Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

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RiverFlatStalker285
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Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby RiverFlatStalker285 » Tue Oct 10, 2017 10:35 am

Hey all,

I recently moved from Upstate NY to the very mountainous region of Southwest Virginia(Blacksburg). I didn't have any time to preseason scout the public land I am hunting this year but I can tell you this: It's a long, east/west running ridge with 99% big woods timber with steep secondary ridges, saddles, points, and other mountainous terrain features. The primary food source would be acorns and I'm thinking a secondary source would be browse on the power line down low as the acorns become more scarce.

My hunting strategy is as follows:
I'm primarily hunting the Leeward(North) side of the ridge. I plan to mainly hunt on the leeward side of the ridge depending on wind direction. The prevailing wind this time of year is a South wind. I plan to hunt high in the mornings and lower in the evenings due to the thermal tunnel effect. I believe the deer primarily bed up high in the mountain laurel and feed on acorns. Being that the woods is mostly oaks, locating them is going to be a challenge. This has led me to focus on primarily hunting terrain features. I've located a few saddles, flat top ridges, and other breaks in terrain that would direct deer movement down to a shootable area. I'm trying as hard as possible to get as close to suspected bedding areas from downwind as possible without spooking potentially bedded deer. I'm very mobile with a hang on and sticks so movement isn't a problem for me. MY QUESTION FOR YOU MORE EXPERIENCED HUNTERS THAN MYSELF IS: DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ADVICE OR INSIGHT/EXPERIENCE
INTO HUNTING PRIMARILY MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN COVERED UP IN BIG TIMBER? WHAT SHOULD I FOCUS ON AND WHAT SEEMS TO WORK?
Thanks in advance for the replies, this terrain is very new to me. My capital letters doesn't indicate shouting on my part! lol :lol: :lol: :lol:


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pewpewpew
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby pewpewpew » Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:41 pm

I look forward to reading some responses on here. I hunt Western NC. I'm not an expert. I've scouted hard here for a year and haven't successfully killed a deer in the mountains.

I'd highly recommend getting out there after a fresh snow to do some scouting. That really helped me learn about deer movement and bedding. You'll also get to see how deer movement and coyote movement differs. Really opened up my eyes.

I've found that with bedding, there are not clearly defined bedding areas. I've found them in open hardwoods and thick rhododendron. I've once heard the term "shotgun pattern" bedding. I find that to me mostly true. The only area I don't find beds are in draws and flats/bowls.

There is a lot of food diversity where I hunt, but ag. I can't see hunting food sources being a successful route.

Regarding terrain funnels, I really want to believe hunting funnels is a good strategy. I've run many a trail cam on what I believed would be a great funnel, to be very disappointed in the results. I'd also not fall into the trap of "deer are lazy and take the path of least resistance". I just don't see that happening much. The only terrain that truly influences movement are rock outcroppings or cliffs.

Hills keep lazy hunters close to the parking lot. Its not hard to separate yourself. Where I hunt the buck to doe ratio is close to 50/50. The bucks I do see are almost all shooters. I think it's relatively easy for a mountain deer to survive a few seasons. The deer density in my county is like 1.6 per square mile... that's discouraging. A lot of my hunts I only have squirrels to look at, but my trail cameras give me confidence, knowing there are plenty of shooters out there.

Good luck. I'd love to hear from some others.
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pewpewpew
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby pewpewpew » Tue Oct 10, 2017 9:47 pm

I'll also add that I'd be cautious of hunting over rubs and scrapes. I've wasted a lot of time doing that. The only sign that gets me excited is a rub next to a well used bed, and areas where there are STACKS of fresh poop.
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northeast beast
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby northeast beast » Tue Oct 10, 2017 10:19 pm

Novice not expert here....I hunt the western end of NY the Alleghany mountains...they are more like hills. I struggled finding bedding here because it rolls so much the deer shift a lot and the beds are not well used. If you get a little snow I would get out that was good advice. Sounds like your doing a lot of what I'm doing. Good luck to you out there....I've been down your way and those are some mountains. I caution you going down low to hunt. I made that mistake this weekend and with all the milkweed I let go there was no constant air current or thermal pull. I'm planning on hunting the tops most of the time for that reason but the sign is down low and it is hard not to get pulled down there to hunt
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fireforeffect
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby fireforeffect » Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:27 pm

Welcome to VA! I live in Lexington myself. There are some huge bucks down your way. My uncle lived in Floyd for years and killed some monsters down there. It sounds like you're on the right track to me. I would only add, that pressure will supercede all other factors. There are a lot of hunters here in western VA. Good luck, and holler at me if you need anything.
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brancher147
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby brancher147 » Tue Oct 10, 2017 11:51 pm

I know that area well. Never hunted there, but have hunted a few counties to the north, which is essentially the same mountains and terrain. It sounds like you have the right idea hunting terrain features. One terrain feature that most people overlook are cliffs. If you have cliffs in the right area they can definitely be something to use to your advantage. I would recommend locating doe bedding areas and hunting upwind of these during the rut. I have never had much luck finding any constantly used mature buck bedding in these type mountains, but if you find it obviously plan to hunt it. A year with lots of acorns like this can be tough to pattern deer in the mountains, but right now the deer will be eating up all the white oak acorns until they are gone, so if you can find an area with lots of white oaks (hopefully near a terrain funnel or bedding) it should be good to hunt. Good luck. There are definitely some good deer in your area...
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Cuzzinfish
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Re: Bowhunting the mountains- Opinions needed.

Unread postby Cuzzinfish » Wed Oct 11, 2017 12:36 am

RiverFlatStalker285 wrote:Hey all,

I recently moved from Upstate NY to the very mountainous region of Southwest Virginia(Blacksburg). I didn't have any time to preseason scout the public land I am hunting this year but I can tell you this: It's a long, east/west running ridge with 99% big woods timber with steep secondary ridges, saddles, points, and other mountainous terrain features. The primary food source would be acorns and I'm thinking a secondary source would be browse on the power line down low as the acorns become more scarce.

My hunting strategy is as follows:
I'm primarily hunting the Leeward(North) side of the ridge. I plan to mainly hunt on the leeward side of the ridge depending on wind direction. The prevailing wind this time of year is a South wind. I plan to hunt high in the mornings and lower in the evenings due to the thermal tunnel effect. I believe the deer primarily bed up high in the mountain laurel and feed on acorns. Being that the woods is mostly oaks, locating them is going to be a challenge. This has led me to focus on primarily hunting terrain features. I've located a few saddles, flat top ridges, and other breaks in terrain that would direct deer movement down to a shootable area. I'm trying as hard as possible to get as close to suspected bedding areas from downwind as possible without spooking potentially bedded deer. I'm very mobile with a hang on and sticks so movement isn't a problem for me. MY QUESTION FOR YOU MORE EXPERIENCED HUNTERS THAN MYSELF IS: DO YOU HAVE ANY OTHER ADVICE OR INSIGHT/EXPERIENCE
INTO HUNTING PRIMARILY MOUNTAINOUS TERRAIN COVERED UP IN BIG TIMBER? WHAT SHOULD I FOCUS ON AND WHAT SEEMS TO WORK?
Thanks in advance for the replies, this terrain is very new to me. My capital letters doesn't indicate shouting on my part! lol :lol: :lol: :lol:


Grew up in WV hunting similar terrain. Terrain features are good, but try to find a place where multiple terrain features come together. For example, I had great luck during the first two weeks of November on an oak flat on a secondary point adjacent to a saddle. Also, ridge hubs are great for traveling bucks too. An example might be where multiple ridges come together, a ridge splits, or a knob/peak with secondary points on opposite sides and saddles on two sides - making sort of an ‘X’ on a topo. I’ve also learned later in life to differentiate between food sources. White oak over red oak, etc. I also noticed when I went to higher elevations that rhododendrons created great edge habitat or transition areas, especially when butted up against a food source.

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