Eastern Mountains Big Buck Tactics

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Appalachians, foothills of the Appalachians, Adirondacks, or any patches of Big Timber Elevation in East or Northeast. What’s y’alls go to tactics for finding those old Hill country bucks.

 

[WJS23]

Up here we just track or still hunt depending on the conditions

 

[Chordeiles]

My favorite tactics are still hunting or tracking (if you have snow on the ground.)

Mountain bucks are damn near impossible to pattern( I’ve never seen the same mature buck in the same spot more than once) and to kill them consistently, I’ve relied more on luck, persistence and woodsmanship.

A tactic that has worked well for a friend of mine is hunting ridge to ridge. Sitting on one ridge and glassing another. This method depends entirely on terrain and doesn’t work in most of the places I hunt.(ridges are too thick to glass and get a clear shot). Plus I can’t sit in one place that long lol.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

My favorite tactics are still hunting or tracking (if you have snow on the ground.)

Mountain bucks are damn near impossible to pattern( I’ve never seen the same mature buck in the same spot more than once) and to kill them consistently, I’ve relied more on luck, persistence and woodsmanship.

A tactic that has worked well for a friend of mine is hunting ridge to ridge. Sitting on one ridge and glassing another. This method depends entirely on terrain and doesn’t work in most of the places I hunt.(ridges are too thick to glass and get a clear shot). Plus I can’t sit in one place that long lol.

I’m excited to crack that code, I’m returning to the Allegheny National Forest in PA after being gone 7 years in Kansas then Colorado.

 

[Lowg08]

The most consistent thing you will find is bedding and food. Don’t hunt each. Hunt in between. The way a big buck beds makes it very difficult. If they bed on a bench on the leeward side the wind will be at there back and with rising thermals then they have wind at there back and there face and a clear view to the area below. It makes it difficult to kill him. My dad say there are some with horns so big they can’t hold there head up. It takes persistence. My dad also only hunts bedding area with scrape lines going into and leaving

 

[Desk Jockey]

Bedding areas up here in NY. Later in the season they are eating mast which is everywhere so you can’t sit a big oak and hope they will come to you and the acorns. Rut activity is unpredictable. Sitting a travel corridor to a bedding area is the most consistent way to see them.

 

[Michael54]

For rifle Find your buck before the season starts. And then find the thickest nastiest patch of ground in that area. Then find the closest food source and water source to that patch. Put yourself in between and hope like hell he comes out during legal shooting light. (I seem to have my best luck the first thursday of rifle season after the first day pressure wears off) University of penn state collared some bucks a few years back and patterned their movements. One of them spent 5 days in a cave during hunting season and only left it 3 times. All of the collared bucks buried themselves in hard to reach and see areas. Archery find where the doe are bedding and the closest food source to that area. Put yourself in between.

 

[Michael54]

Penn State Deer-Forest Study

ecosystems.psu.edu

I like the penn state studies because they are patterning gps collared mature deer.

 

[MallardSX2]

Hunt the saddles and play the thermals the best you can. There are no consistent winds in the mountains of the east. That wind is barrel rolling the entire time for the most part.

 

[ChrisS]

I hunt terrain features (benches, ridges and swamps) and track during the rut. The fresher tracks the better, but I'll follow old tracks as well because they'll lead me to fresher ones usually. Once I'm in good sign, I'll still hunt and call softly with a grunt tube. As a camp, we do drives on Saturdays, but that's usually a shitshow. The deer are scarce, but I try to eliminate as much unproductive area as I can and focus on the spots where the deer will likely be. Then it's just a matter of seeing them before they know you're there.

 

[rustneversleeps]

Penn State Deer-Forest Study

ecosystems.psu.edu

I like the penn state studies because they are patterning gps collared mature deer.

I would love to see what that would look like with Elk

 

[Michael54]

I would love to see what that would look like with Elk

I know right? Penn State has done a bunch of yearly reports. Since I've found them alot of my hunting strategies have changed. No point in hunting what i hope they are going to do when i have documented proof of what they really do.

 

[Lowg08]

I have found that cliffs have helped me out. They force the deer to one side or the other. I’ll give an example. I have two bucks found right now one better than the other. Anyway. I have found flats next to cliffs that go through a shallow flat holler into a bench or saddle in a ridge and around the side to a bench around the side of a hill. It’s always between food and bed with water nearby. Not as much sign to water. I have found these with horning all the way down the trail and today started finding scrapes. Look for buck beds on the military crest or benches. If you can stand it and feel the wind at your back and thermals in your face you have his bed. Killing it is a different story after finding him

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Everything written was appreciated.... most of my season has been scouting while hunting but I’ve found some amazing spots with all this info in mind.... couple more days to seal the deal with the rifle

 

[Shupe88]

I have found that bucks will bed just about anywhere in the mountains. I have yet to find a mature buck that consistently beds in the same bed. His bed room could be over 100 acres. I have had luck hunting scrape lines and ridges that have very thick cover on the sides. Saddles are also good to set up on during the rut.


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[Ashy Larry]

Any late season tips from you pros. Been hitting it hard the last couple weeks. Finding tons of sign but not sure how to see anything during daylight.

 

[Lowg08]

Ok. So here goes the best way I can explain. This time of year timing when they go back to bed is key and how close the best food source is to bed. For example with the rain we have had here lately, thickets near a pine patch. They are tired and need to recover. This rain will produce mushrooms in the pine patch and they love those this time of year. I actually hung a stand in this same scenario this past weekend for the last part. Just sit all day long. I am not a pro by any means. Just had some really good teachers.

 

[Kenai_dtracker]

With no snow, I usually get up on a high ridge or decent mountain early and work my way down, around saddles and benches, around water like a beaver pond, and just slow way down when I come into decent buck sign. The softwoods around old cuts are a great place to keep it slow, as the deer like to feed on the old mans beard where I hunt in Maine and NH.

With snow, I'm looking for a big track. I don't still hunt with snow (unless it's really bad snow) and usually move along on a pretty quick pace until I cut a decent track or jump a deer. Sometimes I'll follow a mediocre deer just to see if it leads me to something better.

 

[cuttiebrownbow]

I scout late winter with snow still on or freshly off to look for sign and heavily used trails. I focus my hunting on thick edges or where flat meets steep mountain sides. While there in the spring I pick trees that I could climb or put hang on in and trim them out.

If I want to confirm a worthy buck is is there I will use trail cams set up in August. I don't check them until I am going to hunt that area. I like to set multiple cameras over same heavily used game trail that I want to target as it is surprising the trail and sign might look the same but the difference in actual deer usage can vary greatly in even 75-100 yards.

Once the rut starts I hunt the freshest sign and have had fairly decent luck with that.

This is during archery season.

I suck with a rifle apparently as I have only shot a couple bucks, yes I mean two, with my rifle and that isn't for lack of trying.

 

[FLAK]

Saddles.