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NC Dismal Swamp ???

P

Plinker22

Well-Known Member
Joined
Sep 14, 2017
Messages
255
Hello NC and VA hunters.

A quick question: Does the state park “Dismal Swamp” in upper NE coastal North Carolina allow hunting?
All I have been able to find is fishing information. Anyone?

Thanks in advance. And JFYI, I am NOT going to ask if I can steal your favorite hunting spot. I am a pastor and I am using the Dismal Swamp as an intro to my message.
 
That's an awesome name....love to know the story behind it. We got 1 called tates hell swamp


Local legend attributes the forest's unusual name to Cebe Tate, a local homesteader who became lost in the woods in the mid 1870s. He had ventured into the woods with his hunting dog in order to shoot a panther that had attacked his livestock. The legend is often recounted with Tate becoming separated from his dogs and lost for seven days and seven nights before coming to a clearing near Carrabelle, where he lived only long enough to say to a passerby "My name is Cebe Tate, and I just came from Hell" before collapsing.
 
I lived right on the VA side of the dismal swamp. Just across the state line (in VA) is the Caviler Tract of Dismal Swamp WMA. a VERY overlooked little tract of public land that did very well for me. If you decide to go that route, I will happily share my HuntStand data, as I live in TN now and dont hunt there anymore!
As for the National Refuge, they do allow hunting, but its limited access, and you have to apply through the VA side, but can hunt either NC or VA.

Hunting - Great Dismal Swamp - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

www.fws.gov www.fws.gov
 
always89y said:
I lived right on the VA side of the dismal swamp. Just across the state line (in VA) is the Caviler Tract of Dismal Swamp WMA. a VERY overlooked little tract of public land that did very well for me. If you decide to go that route, I will happily share my HuntStand data, as I live in TN now and dont hunt there anymore!
As for the National Refuge, they do allow hunting, but its limited access, and you have to apply through the VA side, but can hunt either NC or VA.

Hunting - Great Dismal Swamp - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

www.fws.gov www.fws.gov
Click to expand...
The exact kind of info I was looking for. Thank you @always89y
 
always89y said:
I lived right on the VA side of the dismal swamp. Just across the state line (in VA) is the Caviler Tract of Dismal Swamp WMA. a VERY overlooked little tract of public land that did very well for me. If you decide to go that route, I will happily share my HuntStand data, as I live in TN now and dont hunt there anymore!
As for the National Refuge, they do allow hunting, but its limited access, and you have to apply through the VA side, but can hunt either NC or VA.

Hunting - Great Dismal Swamp - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

www.fws.gov www.fws.gov
Click to expand...
I would appreciate if you would give me a little information about some of the dismal tracks.
 
Isn’t that swamp on the NC side where they grow huge black bears? I know a lot of guys run dogs through there for those giant bears.
 
Bowhunter98 said:
I would appreciate if you would give me a little information about some of the dismal tracks.
Click to expand...
Brother it has been 6 years since I was there, 3 since that post! I understand a lot has changed! I'm afraid I'm outside of my helpful window.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
 
Yep, you can hunt both sides, with the associated state license and a purchased permit from the Recaccess site. They just opened it wide open a couple of years ago. Used to be a draw/permit kind of deal and it was a very limited draw. I have to tell you though, it’s not a stroll in the woods for sure. Lot’s of roads, which you can’t drive on, that often aren’t mowed, so you will be crawling with ticks by the time you step off of it. Of course there are lots of ditches along those roads (more like canals in some cases) which severely hamper your ability to get off of the road and into the woods, then theres more ditches in the woods….

And thick, omg it’s thick in there. Lot‘s of cane that you can’t walk through, period. On the other hand, it’s huge and I have only began to explore it. There has to be some big bucks in there, but it’s going to take a level of effort to find them and you don’t have a lot of time because you aren’t allowed to scout except fro like half a day a day or so before it opens. You can scout in season, but man I hate to be tromping around in the woods during season, especially in the thick stuff, when you don’t know who might be on the other side of that thicket with a shotgun waiting for the ”big buck/bear making all that noise” to come out of that thicket. Lol. I plan on spending a little more time out there this next year poking around. About an hour drive for me. Electric bike is money for getting away from the main road. Here is the recaccess site with all the info/maps/etc: https://greatdismalswamp.recaccess.com/
 
2Sloe said:
Yep, you can hunt both sides, with the associated state license and a purchased permit from the Recaccess site. They just opened it wide open a couple of years ago. Used to be a draw/permit kind of deal and it was a very limited draw. I have to tell you though, it’s not a stroll in the woods for sure. Lot’s of roads, which you can’t drive on, that often aren’t mowed, so you will be crawling with ticks by the time you step off of it. Of course there are lots of ditches along those roads (more like canals in some cases) which severely hamper your ability to get off of the road and into the woods, then theres more ditches in the woods….

And thick, omg it’s thick in there. Lot‘s of cane that you can’t walk through, period. On the other hand, it’s huge and I have only began to explore it. There has to be some big bucks in there, but it’s going to take a level of effort to find them and you don’t have a lot of time because you aren’t allowed to scout except fro like half a day a day or so before it opens. You can scout in season, but man I hate to be tromping around in the woods during season, especially in the thick stuff, when you don’t know who might be on the other side of that thicket with a shotgun waiting for the ”big buck/bear making all that noise” to come out of that thicket. Lol. I plan on spending a little more time out there this next year poking around. About an hour drive for me. Electric bike is money for getting away from the main road. Here is the recaccess site with all the info/maps/etc: https://greatdismalswamp.recaccess.com/
Click to expand...
Those reeds have claimed more of my gear that I care to admit.

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk
 
Last time I was through there was 1993 coming home from honeymoon (Outer Banks)...I could have sworn I heard banjos. :D:D:D


I only remember swamp on both sides of the road and never would have thought there was deer hunting there.

sorry, off topic
 
It is crazy how you can walk down the paved "road" and not a single bug. As soon as you step into the woods, every mosquito and black fly in the area attacks. That is a great place for a bike and trailer hunt. @always89y do you still have that hunt stand info? It would be awesome for cross referencing and maybe a few spots to drop a camera or 2 to see if they are still viable 4 years later.
 
Loopwing said:
It is crazy how you can walk down the paved "road" and not a single bug. As soon as you step into the woods, every mosquito and black fly in the area attacks. That is a great place for a bike and trailer hunt. @always89y do you still have that hunt stand info? It would be awesome for cross referencing and maybe a few spots to drop a camera or 2 to see if they are still viable 4 years later.
Click to expand...
Dude! I totally forgot about the mosquitoes. I came out of there one day and almost had to go to the hospital for a couple of bags of blood Ha! Ha! Do NOT go into that place without a Thermacell and a headnet. Won’t need them 100% of the time, but when you do, you had better have them for sure!
 
Yeah, they are terrible. I drench my clothes in permethin and still use a thermacell. The deer are there, you just have to be on your game. I keep hoping on a bear.
 
Loopwing said:
Yeah, they are terrible. I drench my clothes in permethin and still use a thermacell. The deer are there, you just have to be on your game. I keep hoping on a bear.
Click to expand...
Man I kinda cringe everytime I think about what it would take to get a deer out of there, so I’m not ashamed to admit that I have no desire to try and push a 300lb ball of dough outta there. Want a bear….kill a deer and just wait a minute.
 
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