• The SH Membership has gone live. Only SH Members have access to post in the classifieds. All members can view the classifieds. Starting in 2020 only SH Members will be admitted to the annual hunting contest. Current members will need to follow these steps to upgrade: 1. Click on your username 2. Click on Account upgrades 3. Choose SH Member and purchase.
  • We've been working hard the past few weeks to come up with some big changes to our vendor policies to meet the changing needs of our community. Please see the new vendor rules here: Vendor Access Area Rules

Deep South public land

mschultz373

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
May 9, 2023
Messages
373
Location
SE LA
I will be going into my second season of deer hunting public land in Southeast Louisiana this upcoming Fall, and it will also be my first season hunting elevated in a saddle.

Last season, many efforts were given to see very few deer, and for only one kill on public, a small button buck.

obviously many of the videos and podcasts on deer hunting tactics are not couched in Deep South contexts, and my main question is: are there any things y’all have implemented that have increased success in the Deep South that are not often talked about in the podcasts and all?

my impression is that most of the public land in my area is extremely pressured and the harvest reports are never encouraging, usually with an effort per deer ratio over 60… but scouting the land, there are clearly deer out there!

I appreciate any wisdom and advice y’all can spare. I am hopeful that getting elevated on public will help a lot, but any additional help would be greatly appreciated.
 
 
Thank you guys! I will study up and implement them.

if I may ask one question - how important is playing the wind on the way in to a spot? I have typically hunted about a mile + in, and try my best to cut in so I don’t wind the area I think the deer may be coming from; but for example, is walking a mile South and cutting East to a spot on a day with winds out of the North a concern?
 
I will be going into my second season of deer hunting public land in Southeast Louisiana this upcoming Fall, and it will also be my first season hunting elevated in a saddle.

Last season, many efforts were given to see very few deer, and for only one kill on public, a small button buck.

obviously many of the videos and podcasts on deer hunting tactics are not couched in Deep South contexts, and my main question is: are there any things y’all have implemented that have increased success in the Deep South that are not often talked about in the podcasts and all?

my impression is that most of the public land in my area is extremely pressured and the harvest reports are never encouraging, usually with an effort per deer ratio over 60… but scouting the land, there are clearly deer out there!

I appreciate any wisdom and advice y’all can spare. I am hopeful that getting elevated on public will help a lot, but any additional help would be greatly appreciated.
That’s why I hunt N. Louisiana, I grew up in south Louisiana and deer hunting was not it’s strong suit, after a lifetime of driving hours each season I finally moved to N.La. But as far as tactics as long as you know the rut cycles of your area the tactics otherwise should be the same as anywhere else with similar tree cover/types and terrain.
 
Check out swamp n stomp on you tube. It’s south Florida but similar hunting terrains. Lots of swamps, marsh, thick dense trees or pine plantations
 
I'm in central Mississippi so we probably have a lot of similar terrain. We have very low deer density on public around here. I would say something like 3 to 5 deer per square mile. That is any deer. The pressure is pretty high too. Look for areas of transition in thick pines, etc. Deer are creatures of the edge and around here they love to stay in cover. If the woods are open and pretty, they will be empty in daylight. I also recommend Mr. Womack's style of hunting.
 
if I may ask one question - how important is playing the wind on the way in to a spot? I have typically hunted about a mile + in, and try my best to cut in so I don’t wind the area I think the deer may be coming from; but for example, is walking a mile South and cutting East to a spot on a day with winds out of the North a concern?
I have to do similar all the time. I don't sweat it. The public land has people and pets walking down the trails year round. A human scent wafting by momentarily won't cause much alarm if u are by were human scent is a semi normal occurrence. Walking a swamp edge way far away from a trail or road gonna get a different reaction. I've seen how deer react to people walking down trails and if they have good tabs on where they are they will lay low until the people walk by and resume normal activity....sometimes the peeps walk by inside of bow range on deer and they never know. In any given wma here local u gonna have a deer trail paralleling the tram/roads/trails less than 30 that u have no idea it's there unless u find a break in the wall of vegetation and bushwhack ur way thru....the first 15yds is gonna be very very uncomfortable.and u might be second guessing why u got of the nice clear road and didn't go hunt the clear cut like everybody else but if u grit it out it usually pays off on finding a good trail to start following

I usually focus on water and where other types of terrain butt up to water.
 
these are all super helpful guys. thank you. i look forward to implementing these. we are blessed with these various terrains near me - upland pines, swamps and marshes, and bottomland hardwoods.
 
these are all super helpful guys. thank you. i look forward to implementing these. we are blessed with these various terrains near me - upland pines, swamps and marshes, and bottomland hardwoods.
At least you have 3 good areas. Maybe they will cut the pines down at some point.
 
Back
Top