I would like to know what state or county of a state do you through experience think has the hardest whitetails to hunt?
IMO my home state but southern New Jersey would have some of the hardest to hunt with very little land and to many gun clubs(50 + members per club @ 15 clubs ) which pound the same lands( 2 times a day for a week during gun season)days on end.And State land in the more southeastern counties being broken up to 50-100 maybe 200 acre areas.The deer are the spookiest deer that I have ever seen!.Most often having to hunt marsh deer or 1-2 acre private areas makes for hard hunting.These deer are constantly looking up in trees for hunters (I couldnt believe it either )I have set up 30 yrds from an old wooden stand in a oak tree and every time they came by they would look up at that stand.Spot and stalk not even possible by anyone(would even place cash on that). Way to many people and no land.
So what your story! :thumbsup:
Sounds rough. I know it's off topic,but if you can get a few days off this year come to Ohio. We have plenty of deer and a very long archery season aswell. We have alot of Public Land in the south eastern part of the state and Plenty of BIG bucks.
lpcjon2 I have hunted deer in quite a few states and parts of the country and i would have to agree with you public land deer in NJ are the hardest deer to take that ive found yet.
Have you tried big woods deer, public land in Pennsylvania....north of I-80? I thought not? 8^).
At least in PA you guys have deer, come south to Western Maryland. No deer and a "1 to 5" ratio in the western region. The reason I put that in quotes is because dad and I both saw about 16 does before we saw a deer with antlers, however, both of the bucks we did see were really good ones! Big woods, 55000 acres of state forest. Some of the most physically demanding hunting conditions in the Northwest! Not Maryland, the Appalacians(which would include PA, New York)
George I have a doctor who just bought a nice piece near an old coal mind in north estern Pa and I will be doing some hunting their next year.A friend has family he hunts with in the big public wood of PA and he says its hard to .He said PA had a serious drop in deer pop in the last 10yrs.
WHAAAAAATTTTT!!!! I rode through Fredrick on my way to G-burg for rememday, and COULD not believe the deer in the fields along the interstate. It looked like i was in western SD. I best i passed one field that had 60 to 70 deer in it. I even passed by a compound hunter tryin to put on a stalk right along the dog on interstate. And Then to top it off, about 150 yards down and over a little rise, right their on the side of the highway was a dandy 125. Maybe ur part of maryland aint got the deer, but from what i saw the place needs some serious thinnin out.
Tim,
With all those thick pine barrons and such I would agree, You have to get to the deer before the Jersey Devil.
Your area there reminds me much of central WI especially with some of the cranberry bogs. I ued to love driving down there.
Panzer II's got it Ohio's the place and southeastern ohio is even better
Where ever I hunt and don't see deer.
QuoteOriginally posted by HcSmitty:
WHAAAAAATTTTT!!!! I rode through Fredrick on my way to G-burg for rememday, and COULD not believe the deer in the fields along the interstate.
yea I live just west in washington county, and even we have deer! But WESTERN maryland hasnt got any, from Washington county east is region b, where we are allowed to take up to 32 deer total through out the seasons, Region A, alleghany and Garrett(which is where I was talking about) you are only allowed to take 3 total :readit: , so that should give you a idea of the drastic change in deer populations when you hit the appalacian mountains! They become totally different deer too, the ones in washington, and frederick are corn fed, fat, and big, about 150lbs average, and the ones out west are lean(and better tasting imho), and about 100 average. So one might ask, why would a feller leave the deer to hunt? Because all the people from DC, and Baltimore come out west(central) and the first stop is frederick and washington county, along with green ridge. So we leave the crazy people with the deer and go into the big woods and have a blast!
QuoteOriginally posted by HcSmitty:
I even passed by a compound hunter tryin to put on a stalk right along the dog on interstate.
I think we are suppose to be 100 yards away from the roads? Not for sure, but I know we got to be 150 away from houses(unless you have permission to be closer, ie my own house, lol)
HcSmitty, Frederick is not in the mountains of Western Maryland. Go an hour and a half due west of Frederick and you will start into the Appalachian chain. I live 20 miles from Allegheny County, and one hours drive from Garrett County....the big mountain area. I've hunted those hills quite a bit...never had trouble finding deer, but it's not a cinch for sure. The area I hunted was the Savage River State Forest, south of Grantsville.
The Pa. I'm talking about is the Big Woods area, North of I-80 where fields and farms are few and far between...it's the Big Woods. I've hunted it and it takes different tactics for sure. Beautiful area though.
HcSmitty, there are tons of deer along rt 15 and most of Maryland. You were along the side of the mountains. Chris Shelton's description sounds accurate for the most western part of the state.
I have hunted many types of terrain, both public and private land. Wet, flat land pine thickets full of greenbriar can be a real challenge to hunt regardless of how many deer are there. Lots of travel routes a deer can take and sight distance is only about 30 yards. I can understand how southern NJ can be frustrating with all the gun pressure. I'd hunt northern Pa over that given the opportunity.
Meade Co. Ky. Blue tongue hit us hard 2 years in a row and we haven't bounced back yet. Ask anyone that lives or hunts here. I haven't killed a deer in 3 seasons. They're very scarce. Might end up fishing all next season or take up trad - bowfishing. It's bleak.
I don't know I still have never hunted a whitetail :banghead:
But Utah might be the toughest just because of how few there are. Just a couple of years ago was the first comfirmed sighting of a whitetail in the state. I would think that they might not be tough to hunt once you found one(lack of pressure)but finding one might be tough. Thanxs for a good laugh :biglaugh: But someday I will hunt one of these tough creatures.
how about the big woods of north eastern MN...superior national forest. woods bigger than entire eastern states. more moose and wolves in spots than deer. ever hunted deer that have the largest pack of timber wolves in the lower 48 chasin after them?? tough hunting!
QuoteOriginally posted by George D. Stout:
I've hunted those hills quite a bit...never had trouble finding deer, but it's not a cinch for sure. The area I hunted was the Savage River State Forest, south of Grantsville.
Yup that is my area, Savage is the place I call "home away from home", a new person to the area might have trouble finding deer, but I sure have never. They are there, but you have to look. A guy came down from Canada one year a long time ago, probably when I was about the age of 5? And dad said he shot the biggest deer dad has ever seen there, it was a massive 8 point, about 250 pounds!!! I honestly dont think that type of deer exists there anymore, this was probably 15 years ago, dad asked what his secret was, he simply said "you got to go where noone else goes". That was it, and I have found that, that silly statement is very true, but not in the ways you would expect! But if you get up about 400 yards min, you will see deer! Now getting shots . . . totally different story!
Chris....Not too far from I-68, there is a road called Blue Lick Run Road. At the bottom you can double back and up over an old tram road to the top.
There was some old cutover back there that held some nice bucks. Never got any of them but saw them, and their aftermath of scrapes and rubs.
did any look like this . . .???
(http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae73/Guitararcher/GrabbedFrame112.jpg)
Tons of quality deer hunting in New Jersey, looks like you need to find some new spots.
By far game lands eastern North Carolina! half the places you hunt you would be better served by a bayonet rather than anything with a projectile. Woods be thick - never mind the dogs that run em come gun season turning already nocturnal deer more nocturnal only coming out in the thickest part of the woods at midnight. LOL!! Last year I hunted hard and saw a grand total of 2 bucks, some does - that weren't being pushed by hounds. Already started scouting for next year!!!!!!!! punishment never ends. :knothead:
Would love to hunt spot and stalk country, just to see more game.
Little ole Delaware is no picnic. Yes, we have "easy" spots like everywhere, but they are reserved to leases and non-hunting areas. Our terrain goes from flat to flatter and from thick to thicker. Most of our big woods is gone and small parcels are hard to approach. Not saying we don't have deer, they are just very hard to get close to.
Of all the places I've hunted, I consider Minnesota to be the worst deer hunting state for a number of reasons, not the least of which is I want to survive hunting seasons...
When I first moved out to ND, I wondered how in the world a guy killed whitetails on the open prairie. How young & ignorant I was....
Getting onto 30 years later, I consider ND to be one of the true great hunting states, not just a great whitetail state. It's just a matter of learning to hunt the cover & read the structure.
Between my wife & I, it's unusual that at least one doesn't arrow a 125"+ 4 point or better buck.
This year it was my turn, my bow buck was a 4x5 that went 136" & change, my rifle buck was a 4 point that went 128"+. After I had filled both those tags and was doe hunting, had a 6 point buck I conservatively estimated in the mid 170's chased a doe by me at 30 yards or so, the biggest buck I've seen on the hoof in the last 18 years. No one got him, either... :thumbsup:
QuoteOriginally posted by J-dog:
Last year I hunted hard and saw a grand total of 2 bucks, some does - that weren't being pushed by hounds. Already started scouting for next year!!!!!!!! punishment never ends. :knothead:
that is the only buck I saw this season! Most of our seasons(aside from bow) is Buck only, and I wasnt there for either sex untill after December, when we were slammed with a massive cold front that sunday(so conviniently), and the next 4 days of my hunt consited of highs in the teens, and 40 mph winds! Good times.
Dad saw that same deer, shot at him, and missed(his gun was off), he learned his lesson, I always said he needs to shoot it now and then! He saw another buck which was more of a average type deer, and he got that one! Those were the only two bucks he saw that season!
(http://i959.photobucket.com/albums/ae73/Guitararcher/GrabbedFrame86.jpg)
what a trade off huh?? I didnt get a shot on a doe untill rifle season(buck only) which was again convinient. But we needed meat, dad filled the freezer, so I didnt have anything to worry about, I could focus on tryin to pack the freezer, which is what I perfer. When you dont need meat, but it wouldnt hurt to have more!
Michigan - of course! And you Michigan guys know what I'm talking about. The highest deer hunter density in the nation. The good news is that early bow season is not too bad, but once the middle of November hits, look out. Crossbows became legal for general archery season this year, so a whole bunch more people have taken up hunting, couple that with a near 18% unemployment (in my area) and that gives a lot more people more time to be in the woods. I have never seen so many people in the woods than last year. I'm so thankful we have our own land to hunt!
My personal hardest hunting area as far as woods and terrain go would definately be northern Maine.The moose outnumber the deer by probably 10-1,and it gets logged so often it's like walking through the christmas tree storage area at a garden center.Tons of 4-20 ft spruce trees that limit visability to feet in alot of the area.It's tough enough to rifle hunt there.
My toughest as far as pressure goes,that award goes to Ohio public land during shotgun season. :eek: :scared: I'm amazed anything lives to see next season. :saywhat:
I don't have any experience outside of my little part of Penn's Woods, but I would say the western side of The Moshannon State Forest can hold it's own with most places. I take a lot of pride in the deer I have been able to haul out of there.
I don't know but if it gets any worse than some of the places around here I don't want no part of it. :D Our deer have developed shorter legs in the back than the front from looking up so much. ;)
State Game Lands 295 in Clinton County, PA near Lamar. Steep, rocky, lots of laurel thickets. I've lived here for 7 years now and still can't figure them out. It's frustrating. There's deer here because I find good rub lines each year late in the season, but only actually see deer 1 out of every 10 trips. In bear season a couple years ago, a buddy and I walked the length of that game lands (about 6 miles) and neither of us saw a single deer, but found rubs all over the place.
Don't go tellin people Moose!
NC is hard to hunt especially after the rifle season starts. Ohio is the easiest I have hunted. Any state with a long rifle season is going to be harder to hunt with a bow. they kill most of the big ones. The only thing saving the piedmont section of NC is the urban sprawl. This lets the bucks hide from gun hunters.LCH