Being from West Virginia and hunting public land in PA for the first time last fall I can definitely relate to how tough it is to find good bucks in the big woods. Beau is a great guy with a good knowledge base on the subject for his age.
I'm from the Adirondacks and currently live in the Catskills. I've primarily hunted mixed timber/ag on family property my whole life. I went back to public land big timber hunting in the mountains because of excess private land pressure and disagreements in deer/habitat management with other members of our camp. In the mountains I only have to contend with the animal I'm pursuing and natural factors affecting movements. After some persistence and good decisions this last season I killed a mature 11pt with my bow during the gun season. No sweeter feeling than bearing the fruits of my own labor, time, and effort.
Yup your onto the hidden secrets of the north NY woods. Get outa the lowlands and hunting clubs and get into the high mountain areas. Yes it's hard terrain and yes u won't see tons n tons of deer. But the ones u do find are usually huge mature bucks. Same goes for deep super hard to access swamps in upstate NY. Monster s live in there. I've lived in Essex county my whole life and , last few years I've done what I just said. And I've killed 2 monsters.
I grew up hunting the big woods of northern Wisconsin. In my younger years it seemed that if you did your homework and put your time in, you'd be successful. Heavy baiting, the T-Zone doe hunts of the 2000's, and the introduction of wolves sure changed everything. Consistency in deer movement seems to be gone. The majority of the deer population moves around adjusting to where they get baited the most, and away from the wolves. You've really gotta adapt and be prepared to pick up and move to different hunting areas 5 miles away. It's a hard pill to swallow when you invest a lot of time into an area to just pick up and leave, but it's what you've gotta do to be successful.
Can someone explain what Milk Weeds is? I've heard multiple times that guys using it with wind direction. I'm assuming its what I call "Cattails" found in marsh areas? Is that correct?
Hey Jim! Google milkweed seed pod. The pods are filled with a floss that can easily be used to watch how the wind will carry! It’s a lot better than the powder because you can easily visualize your scent cone for as long as you can see the milkweed floating
Being from West Virginia and hunting public land in PA for the first time last fall I can definitely relate to how tough it is to find good bucks in the big woods.
Beau is a great guy with a good knowledge base on the subject for his age.
I'm from the Adirondacks and currently live in the Catskills. I've primarily hunted mixed timber/ag on family property my whole life. I went back to public land big timber hunting in the mountains because of excess private land pressure and disagreements in deer/habitat management with other members of our camp. In the mountains I only have to contend with the animal I'm pursuing and natural factors affecting movements. After some persistence and good decisions this last season I killed a mature 11pt with my bow during the gun season. No sweeter feeling than bearing the fruits of my own labor, time, and effort.
Yup your onto the hidden secrets of the north NY woods. Get outa the lowlands and hunting clubs and get into the high mountain areas. Yes it's hard terrain and yes u won't see tons n tons of deer. But the ones u do find are usually huge mature bucks. Same goes for deep super hard to access swamps in upstate NY. Monster s live in there. I've lived in Essex county my whole life and , last few years I've done what I just said. And I've killed 2 monsters.
Beau really breaks down big woods hunting to the fundamentals. This is one I'll have to listen to again!!!
I hunt big woods northern Wisconsin and see very similar things on what these boy's are talkin about
I grew up hunting the big woods of northern Wisconsin. In my younger years it seemed that if you did your homework and put your time in, you'd be successful. Heavy baiting, the T-Zone doe hunts of the 2000's, and the introduction of wolves sure changed everything. Consistency in deer movement seems to be gone. The majority of the deer population moves around adjusting to where they get baited the most, and away from the wolves. You've really gotta adapt and be prepared to pick up and move to different hunting areas 5 miles away. It's a hard pill to swallow when you invest a lot of time into an area to just pick up and leave, but it's what you've gotta do to be successful.
Can someone explain what Milk Weeds is? I've heard multiple times that guys using it with wind direction. I'm assuming its what I call "Cattails" found in marsh areas? Is that correct?
Hey Jim! Google milkweed seed pod. The pods are filled with a floss that can easily be used to watch how the wind will carry! It’s a lot better than the powder because you can easily visualize your scent cone for as long as you can see the milkweed floating
Exodus tree cam or reveal? Sturgis says reveal.
I dont struggle to see deer in the timber in michigan. I know where they are i dont hunt where they arent
Wut?...... hunting big woods isn't harder? He seriously say that?
I agree...really? Hunting ag country is like taking candy from a baby compared to big PA woods