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

[bigmike23]

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

 

[Tim0712]

I’ll second this. In the areas that I have hunted for a while and know really well, it seems like on years where the gun pressure is severe, the biggest bucks seek refuge by going into either the deepest and steepest woods OR by hiding right in next to the housing developments.

It’s funny a good buddy of mine refused to go more than half a mile deep. He’s never shot/seen a mature buck where he couldn’t see a house. I’m the polar opposite. I’ve tried staying close and never seen as much as a doe or two. We hunt basically the same areas same terrain and honestly sometimes the same parcel on other ends. Just how it goes haha

 

[AttackMode]

I've been bowhunting PA public land mountain bucks for close to 20 years. A few things I've learned:
Never stop scouting (deer and hunters)
Don't get discouraged
Always have backup plan(s)
Don't overlook anything
Train your legs year round
Avoid other hunter(s)
Be patient
Dress warm
Trust and have faith
Don't over call these deer
Hunt hot sign asap
Trail cams can save alot of wasted time and effort
Be able to adapt to circumstances as quickly as the deer do
I've killed my fair share and will continue to do so by adhering to those simple guidelines.

 

[AttackMode]

I'll also add that your first sit will most likely be your best chance. I've had first sit kills in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022. Keep it fresh and bounce around. Don't allow the deer to pattern you and your habits.

(Btw these are buck kills, I don't track doe kills)

Coincidentally 2017 and 2019 bucks were from the same tree. Used to be a great saddle pinch along a ridge but a wind storm changed that and now it's not nearly as good.

 

[Jammintree]

I'll also add that your first sit will most likely be your best chance. I've had first sit kills in 2015, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022. Keep it fresh and bounce around. Don't allow the deer to pattern you and your habits.

(Btw these are buck kills, I don't track doe kills)

^^^This is the single best piece of advice.

I also feel like if you go to a stand site several days before to prep it, that visit decreases the effectiveness of the first sit.

 

[elk yinzer]

My favorite strategy is putting in the hours during the rut sitting right smack on top of doe beds. Especially mid-day as the rut is on the downslope.

Seconded by cold October mornings catching them coming back to their beds late.

Lots of good advice. They're just deer. I don't find it especially cool or virtuous I mainly hunt big woods because I am as nomadic as the deer that live there. They roam quite a bit more territory and there's generally less action overall. I think nothing of a hunt where I get skunked, it's completely routine. String together 3, 4, 5 skunk hunts and still beat your alarm up the next day, congrats, you're officially a big woods hunter. Upside is when you see a deer there's a better chance it's a good buck because the population age structure is generally just better compared to public land in urban and ag areas.

I've learned a lot. Grew up hunting mostly small ag woodlots. Started hunting the mountains in college, I had no clue what to do in this terrain. First nice mountain buck I killed was total luck. Then I had a dry spell for a few years. Went through a phase where I was way too oriented to maps and terrain features. Now my motto is pretty much sign, sign, sign and more sign. I've done pretty well the last 5 years. I wear out a pair of boots every year, sometimes two a year.

 

[AttackMode]

Yup, like a prize fighter you got to be able to take some punches. All the while knowing you only need 1 chance to knock em out. Its an addiction like no other.

 

[SNIPERBBB]

We really dont have mountains in Ohio though the foothills of Appalachia here where im at can be steep. Its the foliage that makes hunting here more a pain than the hills.

I avoid public land here after Halloween as every public land bowhunter from New York to Georgia shows up here first of November. They aint coming for spikes

 

[BTaylor]

Started my quest to kill some mountain deer this weekend. Was happy to find Buck sign in the places I had marked e-scouting. What I wasn’t sure about finding was the timber make up. It was almost entirely short leaf pine with scattered white and red oaks. So even on a really good mast year the food will be scattered. This particular ridge complex goes in about a mile and a quarter and is about a mile and a half wide with 5 distinct saddles and about as many small flats that have a few oaks on them. Did a 5.5 mile loop in there and saw what I needed to see for now. Have 2 other areas near there I want to see next.

Edit: That's ice by the way not snow. Made for some sporty hiking at times.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Tim0712]

Started my quest to kill some mountain deer this weekend. Was happy to find Buck sign in the places I had marked e-scouting. What I wasn’t sure about finding was the timber make up. It was almost entirely short leaf pine with scattered white and red oaks. So even on a really good mast year the food will be scattered. This particular ridge complex goes in about a mile and a quarter and is about a mile and a half wide with 5 distinct saddles and about as many small flats that have a few oaks on them. Did a 5.5 mile loop in there and saw what I needed to see for now. Have 2 other areas near there I want to see next.

Edit: That's ice by the way not snow. Made for some sporty hiking at times.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I’m not a big buck killing super hunter by any means. In fact I’m really not a good bow hunter at all so my 2 cents really doesn’t matter but I do however see more deer in bow season than I see across 2 seasons of gun hunting. I would call this year trial and error. If there’s 5 good saddles with mast trees and bedding in the vacinity I would prep a tree at each. I would obviously factor wind but more than wind I would factor what trees are the hottest sign and set up right there. I have a spot like that the ridge runs north to south. The bedding is to the east/se we have primarily Nw winds here fall and winter and it’s just a great setup for funneling deer. It’s also DEEP bout 4 miles to the nearest road way so I only get into it on saturdays and hardly ever take the same entry. And it’s never a pleasant hike through the swamps and thickets but I take it slow and make the best of it. That spot is nothing to see 6-8 deer in an afternoon. I hardly hunt mornings there given the wind it’s hard to get in undetected in the dark and the way of travel doesn’t give much morning activity except for the occasional buck circling his bed. I’ve shot 2 deer in there both with a gun one from a tree one from the ground but bow season if I could figure it out a little better should be like fish in a barrel I just never seem to get them within range they’re always out around 60 or so. I’m a proficient archer but not a proficient bow hunter and will not draw back on anything past 25-30. Hope this helps a little bit to take away some of the learning curve for you

Edit: my time of access for an all day hunt is usually around 8-9 to try and sneak around them while they’re already in bed even running cameras I hardly get pictures before 11-12 in there

 

[Tim0712]

I’ll add one more piece to the puzzle to paint the picture better. 3 sides of the property are ag. Corn and hay fields and the portion to the north is a highway with a few little residential areas around it so the deer really have no where to go once the crop is all cut

 

[BTaylor]

I’ll add one more piece to the puzzle to paint the picture better. 3 sides of the property are ag. Corn and hay fields and the portion to the north is a highway with a few little residential areas around it so the deer really have no where to go once the crop is all cut

My area is close to 2 million acres of national forest. Closest row crops are an hour and a half to 2 hours a way.

 

[Jammintree]

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?

 

[BTaylor]

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?

No but it was on my mind when I went scouting over the weekend. I was surprised at the nearly complete lack of any vines on trees for a rub/licking deal. Guess I will have to get some rope to try it out. I do intend to try it though. As far as the actual scrape, just pee it and boogie on.

 

[Jammintree]

No but it was on my mind when I went scouting over the weekend. I was surprised at the nearly complete lack of any vines on trees for a rub/licking deal. Guess I will have to get some rope to try it out. I do intend to try it though. As far as the actual scrape, just pee it and boogie on.

I’ve also heard that some hunters will take a shovel full of soil from an existing scrape and use that to seed a new scrape.

But I don’t entirely understand the need… there are no shortage of scrapes in any any of my hunting areas. Why not just hunt what is already there?

 

[BTaylor]

I’ve also heard that some hunters will take a shovel full of soil from an existing scrape and use that to seed a new scrape.

But I don’t entirely understand the need… there are no shortage of scrapes in any any of my hunting areas. Why not just hunt what is already there?

Interesting idea to steal from an existing scrape. Never heard of anyone doing that.

 

[Tim0712]

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’ve done mock scrapes and had success but NOT In the back country. As you stated it tends to deter deer. I had some younger bucks check it out but none actually activated it. I also have done the soil from another scrape and that worked a little better. I took soil from a giant primary scrape area that’s been around as long as I can remember. Does used it a little but still the nuts never really bothered with it all to much I think I had a few real young spike/forkies use it if I remember correctly. Finding a primary scrape in the big woods is the best/quickest route to success

 

[BTaylor]

I’ve done mock scrapes and had success but NOT In the back country. As you stated it tends to deter deer. I had some younger bucks check it out but none actually activated it. I also have done the soil from another scrape and that worked a little better. I took soil from a giant primary scrape area that’s been around as long as I can remember. Does used it a little but still the nuts never really bothered with it all to much I think I had a few real young spike/forkies use it if I remember correctly. Finding a primary scrape in the big woods is the best/quickest route to success

That's why I want to try the rope deal. Not so much concerned about the rut aspects of a scrape but more the social dynamic of a licking branch/rub type social attractant. Make em die when they stop to say hi.

 

[Jammintree]

That's why I want to try the rope deal. Not so much concerned about the rut aspects of a scrape but more the social dynamic of a licking branch/rub type social attractant. Make em die when they stop to say hi.

I’ve long suspected that community scrapes / licking branches show up because of the specific location and its qualities. I would conjecture a theory that in order to manufacture a successful licking branch and scrape it would need to be in a place that meets various criteria of the local deer, whatever they are…

 

[Jammintree]

I’ve long suspected that community scrapes / licking branches show up because of the specific location and its qualities. I would conjecture a theory that in order to manufacture a successful licking branch and scrape it would need to be in a place that meets various criteria of the local deer, whatever they are…

One of those Internet personality deer management expert guys manufactures licking branches with success and he also often makes a mock scrape and installs a watering hole.