After reading Trapperman's post on the competition public lands can create I am interested in knowing how many of us prefer hunting crowded , but , sometimes very deer rich areas over big woods and relative solitude and lower success rates . While I do hunt both , I'm far happier in the big woods which luckily are nearby .

Big woods here for sure. I can go an entire season and never see another hunter. If there is one place I can not handle other people,it is out in the woods. Luckily most are lazy so if you can put on the miles you can have the woods to your self.

Big woods are romantic but you can go a long time and not see a deer. Just go to the Adirondacks and you'll see that. Unless you know just where to go, you may spend the season without seeing one. There is just too much area to cover and I'm too old and fat for that. On the contrary, urban hunting can offer some great opportunities for a bowhunter because you may get into places most other hunters will not or can not go. I hunt only "small" plots of ground. On most of them, you can see or hear cars going by, dogs barking and kids playing. Deer don't care about that. They are used to it and those areas are their sanctuaries. They are not conditioned to being chased around in there. I usually see deer every time I hunt a small plot in an urban area. Getting in bow range is the trick though butu I think it's a higher probability area. If you work at it, you can find some pretty primo bow hunting areas and it's not hard on the feet.

You have to realize also that most hunters would probably prefer to have the woods to themselves but simply don't have that option on a daily basis. I consider myself very fortunate in the fact that I am literally surrounded by hundreds of thousands of acres of national forest,state forest and designated wilderness land. I will take less deer over less hunters any day of the week. For many hunters though if they did not hunt with the crowds they wouldn't get to hunt very much.

I go hunting to get away from people as much as possible, but I think it all depends on where you live and hunt. I live in NM where there are few possibilities to hunt in urban areas, so it kinda makes the decision for you.

I would not be opposed to hunting in public areas in town if possible.

Good luck!

I very much prefer the big woods but do like to see A deer. Don't enjoy hunting when all you hear is traffic and people even if seeing deer. Where I live is semi rural and has been great hunting, but much of it is posted anymore. Now days I hunt a lot of government flood control dam property and a lot of that has been under water this year:(

Out here, the hardest thing about killing a private-property deer is getting access in the first place. You get onto a fair-sized property and there will be multiple sightings just about every day, so if you’re not choosey you can fill the freezer in a couple of sits.

I started out hunting whitetails up in northern MN, where the rifle opener is the first Saturday in November; prime Rut. If you see a legal buck on opening morning, you take it. After 1:00 PM, it gets hard.

Given the choice, I’d take Big Woods any day. I like to be Out. One deer a year is less than we can enjoy eating, but it’s plenty enough to let you feel like you at least know what you’re doing out there.

What I DON’T enjoy is spending 4-5 days dawn-to-dusk in an area where you may not even SEE a deer during legal hours, regardless of the distance. I hunted our late ML one year and didn’t even see a tweetie-bird. Not since.

I will take the Big Woods hunting every time. Just don't want to hunt in crowded areas. There is nothing like sitting in the woods listening to the the distant call of a timber wolf and a river as it makes it way past you. Sometimes it's so quite you can hear a buzz, I just love it.

I prefer hunting a national forest. It may have logging roads or forest roads but for the most part very remote. The scope of the land will sort out the hunters. For the most part, the hunters there no matter what type of weapon are pretty darn good people. However, hunting on public land without intruding on someone else is my goal. I can hunt during the week and seldom hunt on weekends.

I prefer hunting a national forest. It may have logging roads or forest roads but for the most part very remote. The scope of the land will sort out the hunters. For the most part, the hunters there no matter what type of weapon are pretty darn good people. However, hunting on public land without intruding on someone else is my goal. I can hunt during the week and seldom hunt on weekends.

both for me I hunt almost every day the entire season & weekdays after work I hunt close to the truck in the afternoon & on weekends I hunt further back in the woods mostly I like to still hunt down the creek bottoms always critters along the creek & very relaxing

Doesn't matter to me. I'll hunt any where opportunity allows.

I have a much higher deer density where I live but prefer to go 240 miles north to hunt. In NE VT there is lots of public land and active timber lands open to hunting. It's big woods if you want to go miles in but don't have to go that far to be alone in the woods either. There are no deer trails so forget the tree stands and success is often measured on a different level but the experience can be magical.

I hunt both. My home and my camp are 300 miles apart. Home hunting is urban; I hear the cars, the dogs, the children, etc. I see a fair amount of deer too. Up at camp, in the U.P., it is big woods...big swamp actually....I don't see or hear all the things like at home. I also see less deer, but I still prefer the solitude.

Farm and woodlot country is what I've always hunted. Tough to beat it.

I am happy hunting 60 acres of my son,s land at this stage of my life,but at one time I hunted big country.

Exactly Liquid Tension, and beautiful pics Krag

I don't hunt much anymore but when I do it's pretty much big woods or I should say big semi-desert. The ranch is off of a FM Road in the middle of nowhere, then a caliche road for around 20 miles.

I do have property close to my house that I rarely hunt, its seems that the dang hogs have taken over. What once was pretty much prime deer hunting has become over run with hogs and almost surrounded by chemical plants and refineries. I used to catch hogs with dogs and feed them out. I can't make myself feed a hog to my family that has not been cleaned out or should I say fed out for around 30 days. Anyways, I'd rather deer hunt if I'm hunting.

Dang Krag, those are some awesome pictures :)

I hunt Whitetails to kill whitetails. So I hunt lots of places. I have killed deer in both urban areas and big woods. I like these posts that try to belittle how others hunt because their way “must be easier”.

I hunt on land I own and hunt public land also, probably more on public. We're very fortunate here in Oklahoma as much of our public land is very under used. Many of our WMA's are not open to gun seasons and have only about 6 days of muzzleloader draw hunts. Usually, after the first week of bow season you can hunt thousands of acres without ever seeing another hunter. So I enjoy the big woods probably more than my private lands. Especially the National Forest because camping is unlimited. Really thankful for all of our opportunities.

Why (elkpacker) I pack into wilderness. Lots of elk around my place like to watch them.

Our county is 1,017 square miles and has less than 49,000 people so nothing here is considered urban. Some of the Pa. counties north of I-80 have less than 10,000 people and we have lots of real big woods there.

The area I live in is labeled as Eastern Alleghenies, the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains. Lots of small valleys, rural small farms and wooded ridges. That's where I hunt. Never even had a slight notion to hunt crowded city or suburban areas.

Big woods.

Nj big woods

Big woods. I'll take solitude and no people over lots of deer and lots of people.

I like both. I hunt probably 90-95% public land. In my opinion. There is a bit more satisfaction getting the best of a big woods bruiser though.

I hunted the big woods of Clearfield County, Pa., for three years from 2000 through 2002 and there weren't many times I didn't see deer. A great help for any huge hunting area is Google Earth. You can find spots were streams and valleys/hollows intersect, and any old homesteads that once were there. There are many ways to pre-scout a new section of big timber in a wide expanse.

Most often when I travel out of state for Whitetail it's big woods. I've done urban Inner city Doe hunts & public, private in my current state. I've been fortunate to bowhunt 15 States for biggame, always public & never had "crowd" problems.

No woods but back yards. Stealth sniper mood to not be seen by those looking at you.LOL

To get good at anything you have to do it. Got to get in an out with your life, the animal and not be seen. That's what makes it fun.

Anyone can drive to a expance get out of vehicle and go for a walk.

Can't do this in my bushs. Have to know when to go, where to go and figure the animals out and get out.

No play time afforded.

There easier to kill in town.

I lost my farmland hunting place this year and have been hunting out my backdoor around the subdivision, everyone has 4 or 5 acres and my neighbor lets me hunt his 50 acres.

Definitely different as I was always a wilderness hunter. I can see houses after the leaves fall off, plenty of deer but they clue into your presence and don't come back for weeks.

Because of injuries I am not bow hunting this year and one has to be extra careful of what direction a shot it taken.

I hunkered down behind a pile of cinder blocks next to a barn the other day, I saw 10 deer, 8 of which saw me first, I passed on two little bucks.

Kinda fun but I liked 340 acres of big woods and grown up fields I once hunted much more.

I would far rather hunt big woods and not have to deal with a lot of people who make trying to pattern a deer next to impossible. The deer in big woods are not near as spooky and don’t walk around looking in trees like they do in our smaller easier to access areas closer to town . With that said I hunt all I can and at times that means a trip I can do in under a hour and be home that night . To hunt farther back in the Nat. Forest requires a longer drive then a pretty good hike to get into country that most wont go. That requires time and I can’t do that as a day trip very easy. So sure I’d a lot rather hunt the big woods but out of convience hunt closer to home and amongst the masses more than I like but I’m gonna hunt somewhere all I can

Where I live, with the exception of two mountain ridges, most of the hunting ground is private property and what isn't is small woodlots bordered by large area of fields. I'm used to hunting farm country in western PA where the woods outnumber the fields by a large margin.

I prefer big woods. Big meaning where I can walk a mile or two and not hit a fence or cross a field. It's harder hunting and, until I decided to bone out a deer and haul it instead of dragging it out, I had been backing off from going into areas I liked to hunt.

Next year, as long as my health stays good, I'm looking forward to getting back in where there are fewer hunters.

All parcels have their merit. I hunt the big woods, open plains, timbered mountains, and farmlands. Each are unique in their offerings.

It is all big woods up here and all I have ever known.

Farm and woodlots behind my house, for miles. Bigwoods across,the road. I hunted alot from 1 Oct, until today and ran into 1 other hunter all season. Hunted almost exclusively the farms and woodlots. And there alot of deer and a gazillion turkeys in both.

Passed up a 20 broadside shot at this button buck yesterday after he winded me and got up. He was looking the other way too. Letting him grow, already got a doe. I am after this big guy anyway.

I really like big woods. However, hunting is fun almost anywhere...

Nice pictures Krag! Vermont has some real beauty. I used to run around that state 35 years ago.

I can kill deer in my woods right out my back door all day long most years, but somehow I am needing to get back out into the big woods. This year, for the first time in many, I hunted some of PA's big woods. A young man who was part of our group told me as we were hiking up a mountain, "Man it's nice to hunt without hearing leaf blowers!"

I like big woodlots like this one...but even in this much space, you're apt to run into a couple of jokers. Heheh...

I've hunted both but I prefer unbroken tracts of forest and mountains, usually less deer, and definitely harder to pattern, but I prefer the solitude and sense of adventure.

Give me room to roam. It's wilderness for me, and that's why I live in Interior Alaska. But having said that, I must add that I do hunt around my hometown for moose now and then in the archery-only management area. I do it to perhaps fill the freezer, but I don't like it.

Nothing compares to the excitement and adventure of camping and hunting in the wilderness. The "deer" I hunt are caribou and moose and they sure can be elusive and often send you home with still sharp broadheads and no meat for the freezer, but that's okay.

But if one evening my eye spies a bull moose grazing willows in a muskeg along the outskirts of town, I'll for darn sure be out there before sunrise the next morning with a bow in my hand.

I like big words. I can kill deer from my deck but it's not the same shooting half tame deer.

I hunted the Adirondack hills for over 40 years. Got tired of not seeing many deer so went into the southern zone to hunt, saw a few more deer, missed a few but it’s not the same. Hearing the dogs and the school bus, traffic going by, horns is just not for me. I like the big woods, getting older I can’t go like I once did but still like the silence and remote spots.

I like the big woods for special opportunity hunts, especially with a group of buds. I still enjoy the 45 acres behind the subdivision we live in outside city limits by a few miles. Great Back Yard!

I hunt for food. it was a bucket list want I had for a long time to pack into the national forest for 1 month with a backpack & bow. not so much anymore but I very much enjoy my solitude. & to those that would choose big woods solitude over more opportunity at game well I think the grocery store has some influence on that decision

Timex..lower deer numbers does not mean lower success for some of us.

The problem many hunters have hunting large areas of forest is they do not do enough scouting, and they view it as 200,000 acres of forest instead of breaking it down area by area.

Deer hunting bigwoods and unbroken timber is all about food, at least the areas I hunt. When most hunters think deer food the first thing they think is mast, not realizing how diverse a deer's diet is. Here in the PA mountains mast is usually only available part of the year. Browse is the #1 deer food in many areas of unbroken forest. In many areas a deer beds and feeds in the same areas because its all basically the same. Mile after mile of unbroken hardwood forest and bumper crops of mast can be frustrating, deer can bed and feed and roam at will.

The key is.

1.Find the deer, THEN find the food. to many guys say "find the food and you'll find the deer" but that's not always the case especially in vast forest with low deer numbers. They could be somewhere else where there is food. So find the deer first....then find what they are eating.

2. Buck have core areas even in vast forest and it will be roughly 1 sq mile. Within that square mile will be an area he spends most of his time. Keep in mind 1 sq mile of forest is a pretty large area.

3. Deer in vast forest tend to roam at will and are far less patternable than deer feeding every night in a food plot or agriculture. The key is to narrow it down to pinch points, and funnels or some food source they are keying in on. Deer in bigwoods often key in on something they really like. Like people around a pan full of wings or a chocolate cake at a family reunion.

A single apple tree at an old homestead, that one white oak that deer really like, in some areas it might be a persimmon tree, others it's a patch of greenbriar, or grapevine, or an area where they seem to dig for roots often. Deer often visit these spots until its used up.

Water might be a good spot in some areas, but here in the mts of PA where I hunt it's not the best option, water is plentiful.

In the bigwoods if you are looking for a particular buck, early season is the time to kill him, once the rut starts he may end up miles away chasing some strange lady. A buck can and will travel miles in the bigwoods at times in one day. remember LOW deer numbers here, so buck move till they find a doe in heat. You will never keep up with him once he gets a notion to pack his bags. The plus side of the rut is buck from other areas are also cruising and buck you never knew existed will suddenly show up.

Once firearm season starts and hunting pressure increases deer often stay in a small safe zone and hole up so to speak, these areas often can be as little as 50 or 100 acres, and they will move little especially during the day. Ever wonder why you hear a lot of shooting only to have it die down by mid morning? Most often they have retreated to some safe zone, and the woods suddenly seem devoid of deer.

Bigwoods deer is all about scouting, being flexible, changing it up as conditions change, and the patience to stick it out when it gets slow, and the ability to seal the deal once an opportunity comes, it may be the only one you get. But it sure has its rewards when it all comes together.

With my above post....when you look out across areas like this realize there are deer there somewhere. So put on a good pair of boots and go find them.

To many guys enter mts like this, walk a little and plop down thinking "this looks like a good spot" sometimes that works out, most times it doesn't.

iv always had a knack for finding & getting close to critters & when I was much younger ending up 3-4 miles in the bottom of the back side of the mountain was nothing. however due to a bum hart & arthritis that type of hunting is in the past for me & ya don't nessarely have to go to the big woods for solitude I now live on the coast & if your willing th trudge thru the mud & reeds you just might find blackbeards treasures or a bruiser old salt marsh buck

"Bigwoods" used to be my handle here, before another guy claimed it, if that's any indicator..

I'll take less deer and less hunters over more of both every time!

Hunting up here, no baiting, no tree stands, and bow hunting during rifle season, I usually get one shot per season. That includes either buck or barren doe. Because I hunt the mountains, I see very few does. The big boys live high and saunter down just before dark. Very hard to pattern, but I love trying to figure them out or trying to track them and see if I can get close. At 72 I am allowed to use a crossbow and bait my own land. Guys in town think I am nuts for how I hunt. I tell them to look up the definition of hunting. Killing doesn’t always mean hunting.

For a lot of "Hunters," the Urban areas are the only chance that they have to fill their desire to hunt deer. They generally have small areas to find their quarry, and be able to get a chance to make a kill. For other "Hunters," a chance to hunt many thousands of acres is possible, and if done correctly (with a little luck) they are able to locate and harvest a nice deer. "Luck" consists of having snow for tracking, and areas where there are few if not ANY other deer hunters to cut the track before you see your quarry. I'm 81 years old and still track deer at the same pace as when I was 18. I just like shooting them closer to my vehicle now as then. LOL.

One time I spoke to a big time well known Trad hunter PBS guru who is a very nice guy, at the deer classic, and he asked me why I wasted my time, in an area of the UP... I shook my head and told him, " You will never get it" and I don't care how many big heads you shot

Depends on how I feel really. I have access to both and there is no question the small wood lots in suburbia hold more deer. If I feel like a long hike..a couple miles or more I head to a state park that's an hour's drive from my home. If I want to sit the day away then I head to a 25 acre piece I have permission to hunt that's at the end of a development.

The best part of hunting the timberlands of the Allagash, Northern NH, or Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom is you may find gates, but no No Trespassing signs. The bad part is shooting a deer over a mile in and dragging it out. A friend of mine shot a 253 pound buck this year 3 miles from the road and after dragging it halfway, left it overnight. He managed to get it out unscathed the next day. I did the same with a moose a few years back,, but it was only a mile in and was able to get it out with my buddy’s draft horse. Twitched it right to the wood yard like nothing. My buck last year was a mile plus drag, but I went home and grabbed a plastic sled. This year, with the deep snow, we had a lot of hunters who slid off woods roads trying to drive in. Walking was brutal with waist deep snow. I hunted in snowshoes the whole time I hunted. Bear paws with Marcs bindings on them. Very quiet until we got a crust. Then it turned into a waiting game.

I would call where I live & hunt farm land deffanetly not big woods & not behind a city housing development & I can surely understand someone who lives in the city wanting to escape it at every chance they get but ultimately when I leave my house with a bow - gun or fishing rod my intended purpose is to stay out of the grocery store

Lawdy, All the pictures I posted are from various seasons this year and from VT's Northeast Kingdom. The two at dusk are from a WMA and the others are private land. The last two are of adjacent cuts of different ages separated by a band of timber on 3400 acres that was recently sold. Because of the active cutting we have hunted that tract for years but with the snow couldn't get near it this late season. I asked the F&W what the status of it was and was told the state owns permanent hunting rights to it. So if they don't own the land outright they have secured the hunting rights on much of the timberland keeping it open for all to utilize. The big woods is a bigger puzzle with smaller pieces. Since I don't live there most of my scouting takes place in season and each hunt adds a bit to solving the puzzle. Good thing I have a grocery store...but hunting the big woods sure is fun!

Krag, even living here is tough. We have no oaks, only beech trees, and there were no beech nuts this year. No apples either after the bears sucked them up in Sept.. The deer, which are scarce, were just wandering, no pattern. I can kill a bear up here easier than a deer. No baiting, just cruising the ridges. Find an apple tree with apples in September, mountain ash berries, or beech nuts, and you will find a bear. I am hoping some year to hunt Pennsylvania’s flintlock season, but I say that every year. I am a hare nut and my beagle always has other plans when he sees me readying the Tulle de Chasse or replacing broad heads with Zwicky judo points.

I think its safe to say the term "bigwoods" means something different to many.

I have shot a pile of deer within 1/2 mile or mile of a rd, or trail most of them in what many would consider "bigwoods".

I would have to drive a ways to hunt "urban" deer, just is no such thing around here. Even around the small town where we do our banking, and grocery's within about a mile you can be in "bigwoods" although there is agriculture its still dotted with ridges considered by many as "bigwoods"

I can walk out my back door and hunt continual state forest, even here you couldn't hunt it all in a lifetime. But I do not consider it "bigwoods" really no areas that you can get back in more than 1 1/2 mile from a dirt road or trail, although some of it is pretty rugged.

To me "bigwoods" means you are far enough back in that whatever nature dishes out your stuck with because your to far from any kind of shelter not to be.

Here in PA although there are a few areas like that south of 80, most of that type of country is north of 80.

Most that have in us the spirit or desire for "backwoods" can't just hunt the Frank Church, or Alaska, or Adirondack mts, anytime we want....so we use what's available.

Lucky for me a short drive north can put me in some wilder areas that meet that need for seclusion.

To me "Bigwoods" is any country big enough that the average Joe is either 1. Intimidated by it for fear of getting lost, or 2. Able to walk all day with no regard for accidentally ending up on private property.

All our timberlands are private property but we have a tax break for keeping land open called “current use.” It gives landowners a huge property tax break if you own 11+ acres of wild land. My property is open as is the several hundred thousand acres behind it. I only have safety zone signs around my house. Under current use, I can prohibit vehicles, such as atvs etc, but not foot travel. I let people use atvs and snowmobile along a trail I cut so they can access a state trail. This was the first year I hunted my own land some. I prefer the big timberlands behind my land and next door in Maine. One of the reasons I groundhunt is that if I were ever to fall, I would die because I hunt so remote. I never hunt without a small pack as I have spent many nights trying to get my hounds before the coyotes do.

both,

urban during the week, remote on weekends.

I have a slight "big woods advantage" I own a large acreage an hour north of town that is surrounded by virtually limitless acres of federal land. The only hunters I see are the ones I invite. In fact the only people you see when you are up there are the people you want to see. When in the "big woods" I do see people, the people I invited to be with me.

There are 2 gated USFS road that descend the mountains above me and I do see evidence of foot traffic on the roads from time to time, but have not seen a hunter that wasn't with me. Most don't make it down far enough to get close to my land.

The only hunters I have had interaction with are Moose hunters, that want to use my land to access the public land behind it, so they don't have to hike as far or pack moose as far. I have lets a couple, but usually advise them of the closest access points that do not cross my land. They usually are not happy due to the added mileage and extra work for them. There are typically only a dozen moose tags in the area, and I usually know 1 or 2 people that have drawn them.

oz

Texas has very little public land. Urban hunting is not legal in many places. If I don't get drawn to hunt government land my season is pretty lean. I do hike into to Old Corps land to hunt pigs, as I approach retirement I might have more time and opportunity to hunt. Living in the seventh largest city in the country makes it rough. Unless, you can drop $2,00-5,000 for a lease.

George, in grew up in central PA and loved it.

KRAG you're making me misty.

Wudstix, Pa. is a great place to retire as well, at least away from the population centers.

The nice thing about Pennsylvania is you can hunt rural areas or more desolate areas like state forest and state game lands. I hunt both and there is great hunting at both. Of course it takes different approaches to hunting rural deer and big woods deer. Even Allegheny County has some excellent hunting opportunities. And if you like solitude you can't beat state forest and state game lands. I like keeping my options open so I hunt both rural areas and the big woods.

The 'Big Woods' hold deer that are scattered and tough to find if you don't go there often enough. I end up just going out the door to the wood lots and farm fields, as much as I'd like to hunt the Adirondacks more often. I get spoiled hunting the woodlots and farms because I see deer sign every time, and know at any given moment I could get a shot at something. I pattern them and they are pretty predictable I've found. Once I retire, I will probably go up into the big timber more often, and spend a week there camping and hunting.

The 'Big Woods' hold deer that are scattered and tough to find if you don't go there often enough. I end up just going out the door to the wood lots and farm fields, as much as I'd like to hunt the Adirondacks more often. I get spoiled hunting the woodlots and farms because I see deer sign every time, and know at any given moment I could get a shot at something. I pattern them and they are pretty predictable I've found. Once I retire, I will probably go up into the big timber more often, and spend a week there camping and hunting.

I spent the majority of my season(s) hunting one particular buck (or a few others that were around too) in the farm/woodlots behind the house. I got into him and had a couple close encounters - (one so close he got sprayed with wood chips but we won't discuss that). I saw him in the open with a doe a few days later. And I visited his daily feeding area which for him, was at night, and his beds which are all within a few yards of this one... I will be seeing this boy again if I get my way.

That would be This bed under the cedars.

He passed by this corner every day for weeks, while I was figuring a way to ambush him from the corn lot with the wind coming from the west - not possible.

I waited in this corner a few mornings pre-dawn but as it turns out, he would have already been through there and fed before I arrived. Then went on his way down to the bed area way before light.

Nice pictures Trapper. I hunted in the Adirondacks one time back in '99 during rifle season. Hunted with a friend on his friend's property in W. NY early season and since I had the license went up there for the weekend after Thanksgiving and stayed and hunted in the Tupper Lake area. Still have the topo map around somewhere. Nice area and saw lots of sign just too far to go back again and I fell for N. VT shortly after that trip.

There are smaller habitats within the 'big woods' and that is what you look for. The biggest thing is spending time in those areas to find good spots. Pa. has plenty of mountains and 'big woods'.

I can't get that picture right no matter what I do. :( "lol"

Thanks. Yup Northern VT is a place I'd like to spend more time too. All things considered, the northeast ain't all that bad if you find the time to explore it. This pic is just beyond the corn in the previous pic.

The beauty of both types of habitat is all within an hour of home. Spent many weekends hiking here in the 'dacks prior to season so I got the best of both worlds.

Rest of the fall I hunted here...This is where the corn field is now. Last year it looked like this.

Can't complain. Season's end, life goes on. The last corner before returning home, 200 yds behind house. It is actually a main deer travel corridor too. This year, two does and two fawns were there almost daily. Both young bucks that ran with them were hit by cars next to the house. There is another bigger one that lives...

End of another great season.

And life goes on...Merry Christmas, LW'rs! Follow the Star!

Thank You

Trail into wilderness...

A amazingly physically demanding hunt but beautiful wilderness. Unfortunately, we did not come home with an elk...

Paul, Bet that's a long trail from the first picture to the second. Beautiful scenery. Love seeing where others hunt and have hunted.

Where I hunted in Colorado numerous times.

Opening week of VT archery deer coincided with the foliage peak in my area. This is within a 10,000 acre WMA that borders the 3400 acres of timberland in some of the earlier pictures.

A cut lane I passed on the way to a PacSeat stand in a private timberland area open to the public.

Straightaway view from the PacSeat stand.

Along the walkout from that stand.

Can't walk out the door to hunt as some on this thread do but once I get up there I'm not far from hunting. In this shot from about 100 yds up the road from the cabin the hills in the distance are on the parcel the last three pictures and some previous ones were from.

Deer season is over and they know it.

trapper...probably a good thing I'm not closer to the "dacks" my wife probably wouldn't see much of me!

There is no doubt bowhunting near agriculture, civilization, suburbs ect..is usually more productive on average.

People create openings, openings create food, food attracts deer.

There can be good hunting in our more remote areas once you find the deer, but acre for acre, bigwoods just can't support as many deer, i'm sure there are exceptions, but here in the north not so much.

It's not easy scouting, takes a lot of time hiking in. Even a quick scouting trip in many of the places I hunt takes a half a day. And that's not covering much ground.

Bigwoods in the mts is really different than bigwoods on flat or gently rolling. 2 miles as the crow fly's in the Appalachian mts is a WHOLE lot more area than 2 miles in flat terrain.

to go 2 miles as the crow fly's from point A to point B in areas like this takes some effort, and a whole bunch of up and down.

Here in the Appalachia. You may stand on one mt look a mile across and get a notion to check out a shaded hollow on another mt, what you don't see is everything in between like this.

not just a lot of up and down here, but some real bushwacking as well. Once you leave this trail, you'll be thinking... "good grief, what did I get myself into!"

Ah but for us adventurous (or nutty) Bigwoods bowhunters you might find a little guy like this wandering around on that mt you see in the distance.

I mt biked 2 miles in a gated state forest rd, then hiked bushwacked and did a some up and down lung exercise back in to get this guy's picture.....never did get back to hunt him once the season opened.

Something else is getting them out of the mts. DCNR and the PA game commission did a study on hunter density. What they found is numbers continue to drop every 500 yds you go from a vehicle and for every increase in 5% slope.

lol...guess they didn't notice dummy's like me cussing, sweating, and saying "I AIN"T DOING THIS ANYMORE!!!" dragging a buck up over a mt and down the other side, down a hollow to the bottom, then up over again to a trail on top, a sigh of relief then....only another mile to the truck.

lol but then once ya get them home....eh? wasn't that bad, ah look there, drug all the hide off him on that side.....and the next year there ya are, perched in a tree on the side of a mt shivering....just waiting for the chance to do it again.

lol....what ATV? you kidding me! even an ATV can't get back here!

Shade, Nice insight into your area's terrain features. Do those bucks know they are in PA? Not supposed to be that big there!

Shade nice pics and,bucks. That all reminds me so much of hunting in WA State. That is how I didit there. Saw alot of big blactails like that. I did it day in and day out and never got sick of it. Well maybe toward the end somewhat... ;)

Shade, you sure that one ain't a baby moose? lol!

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