PA/OH/NY/NJ/MD "Mountain" Hunting

[NimbleTimbo]

Hey Guys,

New to the Saddle Hunting website. I hunt out of a Lone Wolf Climber, however, I'm obsessed with deer hunting strategy and tactics so I figured I'd start a few conversations with some of the great hunters on this site.

Mountain hunting has always intrigued me. We're not talking about mountains out west, but sizable elevation in the Northeast. I believe the best (most uninterrupted) public land hunting can be found in the NE US mountains. With that being said, it is a DIFFICULT hunt. Hiking miles in to get back to a mountaintop swamp, crossing streams to climb 100s of feet of elevation, scouting for weeks to find the right area... my question pertains to whether it's worth it? Do mature whitetails live in these locations? Do they have the nutrition required to grow large racks? Do they wander too much to hunt effectively? I am going to try either way, however, I would like to see what other hunter's have experienced hunting this type of terrain. If so, what is your favorite strategy?

Thanks,

Vic

I hunt the big woods mountainous terrain in VA and PA, but usually only in rifle or inline ML season. I respect the guys who consistently get it done with archery tackle. It is hard to get in bow range in this terrain. It has taken me and some buddies years to figure out travel patterns of some of these areas. And they are always changing. The best deer we have killed were in the thick laurel unless they were chasing does in more open terrain. I tend to focus on food and mast near cover. If I find acorns falling in a given altitude, I check out other areas of similar conditions and altitude and then look for heavier sign. From there I try to find terrain features that may help condense or funnel the deer movement. Then it's a matter of considering the wind, thermals, and access so as to hunt it without blowing deer out. Sometimes I still end up sitting a spot multiple days before some of the more nomadic deer work through. It's definitely an addicting puzzle. I have found Nathan Killen and the Stickboys podcasts helpful. Good Luck!

 

[woodsdog2]

Someone in the thread mentioned trying mock scrapes. I’ve never tried this. I can imagine they are effective in some areas, but my intuition causes me to be skeptical about them in more remote areas. It seems like leaving human scent on a mock scrape could deter mature bucks in remote places where human scent is rare or non-existent. Does anyone have real world experience using mock scrapes in remote hunting areas?

Steve Sherk and Troy Pottington use this strategy. In the public land I hunt, I’ll classify it more as foothills of the Appalachian range, where our terrain is quite rough with my hunting anywhere between 300 to 1600 feet above sea level. We have huge gorges that dump into Lake Erie so although it’s not mountain hunting I feel like it’s close. I like to scout these areas and identify natural scrapes near cover and buck sign and put cameras in them. I’ve also enhanced them and have made mocks on public in these areas. It’s a good strategy. Pottington refers to it as “trapping bucks.” Of course he is also a scent representative but his success is real as is Sherk’s.

 

[WISCO]

Someone in the thread mentioned trying mock scrapes. I’ve never tried this. I can imagine they are effective in some areas, but my intuition causes me to be skeptical about them in more remote areas. It seems like leaving human scent on a mock scrape could deter mature bucks in remote places where human scent is rare or non-existent. Does anyone have real world experience using mock scrapes in remote hunting areas?

I have started using mock scrapes this year. I set two up about 1.5 months ago and the deer are hammering them. Consistently getting 100 plus pictures a week on them. Deer will visit scrapes all year long. If you keep them going all year it will become part of their pattern too, they will want to check the mock every time they pass through the area. I put two more out on another property 2 weeks ago, looking forward to seeing the pictures and what is hitting them. This deer is doing the PW stretch lol. The wick was lower when I set it up but the thawing and snow melting caused it to raise. didnt effect the deer hitting it tho.

 

[goody94]

I have hunted big woods PA my whole life. I used to be better at it before kids. It’s tough when I can only get a Saturday here and there. The key is getting the time in to find the fresh sign and hunt there immediately. Most times your going to need to kill your first sit.

The other thing I haven’t seen in the thread is knowing where the game commission is logging areas. If you can know where the fresh cut, the under 5 year old cuts, and 5 plus year old cuts it is a great advantage. In the big woods there isn’t much variation and those logged areas are something you can strategize off of.

i also echo the struggle with the wind. It’s a shot in the dark and often switches directions multiple times in a few hour sit. It’s tough.

The deer population is slim so it can be disheartening. However, there’s nothing like being in a tree in the middle of nowhere and you know with absolute certainty you won’t see another hunter. That’s a real joy.

 

[bowhunthard88]

Another person who is relatively unknown, but has done a few podcasts, is one of my buddies, Paul Putera. A couple of things regarding mountain hunting: if it's just about antler size, there's probably better places; how it's done is almost as important as the actual goal; and, as with anything, time equals success! I fall into all of these categories, except I can be picky (to a fault sometimes) on what antlered creature I opt to put my tag on. My benefit is that my property butts up to a very large contiguous portion of legally hunted property. I have my success stories and my sob stories, but my available time during the previous few years has definitely affected my percentages...

 

[BTaylor]

Another person who is relatively unknown, but has done a few podcasts, is one of my buddies, Paul Putera. A couple of things regarding mountain hunting: if it's just about antler size, there's probably better places; how it's done is almost as important as the actual goal; and, as with anything, time equals success! I fall into all of these categories, except I can be picky (to a fault sometimes) on what antlered creature I opt to put my tag on. My benefit is that my property butts up to a very large contiguous portion of legally hunted property. I have my success stories and my sob stories, but my available time during the previous few years has definitely affected my percentages...

I'm unknown, your buddy is not. LOL

 

[Plebe]

Hey Guys,

New to the Saddle Hunting website. I hunt out of a Lone Wolf Climber, however, I'm obsessed with deer hunting strategy and tactics so I figured I'd start a few conversations with some of the great hunters on this site.

Mountain hunting has always intrigued me. We're not talking about mountains out west, but sizable elevation in the Northeast. I believe the best (most uninterrupted) public land hunting can be found in the NE US mountains. With that being said, it is a DIFFICULT hunt. Hiking miles in to get back to a mountaintop swamp, crossing streams to climb 100s of feet of elevation, scouting for weeks to find the right area... my question pertains to whether it's worth it? Do mature whitetails live in these locations? Do they have the nutrition required to grow large racks? Do they wander too much to hunt effectively? I am going to try either way, however, I would like to see what other hunter's have experienced hunting this type of terrain. If so, what is your favorite strategy?

Thanks,

Vic

Yes. It's worth it. Much more rewarding than pay to play or exclusive access.

Big bucks absolutely can be had, but nice bucks are to be proud of.

Just do it.

 

[Lowg08]

One name. Nathan Killen. He is awesome. I didn’t read all the responses. Just takes time and work. They do exist in these places. Killing them is another thing. This is mountains of North Carolina