Viiiwonder
New Member
Half idle comment, maybe to provoke commentary or suggestion:
New hunter this year. Somewhat new to outdoors (I’ve hiked from Springer to 3 forks, gone camping, etc, just never hunted and tried to get away from the beaten paths this much).
I’ve geared up to be able to single stick, bow hunt, and rifle. I have no access to any private lands and live in Metro Atlanta, so I’ve resigned myself to just hunt public land. This is less about pressure on public, and more about the land itself (from an admittedly small sample set of my own observations).
Also disclaimer: I have yet to do a morning sit; both of these trips were mid-day as I kind of considered them to be practice/scouting.
First trip was last Thursday to Oconee WMA - I drove about half the open roadways, and was shocked at how dense the underbrush was, even more so at the new growth in the clear cuts. It honestly looked like I was driving between two solid walls of pine bark, 10 feet high. Eventually, I got closer to the lake side, up at the top fo the valley - this was more the Georgia Wilds that I know. Fairly open forest floor, etc - maybe this is just the case in hardwood stands. I climbed a tree and sat until dusk. I noticed someone’s trail cam on a tree where near I climbed, so I felt not so stupid for being there. In the end I saw nothing but some squirrels, and thoroughly enjoyed my meditation.
Second trip was to the Cedar Creek Little River WMA/Area. The place looked to have been clear cut a year or two back, maybe even within the last 12 months. That brush was so thick with thorns, brambles, and other waist high general blockage to be un-navigable. I made it to one or two of the remaining stands of trees, but made so much noise as to wake the dead. Like I said: ‘practicing’, and ‘learning’. I saw no means by which anyone could manage to hunt this area in any way that I’ve read or heard about. Not sure that any of the vegetation I saw would count as browsing material for deer.
SO, having had two such experiences, I’m eager to try my third, but hopefully in a more pleasant setting. Each of these trips costs me nearly 3 hours of driving to get out to a WMA and do this scouting. I’m learning to correlate the satellite to what I’m seeing when boots on the ground, which is helping pick the next area.
Eventually, I look forward to doing a morning sit - once I’ve found a place that I don’t think will be a waste of time. It will take a considerably early rise to do so.
I leave you with no questions, but an invitation to comment on my experience and call this newbie hunter fun names!
New hunter this year. Somewhat new to outdoors (I’ve hiked from Springer to 3 forks, gone camping, etc, just never hunted and tried to get away from the beaten paths this much).
I’ve geared up to be able to single stick, bow hunt, and rifle. I have no access to any private lands and live in Metro Atlanta, so I’ve resigned myself to just hunt public land. This is less about pressure on public, and more about the land itself (from an admittedly small sample set of my own observations).
Also disclaimer: I have yet to do a morning sit; both of these trips were mid-day as I kind of considered them to be practice/scouting.
First trip was last Thursday to Oconee WMA - I drove about half the open roadways, and was shocked at how dense the underbrush was, even more so at the new growth in the clear cuts. It honestly looked like I was driving between two solid walls of pine bark, 10 feet high. Eventually, I got closer to the lake side, up at the top fo the valley - this was more the Georgia Wilds that I know. Fairly open forest floor, etc - maybe this is just the case in hardwood stands. I climbed a tree and sat until dusk. I noticed someone’s trail cam on a tree where near I climbed, so I felt not so stupid for being there. In the end I saw nothing but some squirrels, and thoroughly enjoyed my meditation.
Second trip was to the Cedar Creek Little River WMA/Area. The place looked to have been clear cut a year or two back, maybe even within the last 12 months. That brush was so thick with thorns, brambles, and other waist high general blockage to be un-navigable. I made it to one or two of the remaining stands of trees, but made so much noise as to wake the dead. Like I said: ‘practicing’, and ‘learning’. I saw no means by which anyone could manage to hunt this area in any way that I’ve read or heard about. Not sure that any of the vegetation I saw would count as browsing material for deer.
SO, having had two such experiences, I’m eager to try my third, but hopefully in a more pleasant setting. Each of these trips costs me nearly 3 hours of driving to get out to a WMA and do this scouting. I’m learning to correlate the satellite to what I’m seeing when boots on the ground, which is helping pick the next area.
Eventually, I look forward to doing a morning sit - once I’ve found a place that I don’t think will be a waste of time. It will take a considerably early rise to do so.
I leave you with no questions, but an invitation to comment on my experience and call this newbie hunter fun names!
