Icedragon

I need some feedback and possible advice. Im going to be honest, ive spent hours in these woods and havent really figured much out and have been hunting for a couple weeks and havent really seen anything decent. I cant figure out where the deer are, I see tracks but I never see them, in the morning, mid day or at night. I cant seem to pinpoint what they eat, there isnt much around. Ive found several bedding areas, I am perched near one but havent seen activity, never seen them heading towards it or leaving. Everywhere I go there is evidence left behind that people were there, so aI cant avoid them.

Here is an aerial of my hunting area:



Red Dot: Current Stand
Yellow Line: Power line trail
Blue Outline:Messy Swamp
White: Observed bedding areas
Red Trail: Big deer tracks (maybe buck)
[hr]
I want to have more options in places to hunt. I am buying a climber to try and hunt more palces. I cant seem to pattern these deer. That red trails has some pretty big tracks on it, but I really cant tell where they are going. If you can even tell from this and from what I have told you, what should I look for in determining a new place to set up at? Because nothing is really adding up to anything promising for me right now.

Thanks

SJAdventures

Ifthe top of yourphotois North the worse thing I can see is on a normal fall/winter wind during season your stand is directly upwind of the observed bedding area where your seeing the big tracks. It is in a good positon downwind from the other bedding area you have marked. Your going to have to figure out the food sourse before your going to be able to figure anything out about them. A deer life is based on 3 things, cover-food & waterand the rut. If the food source is limited it does make it mre difficult to figure out what it is but when you do you are on your way because they have to have food and if their food sources are limited they will have to go to what there is and you can be between the bedding areas and the food. Is it all big forest besides the swamp or is there any kind of farm land at all? I am assuming it is public land since you mention evidence of people being everywhere in your huntin area. Can you get into the swamp to scout? If there is that many people running around I wouldhead to the most unaccessable spot in thewhole area and do some scouting.

Icedragon

Most of it is swamp, the rest of it is fields (you can tell) and then the remaining is forests. There is no farm land. There are acorns in some places but its scarce. There are alot of berries I know that. Tons of them. Otherwsie I dont know what the hell they eat, id really have to look around alot more than I have and ive been beating the hell out of this place, cant find a whole lot.

RDHunter

I'm not too fulmillar with that area but I would set some stands or ground blinds in the area I marked.
The one place in the lower right hand corner looks like it might be hardwoods maybe oaks and it's by an open field edge.
Then theres the second spot by the powerlines , that might serve as a funnel or a major travel route and the last spot looks like hardwoods also but it's close to a water sourch.