Well guys I have been laid up for the past 12 days with a severe leg wound after falling through a dock. Laying around icing it and feeling sorry for myself had to stop so I decided I was going to forgo the pain and go do a small hunt/scouting session to the SAM yesterday. I figured I would just walk down a trail a 1/4 mile and then hike in to the woods a 1/4 mile (Yeah right!) and find a spot to just hang out and enjoy the sounds of the forest and hopefully get a chance at a deer or hog.

The first thing I noticed was how dry it was. The forest road I walked down was really void of any tracks mostly because it was too dry but even the looser pediment areas were not showing tracks. I decided to get on a major game trail and follow it up in to the woods from there. After a few hundred yards I just didnt find much for tracks or scrapes. I found a small area where they had been bedded up with some fresh poop and a few tracks but that was it. And a few older scrapes. Now granted I was hobbling along nice and slow so I didnt cover a lot of area. Since my leg was feeling good to walk I decided to keep going another half mile or so to a pond and look for activity there and wait till dark. I didnt spend a lot of time walking around looking for tracks but still didnt see any tracks of deer or hogs at all by the pond. It was 3:30PM so I figured I had better settle down quit making noise and wait till dark and that is what I did. Nada, So at sunset I hobbled out of there and drove down the roads and still never saw any deer on the roads. Which was unusual. Anyways not going back there again and that is what scouting is for. To eliminate unproductive areas.

It was good to get out and not sit on the couch waiting for my leg to heal. Yesterday I sweated my arse off! I will try again after the weekend

Glad you were able to get out. I've been several places in shnf and found a few promising spots. I plan to head out Thanksgiving weekend for a stab. Deciding on taking a rifle or my bow.

I have been back twice to the SAM since my last report and kawabuggy's report was similar to mine. On 2 of my 3 trips I went to areas where I had seen deer and pigs before and both of those trips I couldnt find any signs of pigs or deer. And the 1 trip I just picked a spot and took off in to the woods and found tons of deer signs and fresh scrapes. I hunt on the ground which is very tough to do because it is very hard to get some space to see. Today I had a fantastic spot about a mile and a half way back in the woods. I had a 120 degree view where I could see almost 150 yards looking down in to a creek. It was by far the best spot I have found yet for being able to see from the ground. Wind was blowing in my face all day today but never saw a thing and never heard a shot today except 1 and I heard it while I was waliking in. Typically I will hear at least a few shots but only 1 today. I have still yet to see or even hear a deer. Getting frustrated for sure. I sat from 10 till 5 today. Nada

Last year I did two bow hunts. Saw seven deer, none in range. First day of rifle I got a spike. This year I have done 10 or so bow hunts and saw probably 15 deer. Only had one in range but wasn't legal (small seven point. Vid is on fb page below). I almost always see deer, just not in range or not legal. I've seen the most concentrated off a trail about 1.5 miles from where I park and then 200-400 yards into the woods. The area is a natural pinch with two creeks coming together and a steep ravine with a bunch of oak trees at the bottom. I've seen the most this year between 7am-10am. I haven't seen any in the afternoon/evening, but it is probably because where I go they are headed back to their bedding areas. I'd suggest getting out to your spot at least 20-30 min before sunrise. Hunker down and stay quiet. Also...I hunt from a climbing tree stand. Even in thick weeds visibility hasn't been an issue once 18' up.

I havent had a chance to get out there to try the early morning hunt. Tough to get out there that early from where I live. Your hunting spot sounds very similar to where I was at yesterday. I will try next time to get out there before sunup and see what happens. That spot yesterday was absolutely perfect for me being able to see so far away down hill. I dont use a tree stand so finding areas with shooting lanes is very tough to do. I hadnt been there in 2 years and I used to see a ton of wildlife there before. That east wind was blowing right in my face and up the hill all day it was perfect. The next East wind I will try and get there and in the woods early. I may even go tomorrow and sit in a ground blind to stay dry. They could definitely be moving between storms. If not tomorrow I will definitely be out there on Monday!