Virginia public land.

[Glendon Mullins]

I think the VA Sun hunting laws go effective mid-summer. I'm curious as to how this is going to change behavior on some public lands where there are mountain bikers/runners/etc on Sundays.

i know a guy who killed a stud there last year

 

[DLane94]

Looking for anyone with any experience hunting the George Washington Thomas Jefferson National Forest or state lands near Augusta or Highland Counties. My buddy and I are planning a hike, camp, and hunt during muzzleloader season in that area and we interested if anyone had an my advice to which areas to hunt for bear and/or nice bucks. Any help would be appreciated

 

[fatlander]

Looking for anyone with any experience hunting the George Washington Thomas Jefferson National Forest or state lands near Augusta or Highland Counties. My buddy and I are planning a hike, camp, and hunt during muzzleloader season in that area and we interested if anyone had an my advice to which areas to hunt for bear and/or nice bucks. Any help would be appreciated

Dude, just look at some maps at places that look like deer would exist without much human disturbance and go hunting. If you want a guided hunt, book one.


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[DLane94]

Dude, just look at some maps at places that look like deer would exist without much human disturbance and go hunting. If you want a guided hunt, book one.


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Very helpful thanks.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Looking for anyone with any experience hunting the George Washington Thomas Jefferson National Forest or state lands near Augusta or Highland Counties. My buddy and I are planning a hike, camp, and hunt during muzzleloader season in that area and we interested if anyone had an my advice to which areas to hunt for bear and/or nice bucks. Any help would be appreciated

I am curious as to why you chose augusta or highland county?

 

[DLane94]

I am curious as to why you chose augusta or highland county?

We have been hunting private land in that area for years with decent luck but looking to venture out and get into more remote areas of the public lands that have the potential to produce a better class of game

 

[Glendon Mullins]

Sounds about right, I hunt a mixture of private and public and find myself going to public to hunt more because i know there are bigger bucks there.

I'll send ya a PM

 

[fatlander]

Very helpful thanks.

Spot burning is spot burning. Doesn’t matter it’s for elk in the Rockies or woods goats on the east coast. You already know where you want to go. Just go and keep it off the internet. This stuff lives forever. Good luck to you and your buddy.


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[burk313]

We have been hunting private land in that area for years with decent luck but looking to venture out and get into more remote areas of the public lands that have the potential to produce a better class of game

Lane send me an email [email protected] I have hunted augusta county for many years

 

[Swamp Fox]

Spot burning is spot burning. Doesn’t matter it’s for elk in the Rockies or woods goats on the east coast. You already know where you want to go. Just go and keep it off the internet. This stuff lives forever. Good luck to you and your buddy.


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I'm surprised this thread went on this long before this comment, which is true.

As someone with more than just a lil experience in the area, 'I FELT LIKE I WAS RIGHT THERE WITH THEM' as book reviewers like to say.

And I KNEW BlllyGoat kneW a few things about a rOAdHoUsE ...

 

[thme24]

I can corroborate the national forests being low density. Very little sign in the areas I was in the last two years. Meanwhile in suburbia, my neighbors were feeding them corn and I couldn't get them out of my yard

 

[AlleghenyMountain]

I hunt National Forest in Highland County. Find the food and look for sign. I had access to private land I hunted over there for years and go now for a variety of reasons. But I've got friends with a farm here in the Valley where I go to fill my freezer.

 

[Swamppirate]

When the USDA discovers clearcutting and controlled burns in the JNF and GWNF then, you will see deer populations soar at that time.

 

[Headwaters]

With all the mapping software and aerial photos, you should easily be able to find areas far from a road that will hold some deer. Locate them on a map and burn some boot leather. That's how you find good spots. And don't forget to let all of us know what you find and where.

 

[Wildone]

How are all you guys in VA making out from Helene? Everyone ok? I see F&G has warnings on some of the WMA's about things being closed because of damage.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

southwestern va got hit in places, most eveywhere else is ok

 

[The_Dinkmaster]

Seems most deer in my area have left the mountains and migrated to the farms.

Im finding this to generally be the case everywhere. I hunt in Arkansas and numbers in the NF and WMAs are down, but yet there were 3 deer standing in my front yard feeding last night in the middle of my neighborhood. Deer have, for a myriad of reasons, migrated into more urban and civilized areas.

I think part of that is just due to the fact that over time deer numbers are hunted down out in the national forests and WMAs but theres really no population control in the urban areas, so they just continue to populate and thrive.

 

[Shupe88]

Yesterday they closed the west end of Jefferson National forest. This will affect hundreds of hunters. I've hunted it my whole life and have never seen it shut down like this!


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[Billy Goat]

Im finding this to generally be the case everywhere. I hunt in Arkansas and numbers in the NF and WMAs are down, but yet there were 3 deer standing in my front yard feeding last night in the middle of my neighborhood. Deer have, for a myriad of reasons, migrated into more urban and civilized areas.

I think part of that is just due to the fact that over time deer numbers are hunted down out in the national forests and WMAs but theres really no population control in the urban areas, so they just continue to populate and thrive.

Management of NF's.

In the 30's we still had cattle grazing our NF's in western VA, that ended I think in '37, maybe 36, maybe even 10 years later, point being, payday for deer in western VA NF's was late 70's and early 80's, forest was still young to some extent, plenty of browse. Now it's mostly over mature, limited food for most of the year.


My area in the 70's hardly had deer, agricultural areas, guys still tell stories of the first time they saw a deer on their farm.

Now they are like rabbits.

 

[Billy Goat]

Yesterday they closed the west end of Jefferson National forest. This will affect hundreds of hunters. I've hunted it my whole life and have never seen it shut down like this!


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Our area had either rifle or muzzleloader season canceled because of drought one year, I think it was early 80's.


SNP got closed, I assume it's to send manpower to the lower regions for recovery.