How far is "way back in"?

[northwoods hunter]

When guys talk about going "way back in" 1-3 miles where no one else goes are they meaning straight through the woods or 1 mile on 2 track and 3/4 mile through the woods? I mean, how far is far? Is it typically a long walk on trails and then strike off through the woods, cats, marsh? I know there are a lot of variables but I'm curious how far guys have to go to shake off the casual hunters.

[Ack]

Could be any of those scenarios. Not sure how it is in other states, but around here there is no such thing as out walking other hunters....if you can walk there, so can anyone else.

[ThePreBanMan]

Here in MA (east coast) if you walk a mile into almost any piece of woods your going to come out the other side and hit civilization.
When I hear "way back" around here it's typically under a mile. Most of that on a trail of one sort or another... 99.9% of the treestands I find are within 100 yards of a path. But our woods are pretty thick so its tough going to go beyond that. You have to really know the land to know your access that isn't obstructed by thick tangles of green briar.

[SneakyHunter]

Around my part of PA, with no trail "way back in" is half mile to a mile and if there is easy access you're looking at 1-2 miles.

[headgear]

Depends on your location, I have places in northern mn I could hike 5+ miles back in some huge swamps but most of the time 2 miles is pretty far back. It really just depends on where those bucks are, sometimes 500 yards is far enough.

[elk yinzer]

I hate to put a number on it. 100 yards through thick laurel gets me away from most hunting pressure. Other areas where the woods are less brushy you really can't outwalk anyone. Trails and rights of way don't definitely don't count. I can be 2-3 miles in walking logging roads or hiking trails and still see a lot of hunter sign. Barriers are better than distance. Thick brush, water, really steep, rocks, etc.

As far as pure distance I have to admit I am highly skeptical of a lot of people's claims. The largest declared wild area in PA the best you can do is about 6 miles between roads. And it has all kinds of walking roads and trails. I don't know of but a small handful where you can get more than a mile from a road. 99% of the state you can't get more than a mile from a road, even in the big woods. Now I do sometime access the "long way" because you have to. I shot my buck this year 1 mile from my truck...but .25 miles from another road. I think these days a lot of people use the distance from their phones that calculate by walking step instead of GPS. Those are wildly inaccurate on woods distance.

[Thesouthpaw]

I've got spots hat are 3+ miles on a two track that I consider way back in, and I have spots that are 3/4 of mile through the woods that I consider pretty deep. It all just depends. It's a good question though.

[Drenalin]

I hate to put a number on it. 100 yards through thick laurel gets me away from most hunting pressure. Other areas where the woods are less brushy you really can't outwalk anyone. Trails and rights of way don't definitely don't count. I can be 2-3 miles in walking logging roads or hiking trails and still see a lot of hunter sign. Barriers are better than distance. Thick brush, water, really steep, rocks, etc.

I agree with this, an area's remoteness is highly variable from one spot to the next. One area I'll be hunting next season is only a quarter of a mile in, but there isn't a trail or logging road to access on and it's steep and thick. I don't see hunter sign in there, let alone other hunters. Another area, I've got to hoof it 2.5 miles back to get away from people with 2.25 of that being on a well known hiking trail. A large steep ridge acts as a barrier to the actual area I go in to hunt. A good portion of my spots settle in at 3/4 to 1 mile deep. Also bears repeating that a good spot doesn't necessarily have to be remote...just overlooked by other hunters.

[hambone]

On federal land here in Missouri, you may be able to get "way back in". But as a rule, on state land (MDC) there are parking lots usually well within a mile of each other. Under those conditions 1/2 mile would be as way back as you can get. So I won't be outwalking anybody around here. The best spots I've found on public in N. Missouri, are overlooked places regardless of how far the walk in.

[ghoasthunter]

I hate to put a number on it. 100 yards through thick laurel gets me away from most hunting pressure. Other areas where the woods are less brushy you really can't outwalk anyone. Trails and rights of way don't definitely don't count. I can be 2-3 miles in walking logging roads or hiking trails and still see a lot of hunter sign. Barriers are better than distance. Thick brush, water, really steep, rocks, etc.

As far as pure distance I have to admit I am highly skeptical of a lot of people's claims. The largest declared wild area in PA the best you can do is about 6 miles between roads. And it has all kinds of walking roads and trails. I don't know of but a small handful where you can get more than a mile from a road. 99% of the state you can't get more than a mile from a road, even in the big woods. Now I do sometime access the "long way" because you have to. I shot my buck this year 1 mile from my truck...but .25 miles from another road. I think these days a lot of people use the distance from their phones that calculate by walking step instead of GPS. Those are wildly inaccurate on woods distance.

its definitely terrain based i have some spots that are half a mile deep that can take a long time too get into. if you can walk a half mile in a strait line its not far but if you have too zig zag and walk most of it bent over its deep. ive had several drags in the past that took me 6 to 8 hours too get a deer out. as a crow flies its just over a mile but if you trace your tracks its probably close too double add a bunch of steep hills and mountains and its far. deep woods are when you stop seeing hunters. ive helped my father drag big bucks out of the Adirondack mountains 3 miles in that terrain turns into 2 days of dragging with 2 guys with a stick and rope with camp on your back. one spot i hunt i have too cross 8 brooks that are 2 too 3 feet deep. as a crow flys its 3/4 of a mile but getting out in the dark takes about an hour or more. funny thing is im only a quarter mile from the road from other direction but unless you want too swim you wont make it that way.

[Jonny]

100 yards past the first major (or up north, decent) obstacle that keeps people out. Or 200 yards off the beaten path is my definition of "way back in". We have bird hunters and guys who go all out and will walk a long ways back on logging trails, but never take a step off of it.

Put a stream or a steep bluff and you are pretty much by yourself up where I have been hunting. Down in the southern portion of the state, you need a major obstacle to keep people from going way back in. Or hunt overlooked stuff. But if you can figure out the overlooked stuff easily, it ain't overlooked.

[greenhorndave]

Also, what might be difficult access or have barriers on public might be far easier access for the adjacent private land owner.

To sum it up, it’s either hellishly thick, steep, wet or in such a spot that gives the deer a way to bug out before you even know he’s there. The distance will vary.

[Rich M]

My 2019 spot was 2 miles from the scouting parking area but only .65 miles from the hunting parking area. Mostly down dirt roads with no vehicle access.

Other areas I hunted 2019 were 1 to 2 miles back thru the woods and swamps - took a trail for most of it, then 1/4 mile or so off the trail.

[Dewey]

Some of my hikes may be about a mile as the crow flies unfortunately in marsh or swamp terrain a direct route is pretty much impossible. By the time I navigate around bodies of water like ditches or deeply flooded cattails I can easily travel 2-3 miles sometimes especially if I am concerned about where my scent is traveling.

It’s interesting because I rarely kill bucks in the way back in spots mostly because my standards go way up due to the difficulty getting one out. A majority of my bucks were killed within 3/4 mile of my truck. Don’t concentrate so much on how deep you are but instead on what the sign is telling you. Many times that sign isn’t as deep as you would think. It’s completely dependent on hunting pressure.

[freezeAR]

Don't get caught up on distance. Scout and look for big buck sign. If you are constantly trying to get a certain distance you can walk right past some overlooked areas. As a general rule of thumb I use is to consider the average hunter. If it is easy to access or if it look's like the woods everyone else is going to then buck sign will be hard to come by.