There is public land in those bow only counties. I would like to backpack in to some of the more remote areas but would like to go with somone if they are game for it. I have done some day trips but the solo overnight thing is a little spooky when there is no cell service and nobody I know would know where to start looking for me. If you are game for something like that let me know.

I also grew up in Northern WV, but have a few friends who have hunted the area. SSWV is right, the locals do not like outsiders. They like to keep things to themselves. That doesn't mean you cant find a place to hunt, but Ohio might be a better deal.

Merf

Jonathan, same case here in the flat land. I hunt in Highland Co., about 9 miles from WVA., the deer are not big but plentifull. What we've seen in the past 10 yrs. is the increase in bear and mountain lion. Plenty of public land to hunt in the WMA on Jack Mtn. Might want to look that way.  Jerry

I have hunted in McDowell a few times and I have a lot of family in Wyoming Co.  There are a lot of great deer in those areas but as some have mentioned - they few and far between.  When I hunted McDowell we hunted coal land.  Its almost essential to have a four wheeler in order to get around.  Its going to take some scouting to find that spot that the other yahoos haven't found, but look at the terrain and you should be able to find those bucks.  A good portion of the guys hunting will have bait out so its usually easy to see where they are set up (and they usually only go 100 yards from the fourwheeler).  

If you are not familiar with hunting mountains, I would reccommend checking out the book "mapping trophy bucks" by Brad Herndon. Just keep in mind that the mine strips are great locations to set up - just watch those highwalls in the dark.  

And just remember - when you hear the banjos you went too far!  (just kidding, Im from WV so I can joke about it).

Good Luck

I hunted Logan County between Logan and Mann. We quickly found out how it's done. The locals all had ATV's and baited treestands. We could only hunt on foot so those 1200' straight up mountains were inacessable. As a result we saw very little sign or deer.

The lure of monster bucks is not enough for me to go back to the steepest mountains east of the Mississippi. If you have a 4 wheeler and don't mind watching a pile of corn you might get a crack at a nice deer.

I'm sure this isn't the norm for all areas but that was our experience.

Almost forgot, the area we hunted was loaded with ticks and bears.