Welcome to TheOhioOutdoors
Wanting to join the rest of our members? Login or sign up today!
Login / Join

Public Land Help understanding

This is the property public land that I am hunting. Bottom left is open field marshland. Didn’t see to much of anything. I been hunting upper right decent paths covered by walnuts, pine, and oak trees. Acorns all over as well. I don’t know what to look for as in the key, least resistance, high traffic area.

If anyone has helpful advice on what to look for so I know I’m on the right path that would be appreciated.





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
Get as far from other hunters as possible. If you don’t have a climber, get one. Hunt any area that has decent sign close to thick cover. Use each hunt as a scouting mission to try and figure out how the deer are using the land....you need to figure out where they are bedding and feeding, then hunt the trails between the two. Make sure to stay downwind of where you expect the deer to come from. Good luck.
 
Thank you. This area I haven’t seen any other hunters, here are some pics of the area. Where I sit. Down that path a ways is a small creek and heavy pines. To the left of me is a dried out marsh with dead trees.

What do you mean in the thick? Thick brush? Or heavy with trees?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

Sgt Fury

Sgt. Spellchecker
Thank you. This area I haven’t seen any other hunters, here are some pics of the area. Where I sit. Down that path a ways is a small creek and heavy pines. To the left of me is a dried out marsh with dead trees.

What do you mean in the thick? Thick brush? Or heavy with trees?




Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The thickest patch of briars, weeds or brush in the area. They love to bed in thick cover so that they are out of sight to predators and also can hear anything coming at them. If there isn’t anything really thick around, Then look for cover such as laurel, reeds near a swamp, an overgrown orchard, etc. Also, pay attention to the terrain....if there is a small patch of pines that are connecting two sections of open woods, even if it’s only a hundred yards long, that would be worth looking into as they will use that cover when traveling. It’s going to be tough finding one feeding area if there are lots of acorns on the ground, as the deer can literally walk anywhere in the woods to get food...but once you stumble upon an area where they are feeding heavily, that would be a good spot to hunt.
 
  • Like
Reactions: AaronHuntz
Pull up some google or other aerial views of the land and look for old trails, etc. Then scout, scout and scout some more to look for fresh sign closer to the thick as Sarge mentioned. Deer will bed in thick cover, bucks especially. The marsh and areas like that would be a place I would think would have that. Looking for scrapes and fresh rubs as well as white oaks first, then black oaks, etc.. Set up closer to what you determine is their bedding.