Whitetail Hunting

[lpcjon2]

I would like to know what state or county of a state do you through experience think has the hardest whitetails to hunt?

  IMO my home state but southern New Jersey would have some of the hardest to hunt with very little land and to many gun clubs(50 + members per club @ 15 clubs ) which pound the same lands( 2 times a day for a week during gun season)days on end.And State land in the more southeastern counties being broken up to 50-100 maybe 200 acre areas.The deer are the spookiest deer that I have ever seen!.Most often having to hunt marsh deer or 1-2 acre private areas makes for hard hunting.These deer are constantly looking up in trees for hunters (I couldnt believe it either )I have set up 30 yrds from an old wooden stand in a oak tree and every time they came by they would look up at that stand.Spot and stalk not even possible by anyone(would even place cash on that). Way to many people and no land.
 So what your story!  

[Panzer II]

Sounds rough. I know it's off topic,but if you can get a few days off this year come to Ohio. We have plenty of deer and a very long archery season aswell. We have alot of Public Land in the south eastern part of the state and Plenty of BIG bucks.

[pcappy08]

lpcjon2 I have hunted deer in quite a few states and parts of the country and i would have to agree with you public land deer in NJ are the hardest deer to take that ive found yet.

[George D. Stout]

Have you tried big woods deer, public land in Pennsylvania....north of I-80?   I thought not?  8^).

[Chris Shelton]

At least in PA you guys have deer, come south to Western Maryland.  No deer and a "1 to 5" ratio in the western region.  The reason I put that in quotes is because dad and I both saw about 16 does before we saw a deer with antlers, however, both of the bucks we did see were really good ones!  Big woods, 55000 acres of state forest.  Some of the most physically demanding hunting conditions in the Northwest!  Not Maryland, the Appalacians(which would include PA, New York)

[lpcjon2]

George I have a doctor who just bought a nice piece near an old coal mind in north estern Pa and I will be doing some hunting their next year.A friend has family he hunts with in the big public wood of PA and he says its hard to .He said PA had a serious drop in deer pop in the last 10yrs.

[HcSmitty]

WHAAAAAATTTTT!!!!  I rode through Fredrick on my way to G-burg for rememday, and COULD not believe the deer in the fields along the interstate.  It looked like i was in western SD.  I best i passed one field that had 60 to 70 deer in it.  I even passed by a compound hunter tryin to put on a stalk right along the dog on interstate.  And Then to top it off, about 150 yards down and over a little rise, right their on the side of the highway was a dandy 125.  Maybe ur part of maryland aint got the deer, but from what i saw the place needs some serious thinnin out.

[Cyclic-Rivers]

Tim,

With all those thick pine barrons and such I would agree, You have to get to the deer before the Jersey Devil.

Your area there reminds me much of central WI especially with some of the cranberry bogs.  I ued to love driving down there.

[moose eye levi]

Panzer II's got it Ohio's the place and southeastern ohio is even better

[rp65]

Where ever I hunt and don't see deer.

[Chris Shelton]

Originally posted by HcSmitty:
WHAAAAAATTTTT!!!!  I rode through Fredrick on my way to G-burg for rememday, and COULD not believe the deer in the fields along the interstate.

yea I live just west in washington county, and even we have deer!  But WESTERN maryland hasnt got any, from Washington county east is region b, where we are allowed to take up to 32 deer total through out the seasons, Region A, alleghany and Garrett(which is where I was talking about) you are only allowed to take 3 total   , so that should give you a idea of the drastic change in deer populations when you hit the appalacian mountains!  They become totally different deer too, the ones in washington, and frederick are corn fed, fat, and big, about 150lbs average, and the ones out west are lean(and better tasting imho), and about 100 average.  So one might ask, why would a feller leave the deer to hunt?  Because all the people from DC, and Baltimore come out west(central) and the first stop is frederick and washington county, along with green ridge.  So we leave the crazy people with the deer and go into the big woods and have a blast!

[Chris Shelton]

Originally posted by HcSmitty:
I even passed by a compound hunter tryin to put on a stalk right along the dog on interstate.

I think we are suppose to be 100 yards away from the roads?  Not for sure, but I know we got to be 150 away from houses(unless you have permission to be closer, ie my own house, lol)

[George D. Stout]

HcSmitty,  Frederick is not in the mountains of Western Maryland.  Go an hour and a half due west of Frederick and you will start into the Appalachian chain.  I live 20 miles from Allegheny County, and one hours drive from Garrett County....the big mountain area.  I've hunted those hills quite a bit...never had trouble finding deer, but it's not a cinch for sure.  The area I hunted was the Savage River State Forest, south of Grantsville.

The Pa. I'm talking about is the Big Woods area, North of I-80  where fields and farms are few and far between...it's the Big Woods.  I've hunted it and it takes different tactics for sure.  Beautiful area though.

[Mike VanBuren]

HcSmitty, there are tons of deer along rt 15 and most of Maryland. You were along the side of the mountains. Chris Shelton's description sounds accurate for the most western part of the state.

I have hunted many types of terrain, both public and private land. Wet, flat land pine thickets full of greenbriar can be a real challenge to hunt regardless of how many deer are there. Lots of travel routes a deer can take and sight distance is only about 30 yards. I can understand how southern NJ can be frustrating with all the gun pressure. I'd hunt northern Pa over that given the opportunity.

[Danny Roberts]

Meade Co. Ky. Blue tongue hit us hard 2 years in a row and we haven't bounced back yet. Ask anyone that lives or hunts here. I haven't killed a deer in 3 seasons. They're very scarce. Might end up fishing all next season or take up trad - bowfishing. It's bleak.

[twitchstick]

I don't know I still have never hunted a whitetail    

But Utah might be the toughest just because of how few there are. Just a couple of years ago was the first comfirmed sighting of a whitetail in the state. I would think that they might not be tough to hunt once you found one(lack of pressure)but finding one might be tough. Thanxs for a good laugh    But someday I will hunt one of these tough creatures.

[pete p]

how about the big woods of north eastern MN...superior national forest. woods bigger than entire eastern states. more moose and wolves in spots than deer.  ever hunted deer that have the largest pack of timber wolves in the lower 48 chasin after them?? tough hunting!

[Chris Shelton]

Originally posted by George D. Stout:
I've hunted those hills quite a bit...never had trouble finding deer, but it's not a cinch for sure.  The area I hunted was the Savage River State Forest, south of Grantsville.

Yup that is my area, Savage is the place I call "home away from home", a new person to the area might have trouble finding deer, but I sure have never.  They are there, but you have to look.  A guy came down from Canada one year a long time ago, probably when I was about the age of 5?  And dad said he shot the biggest deer dad has ever seen there, it was a massive 8 point, about 250 pounds!!!  I honestly dont think that type of deer exists there anymore, this was probably 15 years ago, dad asked what his secret was, he simply said "you got to go where noone else goes".  That was it, and I have found that, that silly statement is very true, but not in the ways you would expect!  But if you get up about 400 yards min, you will see deer!  Now getting shots . . . totally different story!

[George D. Stout]

Chris....Not too far from I-68, there is a road called Blue Lick Run Road.  At the bottom you can double back and up over an old tram road to the top.
There was some old cutover back there that held some nice bucks.  Never got any of them but saw them, and their aftermath of scrapes and rubs.

[Chris Shelton]

did any look like this . . .???