Whitetail: Seeking Eastern Adventure, by Rokslide Member Torin Miller

[robby denning]

Torin Miller (screen name tam9492) lives in one of the most heavily hunted states in the U.S., Pennsylvania. Torin longs to do it right in the public-land big woods and has recently discovered that East or West, anyone can find adventure if they're willing to work for it.

So please welcome Torin to Rokslide and check out his article here

Big-Woods Whitetail: Seeking Eastern Adventure

 

[elkyinzer]

Nice article, cool to check in here and see a fellow Pennsyltuckian writing about the awesome hunting adventure we have here in Central PA! Not much beats trying to outmaneuver an old wiley mountain laurel buck during the rut. It pisses me off how whitetail hunting gets so misrepresented and misconstrued by the Outdoor TV industry. It may be all food plots and private land in the Midwest, but we have massive amounts of public land with some pretty badass yet very difficult hunting here and all through the Appalachians.

 

[ChrisS]

Thanks for the article highlighting backcountry whitetails. We use the two-man mountain drive as well.

... It pisses me off how whitetail hunting gets so misrepresented and misconstrued by the Outdoor TV industry. It may be all food plots and private land in the Midwest, but we have massive amounts of public land with some pretty badass yet very difficult hunting here and all through the Appalachians.

Same here. There's more than a million acres of state-designated wilderness lands (in addition to 3 million acres of other land use categories) in the Adirondacks. Hunting the ADKs is tough work and I've eaten a lot of buck tags, but you're also rewarded with a wilderness hunt for old bucks that have rarely (if at all) seen a human. The ADKs have three things in abundance: rocks, trees, and water. Unfortunately, there aren't dense herds of deer and bear hunting is basically stumbling into one. The forests are so thick with growth that visibility is often 50 yards or less and whitetails appear and disappear like ghosts.

However, I think that if there were a lot of deer (or giants), I wouldn't have the woods to myself considering that something like 1/4 of the population of North America lives within a 6-hour drive.

 

[tam9492]

Thanks, gentlemen! It's nice to know that there are others on here who understand and appreciate the difficult but rewarding aspects of Eastern big-woods whitetail hunting. It truly is a different type of hunting, and I can't wait to dive deeper into it. I've been completely revamping and refining my gear. Archery season can't come soon enough!

 

[camping1601]

I spend a pile of time in the SF system and it still amazes me some of the bucks I see. I just wish DCNR would close some of the roads and didn't have so many lease camps around.

Anyone that wants a real challenge of a deer hunt the east has it if you dare.

 

[tam9492]

^^Agreed. I think the leased cabins bring it a lot of hunters during the two-week rifle season.

 

[LifeAndLiberty]

I got the bug hunting the big woods bucks my first trip up to Maine, in an area between Calais and Houlton. I still hunt white tails locally, but thats more or less for population control and getting some meat in the freezer. Once you get a taste of the big woods, you're hooked. My model 94 in 375 winchester is right at home out there.

 

[elkyinzer]

I spend a pile of time in the SF system and it still amazes me some of the bucks I see. I just wish DCNR would close some of the roads and didn't have so many lease camps around.

Anyone that wants a real challenge of a deer hunt the east has it if you dare.

Interesting to bring up the leased cabins. It does really ruin the wilderness setting in some areas. With the history of the state forests and the way we treated the environment in the 1800’s through the mid 1900’s, I am just thankful to have the state forests to roam.

As far as hunting pressure they contribute, depending on which forest system, a lot of the camps anymore are beer drinking summer weekend camps. Maybe a few guys show up for the first week of rifle. Some places get more action in bear season than they do in deer. Very minimal in archery. Just like anywhere, else, I have found if you stay away from the obvious access points like the pipelines, powerlines, and logging roads, you can go multiple seasons without running into another hunter.

I have another huge issue with the DCNR...those dumbass deer exclusion fences and their generally shitty timber management practices. They will do a timber sale on a North-facing hillside with zero existing oak regeneration, after two bad acorn years and then do a “shelterwood cut” which leaves an oak tree standing every 50 yards or so for seed stock. What these idiots don’t realize is that the seed stock is useless because the birch and maple just grow faster and shade whatever those oaks could create anyway. There needs to be sufficient oak regeneration before they cut. They throw up an 8 foot fence and somehow still blame the deer when it's nothing but black birch, red maple, and ferns twenty years down the road. Fences are no excuse for poor management and bad decision making. Yes, the soil is generally shitty in the mountains. Yes, the gypsy moths and ash borers have forced a few of these cuts. But still, I have covered thousands of acres of state forest land and not once have I seen where these fences improve oak regeneration, I’ve seen many instances of tremendous oak regeneration outside the fences. All they do is create an unnatural barrier and remove all that valuable winter browse from the food sources (except for the deer inside the fences because most do have a few).

 

[ingramjri]

Great article...glad to see this type of whitetail hunting represented. There are backpack, adventure-type hunting opportunities all over the East, for those willing to sweat a bit. I backpack hunt in the steep gorges and hollows of Daniel Boone National Forest in Kentucky and have seen some real bruisers weaving through the rhododendron...and at some point I'll get one (Ha!). For me this is the most attractive type of whitetail hunting and Torin's article highlights it well.

 

[ChrisS]

The ADKs have such low deer densities, but low hunter pressure too. Especially if you get a mile or so back. There is no one.

I put a camera up this spring and finally made it back there to see what was on there.

Notch-O

View attachment 38639

And a month later in July just before I grabbed the camera (same camera, different angle. a young bear thought the camera would make a decent teething ring and he moved it 90 degrees).

View attachment 38640

I figure he has another six weeks of growing after that image. I'll definitely be back to check him out. I'm not a trophy hunter, but it's nice to see that something decent is back there before I make that bushwhack again #junglehunting.

 

[adamm88]

I just saw this stickied thread, great article on the hunting that im moving towards more and more, glade to have found this forum and have it as a resource.

 

[Glendon Mullins]

nice to see and read an eastern adventure on here!!!

 

[adktrackers]

Good article. Eastern adventure is alive! We believe it is here in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is the biggest tract of public land in the US. Forty years of hunting there, covering new areas every year, and I still have only touched a small percentage of the land. I was poisoned long ago with the desire of backcountry adventure and Whitetail hunting. There is something about surviving out there with those deep woods bucks and standing over a true bruiser after all the hard work is put in. I still cant figure out why the young hunters with all the advancements in gear and technology do not head off deep into the woods to hunt these bucks that never see humans and die of old age. Gotta love that deep woods Alleghany Forest of Pennsylvania, some real bruisers to be had there. For those who do not understand that real adventure is under their feet in the East, then head West.

 

[Jmac603]

Awesome!

Good article. Eastern adventure is alive! We believe it is here in the Adirondack Mountains of New York. It is the biggest tract of public land in the US. Forty years of hunting there, covering new areas every year, and I still have only touched a small percentage of the land. I was poisoned long ago with the desire of backcountry adventure and Whitetail hunting. There is something about surviving out there with those deep woods bucks and standing over a true bruiser after all the hard work is put in. I still cant figure out why the young hunters with all the advancements in gear and technology do not head off deep into the woods to hunt these bucks that never see humans and die of old age. Gotta love that deep woods Alleghany Forest of Pennsylvania, some real bruisers to be had there. For those who do not understand that real adventure is under their feet in the East, then head West.

 

[Jmac603]

Great article. Thank you for sharing! Love hunting the big woods of NH and Maine.

Jason

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Born and raised in warren county 10 min from the Allegheny... I currently live in Colorado Springs, Colorado and love it out here in the mountains at least but.... I’m a jungle hunter at heart and as soon as this contract is up myself and my family are coming back to our roots in the ANF....... I’m taking what I learn bowhunting out here back to the Allegheny and have never been more excited..., I’m so happy I found this thread that there are others who want to pack in and adventure hunt mountain bucks..., small group, fantastic article..., should be a club or something for these public land buck rucks

 

[Jsmokerbuilds]

Great article. I'm a PA Hunter also and love the time I can spend in northern PA in the "big woods"

 

[farmerboy1381]

Shhhh. No deer in Pennsylvania in the big woods. If you want a trophy you have to go to Iowa if you want adventure try Colorado. Going more than a mile deep in Pa you will nothing but me and an empty woods

 

[robby denning]

Shhhh. No deer in Pennsylvania in the big woods. If you want a trophy you have to go to Iowa if you want adventure try Colorado. Going more than a mile deep in Pa you will nothing but me and an empty woods

Hahahahahah.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tam9492]

Glad this article is still getting some traction! I've been totally consumed with this style of hunting.