My hunting challenge comes not necessarily by weapon choice, (although I prefer longbows and recurves) But challenge to me is locating and hunting specific buck that live in some of the most remote and physically demanding mountainous public land.

I started the whole trail cam thing last year after my daughter bought me one for Christmas. I'm hooked, totally added to a year long scouting lifestyle and enjoyment.

My scouting ritual usually starts with lots of bootleather locating prime areas. I usually have an idea whats left after the season closes. Late summer finds me hiking, sweating, deer flys, gnats, skeeters and plenty of timber rattlers along the way.

Trail cams, hiking in and out, pulling cameras, switching cards, can't wait to get back home to view them. Like a kid at Christmas, wow anticipation... And then wa la....that buck you passed in Oct, you saw after the season in the late winter cold, and he shows up again, a little more grown up and the challenge is on. Who says hunting season ends?

Passed on this guy in early oct, saw him chasing a doe first week of Dec, and again in late Jan...Found him again last week, same general area 11/4 mi as the crow flys from the nearest road, and a whole lot of vertical up and down between. He was a little 12" wide 8 pt last season...He won't get a pass this year.

If you have ever stood and gazed across endless mts, in areas of low deer density, then you'll understand the proverbial "needle in a haystack" trophys here are often not measured in inches, but rather by effort put into the hunt...very early mornings, long hikes in, long sits in complete silence absent of any human sounds, weather tired muscles, shivering on stand, and pulling off the only opportunity you may get. The hard work getting them out, and the bone tired satisfaction in the aftermath.

This guy is Waaaay off the beaten path...

When you can locate, learn a bit about specific buck, and then hunt that animal and seal the deal....Nothing beats the challenge of Bigwoods bucks. This guy just simply didn't move much during daylight hrs, despite living in seclusion. He was killed high up on the edge of a very thick laurel flat, first thing in the morning...His one weakness? Doe. He was killed chasing one. What made him a trophy wasn't his rack it was the area... and his habits.

Yep, I've stood there on those big woods mountains. Yep, I've had encounters with big bucks, some of the biggest I've seen ANYwhere, and needle in a haystack is a good way to put it. But nope, I don't target them, and I'm not interested in trail cams and creepin' on them while I'm sitting at home on my butt. I'll never know whether that big 12+pt buck I had in my lap still calls that state forest home or not, or whether he's eating apples from the trees I tended for him, etc and that's exactly the way I want it. I don't need to know everything. Sometimes, a bit more mystery and surprise can lead to the extraordinary.

I hear ha shade Mtn. Your areas look like my areas here in the mountains of WV. Do you hunt from the ground? If not what type of stand do you use.

Good post shade!

Nice buck and beautiful hunting land. Trail cameras are a tool - nothing more, nothing less. Sometimes they can help and sometimes they can hurt. I suspect shade mt does fine with or without the rail cams.

The one thing I miss the most about getting old is not being able to hunt the big woods like I used to. We used to take a few arrows, bow, compass, knife and dragging rope, hunt till lunch and go back in till dark. Good times

I hunt and live in the western UP,,, what do you think... good post shade

Get a card reader and look at the pictures on your phone.

Well put Shade,you and I think a lot alike. Ever since I was a little boy I have lived,breathed and dreamed about what you describe. The challenge of hunting down a remote eastern mountain buck and the beautiful country that they call home is what it is all about. Some years I eat tag soup,but I wouldn't want it any other way because when it all comes together,it is the best feeling on earth. Good luck. Dave

Babysaph, I hunt both from the ground and from a tree, kids bought me a new climber two years ago for Christmas, I used it last season pretty much. However I use a hang on very often especially if I'm back in pretty far. Its light and I still have about 8 of the tree steps you strap onto the tree. I roll them up and put them in my backpack.

My usual routine when I get to my spot.

Unstrap my pack from the stand, take out my steps, tie my pull rope to the bottom of the stand and attach to bow and pack.

I strap the first step onto the tree as high up as I can step, then strap them as high as I can reach. I loop the rest of them over my shoulder. I get on the first step then attach my safety strap around the tree and behind me so I can lean back against it. I hang steps going up, and Up I go, my pull rope is a measured 18' when I start to feel the weight of my bow and pack I hang my stand, climb in, pull my stuff up and just like that I'm hunting.

The whole rig is pretty light and I can be unpacked and in my stand in about 7 min. One of the reasons I like the hang on is its lighter, and I can use it in any tree. I like cover when I'm in a tree so I'm not silhouetted, and branches just mean less steps I need to hang.

something that intrigues me are the way those deep bigwoods bucks, just suddenly appear, then poof they are gone only to show up on a mt 3/4 mile away. Sometimes you can pattern them to a particular food source, but rarely can you narrow it down to a small corridor, unless a natural barrier forces them to travel the same path.

The norm here is they may be on the bench above you one day and the bench below you the next. They may frequent a oak flat for a week then pack their bags, and start feeding in a total opposite direction 1/2 mile away the next week.

they may be moving up the mt one evening, then coming down the next. Its like a big chess game and this is THEIR! playing board.

I hunt a wild area often, the deer numbers are low there, more bear than deer. and its probably Thee most rattlesnake infested place I know...Everyone should experience the adrenalin rush of stumbling upon a den area with rattlers laying all around at least once. sunning, coiled up and other slithering away, and the buzzing...puts a whole new meaning to the song we sang at sunday school as a kid..."oh be careful little feet where you go"

You're livin' the dream, Shade!

Keep us posted shade!

If you get a car reader, be careful to slide the card into locked position before you insert it into the card reader. There is a little slider on the left side of the card that is usually a dull yellow color. Then return the card to unlocked position after removing from your phone connected card reader so it can be written to by the camera. Otherwise, most phone and card readers will ruin your photos or videos that the camera wrote to the card. If you do that, you will find that you have a really cheap way of looking at photos on your phone while in the woods at the camera location.

I put on a lot of miles and at times, I simply go light and hunt on the ground.....

Yesterday, I bought a Tree Stand Transportation System, from XOP. Man is that nice, they designed their own molle system to be used for any stand. I plan on using it, on my Summit Climber.

I also sold my old sticks from LW, and up graded and bought 2 sticks from XOP. they attached together, (n0 noise),,,,, this am I added some stealth strips to them. Put on my Millenium M7 and I am gone,,,,,, Put a standard back pack padded straps, from XOP, on the M7

ounces equal pounds and pounds equals pain

Still looking for a 10 foot canoe,,,,,, stopped at a man sale the other day, the guy had 8 canoes and 6 boats for sale, but not the right size.......... hard to find a 10 footer

Pretty country reminds me alot of my east tn. mountains. Bucks here are the same way. I'm going extra lite this year gonna try saddle hunting and use my foot climber from my tree lounge.Total weight about 5 pounds.EHD disease hit us bad last season,gonna be even harder this year.

Thinking back over the years, I credit my love for the Bigwoods to my Father and Grandfather (pappy) James Weaver....He loved the mts of north central PA and as a kid I spent many a day tagging along behind them scouting, planting trees in forest openings. They were Bowhunters long before bowhunting was cool.

I started roaming the mts alone before I was old enough to hunt (12)

The mts of Lycoming, Tioga, potter, and Clinton countys still hold me in their grip. The Pine creek area around Blackwell, on up to the fields around ski sawmill is part of what I am, part of what molded me. From green apple battles with cousins (ouch they smart) to 16 yrs old and laying on top of the mt in pitch blackness under a bazillion stars propped up against a log listening to my redbone hound trailing in the Pine creek gorge.

My footsteps have tracked across those mts and many more since then, and I still love being anywhere "off the beaten path"

Nothing like a Bigwoods gobbler sounding off at dawn from the side of a distant mt...And you think in your mind.."gosh he sounds far away"...but your next thought is....but I'm going after him!

Something else that intrigues me is when you gaze out across endless mts in a sea of forest....The particular spot your standing, or the small area around where your trail cam is viewing, seems very small in the vastness that surrounds you. And even the whole area within your view, you could still hunt a whole day in and it would still be just a speck in a sea of forest.

Yet that small spot holds treasure, excitement and thrill beyond compare.

I've hiked and hunted a whole day on the side of this hollow, and hadn't even near scratched the surface of what lie beyond.

Just a little buck, captured and frozen in time in a small area on the side of a mt amongst a vast sea of endless mts. And yet while it was being played out here miles across the mts in another small spot another buck traveled as well.

I will always stand on one mt and wonder what lies beyond on the next.

Shade, the trailcam is a great addition to your ability to record your memories. You think you can recall all the stuff you see in your mind, but then when you go through the pics years later, what a bunch of memories (and therefore stories) return, and you will be grateful for them, and having that camera.

This is becoming one of my favorite posts!

Awesome post Steve. Pennsylvania....to Pennsylvanians, is a very special place. While others spend fortunes to go hunt the 'mountain west', we tend to hang close home where the trees cover everything and we have the freedom to roam most of it at our leisure.

Those who have never been to Pennsylvania don't really know how vast our forest system is. Sproul State Forest alone is over 430 square miles in size and that is one of many in our treasury of mountain lands. Oh yes...for those who don't study maps, the Appalachian Mountain range centers our state on an angle. Those mountains aren't necessarily high, in western terms, but they go on and on and even the highest peaks are tree covered. Easy to get lost to the uninitiated or foolhardy.

I have experienced that adrenaline rush of stumbling into a rattler den in PA! It stays with you!

Yup,

My cousin and I came up on a den in New Mexico over 60 years ago and its memory of a lot of rattles going off was brought back by Shade above. Can't recall everything but do remember we came off those hills with our feet flying high, and it's a miracle we didn't get bit. Was a picnic with our former pastor's family and our family, and boy did we have a story to tell. Musta had some special help that day.

Yup,

My cousin and I came up on a den in New Mexico over 60 years ago and its memory of a lot of rattles going off was brought back by Shade above. Can't recall everything but do remember we came off those hills with our feet flying high, and it's a miracle we didn't get bit. Was a picnic with our former pastor's family and our family, and boy did we have a story to tell. Musta had some special help that day.

Yup,

My cousin and I came up on a den in New Mexico over 60 years ago and its memory of a lot of rattles going off was brought back by Shade above. Can't recall everything but do remember we came off those hills with our feet flying high, and it's a miracle we didn't get bit. Was a picnic with our former pastor's family and our family, and boy did we have a story to tell. Musta had some special help that day.

Musta been excited when I sent in the reply.....sorry Shade and all for the triple post.

Interesting to note as well that Pennsylvania is five times smaller than Texas, but has four times the public land available to hunt.

Shade, where can I get one of those "futuristic" cameras that takes pix three weeks ahead of the actual date? I see your first photo was taken on "8-30-2018." It could be very useful in knowing where to station myself when that date actually comes around!

Love hunting the big woods of Pa. Hard to hunt. I have been very fortunate to see big bucks but never scored.

Over 20% of the state of Michigan is open to public hunting. 2nd most of any state east of the Mississippi. Only Minnesota offers more. I feel pretty dang lucky to live and hunt in the Great Lake State.

T4

Definitely some big woods bucks in PA!

crookedstix...lol... I was wondering if anyone would catch that ! I must have set it wrong when I hung it, my wife also noticed it the day I was viewing them on the computer...lol

I notice the time is often screwed up as well? even if I set it right.

When hunting the kind of woods and mountains in this thread, you are suessful whether you kill anything or not.

Shade, the only reason I noticed is that it seems a tad early for him to be shedding his velvet already...at least compared to when bucks start the process up here in Maine.

This spot has always been somewhat of a natural funnel. Long before trail cams I found this spot. Right above this small flat it is very rocky and very steep steep, for about 100 yds, there is a deer trail running up between the rocks, then it disappears and opens up to a nice bench, they often bed up there.

This small bench below is a nice spot to set up catching them before they funnel up through the rocks for 100 yds, or catch them coming down.

crookedstix, not sure ? I kinda thought it looked like he still was in velvet? at any rate this must be his little brother.

Shade, I'm sure you don't have to rely on technology to going for miles in and out of there without getting disoriented, since you have been doing it well before navigational electronics appeared in pamphlets and on the store shelves. That takes a special talent to regularly pull that off in long-uninterrupted timber and mountains. It is even tougher when it snows, since everything looks different. It is not a common thing these days, and I bet it means the quality of your hunts is the same as it ever was, unlike many others now who hunt public land and encounter multiple invasive treestands, road hunters on atvs and other such vermin-like undesirable 'hunters' wrecking the quality of hunts nowdays. You are fortunate to have developed that skillset and drive when you were young with your father and GF. Awesome.

Y’all are lucky to have so much public land to hunt ! Tn has some but in the area I live there is very little and what there is has so many people hunting it you can’t hunt it without looking over your shoulder in any direction and seeing another Hunter. Most of the land around my area is all leased out to hunters . I’m blessed to have a small farm that my wife’s parents own that I hunt and another small farm that a buddy of mine owns and let’s me hunt. If not for that I would have to pay big money for a lease or drive several hours to get to the larger public hunting grounds.

I had access to this when I lived in Washington. I lived on the border of the Gifford Pinchot Nat Forest. The Pacific Crest trail crossed the NF road about a mile from my house. This shot is taken about 4 miles up the trail in a small clearing overlooking Mt. Hood in Oregon, probably 40 miles away in this pic. The timber was continuous, and the mountains steeper than the Rockies, but not as rough and rock strewn. Just huge timber and natural openings rich with blacktail and elk, cougar, bear, grouse, and whatever else - bobcat... It was a great place to get lost, and a great place to get away. I saw a lot of huge bucks u there, esp. during elk season when deer season was closed. This reminds me so much of what you are hunting in Shade. Much like the Adirondacks too. Heaven on earth. I killed my last elk, a huge dry cow, in this very spot, in 2005. Only hunted them once, out there, since then. Bummer.

This is the 'dacks, and the kind of hunting I do now at times. Same thing as out west, but no elk.

Pine Creek PA. True wilderness, all of them. Good hunting Shade.

One more, can't resist. Sorry to hijack your thread Shade, just too inspiring to pass up the opportunity to post and comment. Not far from Saranac Lake. Hunted this small opening with rubs nearby, way up in the 'dacks. Nobody around but deer and critters, maybe bear. Didn't see barr...

no problem trapper, I enjoy looking at the pics. The "dacks" have some truly wilderness areas, and I'd love to get to the northern pacific mts. I like mts covered with trees!!

My son told me about his hunt out west this past fall for muleys...Lots of hunters, you could see them sbecause it was open and you could see a long way.

That's quite a contrast to some of our eastern thick mt laurel. I have hunted the sides of a mt in Clinton county PA that were so thick you couldn't see more than 10' !! and that is no exaggeration! spending a day in that stuff will test your sanity !

But the bear sure like it.

Here is one I'm still looking for, he disappeared once hunting season started last year.

Later on I had obtained permission and was given a combination to a locked gate by DCNR so I could remove firewood in late winter. I saw him end of Jan in the snow driving back the trail about 2 mi back. I'm fairly certain he holed up in a thick clearcut during hunting season then resurfaced after the smoke cleared.

Gonna hike in tomorrow morning and hang a camera and see if I can find him again. He should be decent this season. But its walk in only now, but that's the way I like it. Date is wrong on camera, not sure when it was but I know it wasn't Apr. Lots of mt, for mile after mile after mile,back in there. Like finding a needle in a haystack....but I think I should be able to sniff him out. I want to see how he's coming along this season.

Who says there are no quality buck in the bigwoods? Hmmm....

Wear good boots, Learn how to "not get lost", learn how to be patient on them " I didn't see a dang thing" days, which are often. And be in good enough shape to get em out. I swear every year i'll never do it again. but come next year?

.........I'm right back at it

One super useful tip I got years ago, in an article by Gene Wensel, was to always set up your camera pointing north, so the sun wouldn't hit the lens.

Another tip - try the video setting. I am totaly hooked on that!

If you're into Facebook, some of my videos are here -

https://www.facebook.com/dana.charbonneau.12/media_set?set=vb.100005429080662&type=2

Great post Shade. I feel the same way. Ive got some great hunting within walking distance of my house. Im very fortunate to have over 1000 acres of private farmland to hunt ( very overhunted though) out my back door. But my favorite place to hunt is on the river hills about 30 min dr. from home. Very rugged. Tough to get in and tougher to get one out. I have had many deerless days there but I keep going back because few others are willing to hunt there let alone drag a deer for hours.

This is one I killed on the last day of PA archery 4yrs ago on public land. Killed him at 7am, never got him back to the truck till 1pm. Never saw another hunter though.

Nice pictures

Nice buck Brad, those long drag out will make you wonder if its worth it, but once they are hanging, your ready to do it all over.

All the effort makes success that much sweeter.

I hunt a lot of big woods, as well as farm country, and hill country. When I hunt the big woods of western UP, I have what I need on my back.

I usually hunt to my stand, and if I find fresh sign, that's hot, I am going to set up right now, right there, before that buck has come thru, or knows I am there,,,,,

Rarely do I hunt the same spot more than 2 times a season, and during the rut, I have to be mobile.......

In 2016 I shot my best UP buck, big bodied 232..... I stayed with him over night, a nice fire and some tea, got me thru. No way can you leave a deer, at night, in wolf country.....

Next day, with deer cut up, had all day to get him out,,,,, you got to do, what you got to do..................

Got up early this morning put my mt bike on the truck. Parked at the gated trailhead, and pedaled in, long, loooong uphill grade, really had the old ticker pumping. Hung a camera in a big basin at the top of a hollow that had a deer trail right on the edge where it dropped off steep.

Here in that part of the state folks refer to those big hollows as "gaps" the top or rim of them are often a long way from the valley below.

Was glad it was mostly all downhill going out, legs are feeling a little rubbery, sitting here eating an early lunch. I'll check that cam in about 2 weeks.

We have a few mountains in Pennsylvania. The Appalachian chain runs right through the middle.

Mt biked about 2 1/2 miles back a gated state forest rd today, then hiked in the rest of the way on foot. Was Pouring down rain got soaked, but the trail cam I had placed in a natural funnel shows how putting boot leather on the ground scouting new locations, can pay off.

Areas like this are very lightly hunted in archery seasons.

lol..as you can see my dates are often screwed up on my trail cams...I usually don't pay much attention to setting the date.

That is a good buck shade!

I found this funnel by studying topo maps, then put some boot leather down and got in there and checked it out. Once I verified it as a prime location with a few scouting trips, I then hung a trail cam.

I use my trail cams as a final evaluation of an area. rarely do I leave them up for more than 2 weeks in any location.

I pulled this cam yesterday, after having it up for around 2 1/2 weeks.

I'll not go back in now until archery season opens. I have the info needed... the area is thick with pole sized birch, I know to ignore those areas as feeding areas. There is however good browse below this bench,as well as scattered mature oak with plenty of mast available. The mt above here is thick mt laurel which is good bedding areas.

If you look on the trail cam pics straight ahead and below the bench drops off into a VERY steep hollow. Deer use this bench to skirt the top edge of it. It not only holds some good buck, but also some freezer fillers. Trail cams only verify what I already suspected...To me scouting and planning is the biggest part of the hunt.

If you want to fill your tags every year, and enjoy routine success with a bow in remote bigwoods settings, you will have to be willing to put the time and effort into it.

Sometimes its easy and you'll hike in hang a stand, and bingo its over in the first hr.

Most often though you will hike miles, searching, spend hrs of unfruitful stand time without seeing deer,and endure changing weather.

As I said I mt biked in yesterday in a steady pouring rain, would have been nice to just lay at home on the couch.

But tags are not filled in the living room.

Often the precious few moments of success are followed only by miles of hiking, lung busting, heart pounding climbs, sweat and insect bites of the early season, soaking rains,and freezing cold, with enough blue sky autumn days thrown in to verify that maybe I'm not insane after all.

In any case....YA GOTTA LOVE IT!

Great pictures shade! Looks like a great spot!

Like my pappy once said its better to drag all day then to hunt all day lol. Reminds me of hunting VA. Widow

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