A few questions for you North Carolina Folks

[Molson]

Is it a bowhunter friendly state?

How is the hunting overall (quality/opportunity)?

What do you like/not like about the wildlife situation and management?

Where in the state would you choose to live?

If you could move out of state, would you and why?

Is skirt-wearin' mandatory, or is that just a southern coastal thing?  :D

[James Wrenn]

Overall it is a good place for a bowhunter.Long seasons in most places and ample public land.We lack the larger animals here but if shooting whitetails is ok we have them. :)We also have good turkey populations in a lot of places and record class black bear along the coast.Trophy racked deer are a lot harder to come by here than many other places but we have plenty of freezer fillers.Depending on where you hunt our deer can rival the Texas deer on being super spooky because of the long seasons and the use of baits.Use a quiet bow for best results.    

Skirts and pom-poms are strickly a coastal thing.Stay to the middle of the state for your best chances of being around the more normal types of bowhunters.  

[Mr.Magoo]

I'd say NC is a about as hunting / fishing friendly as it gets.

Where to live depends on what you want to do and/or what kind of scenery you like (mountains, piedmont, coastal).

As for moving ... the South has a special charm and there's nothing like being "down home".  The "Old North State" suits me just fine (though I wish we had more walleye).

As for skirts ... it's don't ask don't tell.

[Tom Anderson]

Great deer numbers and long season here in N.C..  The main downside that I've found is that you aren't allowed to hunt over bait (corn is what most folks use) on public land.  

I'd actually prefer to live/hunt out west somewhere where I could do more spot-n-stalk hunting.  Though, I'm a rifleman at heart...

[ber643]

I beg your collective pardon! (That was really funny, Molson - unexpectedly cropping up where it did.) Let me say  this  - about  that  - "Only for a good cause"  

[waterone]

NC is pretty bow hunter friendly, though not a lot of trad stuff in all places in NC.

Deer hunting is definatley dependant upon area. With urbanization some of the old better areas are becoming not so much anymore (ask James Wrenn) but there are some great areas for hunting.
Pretty much the same all over for that.
Unfortunatley, NC passed NJ this last year in the list of most populated states!   :eek:    :confused:  

Oh yeah, coastal areas during early deer season also occur during mosquito season - like anywhere in the South, get a themacell or bugtamer.

[Molson]

Thanks for all the replies.  Kidding aside Bernie, what's your opinion of the area?

[ber643]

OK     - I like NC a lot. It is our home of choice for many reasons - not the least of which is the friendly residents, both native and imported, in general. There are a lot of Deer in NC (mostly smaller) but every year there are some "Hosses" taken (by other folks   ). We have long seasons and liberal limits. I hunt traditional bow all season - my choice (don't hardly ever even use a black powder any more and haven't for 3 or 4 years, as long as I can find a bow only area or private land to hunt during that week). It will help if you find a farm, lease, or club to hunt but I don't have any of those anymore. On the other hand there is an abundance of public lands, and military bases to hunt all over the state. There are places (states) I wouldn't mind being but I won't be moving again at my age. Hope that helps some for now.

[Woodduck]

Getting too crowded. Most of the land in North Central is dog club controlled or very wealthy folks pay a high lease for many good tracts that locals used to be able to hunt.
I know of clubs in my area that are from $550 to $10,000(not a typo)

Archery deer season in my area opens Sept. 8, I believe with about a month of archery only deer.
Then, a week of muzzle loader hunter and then they it's, "Who turned the dogs out!"....until first of Jan. when deer season is over.

Don't expect the dog clubs to let any deer go. If it's brown it's down. If a deer gets 3 years old, they are mighty smart.
Click on my 'home page' icon, above. That 'drop dead' buck is mighty nice but I've seen bigger.

North of here, up in south VA piedmont; I have seen some whoppers. There's a lot of land up there that has some good deer because they can't use rifles like around here. Most folks dog hunt with shotgun, there and a lot of land is not still hunted. Rifle hunters here can cover some big fields.
If you find a field around here that doesn't have a tower stand in it, I'd be surprised.

[42WLA]

Where I'm at there is no public land less than two hours away. Private land is leased out. I'd like to hunt this coming season but don't have any place to go without pay 500-1,000 for a lease or $150 a day for an outfitter. I'm a poor serviceman and can't afford those prices.

[ber643]

I'm told there is some good hunting around Goldsboro and there are a lot of trad shooters up there. Try to get up with a Buzz Gillis (civillian worker on base) who is starting up a trad archery club. Nice guy. Keep trying to meet folks that share the interest and before you know it you'll have somewhere to go. If they don't hunt on the base there (?), there are other bases available to you. Thanks for your active service and don't give up - it takes time to meet the right people arond bases but is well worth it, and you must work at it.

[Matt E]

In N.C. you either belong to a club or own your land. It is hard to find a place to hunt or fish. All the hunting land is posted and you can't hardly get to the beach to fish for all the condos.

[ber643]

Matt!!!    It certainly isn't easy (and I could do with a decent place or two, since I lost my best - a farm) but it certainly is out there (I mostly hunt Lejeune now) and I know if you still hunted, and had a "place", you would invite me.
(Wouldn't you, ol' buddy, ol' friend???    )

[Tom Anderson]

Dave,
I was born in Goldsboro and live in Wilson now.  You're right, it's difficult to find somewhere to hunt around these parts.  Like Bernie said, your ticket is probably to find another trad. hunter that has some connections.
I have a place to hunt, but my permission is so vault-tight that I have to carry a written statement on my person saying I have permission to hunt their farm, (this is the beginning of my second year hunting there, so I'm not going to broach bringing a guest yet).

Church is a great place to meet folks that will allow you to hunt.  Hang out with the men on "men's day" and before you know it, you'll have an invite.  

If you get really desperate this year, let me know and I'll put you in touch with some folks in a club in LaGrange that may, just possibly, be able to accomodate an archer on occasion without charging you a membership fee. (My brother is a member)

[madness522]

The public land is mostly edge hunted meaning that 80% of the hunters are hunting the edges because they won't make the effort to get to the middle.  There are lots of public land around the state and if you are creative and don't mind the hike there are some really good places to hunt.  There are a lot of clubs around that have leased up most of the farms and timber company land and getting into one of them is going to take a lot of work and effort.  Mostly they are good ole boy clubs and you have to know someone in the club, have lots of money and don't mind spending it to get a spot in the club or have something unique to offer a club to get a spot.

There are 2 really good trad clubs in the central piedmont the CTA and Sissipahaw.  And both put on really good shoots about once a month or so.

The two counties I either hunt now or have hunted that have the biggest deer are Anson and Montgomery counties.

If I were to ever leave NC I would head west to a state that offers more variety of big game, maybe Montana.

[Don Batten]

Pom Poms, skirts, and ah , mainly 1st place winners. LOL . Just kidding. I find good folks from the coast to the mountains. Hunting is ok but I do belong to two clubs and have access to alot of private land. I'd be better off to save and go on one big hunt a year. my 2 cts Don

[ber643]

Kind offer from Tom there (Native Craft) and you couldn't meet a nicer guy (They used to live down here but actually I just say that cause I like his wife, his dog, and his new daughter - we won't tell him that though.)  

[Mr.Magoo]

For the fella at Seymour Johnson ... there's a couple thousand acres of public land near Roseboro south of you in Sampson county.

[Molson]

Dogs running deer??? Didn't see that one coming.  Would not have guessed you guys would have land access issues.  Everything seems to be so spread out down there compared to up here.  We have little to no land access issues here.

[madness522]

Not every county allows dogs to run deer.  I have been on a couple hunts where dogs were used and the hunts weren't really hunts it more like just standing around and killing.  To each his own I guess.