Originally Posted by
Bukmastr
Right now in the north they are feeding mostly on browse. But still find some stuff in some fields. red Dogwood along the swamp edges is a good staging food that is usually very close to bedding.
Your going to find buck bedding close to the top of hills,or ridges within the top 1/3 if there is adaquate cover. They tend to bed the down wind side catching the thermal rise from below, and the wind over the top at the same time... Along the swamp edge, look closely at the areas I circled. If you see little trees out there in cattails or brush, beds should be right there. If there is snow, they might not be there right now. The edge of the swamp along the transition line is normally where you would set up. Walk that edge and look for sign going in and follow it to the beds.
First of all, thank you so much for taking the time to look into that property. I find know matter how much I learn about hunting there is always someone who knows more.
Here is one dilemma...you see what I marked as potential stand 3 and you circled? We agree on it's potential. The problem is that the the thick-looking, isolated woods immediately behind it (to the east of it and on the southern edge of the swamp) is on top of a huge hill, and I think they may be using it as bedding.
Do you think my potential stand 3 is too close to that bedding area? I don't want to spook them out of there.