Western hunter going east

[Doc Holliday]

I believe folks running dogs can be a bit of an issue in those states.

If deer hunting is a priority, you would be better off in the Piedmont regions of either state.

 

[jimh406]

Do you notice the same pressure patterns on personal property?

My first 29 years were back in East Tennessee even though I don't live there now. Private property can be zero pressure. It depends if the property owners allow hunting or not.

In areas with a lot of small parcels, even a few acres is plenty to hunt if you stay put. I did well on only a few acres. The deer move through and of course, just jump fences that are there.

It's different than hunting in MT, but can be a good experience.

 

[Selkirk6x]

I believe folks running dogs can be a bit of an issue in those states.

If deer hunting is a priority, you would be better off in the Piedmont regions of either state.

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I'd say hunting is a reality. Mountains are a priority.

Thanks for the maps, though. I appreciate it.


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[Rich M]

That was one of the things I've wondered about. I've spent a bit of time down there, just never hunting.

Not sure if you've hunted the panhandle, but a lot of it up here is thicker than hell. But, also the difference between mixed hardwood and almost exclusively conifer.

Are behavior patterns similar? I was wondering if home areas for individuals are smaller, assuming more varied food sources and more water.


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I havent hunted the panhandle. Central FL is either watching a pasture or flag pond, or powerline or palmetto flat, or having 20-50 yard visibility from stand. Its thick where i hunt.

You will be able to find wt deer about anywhere, just need to spend a lil time figuring out where they are hanging. They are good at sitting tight and working around hunters.

Out west most critters migrate due to snow or pressure. Wt have a relatively small core area and make small adjustments to avoid hunters.

They use the scent to know where people dont go. Figure they can smell you been there for a week or so afterwards. An area wo human scent can easily be found by them and they can sit there all day wo getting bothered.

 

[Gutshotem]

Tags are all over the counter and relatively cheap. Go hunt it and see what you're getting into.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

I enjoy eastern hunting, but not nearly as much as western hunting. Two completely different experiences. I tend to be a busy body, so an "active" hunt just works better for me. There are few opportunities to hunt on the move in the east. There are several reasons for it. Vegetation is often too thick to allow it. Private parcels are often too small to allow it. Public parcels can have hunter concentrations that preclude it.

 

[EdP]

You're assuming I like conservatives any more than I like liberals.

I assumed as a fellow hunter you valued your 2nd Amendment rights. My mistake.

I also gave you an informed explanation of what is going on in this area with respect to deer hunting on public land. Apparently that was another mistake on my part because in thanks for taking my time I got insulted.

Idaho Panhandle? Sounds to me like you are in the Coeur D'Alene area. If so, Asheville NC should suit you nicely.

 

[Desk Jockey]

Welcome. Live in PA and hunt NY and PA all the time. I do a lot of ground ambush and still hunting for deer. TBH it is hard as hell to sneak through hardwood leaves and close the distance for bow but it is fun. Rifle is a little easier but it tends to be short seasons. Does and young bucks are less smart / wary. Hard to put the sneak on old timers, which is why a lot of people hunt stationary from blinds or stands. The nice thing about that tendency of most to stand hunt is that if you go places where people aren’t likely to drag a stand like - 500 yards from a trail for instance - the number of hunters drops WAY off.


Some states, like PA have big public land areas that are open to public hunting and honestly less crowded than some places out west. Also, states are drivable close and tags are relatively cheap. Limits tend to vary but some places will allow a lot of action. I hunted an area of NY that gave me 2 buck tags and functionally unlimited doe tags. Not sure about the Carolina’s but some areas of Tennessee have limits as high as 3 deer a day. If you find them and maybe are OK hunting a suburban fringe, there are some places you can hunt all you want. A few guys at my bow shop were volunteered for a population control program and were each dropping +20 deer a year - they were the hero of all their family, buddies and the local soup kitchen.

 

[4090Sharps]

I enjoy eastern hunting, but not nearly as much as western hunting. Two completely different experiences. I tend to be a busy body, so an "active" hunt just works better for me. There are few opportunities to hunt on the move in the east. There are several reasons for it. Vegetation is often too thick to allow it. Private parcels are often too small to allow it. Public parcels can have hunter concentrations that preclude it.

This is the perfect description. While in the southeast, I thought of my scouting season as the actual hunting. Hunting season was simply time spent waiting in a tree for those scouting plans to come together.

In most areas open enough to effectively still hunt, deer populations will generally be far lower. If, and big if, you can get far enough away from a road (soooo many open roads in the east), you’ll have a good time.

 

[KenLee]

I've got family there, and some in Sylva. My little town up here has turned into not so rural feeling anymore. Asheville area feels huge to me.


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If you aren't a young hipster or goth, you will think Asheville is full of freaks. Especially after dark. Surrounding areas are becoming the same way.

 

[Billy Goat]

I believe folks running dogs can be a bit of an issue in those states.

If deer hunting is a priority, you would be better off in the Piedmont regions of either state.

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Curious why you think Piedmont areas would be better?


For one, the deer dogging is most prevalent in the Piedmont areas.

 

[Selkirk6x]

I assumed as a fellow hunter you valued your 2nd Amendment rights. My mistake.

I also gave you an informed explanation of what is going on in this area with respect to deer hunting on public land. Apparently that was another mistake on my part because in thanks for taking my time I got insulted.

Idaho Panhandle? Sounds to me like you are in the Coeur D'Alene area. If so, Asheville NC should suit you nicely.

As I stated elsewhere, Asheville will not suite me. I also do not live near Cda.

Around here, conservative candidates and office holders are pushing to privatize our public lands. So, I assume as a fellow hunter you'd never vote for a conservative. See how that works?

While I appreciate your information about public land hunting, I also take it with a grain of salt, as it relied on the memory of the hood ol days, if I recall. I hear that a lot around here as well, and I'm guilty of it myself. But, I can also pull harvest stats for the last 20 years or so, and things haven't changed that much. Just a whole lot more people here now.

You could have phrased everything relevant to my question without injecting politics, or assuming mine. I asked about hunting, and my conservative views and my liberal views don't have a single bit of bearing on deer behavior. I also don't appreciate strangers making assumptions about me.


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[KenLee]

Curious why you think Piedmont areas would be better?


For one, the deer dogging is most prevalent in the Piedmont areas.

In South Carolina, running deer with dogs is only legal in lower half of the state. No clue on North Carolina.

 

[Billy Goat]

In South Carolina, running deer with dogs is only legal in lower half of the state. No clue on North Carolina.

It's legal thru almost all of the Piedmont Area in VA, in NC it's the NE and SE Piedmont, then all the eastern part of the state.

 

[Selkirk6x]

It's legal thru almost all of the Piedmont Area in VA, in NC it's the NE and SE Piedmont, then all the eastern part of the state.

But not in the mountains?
I could see that being something that would take getting used to. Some folks hunt cars in my home unit with dogs, but that's it. When I go south a bit there are people hunting bear with dogs, which always catches me off guard.


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[EdP]

While I appreciate your information about public land hunting, I also take it with a grain of salt, as it relied on the memory of the hood ol days, if I recall. I hear that a lot around here as well, and I'm guilty of it myself. But, I can also pull harvest stats for the last 20 years or so, and things haven't changed that much. Just a whole lot more people here now.

No, you don't recall and didn't bother to look. I told you I moved here 7 years ago, not the good old days of deer hunting on public here. If you bother to look up the Va DWR Deer Management Plan you will find the info I provided to be spot on.

 

[Selkirk6x]

No, you don't recall and didn't bother to look. I told you I moved here 7 years ago, not the good old days of deer hunting on public here. If you bother to look up the Va DWR Deer Management Plan you will find the info I provided to be spot on.

My mistake, and my apologies for misremembering and mischaracterizing that part of your comment. I'm cutting firewood, responded while gasing up the saw. Didn't bother to take the time to re read what you had written.

I stand by the rest, though.


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[FLS]

Bear hunting with hounds is common in the southern mountains. Is a pretty short season though.

 

[Selkirk6x]

Bear hunting with hounds is common in the southern mountains. Is a pretty short season though.

In Idaho as well, just not in grizzly bear country.


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[Christopher.Reed]

Hi all, I'm new here, but thought I might get some insights here

I've spent decades hunting the Idaho panhandle, and only the panhandle.
For the last 9 years, I've used a rifle once, preferring archery and muzzy. Mostly spot and stalk, elk, deer, and occasionally bear. (And one moose, which was that one rifle use)

I'm thinking of relocating to the blue ridge mountains. Obviously elk won't be a reliable thing for me without travel, but I'm wondering about deer. Seems like everything I see east of the divide has people hunting in stands or blinds. Is whitetail behavior still comparable to what I'm used to? Any other thoughts?

I am fairly new to hunting as an adult but grew up hunting in Alaska and now hunt in Arkansas and North Carolina and in my experience, the deer in the east are heavily pressured as a factor of the much higher population density. That isn’t to say that you can’t still hunt them, they are just very skittish but as a newish hunter, I was able to get within 70 yards of a decent buck this season before he bumped. If the forest floor wasn’t so carpeted with acorns this year I might have been able to get closer.

Most people setup in stands or saddles because it dramatically decreases the likely hood of getting picked and thus increasing the likelihood of a successful hunt.


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