.
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Food sources and cover. Deer NEED both. There is always a method to any deer habitat that has the deer traveling from one to the other.
_________________________
You Can't Take It With You.....So Don't Go.
IN GOD WE TRUST!
"The Constitution does not just protect those whose views we share; it also protects those with whose views we disagree."
- Ted Kennedy
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#2011020 - 07/29/10 12:52 PM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: DUCK37101]
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Still-n-Quiet
10 Point
Registered: 07/18/06
Posts: 4620
Loc: San Antonio, TX
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I've hunted the bottoms of the Obion river for many years now. What I've learned is that does and young bucks are apt to appear from any direction, but a few more than others. Hunting the creek crossings is profitable, as is the "points" of thick cover. The bucks seem to try to slip from thick patch to thick patch, or travel in the sloughs; that is, when they bother to come out for the very thick stuff. Deer "trails" are harder to find outside of the creek crossings and thick corners.
_________________________
Mike
"I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..." (Romans 1:16)
Μολων λαβε
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#2011087 - 07/29/10 02:42 PM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: Still-n-Quiet]
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Bayou Buck
8 Point
Registered: 05/11/09
Posts: 2205
Loc: Spring Hill / Perry Co
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I've hunted Southeast Louisiana until last year when I bought my place in Tennessee. The best luck I have had with locating travel routes of deer is when the pressure is on them hard. In my area every December it seems like all the deer use the same trail to exit the hunter accesible strips of woods and go into the marsh. They also like to travel along the edges of big sloughs and small canals.
Ridges are the best places to hunt if you have alot of land and limited pressure. Some of the best places are usually only accessible by boat though.
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#2011093 - 07/29/10 02:53 PM
Re: No terrain features?
[Re: Bayou Buck]
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Poser
14 Point
Registered: 07/28/10
Posts: 8401
Loc: Tennessee
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Yeah, I was reading about some cool sounding areas in LA:
Sherburne Wildlife Management, Attakapas WMA, Teche National Wildlife Refuge, Mandalay NWR, Thislewaite WMA and Achafalaya Delta WMA.
Its sounds like you need a boat to access most of these areas. Can you get by with a canoe?
_________________________
It doesn't have to be fun to be fun. Wild & crazy, can't be stopped. Only the strong will survive. Keep your knife sharp and your skillet greasy. http://www.GoCarnivore.com
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