1.) Swamp Fox - 06/14/2017

All scouting topics welcome here.

Since it's summer, let's start off with that.


I don't know how many people do any real scouting after turkey season is over (early May, say, around here). I tend to like to ignore everything except working on stands and learning terrain until the Fourth of July weekend, considering I think that's about the first opportunity to tell something meaningful about antlers.

I know some people like to see trail cam pics from earlier, but I have plenty of hobbies already. Wanna fight about it? Anybody have a good story about watching a deer from spring through hunting season that would make me change my tune?

I also haven't seen that there's a real benefit (around here) to watching fields in the summer. When I get back on here next, I'll try to explain why.

In the meantime, discuss among yourselves. If the mood strikes you, type something up and post it. ---LOL---Use the box below. :-)

2.) DParker - 06/14/2017

Summer in the NE TX woods = high heat, poison ivy and Zika/West Nile/etc-carrying mosquitoes. Oh, and occasionally...pot-growing Mexican cartel thugs.

3.) Swamp Fox - 06/14/2017

Yeah, but on the other hand, the good news is no tourists...LOL


What happened to that pot patch you posted about a while ago?

4.) Jon - 06/14/2017

Ticks and chiggers, umm, naaaa. If while driving by a property I hunt, there is a special buck, I might take a few nights to see his activity but other than that, I use trail cams. Summer routs are identical every day and since our season opens Sept 1st, I'll have about 3 weeks or so before the deer change their repetition to a more Fall like, unpredictable course. That continues until late October.

5.) DParker - 06/14/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;49440]What happened to that pot patch you posted about a while ago?[/QUOTE]

*cough* *cough* ......beats me..... *cough* *cough*

But seriously, it was torn up by TPWD and the perps never apprehended, as far as I know. The incident even made it into Season 1, Episode 8 of [I]Lone Star Law[/I] on Animal Planet. If you have a cable/satellite package that include AP you can watch the whole episode for free here (you'll need to logon using your service provider logon):

[URL="https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/lone-star-law/full-episodes/gator-vs-dog"]https://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/lone-star-law/full-episodes/gator-vs-dog[/URL]

6.) bluecat - 06/14/2017

7.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

Some day I'll tell y'all about our local sheriff's department and one of the state's largest pot seizures...


But not tonight.

8.) Jon - 06/15/2017

My bro in law works for Oregon as a Sheriff, he's retired from California where he was a Sheriff as well but worked allot with drug interdiction.
He now occasionally flies in the helo to search for marijuana grows. One flight a few years ago, he and his partner were strapped in, hanging out the door searching for hidden grows and his partner gets hit with something, he thought it was a bug or whatever. Not until they landed and were in the locker room did his partner realize that he was shot with a small caliber round that passed through his leg. His entire leg of the flight suit was bloody.
My BIL was sitting directly next to the guy and didn't realize he was almost killed by something neither of them even saw coming.
Crazy to think someone would want to draw attention to themselves by shooting at an aircraft looking for something they were doing.

On a side note, those drug interdiction units don't even care about anything under 50 acres according to him......I guess it has to be worth their while.

9.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

Possibly the shooter wasn't thinking clearly.

Check this out, man:... Dangers of stoned bunnies on public land, armed raids on octagenarians for a couple of plants...Something to read while you're chowing on some Doritos.

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/drug-cops-raid-an-81-year-old-grandmothers-garden-to-take-out-a-single-marijuana-plant/?utm_term=.f9eb91f31c4d[/url]


This next article has interactive graphics that I couldn't figure out how to embed, but I thought were cool. It shows DEA funding for eradication to each state, whether it has grown or shrunk, the cost per plant seized and a few other factoids that could be fun at parties. If someone can find a higher cost-per-plant-seizure figure than Louisiana, let me know. I only cruised around a few states, but a few are staggering (so to speak).

[url]http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/marijuana/deas-marijuana-eradication-program-still-targets-washington/[/url]

10.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

I'll be back with my sheriff department story later.

Meawhile, today's posts are brought to you by the letters "SO," for Summer Observation (of deer in fields and cutovers). Other topics are welcome as well, though.

I'm sayin' we're not all uptight about it, man.

11.) Jon - 06/15/2017

Wait, this topic is staying focused on the topic and nothing else? Yea, ok

12.) bluecat - 06/15/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;49449]Possibly the shooter wasn't thinking clearly.

Check this out, man:... Dangers of stoned bunnies on public land, armed raids on octagenarians for a couple of plants...Something to read while you're chowing on some Doritos.

[url]https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/10/07/drug-cops-raid-an-81-year-old-grandmothers-garden-to-take-out-a-single-marijuana-plant/?utm_term=.f9eb91f31c4d[/url]


This next article has interactive graphics that I couldn't figure out how to embed, but I thought were cool. It shows DEA funding for eradication to each state, whether it has grown or shrunk, the cost per plant seized and a few other factoids that could be fun at parties. If someone can find a higher cost-per-plant-seizure figure than Louisiana, let me know. I only cruised around a few states, but a few are staggering (so to speak).

[url]http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/marijuana/deas-marijuana-eradication-program-still-targets-washington/[/url][/QUOTE]

So...what tipped them off that grandma was growing? The sound of Frank Sinatra coming from the house? The occasional tinkle of wind chimes on the back patio? The empty pitcher of lemonade next to the porch swing? The dog water bowl beneath the hammock? The randomly placed barrel planters of fresh dill and basil?

13.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

LOL...

I think it was an outside plant so somebody must have ratted her out, rather than seeing it from the infrared chopper...LOL...Though they had a chopper on the raid...You can't make this stuff up....:-)

+++++

Apparently the topic of summer scouting is fighting some inertia...Failing to launch...Having trouble getting off the couch...

I'd like to hear from anyone who does summer observation in-person and not primarily by trail cam. I've got some thoughts on it but have to get them together.

14.) bluecat - 06/15/2017

[QUOTE=Jon;49452]Wait, this topic is staying focused on the topic and nothing else? Yea, ok[/QUOTE]

:laugh:

15.) bluecat - 06/15/2017

I get up every night and apply stuff to quell the chigger bite itching. I've got a tick on me pretty much 24-7.

And that's just from trying to get my mail.

16.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

Ticks seemed bad earlier this year but I was thinking just the other day that I haven't seen one in a while.

I seem to avoid chiggers pretty well. The big problem here is mosquitoes...They can be miserable. I've had two Thermacells going plus bug dope in non-hunting situations and STILL been run out of the woods...Literally, in a couple of cases, LOL.

If you can get your scouting or prep work done at first light you can catch enough cool mornings to make a stab at it. The last hour in the evening can be okay or a chore depending on where you sit. I like it best when a storm's about to come though and the wind is blowing, though. LOL

Of course then you might be dodging lightning, so it just goes to show you...

17.) Wild Bob - 06/15/2017

Mule deer = lots of evening glassing going on out here in my neck of the woods. Just watching to see which areas are producing nice bucks that look like we want to focus on in the fall. There's usually a pretty good breeze on the prairie that helps keep the nats and biting flies at bay.

Whitetails in the River Bottoms = evening cruises to see what's hanging out in the fields and edges...but I don't put too very much stock in this kind of info gathering at this point. Around here, a lot of movement will occur between now and hunting season, so I often end up hunting bucks that I've watched along one stretch of River somewhere else down stream or up stream. Mosquitoes can be bad at times, but I use a Therma-cell to keep them in check.

18.) Swamp Fox - 06/15/2017

Since we get an early start around here, I've always wanted something productive to come from watching fields in the summer, especially soybean fields. But I think there's a couple of windows when they're in the beans and a couple when they're not, and prior to mid-August (the earliest opener I deal with) I'm not sure that there's a productive time to spend a lot of energy on it.

I keep trying to pin something down, though, so somebody correct me if they have a different opinion. I think it was Jon and maybe someone else who was posting with me a year or two ago about the best times to watch soybean fields. I'll see if I can find it.

Most recently, I have been hunting an area where the crop rotation only brings soybeans around once every three years (basically). So that cuts down my enthusiasm for summer field scouting some, right from the get-go. Even if you had three or four properties to hunt, you'd still face the same situation. It seems all the farmers are reading from the same playbook each year.

The soybean fields will generally be rotated with corn and cotton. You can see deer in the cotton to a certain extent, but I'd like to have some type of x-ray vision gizmo to scout them in corn.

Sorghum seems pretty useless to me. Peanuts are a jackpot but I don't get to hunt them very often. The deer always seem to in them no matter what, at least until they clean up what the combines leave behind. In fact, if anyone knows a time during the life cycle of a peanut crop that deer don't use it, I would like to know.

That's about it for local crops, other than hay and pasture, or cover crops like wheat or rye or oats. There's so little tobacco anymore it's a sad joke. Deer did used to use it. Haven't ever run across any triticale here, although I know somebody must grow it. Some sorghum is called milo around here, but it's not the same stuff as what I think most people know as milo. I haven't figured out the secret code, but I just thought I'd throw that out there.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

Upcoming episodes: Spotting scopes, food plots, wildlife openings and cutovers. Also, miscellaneous unrelated jokes and prolly some memes.

19.) Jon - 06/16/2017

Swampy, we really only have 3 crops here, Corn, Beans and Potatoes (sweet and standard brown variety). Most farmers rotate between corn and beans yearly and very few even mess with potatoes.
Beans are productive almost full season, there are 2 types of beans as well. Most farmers here use 120(?) day beans but there are also 90 day beans. Both are productive for deer until they are totally yellow which is right about harvest time. Corn is difficult to hunt as we all know because you really can't see deer in 900acres of corn until they aren't in it. Sweet potatoes are like some kind of candy for them, you'd never think you'd see deer in a big dirt field BUT those sweet taters make deer go nuts, they will dig em up and put their faces in the dirt to get to em without a care in the world about what's around.
If you hunt large tracts, I've found the best place to locate deer is the area between crops, like where a corn field butts against a bean field. Not necessarily the best place to hunt them but you'll see tons of deer there at dusk.
My house property is surrounded by corn this year on all sides so I'll be looking for some offerings to feed other than corn, try to draw them to me. Honsetly, I don't hunt my own property much unless a huge buck is consistently on camera. Too many other good farms that I have access to.

20.) Swamp Fox - 06/16/2017

That's good advice about watching the area where two crops meet. I can especially see it if one crop provides cover (like corn or tobacco) and the other provides food (like beans or potatoes). I don't think there's a lot of multi-crop growing around here, though, even in the biggest fields. Seems like maybe I remember some corn-and-tobacco combos on small farms back in the day, but I could also be imagining it. I'll have to keep my eyes open going forward.

I had heard sweet potatoes were a magnet, but haven't had the chance to scout or hunt near them. That reminds me of pumpkins and watermelons, which always seem to draw deer as well. Watermelons show you that you have deer, not necessarily how good they are. LOL. Same with muskmelons (cantaloupe and honey dew, the first being the more commonly-grown around here, I think) since they are harvested so early.

Punkins are a great thing to sit over in the fall if the farmer hasn't shot all his deer over them already, so if I ever get a chance to watch a patch in the summer Ima do it. I had permission to gun hunt over pumpkins a long time ago but it wasn't really my thing at the time, so I didn't take full advantage. I should prolly find out if that guy is still alive and managed to keep the real estate developers at bay...I might be more interested now. LOL.

I'd like to know if squash draws deer. Not that I know of any huntable squash patches...It would just be good info to have. :-)

21.) luv2bowhunt - 06/19/2017

Winter is for scouting, not Summer. You're still all mixed up aren't you Tarheel. :re:

Scouting is done for me, just waiting to get the cameras out at the end of the month. Then it is just a matter of seeing which areas look the most promising, although I'm learning more and more each year that you can't go by what you see in Summer. In these big woods tracts the bucks you see all Summer will most likely not be there in Oct. The big buck I killed 2 years ago was 2 miles away all Summer, then shifted when the acorns started to drop.

You don't have the advantage of watching crop fields or open areas in the big timber. I think I scout more trying to figure out what hunters do and don't do on the public land. Trying to avoid pressured deer seems to be the key for me.

22.) Jon - 06/19/2017

Was he exactly 2 miles away or maybe you are guessing?

23.) luv2bowhunt - 06/19/2017

A guy gave me Summer pics of him, nearly 2 miles from where I killed him. Probably more like a mile and a half but still a long way from where he died.

24.) Wild Bob - 06/19/2017

"I'm learning more and more each year that you can't go by what you see in Summer." - Luv2

Ditto; that's the point I was subtly trying to mention in my post as well.

Of course I think there are geographic and regional affects that all come into play and complicate this puzzle as well. E.g. the mast crops in your neck of the woods carries a lot more influence than say, the numerous mast crops did where I used to live in the Middle Tennessee area, and it's different than North east Montana where mast crops are essentially non-existent except for some limited soft mast. I guess you could rob/adapt Tip O'Neill's old saying about "all politics is local" to "all food sources is local."
That being said, so too would scouting methods and information gathering. Just because something works well in say, Indiana, it may not hold true for Washington.

25.) Swamp Fox - 06/19/2017

I'm interested in summer scouting mostly to learn an area or find new spots. Sometimes you can figure out a buck is "out there" from sign or by seeing him, but I think that where I hunt you're fooling yourself if you're planning on killing a buck you saw over the summer. I'd say the best odds you have are 1 in 10---and that's gun-hunting a four-month season or longer and being serious about it. Most places it's closer to zero.

Doesn't mean it's not cool to know he's out there.

If I have access to an open area, I like to think about watching it, prolly because open areas and agriculture are not my usual opportunities. I have yet to combine an open area worth watching with an open area worth hunting.

Doesn't mean a fella can't dream.

:wave:

26.) luv2bowhunt - 06/20/2017

[QUOTE=Wild Bob;49511] Of course I think there are geographic and regional affects that all come into play and complicate this puzzle as well. E.g. the mast crops in your neck of the woods carries a lot more influence than say, the numerous mast crops did where I used to live in the Middle Tennessee area, and it's different than North east Montana where mast crops are essentially non-existent except for some limited soft mast. I guess you could rob/adapt Tip O'Neill's old saying about "all politics is local" to "all food sources is local."
That being said, so too would scouting methods and information gathering. Just because something works well in say, Indiana, it may not hold true for Washington.[/QUOTE]

I'm sure that's true. In my area, mast crops, or especially the lack of mast crops, is what drives the whole deer engine. Agricultural fields are non-existent in nearly every area I hunt. So, what most of the 3 guys on here see in NC, Texas, and Kansas will be completely different than what I'm dealing with in PA.

27.) Jon - 06/20/2017

Pa is filled with goobers so that's 100% accurate.

28.) luv2bowhunt - 06/20/2017

[QUOTE=Jon;49528]Pa is filled with goobers so that's 100% accurate.[/QUOTE]

You keep posting so much we're going to have to change it to the 4 amigos.

That means Alex would have to keep track of 25% more posters on here. I don't think any of us wants to put such a burden on the poor guy.

29.) Swamp Fox - 06/20/2017

Would you say we have a plethora of posters?

30.) luv2bowhunt - 06/20/2017

This is the amount of traffic Alex is used to around here.

31.) Wild Bob - 06/20/2017

:fire::pop:

32.) Swamp Fox - 06/22/2017

Okay, I'm not sure we've really worn out the topic of summer scouting yet, but maybe the market is speaking. Without closing the door on summer topics completely, what's everybody's strategy come September, say?

I don't like to tramp around too much at that point since the season is either open already or it's about to open, but somewhere in the late August/early September time frame seems to be the best time for me to be looking up in the trees for acorns. You probably already know where your soft mast is by that point.

I've tried looking for acorns in July and early August, but I think that's too early to see them well around here. Either that or I always look in the wrong places. Anybody have any thoughts about this? Since I have early openers, I sometimes think my best bet is to just listen for where nuts are dropping once I'm hunting, but that doesn't help you get a jumpstart on the deer. There seems to be a sudden shift somewhere in September when acorns will shortstop deer from stepping out in openings in the evening as they had been doing, and if you don't know where they're stopping you can lose them for a while.

33.) Wild Bob - 08/10/2017

Round here by September - We're hunting by then (following the premise that we're mainly talking whitetails here).

That being said; I tend to sit out the warmer weather that sometimes hangs around through the month of September. On those warm September days there is plenty of upland hunting to occupy my time afield; chasing dove, sharptail and sage grouse on the prairie, where there usually is a nice breeze, instead of sweating and fighting mosquitoes in the deer stand).

But on the days when there is a touch of fall in the air - I'm usually sitting in the fringe of wooded areas trying to catch a whitetail going from bedding area to agricultural feeding areas in the evenings.

34.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

September is late summer here, LOL. Cooling off ain't happening for a while. That's not to say mornings and evenings can't be pleasant. It's just that when they are, it's noticeable, and notable. I have always wanted to be able to do more consistent, useful long-range scouting for whitetails. Sometimes you can, and sometimes you can't around here. There seems to be a little burst of daytime activity on soybeans the first week or ten days of September, and then things go dark.

For hunting big woods in September, it seems like late morning around oaks is better than getting in before light. Otherwise, I think I'd rather take an observation stand in the evening, unless I knew where acorns were dropping.

35.) luv2bowhunt - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;50777]For hunting big woods in September, it seems like late morning around oaks is better than getting in before light. Otherwise, I think I'd rather take an observation stand in the evening, unless I knew where acorns were dropping.[/QUOTE]

I don't have the luxury of EVER doing long range scouting in late Summer or early Fall. So you know it will come down to where or if, the white oaks are falling. It gets hard to narrow down on the years when there are acorns falling everywhere. It seems this year that we will have an abundance of acorns after 2 years of very little mast crop.

I will do some low impact scouting on the edge of bedding areas looking for the Sept. rubs. At least then you get a sense of where a buck is going in and out to feed. But even then, normally, these bucks are not moving around much in the daylight once the season opens.

I've killed a couple bucks in early Oct. and it's always been because of watching these trails with rubs on that I found in Sept.

36.) Jon - 08/11/2017

The only buck I've ever killed in the heat of September was at a farm I had never hunted and nobody had been there in over a month, 5 bucks came out into the beans in 97deg weather. I just happened to be in the right corner of the field and smacked the only buck with perfect velvet. Pretty rare to see that many together in that kind of heat.

37.) bluecat - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;49603]Okay, I'm not sure we've really worn out the topic of summer scouting yet, but maybe the market is speaking. Without closing the door on summer topics completely, what's everybody's strategy come September, say?
[/QUOTE]

Climb tree to stand, wait.

38.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

I think if I had a lot of time to spend on particular day, I'd go in early and sit the whole morning close to bedding. I seem to see more deer in September at about the ti

39.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

I think if I had a lot of time to spend on a particular day, I'd go in early and sit the whole morning close to bedding, which as I've said before can be almost anywhere, especially when acorns are dropping or early in the season if there's no pressure. I seem to see more deer in September at about the time I ordinarily want to climb down, which is usually no earlier than 11, although at some times of year on some stands I'm not sure you're doing a whole lot of good sitting past 10 or 10:30.

Then I'd go take a big ol' nap in the AC if it's available. I have mixed thoughts on hunting evenings in the early season. Let me see if I can put them together in a way that makes sense. LOL

Is it just me, or are there some years you can't find (many) rubs until later in the month?

40.) DParker - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;49603]Okay, I'm not sure we've really worn out the topic of summer scouting yet, but maybe the market is speaking. Without closing the door on summer topics completely, what's everybody's strategy come September, say?[/QUOTE]

[LIST=1]
[*]Make breakfast.
[*]Eat breakfast.
[*]Grumble about all the stuff that needs to be done around the house.
[*]Actually do one or two of the things that need doing around the house.
[*]Reward myself for whatever I accomplished by having a craft beer and some BBQ.
[*]
[/LIST]
The woods around here just aren't tolerable (heat, 'squitoes, poison ivy, etc) for most of September, and are only marginally so when archery season starts the first weekend of October. Besides, when hunting public land in this part of the state my criteria for choosing a hunting location on most mornings pretty much boils down to, "This looks OK and nobody else is here"...except for Thanksgiving morning, by which time any scouting I would have done months earlier would be useless anyway.

41.) luv2bowhunt - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;50786]Is it just me, or are there some years you can't find (many) rubs until later in the month?[/QUOTE]

I know what you're saying. In some years some areas don't seem to have the early rubs. Not sure how much land you're hunting, but lucky for me I have 80,000 acres at my disposal in just one State Forest. I bounce around enough to find some kind of rubbing activity somewhere most of the time in the early season.

White pines or striped maples along the edges of clearcuts are a sure bet around here most years. White pines along old logging roads at the edges of clearcuts to be even more specific. If they ain't rubbing there, they ain't rubbing yet.

42.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

Yes, I figure if I'm not finding rubs I'm just in the wrong place. But I have always thought it a head-scratcher that it can vary so much in the same area year to year. Maybe bucks get shot out more than I thought. I don't think it's a change in the land (year to year), or a sex ratio thing.

More land and more scouting are definitely a big part of the solution, though. Edge cover most often = too accessible here, though, on public land. You're right that that's the best place to find rubs with the least effort, though. Don't you think most of that sign is made at night, though? Maybe I need to look harder for rubs in the thicker, more remote spots. I don't think too much about building a hunting strategy around rubs otherwise. But thick + rubs has to be better than thick w/o rubs, right? Maybe I just need to be pickier and more careful about my thick spots.

43.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=DParker;50789][LIST=1]

[/LIST]
The woods around here just aren't tolerable (heat, 'squitoes, poison ivy, etc) for most of September, and are only marginally so when archery season starts the first weekend of October.[/QUOTE]


You probably can't kill poison ivy on public land seeing that it's an endangered species and all. But if I had a nice ground blind spot all picked out, it would be a shame if something happened to that poison ivy. I'm just sayin'.

I couldn't hunt until about mid-November if it weren't for Thermacells. They have a new and improved version this year, which I haven't had a chance to try yet. Quieter ignition, and works standing upright: two welcome changes.

44.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

As far as heat goes, a change of clothes and scent-containing bags are your friend. Quite a pain in the butt, and the best bags are noisy, but if I can make it to the last hour before dark the temperature isn't an issue any more for me. I'd still rather be able to watch deer from afar than try to kill one up close anytime I'll get drenched on the walk to the stand, but often that's not an option, as Luv2 says. So I might as well hunt, assuming I'm not burning a valuable area I'll need later on. But that's the problem.

45.) luv2bowhunt - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;50794]Don't you think most of that sign is made at night, though? Maybe I need to look harder for rubs in the thicker, more remote spots. I don't think too much about building a hunting strategy around rubs otherwise. But thick + rubs has to be better than thick w/o rubs, right? Maybe I just need to be pickier and more careful about my thick spots.[/QUOTE]

Well, the edge cover I'm talking about is 1-2 miles back in, no ATV's allowed. There are a lot of varying stages of clearcuts in our State Forests. So you can get back in a mile or more and find a 6-8 yr old clearcut that no one is bowhunting. That's my favorite location, an overgrown 6-10 yr old clearcut that's way off the beaten path.

Rubs are never hard to find there and the buck pics I get each Summer confirm that several bucks are making it through in these places each year. The rubs on the edge may be done at night, but what I'm usually looking for are trails that the rubs are made on. Those trails will lead back into the thick clearcut and eventually peter out in the bedding cover.

I try to spend time each Winter in the thick clearcuts, trying to find areas I can create at trail intersections inside the thick stuff. I've got a new one I'm going to try out this year, and another area that I'm wishing I could have gotten to.

If I find rubs on the edge of the clearcuts in these areas, I know I'm in business, even if the rubs on the edge of the woods were made at night. And since the hunting pressure is low in these areas, there's still a chance they may move around a little at dawn or dusk.

The problem is, and it's a big one, if the bucks know they're being hunted in those areas they will simply move to another spot a couple hundred yards away. So, I don't like to push things too much in the early season.

I'm learning to ease my way into the rut, then you can go crazy and do all kinds of stupid things, like hunt right over the bedding areas.

46.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

Right. I agree with all that. My public land spots are not that big, unfortunately, and are too accessible. And the the competition is on to my better tricks: bike in, boat in. I'm on the hunt for different ground.

47.) DParker - 08/11/2017

[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;50795]You probably can't kill poison ivy on public land seeing that it's an endangered species and all. But if I had a nice ground blind spot all picked out, it would be a shame if something happened to that poison ivy. I'm just sayin'.[/quote]



[QUOTE=Swamp Fox;50795]I couldn't hunt until about mid-November if it weren't for Thermacells. They have a new and improved version this year, which I haven't had a chance to try yet. Quieter ignition, and works standing upright: two welcome changes.[/QUOTE]

They're the only thing that makes it possible to hunt in early October here too.

48.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

I was thinking when I wrote that, "How the heck did I survive before Thermacells came along?" and then I remembered I didn't used to do half the hunting I do now any earlier than mid October and early November before Thermacells were invented. So I probably survived more out of dumb luck than by great perseverance.

And it's almost never too late for mosquitoes here, LOL. I distinctly remember sitting in a pine tree in late November one year about 30 years ago, and the two mosquitoes that were going to make it to Christmas no matter if we had a nuclear holocaust found me. They made my afternoon quite the adventure.

49.) luv2bowhunt - 08/11/2017

50.) Swamp Fox - 08/11/2017

:-)...Classic