How to hunt "The big woods"

[D Sheffey]

I suddenly find myself living witin 15 minutes of Cherokee National Forest in East TN. I've killed a bunch of deer in my life but always in a small woodlot or food plot situation.  

Where do I start trying to hunt deer and or hogs on the side of a mountain that from the road looks like it's all mixed hardwoods.  All north slope. All looks the same.

Dan

[ron w]

You have to do your homework....take a hike and look to see what food is around ....look for game trails and old rub lines. Try to find a pattern that the critters are using. Such as to and from food to bedding and such. Take your time and put the pieces together!

[bentpole]

This time of the year the easiest thing to do is look for water. Hot weather animals have to drink. Look for a pond or a creek bed that's tracked up pretty well. They should move around 930/1000 with the full moon right now. You will have action. Then you can always look for dropping acorns,beach nuts etc etc.

[ronp]

Like Ron said, look for rub lines, deer trails and some food sources if possible.  When I am looking at a new area I often look for the remains of old, wooden tree stands.  I think that they are there for a reason and I start to look closer for sign.  It is sort of like having some one else helping with your scouting a long time ago... somebody put that stand there for a good reason.

[BowHunterGA]

All good advice above. I will add, break out the topos of the area you plan to hunt. Look for obvious saddles, always good places to start, look for natural funnels as well. Again these are places to start and deer season is upon us but it can be beneficial to pick out a few "likely" places and then narrow them down with first hand observation.

If you don't have access to a topo of the area send me a PM and I will see if I can help you out.

[monterey]

Have not hunted that kind of country for years, but I always found feeding areas where logging had been done in the past couple years.  Also, abandoned farms if there are any in your neck of the woods.

[RedShaft]

get the book by Greg Miller,bowhunting forests and deep woods. it will help you out.

[Roger Norris]

ron w answered word for word what I would have said.

I can only add, you say it all "looks the same". From the road, maybe. Get in there and wander around.

Remember, if you see or spook a deer, he was in that spot for a reason. Investigate, investigate....

[AdamH]

When ya get it figured out {And Im sure ya will} and you do kill that deer, it will be much more rewarding than huntin a little farm stacked full of critters ... At least it is for me anyway ... Good Luck ...

[jhg]

That "big woods" has its own little food plots, sections and funnels. Find them and enjoy the freedom of open spaces. I loved hunting white tails in areas like this.
You will have to lay down some boot leather to learn the land and unlock its secrets. Thats half the fun.

Joshua

[Cyclic-Rivers]

What the Rons said above. also I would mention food sources change from year to year and from time of year to time of year.  so keep notes of certain areas that have good food sources but may not be producing yet.

This year the beech nuts are god but the acorns not so good.  last year was the exact opposite.

[pauljr]

It wont help you in Tennesee but I do 90% of my scouting in the snow. Its very easy to put it together then.

[Robert Honaker]

hmmmm..i will start off by saying u have some tuog hunting ahead of you..deer numbers are not that great there, but it can be some decent hunting. Good thing is u have a chance at a real bruiser in there...they grow old.

Start on the ridges looking for any kind of saddle that makes it easy for a deer to cross from one side of the ridge to the other.  You want to find chestnut oaks or white oaks dropping...and they will be right now, so get in there and look...if no white oaks  look at the red oaks.  If u cant find mast on the ridges drop down into the creeks below the ridges..sometimes if there arent any acorns up high there will be acorns down between the ridges  by the creeks...

There's a ton of bears in there and the bow season coincides  for bear and deer  if your in certain counties.  Chances of bear are just as good as deer if u get on the acorns.  U will probably find more bear sign than deer , but dont get discouraged.

oh...you have alot of ground to hunt..dont be afraid to cover it to find deer sign. In there any fresh sing on a food source i would hunt.

Good luck..let us know how u do.

[Robert Honaker]

i forgot...GET A TOPO MAP.  U  can spot the saddles on them..major head start.

[Easykeeper]

I focus on the terrain more than food sources or bedding areas.  I want to find a place where anything that wants to get from "area A" to "area B" means they have to go through "here".  The smaller/narrower the "here" is, the better.  My big woods area is full of swamps and sloughs, so the "here" areas are usually a thin dry strip or ridge between them.  Then if you can find a spot in that strip or ridge that focuses their movement even more, better yet.  It's really a game of setting up and putting in the time.  Come the end of October you can get bucks moving through these areas any time of day.  Some days I never see a deer, other days in the same spot it's like a deer highway.  A bright, chilly, high pressure morning with light wind after a period of rain, especially around Halloween, that's when you want to be there.

In big woods areas they can literally bed and eat in the same spot to a great degree.  Food sources are also constantly changing and spread out all over, usually not concentrated.  Good luck, hunting big woods areas can be tough, but a lot of fun.  I see a lot more deer at home in an agriculture/food plot area, but hunting the public big woods is more rewarding.  I also see more interesting "incidental" critters and birds.  The big woods is a fun adventure...

[Bobaru]

There's a fairly large woods on the side of a hill that I've hunted which looks awfully plain from the road.  On Bing Maps, there is nothing that would recommend it.  When one gets up to a certain spot, one sees oaks and fir trees.  Nothing magic.  Yet, there are some good trails going thru.  

Over the years, I've learned that, for reasons I still don't fully understand, this is the magic funnel.  Any deer anywhere on the hill that gets pushed off his bed or leaves another feeding area will wander thru this funnel.  

The oak and trails are what would recommend it from the start.  The years of hunting is what allowes one to zero in.  

Then the fellow sold out to an avid hunter who has his own buddies.  It took the new guy 3 years to find the honeyhole.  ...  About right.

[D Sheffey]

Thanks for the advice.  My boys and I are going to make our first trip onto the mountain tomorrow after work. I'll let you know what I find.

God Bless
Dan

[ASD]

Stick is this you.  Been long time buddy if it is.  I really dont think you have what it takes to kill in Cherokee.  Takes people with my skills to be sucessful in those mountains.  If this is you give me some contact info, i would like to catch up.
On a serious note the big woods are not that much different than midwest woodlots.  Deer are still killed with stick and strings in funnels and pinch points.  Its just that they are much much more difficult to identify than the small woodlots and ag country.  Anybody can pick out a good funnel in Iowa, takes some homework and leg work to pick them out in the mountains.  Topos are first place to start, but you got to check it on the ground and about 1 out of 10 usually turn up to be huntable.  Travel patterns for big woods deers are paaternable.  The biggest challange I face is locating bedding areas.  Those mountain deer really use the wind and thermals to bed.  You can bet a mature deer will be bedded in a different spot on a north wind than a south wind.

[gnihsifnamk]

I hunt big woods in the adirondack mountains and all the advice given so far is spot on. It takes time to find game trails and pattern movement. The terrain feature on google maps is a great tool to start with if you don't have access to a good topo.
   I use the national geographic mapping software and put any in the field notes onto the map when I get home. After some time I can see patterns emerge. A shelf there, a clump of thick cedars here, a stand of beech trees there...and lots of tracks and poop inbetween.
   Also depending on what side of the mountain you are on and how thick the woods are it may get darker earlier than an open area would and you may miss out on good shooting opportunities.