How big is big?

[_Dan]

Big woods that is. I hear guys talking about hunting big woods and have always been curious as to what everyone's definition of "Big Woods" is.

Up here we measure it in square miles, as the nearest farm field is about 60 miles from here as the crow flies.

So,when does it go from woodlot hunting to big woods hunting?

Like I said, this is always something I have been curious about.

[GMMAT]

When I think of "Big Woods".....I think in sections. Acres apply, too.....but if it isn't in multiples of 640 (MULTIPLES)......I don't consider it "Big Woods".

Completely foreign to me, though.

[kwilson16]

'Big Woods' meansthe animal (deer) movement is not dictated by the available cover. In other words, any woodlot large enough to permit deer to bed/feed/breed without influence or confinement by open field areas - which become very dangerous for them once muzzleloader/rifle season begins. This makes the hunting more challenging because funnels are non-existent or at least more difficult to discern in Big Woods. Not necessarily related to the distance from houses or civilization.

[gri22ly]

Were I live 20,000 acres or moreunbroken, I consider big woods.

[brucelanthier]

If you can walk in a straight line formore than 2 hours without running into ANY man-made stuff, then you might be in big woods. There aren't any big woods around here.

[rybohunter]

To me "˜big woods"™ is our central mountain region. Continuous forests for miles on end. Some places you get the occasional broken up area near towns, but otherwise its just all woods for the vast majority of area. I like roaming these types of areas, but they aren"™t the easiest for me to hunt. Too much space compared to what I am used to.

[Pierce Pepin]

A guy in WI did a GIS study on woods and roads. He found that no matter where you go in WI you are no farther than 3 miles from a road. So I guess where he found that spot is where I would consider it to be "Big Woods" Just remember to bring a compass and know how to use it!

[Germ]

200,000 acres plus

There are national forest in MI over 500,000 acres and some in UP close to a million

[YooperMike]

ORIGINAL: Germ

200,000 acres plus

There are national forest in MI over 500,000 acres and some in UP close to a million

Yup. Lots of big areas in the U.P. Someone put it well though, when they said that there are no man-made barriers affecting movement, such as fences or roads. IL is woodlot hunting, U.P. is big woods hunting.

[dmen]

It is hard to put a number on, I would say it has to be many thousands of uninhabited acres. Pretty much most of northern maine, mostly all paper company land. You may find your way out of the woods onto a logging road, but who knows where the logging road ends up.