While I have not hunted in Jackson County or the far western part of the state, I have spent a significant amount of time in the Pisgah National Forest just east of you. Deer hunting in those national forest lands is tough. There has been little habitat management over the last 3 decades. Hundreds of thousands of acres of mature timber with few transition zones means there is not much good habitat. The deer are sparse, there are less than 10 deer per square mile, but in many places, there are no deer. When you do find them, you will usually find a lot of them, because they are hang around where the good habitat is. Use the USFS website to look for burn data and timber harvest data. There has been some timber harvesting done, just not a lot. If you can find those places, you will find the deer.
You may also want to check out Needmore Game Land in Jackson county. It is river bottom country and has better habitat than most western NC. Also, look at permit only hunts on Dupont State forest in Transylvania County. All the rifle and muzzleloader permits are gone, but there are gobs of archery permits left. Dupont has some really good habitat and strong deer population, you just have to dodge all the horse back riders and mountain bikers. I have hunted Dupont several times. Never have any problems seeing deer. If you have a canoe, use it to cross the lake and get to some really good deer hunting.