Western hunter going east

[Billy Goat]

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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No deer hunting with dogs in the mountains. Bear is allowed, in VA there's a long chase season, then a 3 day early bear. You can take bear most places in the western part of the state any time you can take deer. Meaning October bow hunting, early muzzleloader and general firearms you can shoot a bear while deer hunting. They won't start running dogs again until December, which depending on the area, might still be gun season, or could be over with. In those areas you will still have late muzzleloader, however most of the bear hunting with dogs takes place on large tracts of public.

Deer dogs will run over all ground in the areas they are allowed.


Pretty heavy hunting dog culture in VA and NC. Be it for bear, deer, coon or rabbits.

 

[loganwayne]

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

Nc is 1/2 piedmont east. Minus a few counties that voted it out

 

[TradArcher]

Are you set on that area or have you maybe considered Maine? Like there is a huge deer tracking culture there and that is very addicting to stalk/track bucks in the big woods up north.
In any case you will probably need boots that aren't as stiff and much quieter for the stalking and whitetails in the midwest or east can be jumpy compared to mule deer - I have experience hunting both on the ground. But it's fun and I miss the looooong archery seasons on rthat half of the country sometimes, I might actually choose to retire to a place with big enough woods, long archery seasons and ruffed grouse - I could be quite happy with that!

It can be pretty thick in the brush so you might need a shorter brush bow on the ground, ticks and if you go north black flys are a thing and you'll need permethrin. But archery season is a hoot and the one month I get in CO is too short - I love to be picky about what I shoot and get a lot of stalks on and not need to take a vaca in order to get serious about it.

Good luck for whatever you choose!

 

[Selkirk6x]

Are you set on that area or have you maybe considered Maine? Like there is a huge deer tracking culture there and that is very addicting to stalk/track bucks in the big woods up north.
In any case you will probably need boots that aren't as stiff and much quieter for the stalking and whitetails in the midwest or east can be jumpy compared to mule deer - I have experience hunting both on the ground. But it's fun and I miss the looooong archery seasons on rthat half of the country sometimes, I might actually choose to retire to a place with big enough woods, long archery seasons and ruffed grouse - I could be quite happy with that!

It can be pretty thick in the brush so you might need a shorter brush bow on the ground, ticks and if you go north black flys are a thing and you'll need permethrin. But archery season is a hoot and the one month I get in CO is too short - I love to be picky about what I shoot and get a lot of stalks on and not need to take a vaca in order to get serious about it.

Good luck for whatever you choose!

Family is part of what's having me look at blue ridge. Maine would be closer to them than where I am now, but still a bit of a trip. Also, if I do relocate, milder winters might be nice, rather than harsher ones.

I don't go after muleys very much. The population here isn't very large, but whitetail are plentiful. Not saying I will pass on a big mule deer, but it's more of an opportunistic thing if I see one while chasing elk. White tails hang out in the lower elevations here, while mule deer are mostly in the 4000' plus elevations. So, I save deer for November and December, where I can be lazy, and hang out in the 2000-3000' range.


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[provin1327]

I'm in the same boat as you @Selkirk6x. Moving from the west in Colorado to Western North Carolina.

 

[WV Mountaineer]

Southwestern VA is rough ground. Pulaski being part of it. It’s the foothills of the blue ridge. What it lacks in elevation, it more then makes up for it in steepness and thick cover. All of south western VA is this way.


It’s got some good hunting too. Some very big deer killed there every year. Lots of bears. Lots of turkeys too. It’s just hard to get up with them. A long shot is 40 yards.

Versus out west, it’s going to be more inactive while you hunt. And, just as active or more so to get to where you are hunting. I’ve read roads abound in the east. WV has more roadless areas them Colorado for reference. VA doesn’t but, they have slapped wilderness designations on most public land in the federal trust. So, there is plenty of ground to get away from people.


The national forests of the east are most stagnant in comparison to 30 years ago. Logging has been halted on a good bit of the ground. And, wilderness designations have locked up a bunch more.

State forests can be very good hunting though. As they manage the habitat aggressively. And, VA might just be the best secret in deer hunting. Lots of truly big deer are killed in all of VA.

 

[KenLee]

I'm in the same boat as you @Selkirk6x. Moving from the west in Colorado to Western North Carolina.

Many folks from Western NC join clubs in Upstate SC.

 

[Blowdowner]

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.

You guys are actually on the same side. The problem is fake conservatives. The entire country is going down the drain but there’s potentially nothing wrong with the public buying public land. The question is, are they going to limit how much acreage each entity can purchase. If a big corporation can buy over 500 acres then they are not conservatives in the patriotic sense.

Keeping it “public” could be worse because if 51 percent of the population (or just a cluster of politicians) is clamoring for forest closures and banning hunting, you’re completely out of luck. Can’t even go knock on doors. Lots of times the tree huggers are actually sponsored by mega corporations who eventually snatch up the land once there’s no armed resistance.

So I think you’d BOTH never vote for someone who’s selling off our land to some villain OR tree hugger.