Bluetickhunter

ok yall figured id get the wheels turning during the off season and learn somthign from you guys cause im drawing a blank right now. Mnts of vermont big woods whitetails whats the best way to set up on them? Food sources, trying to find travel areas , water, scrape lines or what any hints or anythin yall got i got a couple spots im thinking but realy drawing a blank as the deer just do what they do seems like itd be impossable to get set up for a 30yrd shot unless its dumb luck. Any of you big woods guys got any hints id be in your debt.

Spc Matthew Connor

GTOHunter

I would try to find a rub line and hang a stand fairly close to it or close to any fresh ground scrapes,also look for any travels routes the Deer use and possibly put out a salt and mineral lick close to where You plan on Bow Hunting if legal in Your State?If You can use a Deer Decoy that would help draw a Buck in to You when it gets closer to the rut,rattling and using grunt calls or Doe calls will also better Your chances at getting a Deer in closer hunting the Big Woods with a Bow...trail cameras will also help in seeing where the Deer travel.I have seen that the Deer tend to follow Ridge Tops and/or they will skirt along the side of large hills and hollers so thats a good spot to set up a stand...if possible watch the Deer routes and move your stand if they seem to be traveling differently or further away from your stand...I have moved my stands when I saw that the Deer were coming out in a different area.

Bernie P.

The biggest problem hunting in big woods along with hill's/mtns I find is locating a place where the PITA wind is steady enough to even bother hanging a stand.The rest is easy but for this one reason it can take a LOT of searching in such areas.

deernutz

It's a lot tougher then hunting the farm fields. Gotta find the trails and the big buck sign started in OCT and hunt late OCT into NOV. I've hunted northern WI for yrs and although we dont have the mnts we have woods and swamps for hundreds of miles. It's rough, just put your time in and read the sign. Good Luck.

Bluetickhunter

thx yall lots of good info im gunna put into my planning also do you think a food plot of my land would be a good idea to draw them in i got an area in mind close to some beddin but not to close im wondering as weve had a low crop of acorns and even lower of beechnuts the last few years.


matt

dliz

I have had great success mountian hunting in the last several years. My best advice is scout and scout more. I start in Jan. after hunting season is finished and hike the mountains. I'll hike new areas and areas where I've heard about big deer. I always have my GPS with me marking trail direction and beds. Im always looking for pinch points and areas where multiple trails come together. I find it best to scout when there is at least 4 to 6 weeks of snow on the ground following hunting season. It much easier to scout when snow is on the ground. Where you find the deer this time of the season is where you will find the deer when they are pressured. I also use Google Earth quite a bit for scouting, its a great tool. My goal every year is to find another new stand or two to hunt. After scoutning, all your trail and bed information can be transfered to Google Earth. This gives a great over view of the area that you've just scouted. Once I've found new spots I'll go back in early summer and place trail cameras near these new spots and see if there is anything worthwhile hunting. Trail cameras are great tools if you dont over use them in you best hunting areas. I have 8 of them. One word of note, over the last several years of trail camera pictures in mountain areas and swamps I have never been able to pattern any large buck. Wait for the rut. I say this because in my area its almost a waste of time to hunt before the rut. Over the last several years I have not seen one nice buck before the rut. Once the rut starts I'll hunt non-stop in my best spots and hunt them only if the wind is right. I know this only skims the surface, but I hope this helps a little.

tight360

We don't have the mountains here in Michigan, but we do have big woods. What I have found, is no matter the terrain, the sign is always the truest way to locate the deer. What I have done in the past that scored me 2 120's on big woods state land, is, find what looks like a little used trail that intersects a well used trail, anywhere from 40 -100 yards downwind of a food source. I set up 2 mock scrapes, first one about 20 yards downwind from the food source on the well used trail, and the second at the intersection of the 2 trails. The first scrape I made in SEP and freshened it frequently. And the second, I made in late OCT. When I freshened the first, I used a drag rag walking on the well used trail to the second. Set the stand 20 yards downwind of the second scrape/intersection. Got both the bucks hanging around the second (not on it), while they were winding the food source and first scrape. Again, SCOUTING is the only way to find these areas, gotta put the time in.

deernutz

Yes if you can plant a food plot it will always up your chances. I would tell ya use white clover the easiest plot to plant. I took me a rake ,fertilizerfrom lowes and white clover seed. I did an 1/2 an acre in 1 1/2 hrs 3 weeks ago and it's already 3 inches high. Deer love white clover it's worth it. You don't need tillers or anything. The seed only needs to be 3/8's inch under the surface to sprout. Good Luck.

Bible_Man

My suggestion would be to try and find a location where a point or two run down off of a ridge and setup around there...high probability you will see some and can move accordingly to get in the spot you need to be in.

RidgeFACTOR

Been hunting for many years but I don't recall any "PITA" winds. Could you explain that one to me?