I've dedicated myself to hunting big woods mtns in PA for the last two years. It is without question the most difficult hunting I've EVER gone up against. I do it because the bucks that live here are the biggest I have to hunt within two hours of me. I had two 150s on camera last year. Understand for my area a 150 is a unicorn, once in 50 lifetimes buck.
The biggest most relentless battle is the wind. Take every bit of hunting advice you heard on wind and chuck it out the window. Wind and thermals have no rhyme, reason, logic, understanding, or sense in the mtns I hunt. All you can do many times is hunt and pray you arent winded. If I had to wait for the right conditions I would literally never hunt.
Deer are extremely nomadic. I frequently find and experience them hitting a new food source hard for a day or two then moving on.
Cell cams have been simply game-changing for my success and the knowledge I've gained. I constantly witnessed a target buck on cam in one location, appear 1200 yards away on a different cam the next day, both in daylight highlighting how nomadic they are. If one shows up in daylight you have to hunt that stand NOW and immediately before they keep it moving.
The best location you need to hit is an area with a hard funnel. This particular mtn I hunt has a shear cliff running along the side of it. The shear drop ranges from 50 ft to 5 ft. Unless deer evolve to grow wings all they can do is transition alongside it. However, there is 1 spot roughly 100 yards wide where the cliff stops where the deer can come down the mtn. The cliff begins again after this spot. Thats what I mean by a hard funnel. They have no choice they must transition through it. I encountered my target buck two years in a row hunting that particular spot. This is all public land btw.
If you don't have a hard funnel like that, the most important thing is having time off, because you will need lots of time in the stand.
Consistently stay on top of the hot sign and put hours on stand. Its extremely hard but the most rewarding hunting there is
The biggest most relentless battle is the wind. Take every bit of hunting advice you heard on wind and chuck it out the window. Wind and thermals have no rhyme, reason, logic, understanding, or sense in the mtns I hunt. All you can do many times is hunt and pray you arent winded. If I had to wait for the right conditions I would literally never hunt.
Deer are extremely nomadic. I frequently find and experience them hitting a new food source hard for a day or two then moving on.
Cell cams have been simply game-changing for my success and the knowledge I've gained. I constantly witnessed a target buck on cam in one location, appear 1200 yards away on a different cam the next day, both in daylight highlighting how nomadic they are. If one shows up in daylight you have to hunt that stand NOW and immediately before they keep it moving.
The best location you need to hit is an area with a hard funnel. This particular mtn I hunt has a shear cliff running along the side of it. The shear drop ranges from 50 ft to 5 ft. Unless deer evolve to grow wings all they can do is transition alongside it. However, there is 1 spot roughly 100 yards wide where the cliff stops where the deer can come down the mtn. The cliff begins again after this spot. Thats what I mean by a hard funnel. They have no choice they must transition through it. I encountered my target buck two years in a row hunting that particular spot. This is all public land btw.
If you don't have a hard funnel like that, the most important thing is having time off, because you will need lots of time in the stand.
Consistently stay on top of the hot sign and put hours on stand. Its extremely hard but the most rewarding hunting there is
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