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Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
#6917938
10/12/17 03:31 PM
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Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 240
7six2
OP
Woodsman
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OP
Woodsman
Joined: Jun 2016
Posts: 240 |
Question. For those who hunt deer in the thick woods, particularly on public land, would you recommend staying on open areas such as pipelines, or going in among the trees...where visibility is limited, or even sitting still by a secluded pond? Not trying to ask for anyone's secret spot or whatever, just would like to hear what method for the terrain has been successful for you.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6917966
10/12/17 03:45 PM
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Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 22,630
Cast
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Dec 2008
Posts: 22,630 |
I grew up in those woods and I never saw a deer cross a RoW. They were always in the woods.
Cast I have a short attention spa
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6917987
10/12/17 04:07 PM
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Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,800
TexasKC
Extreme Tracker
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Extreme Tracker
Joined: Dec 2012
Posts: 4,800 |
In my experience, on public lands they seem to stay pretty deep in the woods. I missed a tremendous buck on a ROW near Chester, Tx. back in '76 on a timber company lease. I've never hunted E. Texas since then so I don't really know how it is nowadays but I doubt if things have changed much. Poachers and thieves drove me out of the piney woods
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count, it's the life in your years.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6918040
10/12/17 04:53 PM
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,652
Pitchfork Predator
THF Celebrity
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THF Celebrity
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 19,652 |
Walk in further than anyone else is willing to go.
Find fresh tracks at a pinch point or creek crossing and hunt with the wind in your favor and the sun at your back.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6918085
10/12/17 05:39 PM
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Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 265
TX0303
Bird Dog
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Bird Dog
Joined: Sep 2016
Posts: 265 |
Trails parallel to creek bottoms, saddles, and oaks dropping acorns. Deer in that area know that if they stick their head out of the trees, someone's going to shoot at them.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6918095
10/12/17 05:48 PM
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Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 50
Nwernig
Outdoorsman
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Outdoorsman
Joined: Dec 2016
Posts: 50 |
To add on to what others are saying.... tree climbing stands work best, in my opinion, in dense brush. They allow you to get up above it and actually see anything moving. Plus you can also see the terrain and possible trails a lot more.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6919049
10/13/17 02:10 PM
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Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,136
EddieWalker
Veteran Tracker
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Veteran Tracker
Joined: Aug 2014
Posts: 2,136 |
Public land means lots of competition. For a deer to live to the ripe old age of 3 or more, it's learned not to be where all the people are.
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6919052
10/13/17 02:13 PM
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Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 759
Aggieman775
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Apr 2015
Posts: 759 |
I stay in the woods. It will open up somewhere and maybe just a little bit only in one spot but that’s where I would go.
TSmith
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Re: Hunting in the piney woods of East Texas
[Re: 7six2]
#6919097
10/13/17 02:47 PM
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Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 925
BigDad
Tracker
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Tracker
Joined: Aug 2006
Posts: 925 |
My son and I hunt our ET piney woods property every year. I have hunted the property for 35 years. We have stands on ROWs and in the woods. We have food plots and feeders in ROWs and feeders in the woods. Both produce decent bucks every year. We recently clear-cut about 150 acres of the tract so we put a couple stands there as well, I'm excited to hunt them as we've seen a lot of deer in the clear-cuts so far. We see more bucks in the ROWs only because you can see further. We get about the same number of bucks on camera in ROWs as in the woods. We see more bucks on the cameras mid-day in the woods than we do in the ROWs.
I suggest you take advantage of both locations depending on the conditions. Always hunt the wind and be prepared (practice) for a fast long shot in the ROWs. I enjoy LR shooting and practice diligently and know my trajectories so I like to hunt the ROWs and clear-cuts. Public land may be different as I suspect must hunters will take the easy route and stay on the ROWs.
Joe
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