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Early Season Whitetail Swamps

The archery season had just gotten underway in Minnesota. Since I had been bear hunting through the first few days of the new deer season, I was anxious to get out to the stand. My second evening out, September 21, was a nice cool evening with winds out of the west. With all the acorns littering the oak flat, along with the cool temps, I was heading to one of my favorite stand sites on the edge of a marsh.

Approximately forty five minutes after getting settled in the stand I heard something moving through the six foot tall grass about fifty yards from me. Within seconds, a beautiful chocolate racked buck emerged from the swamp and started to make his way towards me. I was at Full Draw when he passed by at ten yards and I watched him pile up only thirty yards from where the Slick Trick opened him up. As I sat there trying to absorb what had just occurred I couldn’t believe that only a few hours into the new season I had a bruiser on the ground. I gathered up my gear, descended the tree, and made my way over to the edge of the oak flat where the buck lay. He was a beautiful four or five year buck with tremendous mass, tall tines, and ended up weighing 250 pounds and scoring 140”.

Hunting the swamps early in the season can obviously yield great results, especially when there are hot food sources nearby. With the warmer temperatures, mature bucks will bed in these locations to cool off and then make their way to the oaks to feed in the evenings. In this particular situation, I set up on a trail that leads out of the swamp and into the oak flat to the north. Because it was still a couple hours before dark, the buck decided to get an acorn snack in an area that was still very close to his sanctuary and where he felt safe during daylight hours.
 
Many hunters focus much of their early season on Hunting Field crops, which are excellent choices, but don’t overlook the whitetails love for white acorns. This particular buck could have decided to feed in the fields to the south, and he more than likely would have after it was dark. If you are fortunate enough to have marshes and swamps that border a stand of mast trees, this has all the makings of a great early season ambush. Often, these swamp edge locations can be easily accessed without disturbing the deer which can be hard to do when you are hunting field edges. Usually after dark, the deer have made their way to the fields and You Can slip out of your stand undetected. I have seen plenty of good bucks during the early pre rut hunting the swamps, at a time when hunters usually see the fewest bucks all season. One thing to keep in mind is to not over hunt these locations and always hunt the right wind for your setup. Usually these spots will make good locations to pick off cruising bucks during the rut, so you want to hunt them sparingly.

As the new season approaches, take a look to see if you might be overlooking some great swamps to hunt and you may find yourself tagging out early.
 

About the Author

Archery Country is a full service archery and hunting retail and online store located in Central Minnesota. Archery Country carries a very large selection of equipment and gear for the archer or hunter. Archery Country's staff has decades of experience to share with and educate those who have an interest in archery and the outdoors.
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Whats the better rifle?

whats the better rifle for hunting Whitetail Deer. moose, elk, bear, buffalo, mule deer and caribou?

Personally, I prefer bolt actions because they are easier to maintain and clean, are slightly more inherently accurate,and don't have a mix of aluminum and steel components. I like the X-Bolt's new trigger,bolt safety system,new Pistol Grip design (I'm Right Handed) and the upgraded recoil pad. I prefer the Magazine/Floorplate design like on my A-Bolts however.
Really, though, how can you go wrong with either style. I have a Hunter in 30-06 and Stainless Stalker in 300 WSM,get sub MOA with hand loads for both. I don't need a 338 Mag,but if you are going after large bears,moose, and bison more than I am then it makes sense-I'm mostly just going for deer and elk. I still have confidence in mine, but last time I shot bison I used a friends CZ 375 H&H (not hunting,just getting for meat).
Since I hand load, my accuracy is a lot better than what having a BOSS would do ( I think), and you really need to tune the BOSS with every batch of factory ammo,so unless you are buying by the case it isn't the perfect solution. Using the BOSS as a muzzle break (with ear protection even when hunting) does have a big benefit. Get some foamies on a string or the electronic cut-out ear defenders for hunting-couple unprotected shots and you will have a permanent "Uh, speak up" added to your vocabulary. We have some of the cut-outs for my son, uses them whenever he has a rifle in his hands,hunting or not. Since the X-Bolt doesn't come with the BOSS system, you may want to look at an A-Bolt BOSS,still making them.

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