Finding Success In The Big Woods & Swamps

Joey Mnczunski joins Dan Johnson to share how he left a crowded family lease in southern Michigan and built a public-land hunting approach in Northern Michigan’s big woods. Over years of scouting and hunting, Joey learned to read swamps, clear-cuts, river bottoms, and changing deer pressure—and to hunt the spots rather than chase one specific buck.

Joey talks about how antler point restrictions may have affected hunting in the region, how he finds promising ground, and why he rarely hunts the same tree twice in a season. He also breaks down speed scouting by boat, locating scrape hubs along fire trails, and adjusting to deer that move into swamps as firearm season approaches.

The conversation includes the story behind Joey’s last-season buck: a once-logged autumn olive thicket regrew, the deer sign returned, and Joey set up there—leading to a close-range encounter.If you’re interested in public-land deer hunting, big woods scouting, or adapting your strategy to terrain and pressure, this episode is packed with lessons earned in the field.

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