Joe Belly-High Rub wrote:brancher147 wrote:The oldest big woods buck I killed was 6.5+ in western VA National Forest, a basket rack 7 pt. The biggest was 4.5 150ish ten point from northern Adirondacks. I kill a 3.5 every year almost in WV. Killing a 4.5 year old buck in eastern mountain big woods just is not easy and there is no secret. It takes time and dedication and determination and constantly adjusting and learning and making mistakes. On an average year I have one sighting and potential opportunity at a 4.5 or older hunting October into January.
It sounds like you’re doing it right but you can’t kill what is not there and there just are not that many big mature 4.5 year old bucks running around, especially where you are. Look how much someone like the Benoits traveled to find big bucks in the Northeast. You may want to start scouting and hunting different areas. My experience in the ADK’s was pockets of good deer and good bucks where good habitat diversity occurred, especially if it included logging.
But the only consistent way I have found to get on older bucks in big woods is dogged determination and a lot of in season scouting. Snow in your area is another way to find big bucks. And tracking is a great way to hunt big bucks in the NE.
This is what I was hoping to hear, makes me feel better about the deer I'm shooting here and helps confirm what I suspected. I do a lot of upland and waterfowl hunting with my 4 year old field lab, so realistically, do not have the free time required to target only big bucks, especially the in-season scouting part.
I do hope to do some snow tracking this season, either in Maine or Vermont during one of their late muzzle loader seasons. Since I have used this site to learn how to kill deer, I never have a NH gun tag by the time the snow starts falling . I have the Benoits book and the Salerno brothers and will be reviewing beforehand. I understand there is an expert snow tracker from northern WI on this forum as well, so will be digging through those old threads as well.
magicman54494
Check him out on FB under Misty River Trackers base camp. And on YouTube at Misty River Trackers.