My ability to map scout and quick scout will be put to the..

[virginiashadow]

Due to some things going on with my family, I will be hunting Ohio public lands and Pennsylvania public lands for two weeks in November. I won't be able to ground scout Ohio at all. As for PA, I will only be able to get 5-6 days of scouting in September to nail down some info.

Those hunts will be flanked off and on by hunting mostly public grounds in VA. Sure is going to be a challenge.....lets see how much I have learned over the years from many of you on this site.

Hill Country Ohio..........





Hill Country PA

[xpauliber]

Good luck! Hunting new ground can be exciting but also frustrating! At least you will be going when bucks will be most active during daylight.

[jonsimoneau]

Good luck. I love hunting new ground!

[ Post made via iPhone ]

[backstraps]

I always like a new ground. I think I have hunted very near your Ohio public ground. If it is in the same public ground I am thinking there are some "highwalls" as the locals call them inside that area that doesn't show on the top maps, and they create some really nice funnels.

IF its located where I am thinking... there is a sporting goods store in town with the same first name as your public land and they are a GREAT source of public ground info!! They live there and run a semi guide business as well... they do a good job keeping an eye out for deer in and around the public land.

Best of luck, hope you have a great hunt!

[dan]

Looks like some great pcs of ground

[BGHUNTER]

Good luck. Its fun and exciting going into new ground you scouted from your living room.

[DEERSLAYER]

Good luck virginiashadow! Those old reclaimed strip mines should hold some really nice bucks. I think you will see some good ones. I would study the newest aerials you can find to try to see terrain features that might not show up on the topo due to past mining operations.

[virginiashadow]

Thanks guys. I appreciate the info. I have been trying to use Bing maps using the birds eye view to get a more accurate look at the hunting, notably the strip mined areas. I have never hunted strip mined areas. You should have seen the section I scouted in PA....rocky, hilly, tangled, mess. I am trying to find funnels and high ground benches to hunt. The Ohio hunt should be rough, but I will be on stand sun up to sun down for five straight days. After that it is to PA for about 10 days, where I will hunt 8 hour days, getting out of the woods about 2pm each day to meet my kids as they exit school.

How about this? I knocked on some farmers house to gain access to the better parts of the public hunting ground. That part does not have good access and one has to walk 3/4ths of a mile to a mile across some nasty terrain to get to it. The farmer not only granted me permission to access the best part of the public hunting area from his farm, but he also granted me permission to bowhunt his 200 acre farm. Now most of it is croplands and grassfields, but it does have some slivers of woods that border the public land spot. It is the thought that counts and I will be getting him a gift and also will give him some venison when I get one.

[exojam]

Sounds like you ran into a very nice farmer.

[virginiashadow]

Sounds like you ran into a very nice farmer.

exo, he was at home eating lunch and was kind of on alert when I knocked on his door. I really just need to ask him who owned the neighboring property because the farm has a road that runs right into the public land. He just listened and said, " you can hunt my land, you can kill as many deer as you want..." I was floored. The folks I have been around in northern Virginia don't like to give out permission to do anything. The first day I am in PA scouting I run into that nice farmer. I was shocked. I literally only have to walk 50 meters and I am in the middle of the best part of the public hunting area. Unreal.

[Edcyclopedia]

[PK_]

That's awesome!

Best of luck.

Not sure what part of PA you are going to but I have hunted Crawford County for about 15 consecutive years, we get a lot of Southerly winds during the fall and north facing slopes hold most of the deer sign/activity. Hope this helps you get on a slob!

[virginiashadow]

Palmetto thanks for the info. In the part of VA I hunt, we mostly get North and Northwest winds come late October into Nov. I am glad I scouted some North facing slopes the other day. I will be scouting a good section tomorrow and Tuesday.

[Exophysical]

Palmetto thanks for the info. In the part of VA I hunt, we mostly get North and Northwest winds come late October into Nov. I am glad I scouted some North facing slopes the other day. I will be scouting a good section tomorrow and Tuesday.

I don't have a lot of specific info to add but through my own failure and by watching others who are much better at coming up with a game plan on the fly... Study those maps lots, but hunt the sign, I've bypassed hot areas and concentrate on areas that my map studies lead me to believe would be more promising. Usualy this has been a waste of time. Generally, these days, I don't even attempt to shoot anything the first day or two. I make miles and look for sign and likely stand locations trying not to stir things up too much, when I've got this figured out I try to just hang back and watch how things unfold, then I go in with a plan and try to make a kill. Typicaly if I have twodays to hunt I will spend the whole first day doing this, 4 days I might even spend the first two just watching. I might not even get too rammy about going in for the kill until the last evening. Nothings worse than blundering in without a well formed plan on your first day and spending the rest of your trip regretting it.

[virginiashadow]

I hear your points, however I will be hunting 30,000 acres in OH. If I mess something up being aggressive, then I will move on to another spot. This will be rut hunting. In PA, I will be hunting thousands of acres as well. I am being aggressive....calculated based on the wind, but aggressive. I have nothing to lose.