Appalachian Big 3 tour hunt.

[The_Dinkmaster]

Yep. This is it. I live just outside of the Park (Great Smoky Mountain NP) and hunt public land. I hunt the Nantahala NF and love the challenge and the country. Have been here all my life and so were my ancestors for several generations.

There is a really strong dog hunting culture here and no baiting allowed so keep that in mind.

Good luck!

Tell me about running dogs in the mountains.....I hunt mountainous national forest in Arkansas and we have a strong dog hunting culture in our state. Running dogs on flat ground isnt difficult and you just have to know the crossings and areas that deer like to use to escape.

But what about in the mountains? There have been some guys run dogs in these areas here but Im wondering if youve noticed any patterns on how deer like to act when theyre being chased in mountains? Do they try to go high and run ridges? Do they go down into the ravines/drainages? Do they like to stick to main trails?

Just curious as Im a stand sitter so running the dogs doesnt affect my plans at all, just curious if the guys that do run them have any type of strategy when they are using them (other than sitting on the road with a gun barrel out the window)

 

[loganwayne]

Tell me about running dogs in the mountains.....I hunt mountainous national forest in Arkansas and we have a strong dog hunting culture in our state. Running dogs on flat ground isnt difficult and you just have to know the crossings and areas that deer like to use to escape.

But what about in the mountains? There have been some guys run dogs in these areas here but Im wondering if youve noticed any patterns on how deer like to act when theyre being chased in mountains? Do they try to go high and run ridges? Do they go down into the ravines/drainages? Do they like to stick to main trails?

Just curious as Im a stand sitter so running the dogs doesnt affect my plans at all, just curious if the guys that do run them have any type of strategy when they are using them (other than sitting on the road with a gun barrel out the window)

It's illegal to run deer in the western part of nc where the mountains are. Deer dogging happens in the flatter parts of the state and east to the coast

Only allowed to run for bear and pigs

 

[Halligan]

Just to add to your radar is Monongahela NF, plan on exploring it this year

 

[MiddleFork]

Cranberry can be rough, real rough in the winter, plan accordingly. I have hunted on the scenic highway some up there but never overnight camped. Not many deer, but if you do see one odds of it being a good one are higher etc. You could hunt a week there and maybe see 2-3 deer. Bear are a little thicker etc.

I've overnighted in there during late November rifle season. Everything you said is pretty spot on. Not a lot of deer, but the deer that are there do have a higher chance of reaching a more mature age class.