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#2004531 01/25/17 12:58 PM
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Hey guys...I fairly new here....well, I've had an account for a while but haven't been on much until now.

I've been hunting for a while now but have mostly hunted ridges. I started hunting Wheeler year before last. The first year I wasn't able to do any scouting so didn't have much luck. This year I scouted quite a bit. I did get my first ever bow kill there but the ratio of hunts to deer sightings is low. I get on sign but seems like everywhere I go is pressured. I've tried waders, canoe, and bike. Anyways, if any of you guys that have a lot of experience with this type of land has any tips, I'd appreciate it.

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Thats just the way a lot of Wheeler is. The land at wheeler isn't big blocks where its hard to go deep but rather thinner longer strips of land. It just makes it more easy to access and leaves less places un-hunted. I've hunted it enough to know that there isn't an area at Wheeler that doesn't get hunted. There are places that are less pressured than others and spots that you can see deer more consistent but not that many. A few good deer that have come out of there in the last few years and the publicity the internet provides has seemed to really increase pressure in those areas. It doesn't take many searches just on here to realize it gets hunted hard. That being said I've killed several deer over the years and enjoy it out there. Don't look for scenic areas but bedding areas. If you are hunting near islands or swamps it doesn't take much dry land for deer to use for bedding especially overlooked spots.

Last edited by ghost rabbit; 01/25/17 01:16 PM.
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You might want to go to skyline or black warrior, and maybe look at TVA land also. I hunted Wheeler last year and saw some decent deer. Abandoned it this year for Skyline.

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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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I was up there last Monday with my flintlock. Not at all what I'm used to. Had no idea how to go about it. However, at the first place we hunted, I saw more big buck tracks than I've ever seen. Hope you figure it out. I know they are there.

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I haven't hunted out there in quit a few years, but I met a guy once that killed several nice deer with his flintlock. He told me every mature buck he killed out there was standing in water. He always hunted with waders or hip boots to get to the places he liked to go.

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Old Mossy Horns
Old Mossy Horns
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Originally Posted By: WARPhEAGLE
I haven't hunted out there in quit a few years, but I met a guy once that killed several nice deer with his flintlock. He told me every mature buck he killed out there was standing in water. He always hunted with waders or hip boots to get to the places he liked to go.


Is that legal?


Nathan Carl Goff 19 Sept 2016 - 14 Jan 2017.
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^. No


The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.
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Originally Posted By: buckbrush
^. No

What is not legal about it?

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The part in the regulation where it says you can't shoot a deer standing in floodwaters or backwater.


"In time of war, send me all the Alabamians you can get, but in time of peace, for Lord's sake, send them to somebody else." General Edward H. Plummer

"Blessed are those who, in the face of death, think only about the front sight." Jeff Cooper
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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Page 48 of hunting fishing digest, rule #8 illegal to take a deer whether dead or alive from the waters of this state. Pretty clear.

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I don't believe the law was written in regards to shooting deer while they are standing in a shallow creek. I'm pretty sure it involves killing deer swimming rivers and such.


"Deer hunting used to be the pinacle of hunting-what you graduated to after learning to hunt small game. Trying to throw a kid into stand hunting, without having ever learned to HUNT is probably an effort in fultility." BSK
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Undoubtedly there is a more lax interpretation of that reg than some think because I know several folks that hunt Wheeler just like WARphEAGLE stated and have been doing so for years. They actually wait till the place gets flooded before they even set foot on the place.

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Pumpkin - The Thermal Expert
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Waters of the state. I'd hate to have to go to court and explain to a judge how a backwater or creek was not waters in this state, but if you feel comfortable with it, carry on.

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I'm just over here thinking, "How do you blood trail a deer through water?" Isn't Wheeler Refuge bow only except a week of flintlock?


NOW is the time for all GOOD men to come to the aid of their country.
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Old Mossy Horns
Old Mossy Horns
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Originally Posted By: bebo33
I'm just over here thinking, "How do you blood trail a deer through water?" Isn't Wheeler Refuge bow only except a week of flintlock?


in dead water you fellow the muddy strict , you find where it stop you find the deer . found a few that way .

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You track them by following bubbles. When they run through the water it froths up the surface of the water and makes bubbles and foam trail.

As for the hunting in water issue. The whole dang place is as low as it gets in the three counties that share the wheeler refuge. The entire place is a swamp. No other way to hunt deer their other than in water.

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It is 2 weeks of flintlock season. 3 Saturdays.


"In time of war, send me all the Alabamians you can get, but in time of peace, for Lord's sake, send them to somebody else." General Edward H. Plummer

"Blessed are those who, in the face of death, think only about the front sight." Jeff Cooper
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The better spots I ended up hunting on Wheeler were within sight of my vehicle... I know several 125"+ killed with only a 80-100 yard walk.


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