I'm hunting deer, pig and coyote and I'm a complete novice with no one to teach me. I'll concentrate on deer since they are probably the most elusive and probably won't see a coyote unless you are night hunting. But give me your tips, I'm lost. I haven't even seen a deer since 2010, at least not while I was hunting. I've got a tree stand, climbing stand. I don't have scent, calls and you can't use feeders. So give me some tactics and suggestions on what you think will work. I'll give you the run-down on this last trip out..

Spent 3 days here. The area is 50k acres and probably only had about 20-40 hunters in it while I was there. I'm expecting it to be about the same when I go out the in a few days. The area is a mix of habitat. Lots of meeca palm that has grown up in the control burn areas, wooded areas with pine, maple, scrub oaks and cypress heads. There is not a lot of wide open areas that is not covered by chest high meeca palm which is a problem. You can't see. You can have 20 pigs in front of you and they are covered by the underbrush. I tried to be quiet when I walked in but that is kind of a problem. Carrying the stand and walking with a dog tends to make some noise. I tried to be wary of the wind but almost without fail, I would have to walk through the area I wanted to hunt to get downwind. Then I had to put the stand together and get up the tree, more noise....  Then when I would get up the tree and sit, I would have the feeling that I picked a bad spot because I would be watching meeca palm or the wind would be blowing the wrong way or it would just not be the right environment to spot a deer.

View the first morning...it was dark when I got here so I just picked a spot and gave it a shot. Really could not see crap once the sun came up. Everything was  to high or too far away to have a shot at anything.




This looked promising when I set up. There was is a waterhole on the other side of the road that looks just like the one on the left. I could see a game trail leading up to it and fresh hog rooting. You can make it out on the other side of the road, just to the right of center.


Most of the open areas look like this. With some controlled burn mixed in. I'm not sure if animals really cut through these burn areas that much.





This was my last trip out. Watching a logging road that the pigs had been crossing.



This was the area with the most promise that I saw while I was there. It was the only area I saw with deer tracks and had the most grassy area which I'm guess is not a coincidence. Problem with it is that it is too far to hump a deer stand to it so I will be limited to sitting and watching the fire breaks.



Any tips, tricks or suggestions are welcome. I got one more shot this season.

Well I hunt in North FL, never been to Green Swamp but it looks the same as the areas I hunt.
1st not sure why you would bring a dog when deer/hog hunting from a climber. What are you doing with the dog while in the tree? No deer or hogs are going to come close smelling a dog.
2nd get away from the roads. Hike in a 1/2 mile or more (where the deer & hogs feel safe & away from the crowds).
3rd Find some acorns, food sources, etc, trails, scraps, etc, etc & hunt them.
4th play the wind
5th be quite & still
6th bring somthing for the skeeters (thermacell)
7th get there early, an hour before daylight & stay until its to dark to see.
8 be ready its thick, they are going to just appear right next to you & be gone quick, dont be messing aaround on your phone etc, stay focused.

I grew up hunting areas like that.  Those are not the types of woods that you can walk around and hunt, unless you walk only on the roads.

To make a long story short, you need to bait.  

Not the same as ohio but I agree with what was posted , To close to the roads for sure I would go at least 400-500 yards further into the woods away from the roads. Find a game trail and follow it set up your stand in good wind with a clear shooting lane. I have had great luck with areas not that far in the woods, and little luck in areas with tons of signs and trails that where way deep in. It's a crap shoot sometimes.

Dog is coming along, I can't leave him in camp unattended, that being said, he does not make any noise when I'm up in the stand. He just lays down and listens to all the noises. And I try to play the wind like you say, trying to stay down wind.

As far as the strategy and advice I have gotten from the guys I've run into, it breaks down like this:.....You have to be in the woods before sun rise or just before sunset or you need to hunt from 10 to 4......You have to use a stand, no wait you have to walk the trails, no wait you have to just drive the roadways and wait until you run across your prey.

As far as the acorns falling from the trees, you don't see them because apparently the hogs move through and clean them up as soon as they hit the ground.

Anyway, just looking for new ideas or someone with some experience in the area. Should I look into scents or calls? Do the deer prefer grassland, thick woods, etc???

This is the first area I've hunted in FL that didn't have swamp buggies runnin all over the place. Those guys just seem to drive through everything until the scare something out of the brush right before they run over it.

You will  NEVER see a deer as long as he's with you.  And if you think he will just sit there when a deer comes out your crazy. Good luck!

You really only have two options.  Get on the food or find active trails.  Putting out bait is your best bet.  But if you can't bait try to find natural food sources.  Also look at the neighbors around the property that has food and setup near their.

If you find the food hunt off the food in the mornings and hunt on top of it in the evenings.  

Hunting on the edge of thickets/bedding areas has always served me well.  Especially if you can bait.  

As for trails its a crap shoot.  Look for two thick areas and hunt the opening between them to catch them traveling.    

I hunt an area just like that here in coastal NC.  I see and kill plenty of deer.  It can be done with hard work and most important determination.

In all though the dog needs to stay home if you wish to even see a deer.  

This whole area is a suitable bedding area. If I can get back there I'm going to sit on that trail with the deer tracks going across. That was the closest thing I saw to an active trail while I was there.

Granted I have never hunted down south, but it seems the positions you are choosing to set up are totally exposed.  The last picture appears to be in the wide open.  While deer aren't incredibly great with their eye sight, they can tell when something doesn't look right.  You don't seem to have any cover.  I would use one of those stand blinds, get into an area you know is active.  Start looking for tracks after a fresh rain, the ground should be soft enough to show fresh track.

Dogs have a habit of leaving their scent everywhere.  Hogs and deer see dogs as a predator species and they will avoid areas laced with their sent.  The only good reason to bring a dog with you on the hunt is when you want to use them to drive deer.  You are going to have a heck of a time finding deer with a dog.

Now, to the point of sitting right next to the trail or road because that's where they cross and the wooded areas are thick, deer probably aren't going to stop in the road/trail or close to it.  They'll most likely run quickly across to get back to cover.  You're better off finding an area they cross, walking into the woods 75-100 yards and climbing the tree in your stand with a vantage point of the 75 yds in front of you, the trail/road and some yardage on the other side.  That way you can watch them coming at you.

Use scent control shampoo and soap.  I can't imagine that climbing a tree in the heat and humidity of Florida doesn't make someone sweat.  Deer have a good sense of smell and will get a wiff of you.  If they smell you, they will stay clear of you.  You can also consider masking your smell with doe urine, on your stand or under your stand.  Deer aren't super smart as some say, their actually quite stupid especially when in the rut.  They do however, have great instincts.  When something doesn't feel right, they bolt.

In conclusion, change up your site a little, go where you know the animals have recently been, lose the dog, sorry but it's the only way, cover your scent and sit still as a statue when you're in the stand.  Noises, plastic on metal, metal on wood, etc. are noises animals don't usually hear and it spooks them.  And if bait is legal there, bait.  I would put out bait and game camera and leave it for several days.  Once you get deer in a pattern heading to the bait, you can go back early one morning, set up and wait quietly.

You're hitting on some things I was thinking about. I wasn't too worried about being up in an open tree but I'll try to move further back. I was thinking about the exposure time. I figure that if I see a deer, its going to be a fleeting moment as he crosses the trail and the problem is that once he crosses then he will be back in cover immediately. I am thinking that the sight I mentioned earlier with the deer track and grass will be better because  the undergrowth consists mainly of tall grass instead of the palm.

Guy i talked to while i was there pointed me to the end of tanic, same area. Guess the burning on the eat side is driving stuff that way.

I hunt northern salt marsh. This is the basics as I know them.

On flat ground choke points are hard to find, but there are choke points. A choke point is a natural path of deer that converge from different directions.

Deer travel edge. look for sign along any type of edge. Possible edge is.

marsh grass and treeline or some other vegetation.
drainage ditches
standing water
clearings along thick growth
dirt roads along thick growth


once you find edge, look for sign and points that constrict the edge. examples are

a curve in the ditch so there is limited visibility at the apex either side of the curve
a point in the water similar to an inside edge of a field
a curve in the road where visibility is limited on either side of the apex of the curve
a narrowing of thick growth with a game trail in it.
the inside corner of a field, they will skirt the corner staying in the thick stuff to go around the field in the shortest diection.

Deer, and almost all prey will stay in thick growth when pressured as long as possible when they travel.  They will cross boundaries at the easiest point or at the point where they can not be seen very well. A boundary is anything that they have to step over or cross in the open.

once you find these areas, look for deer sign. Tracks in sand, dirt and mud or scat, scrapes or rubs.

travel direction will be opposite to where the dirt that was scraped away lies. They generally do not change direction when they scrape. Travel direction will be evident on tree rubs, the rubbed part is the direction they are coming from.

Deer will generally travel for a reason.

from bedding area to someplace else. that someplace else can be a doe area, doe scent, or food or water.

and from some place else to a bedding area. Bedding areas are characterized by thick growth with many escape trails in many directions. They will not bed in an area they can not see and smell multiple direction or be cornered in. They will not box themselves in. It will be thick enough for concealment but not so thick that they can not see out.

they will travel the path of least resistance hill wise. They will go around a hill instead of over the top, they will not travel in the valley or the crest of a ridge, rather they will travel somewhere in between, does tend to stay lower and bucks tend to stay higher.

Does will bed low along creek or ditches, buck tend to bed higher closer to the top of a ridge.

Does will travel in more open areas, bucks will travel in thicker areas.

Deer will generally travel moving upwind or crosswind.

Try to think like prey. How would you travel to keep from being seen or heard or smelled. travel to stay hidden by terrain or vegetation and travel so you are not traveling in the direction your scent is moving and then travel which ever path is easiest to walk.,

it takes being out and scouting, either pre-season or during the season. If done during the season be slow and quiet.

and you will never see anything if you bring your dog, unless maybe in an enclosed ground blind, and then just maybe if he is quiet and still enough and if the wind is cross the direction they are traveling.

and pick a tree with foliage in back of you to hide your form.

good luck.

I agree on the dog, gotta leave him at home next time. If anything does get within distance he'll bolt, or worse (like a hog getting into him).

Hunt the food sources. Oaks are good, but you might be too late on the acorns. Look up deer browse for FL and find those plants. Flag ponds can yield food as well. Find the trails leading to and from food and bedding. Hunting water holes is a waste of time, it's a swamp after all.

Look on Google earth for funnels such as strips of land between ponds, sloughs, etc... The deer don't mind water, neither do hogs, and they'll go right through a cypress head. Edges of cypress and pine are good places to look for sign. Find a several thousand acre chunk of land and just get to know it.

Look into the limited entry hunts for next season, they can be a little more forgiving and have less hunting pressure. Last, find a mentor who can show you the ropes. High pressure public land game usually don't play by the rules you read in magazines, but stick with it!

A few other tips: The only "fresh" hog sign has a hog standing in it. Don't get caught up in zoning in on that stuff.

In your 4th pic, a good place to look would be along the edge of that cypress in the background. Palmetto doesn't bother hogs one bit, they'll lay up in it. Deer prefer the edges.

Thanks for the pointers guys.

Found a spot a kind of liked. The road was kind of a choke point. I was expecting that if anything came out then it would turn down the road long enough get a shot and then wind was blowing about 10 mph right into my face. After spending another 3 days there, pretty much looks like the game, what there is of it, lays down in the cypress heads. I saw a lot of game trails that seem to come out of those. But there are not a lot of bucks in here, looks like only two more bucks have been taken since I was here 2 weeks ago, so I expect if I get anything out of here its going to be a pig. Even that is somewhat of a problem b/c apparently fish and wildlife has been catching the pigs and moving them across the road to green swamp west.

 

Oh, by the "flush the advice" comment note that I wasn't particularly talking about anyone here. I mean in general, such as hunting magazines, articles, ect. Putting aside the fact that much of what's out there is written by the mutli-million dollar hunting industry in an attempt to get you to buy products, lots of hunting advice out there that may be based on real-world experience is nonetheless written from people who share in the "midwesternization" of whitetail hunting. What I mean by that is that there's a common whitetail hunting culture that is defined primarily from the perspective midwestern hunters but has come to be shared through most of the country through the marketing of the hunting industry. Florida is a completely different ballgame. What works in Wisconsin, Alabama, NY, or Texas, more often than not does not apply here. Only the most basic common rules will apply. IE find where they eat, sleep, or breed, and hunt them without them smelling you, hearing you, or seeing you, during times they are active. Those basic principles apply to all game animals. Its in the specifics that things become so different.




 

You're making the spot in those last 2 pics look good. I'm puttiing in for vacation the last 2 weeks of 2014 so I can devote some more time. See if I can come up with a '14er....

I hunted 3 seasons and never saw a deer at GS...tons of turkey though. I lost about a couple gallons of blood to skeeters. I saw a bunch of deer at Croom but never any bucks. The successful guys at GS walk about a mile from the roads through bogs up to their necks to get on little islands where the deer cluster. I tried this and was wadding in thigh deep water and bumped a underwater log with my shin...then it bumped back...twice, I looked down between my legs and saw the back of a alligator rolling/swimming. Fuck that place.

I moved to Virginia and I see 10 deer every day in my back yard. I can bowhunting from my hot tub.

Only advice I have is invest in a good pair of snake boots.

Are you telling me? This guy is in Corbett.



Had another nice pic from Green Swamp of a moccasin..

I haven't checked the regs but down here where I hunt the dogs aren't allowed unless tracking a wounded animal. Regardless you gotta get off that road in GS. That place is hunted hard and the people that kill deer are way in there.

It was that way over 20yrs ago. Many opening day at GS...

Fine looking dog.  Take him for walks now. Look for the most active deer trails.  In the fall look for scrapes and rubs.  Decide where you will put your stand.  Leave the dog at home when deer hunting.  Even if he stays still, he still has a dog smell.  Scout, scout and scout again.