hunting big woods deer

[ttank0789]

Ohio's muzzleloader season is the 27th-30th of this month and I will be heading to the southern part of the state to hunt with my brother and two friends. (about 10 miles north of the Ohio River). I haven't been to this property yet, which butts up to public land, but my friend who I'm going with says that besides a pond and some ATV trails it's nothing but woods.  Up where I'm at (about 45-60 minutes SW of Cleveland) a big woods is considered 40 acres at the most because of all the farmland and fields, down there it's gonna be over 500. In my neck of the woods we can catch deer feeding, catch them on their way to feed, or do drives.  Since there are no fields for the deer to feed in and it's too big to drive we are going to have to hunt a lot different than we are used to. Does anyone have some pointers on how to hunt these big woods deer, especially with being unfamiliar with the area? Thanks for any help

[Terry1]

Its funny how different hunting terms mean different things around the country. Big woods here can mean many thousands of acres.

The key is going to be locating the animals. This is going to require a lot of leg work. My favorite way to scout(and hunt) is to still hunt. This way you can learn the territory while still offering a chance at taking a deer. Pick the pace up in "dead" zones.

Just like anywhere else food and bedding areas are crucial, they just may be a little harder to find. The food source may not be as simple as crops. It may be some kind of nut or what might appear to just be brush. Look for signs where deer have nibbled on any plants. Then set up accordingly. If the deer have been heavily pressured, try slipping through the bedding areas as slow and quiet as possible.

The big woods offer more seclusion. You may find that the farther you get off the road, the more deer you see, and the less spooked they are. It can be easier catching them making their normal rounds during day light hours when this happens.

Good luck and let us know how you do. Even if you don't make a kill, the learning experience will make you a better hunter.

                                           Terry

[Mack in N.C.]

hunt the transition zones say where some thick pines turns right into hardwoods.....i hunt the edge of these and catch deer comeing out of the pines to the hardwoods.....any transition zone is better than being in a big forest........just my opinion..mack

[Graybeard]

I certainly can't relate to calling 500 acres of woods "big woods". Here while there are houses interspersed within the woods in much of the area it is more or less contiguous wooded areas broken occasionall by fields and houses for many miles. When I talk of big woods I'm talking up in the national forest areas where for tens of thousands of acres there are no homes or fields for that matter just woods.

Those woods are in various stages of growth and have a multiculture of tree types but fields and openings are scarce other than where an area has been clear cut.

To me that's big woods.

In such places you do as you do most places. You figure where they are feeding and on what and where they are bedding and look for the travel routes between the two. Set up either on the travel patterns or the feeding or bedding areas as you see fit. I've done all three successfully and just have to look an area over and get used to it to decide what might work best there.

[ttank0789]

I've talked with my brother and it's actually a lot more than 500 acres than I previously thought. It's more like 1,000 acres, plus the public land that it butts up to. And that may be one of the three units of Wayne National Forrest. Quite a difference. graybeard said his idea of big woods is an area of nothing but woods and no houses. And besides the small hunting cabin here and there it is nothing but woods. So maybe now you guys can relate a little better to what I'm talking about. Thanks for your input so far! Much appreciated!

[Terry1]

Those woods are in various stages of growth and have a multiculture of tree types but fields and openings are scarce other than where an area has been clear cut.

Good point and something i forgot to add. New growth in the big woods is usually golden for me here in NY. Places that were logged a couple of years ago provide fresh new growth that deer feed on heavily. It provides decent cover too. This is assuming there is a lack of feed like in the big woods here.

[UMD]

Big woods up here on the north shore of Lake Superior means B I G woods.  While clearcuts do provide tons of browse, and good deer country, if you go a bit too far back you're in the roadless area, and if you went straight north by accident, wouldn't cut a road for maybe 20 miles or more.  Yup, those clearcuts are dynamite, and it seems everybody and their brothers are out there finding the good ones.

[rimfire]

Try and get a USGS topo map of the area...you can find that on-line many places.  Look for natural funnels like steep sections and creeks.  Look for any edges..deer relate to edges a lot.  It is not often that deer pick their travel routes at random.  They almost always skirt edges and parallel natural terrain features.  If you can provide a scan of the topo I would even mark up where I would look first if it was me...and no I am not trying to find your hunting spot!!!!!!!!!

[Land_Owner]

Google Earth is an easy way to see an aerial view.  Hardwood tree acorns are a significant food for deer.  the hardwood canopy provides understory openings for their little deer dates.  It has been said that most hunters do not travel farther than 1/4 mile from the road due to the work required to drag a deer out.  So "Go the distance." and hunt deeper in the woods.  In the South, the "Big Woods" is typically 100's of thousands of acres without dwellings.

[Siskiyou]

This is looking across the top of a lot of Forest.  There is a fair amount of diversity of vegetation and terrain in front of the camera.  I am standing about 6500-foot elevation and the slope drops into a stream around 3800-foot elevation.  The terrain goes up and down that way as far as the eye can see.  The distant white cap peaks I can see with the binoculars are about fifty miles away according to my map.



Does this qualify as Big Woods?

[Land_Owner]

With all that "Vertical Real Estate"...it qualifies and probably should be called the "Big (Deep) Woods".

[longwinters]

Siskiyou,

No wonder you are so into your GPS units

Long

[Siskiyou]

I had my gps in track mode?

[Terry1]

I just got my first gps for Christmas. Neat toy. Its a Garmin "etrex venture HC". So far, all I have done is learn how to make waypoints and find them, which is the general reason i wanted one. Cool stuff, but I don't want to loose my ability to navigate without one, so its going to be a supplement to my compass. You guys have any tips? Thanks.

                                                      Terry

[Siskiyou]

You can find a fair amount of gps information here:

http://www.gboreloaded.com/forums/index.php/board,55.0.html

If you have a direct question please ask.

Siskiyou