Ryan - bummer on the new spot, but I'm sure you'll get a better feel for the place over the summer. You might have to resort to some hang-on stands or even a ground blind. I know that sucks when you're amped about a new spot, only to go in there and realize that it's already getting pounded by 10 other guys. Downer. Oh well, maybe they don't spend much time in there, or it's just gunners.

On the big woods, it's definitely hard hunting. Since I cut my teeth in the patchy farmland, I tend to look for smaller benches, formations, funnels, etc...and those just aren't very common in the big mountains. So I wind up covering miles just to find one spot, and usually the spots that I pick out or like are just too far away to bowhunt. Even with that said, I've spent a lot of time playing in the big woods, and made it work. You're definitely right though - harder hunting for sure. The plus-side is that most of the farmland I hunt is becoming overrun with hunting pressure, while the big mountains are a ghost-town in bow season. Lots of positives/negatives on both sides.