Tips on how to access

[Nsghunter]

I found some nice rubs and scrapes on a piece of public land. I would like to hunt this area but it is a booger to get into and out of. There are thickets where the briars grow as big as your thumb and over your head. They take over the plants that are up high even and then spread out over them. The scrub brush and trees that spring up can be so crowded that it's only inches between them.

I accessed this specific part of the land on two separate occasions and both times I really had a good feeling because of the large percentage of sign versus what I had seen other places on the this parcel. This is the first place I have found that I have considered putting up a ladder stand, maybe even doing a mineral site and a camera. I have hunted this piece of public land for four years now and this is the first place of its kind I've seen here.

I use pruning shears to trim away the worst of it and "wade" through the thick stuff. Both trips in I have ripped equipment and clothing and gotten off track and had to wander around a bit to find where I had left my stand. Also its compounded by how difficult it is to carry my lock on on my back and have it and my rifle get snagged on all the brush. Almost everything has gotten snagged once or twice going in or out.

This is on public land and I would like to clear a nice path somehow but I am concerned that if I cleared too much of a path that the other hunters would also walk in. I use on x hunt to mark my trail but the sensitivity isn't enough to get me right back on the narrow path of clippings I made to get back into it. Also I got lost one night in a nasty rain storm after dark coming out because I couldn't find the narrow path were I had clipped a few briars and trees back a little here and there. It was a really uncomfortable feeling.

any suggestions on clearing and marking a path? I wouldn't dare walk in before daylight, it would take me three hours to cover the few hundred feet of impenetrable thicket without being able to see well enough.

 

[DRSJ35]

Is this public land in Blount county. If not what county is it in. Some county's are more heavily hunted on public land is why I ask.

 

[Nsghunter]

Is this public land in Blount county. If not what county is it in. Some county's are more heavily hunted on public land is why I ask.

yes

 

[Dully]

Don't cut a path until you get about 20 yards or so in the ruff stuff,or where other hunters can't see your trail, then cut what you need too

 

[DRSJ35]

I also hunt pretty thick stuff from time to time. I use flourecent tacs and don't put them right at the start where you walk in. Wait to get 10 Yards in before the first tac. Use your phone to get you to that point. Also don't cut anything till you get about 5 yards off the road or trail. This should keep people from spotting anything easy. And cut only what you have to to get where you want to be. I 9 out of 10 times only have public land to hunt. And this has worked for me. Trust me I had to learn this. Cause unlike myself most people would be glad to take advantage of your hard work.

 

[7X57]

I use tacks also. HME has brown tacks that are reflective. You can order them online. They are hard to see in the daytime and keep others from finding them during scouting.

 

[Winchester]

If its public land I would NOT mark anything in ANY way. I would practice learning to navigate back to places you have already been, use a GPS or whatever it takes to learn how to navigate, especially during the dark which is when I would be going and coming to a public place that holds the potential you mentioned, especially if nobody else has found it yet! I cant stress enough to NOT mark or cut your trail in any way! Nothing perturbs me worst than the woods being full of ribbons and tacks marking the way for anybody who wants to use the places you have worked so hard to find. Really not hard at all to learn how to find your way around the woods even in the dark if you just pay attn: Try not using a light at all at night, you will be surprised how well u can navigate once your eyes are adjusted and you learn how to use the natural lay of the land to navigate.

 

[MickThompson]

Something else to consider would be hunting the edges of the cover where you found the buck sign instead of trying to hunt the sign itself. Take a low impact approach so you don't alert the deer you are after.


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[megalomaniac]

use weed eater with brush blade to cut your path in through the thick stuff. Start it 20 yards inside the access point so other do not see. Lead the trail 15 yds from the tree you plan on hunting out of. The deer will use your path as a highway. (Be sure is legal to cut brush on the land you are on first).

 

[bjohnson]

Do you have OnX? If you do you can track yourself on the way in and save it.

 

[Grnwing]

If its public land I would NOT mark anything in ANY way. I would practice learning to navigate back to places you have already been, use a GPS or whatever it takes to learn how to navigate, especially during the dark which is when I would be going and coming to a public place that holds the potential you mentioned, especially if nobody else has found it yet! I cant stress enough to NOT mark or cut your trail in any way! Nothing perturbs me worst than the woods being full of ribbons and tacks marking the way for anybody who wants to use the places you have worked so hard to find. Really not hard at all to learn how to find your way around the woods even in the dark if you just pay attn: Try not using a light at all at night, you will be surprised how well u can navigate once your eyes are adjusted and you learn how to use the natural lay of the land to navigate.

I'd second that! I wouldn't leave any sign if you want to continue to hunt that spot. When I scout new public land, it is easy to follow all the flagging tape and tree tacks to where other folks hunt. One year I followed a trail that was cut and at the end of it was a jar of peanut better nailed to the tree, made it easy to give the warden directions to it. I like knowing where the next guy is hunting so I can minimize their impact on my hunt. I will park further down or walk the long way around to a spot to avoid leaving sign that I am hunting there. I keep my headlamp off when walking in and walking out so I don't advertise my location and I don't advertise my kills.

 

[Nsghunter]

Do you have OnX? If you do you can track yourself on the way in and save it.

I used onx but it only gets you close to the trail. This stuff is so thick in places that if you don't cut a path you cant walk through it.

 

[chewymalone]

The last thing I would do would be put up a ladder stand. That and your camera would likely end up missing. If not missing, it's highly likely others would find it and hunt out of it. Plus, if it's a WMA you can't put up a ladder anyway. The best advice I've seen is to hunt the edges.