Mountain Hunting, Second Year For Me...need opinions

Winchester 73'

Six Pointer
So far I have the unique privileged opportunity to hunt this 400 acres all by myself this year. I was told it was not really hunted in the past 35 years.

I have yet to step foot on it but may be able to in the next few weeks. I got plenty of ideas but thought I would check for experienced opinions.

Never being here before, just looking at the screenshot...how would you hunt it? I will only be hunting it during gun season.
 

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agsnchunt

Old Mossy Horns
So far I have the unique privileged opportunity to hunt this 400 acres all by myself this year. I was told it was not really hunted in the past 35 years.

I have yet to step foot on it but may be able to in the next few weeks. I got plenty of ideas but thought I would check for experienced opinions.

Never being here before, just looking at the screenshot...how would you hunt it? I will only be hunting it during gun season.

I would PM a certain poster that just replied to this thread for help harvesting the many deer roaming the area.

Seriously, go walk it. Deer generally will walk it similar to you. They take the easiest route when they aren't disturbed. You'll see the sign once you get in their and it will become obvious where they're bedding, feeding, and drinking.

The old bucks are not going to follow that pattern exactly. They will work the draws, ridge edges, and thickets to their security. Nonetheless, they get funneled too, just like us and the does.

find the mast trees, find the water, you'll figure out the rest.
 

georgeeebuck

Ten Pointer
Hunt high in the am .,low in the pm.;) But seriously ,assuming that picture is facing north put some corn up that flat bottom as far north as you can shoot with a good rifle and set up to the south . Do not put any more presser on the area than you have to and spend as much hunting time as you can waiting for a good shot.
 
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Aaron H

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
Where is this land.... what county? How you hunt a whitetail in the mountains has many similarities with Piedmont hunting but weather can play a bigger part. South facing slopes on cold mornings can produce. Any funnel can work on some days. My main thing is hunting deer that don't know they are being hunted. The oldest buck on the land isn't so hard to kill if he doesn't know he's being hunted but the little spike can be a challenge if he understands you are after him. Scout from a distance, use binoculars. You don't need to walk all of it and if you do you reduce your chance of success. Looks interesting. Good luck with it.
 

Winchester 73'

Six Pointer
Hunt high in the am .,low in the pm.;) But seriously ,assuming that picture is facing north put some corn up that flat bottom as far north as you can shoot with a good rifle and set up to the south . Do not put any more presser on the area than you have to and spend as much hunting time as you can waiting for a good shot.
Facing almost due west
 

jug

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I ain't no expert but I also had to learn how-to deer hunt in Hill country up in my part of Northern Rockingham County. Hunting them high in the AM is good advice. Took me a few years to learn that. Hunting low in the PM also works as long as there is NO WIND. I can also tell you that it is near impossible to see a mature buck on a windy day in Hill country unless he is after a hot doe. I have yet to see many deer but have never seen a mature 2 to 3 yr old buck on a windy day up in those hills I hunt.
 

Winchester 73'

Six Pointer
Hey Jug,
I experienced my first mountain buck last year. Working the bottom of a Draw with a 5 point logging path intersection crossing the creek. The buck (spike), on the path, walked down from high left to the creek and stopped just shy of crossing the creek on the path. Prior to crossing, turning left or right on the main path, he looked 60 feet up the steep terrain and made dead eye contact with me. Playing the freeze game for nearly 15 minutes (after I stopped the video), he literally backed up, grazed fore a few minutes, then turned left...making his way up one of the paths on the opposite side of the draw. At about 2/3rds the way up the other side, he caught wind of me, blew the snot out of his nose and bolted off like a screaming banshee and never looked back!!!! It was a windy day. but also the last day of hunting for me.

Here is a video of the encounter
 

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Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
Hey Jug,
I experienced my first mountain buck last year. Working the bottom of a Draw with a 5 point logging path intersection crossing the creek. The buck (spike), on the path, walked down from high left to the creek and stopped just shy of crossing the creek on the path. Prior to crossing, turning left or right on the main path, he looked 60 feet up the steep terrain and made dead eye contact with me. Playing the freeze game for nearly 15 minutes (after I stopped the video), he literally backed up, grazed fore a few minutes, then turned left...making his way up one of the paths on the opposite side of the draw. At about 2/3rds the way up the other side, he caught wind of me, blew the snot out of his nose and bolted off like a screaming banshee and never looked back!!!! It was a windy day. but also the last day of hunting for me.

Here is a video of the encounter

What kinda rifle is in that picture?
 

Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
Good looking gun. The scope made me think of this gun in a movie. Trivia...what is the name of the movie.
 

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Rescue44

Old Mossy Horns
That scene in the movie is when I realized Clint would shoot a rifle basackwards. Lol. But, I think in Jose Wales, he proved he was amphibious. Lol
 

Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
Looks like there’s a saddle on the ridge line just left of center in the picture you attached. I’d check that out and I’d see if I could find a bench or relative flat spot about 3/4 of the way up that ridgeline somewhere. That bottom ought to have a ton of sign to look at but once the pressure gets on the deer, you may not see much in daylight. If you are having a tough go of it and it gets late in the season, I’d pick the windiest nastiest day you can hunt and stalk the trails from the bottom to the top to figure out where the deer are traveling/bedding. If that place truly hasn’t been hunted in 35 years you ought to pull a few good ones out next season.
 

Eric Revo

Old Mossy Horns
Contributor
I'd get high, high as you can and the glass that for a few well worth it afternoons. That way you can pretty much see where your deer are coming from and where they are going, a few well-placed trail cams would certainly help.
 

Winchester 73'

Six Pointer
Looks like there’s a saddle on the ridge line just left of center in the picture you attached. I’d check that out and I’d see if I could find a bench or relative flat spot about 3/4 of the way up that ridgeline somewhere. That bottom ought to have a ton of sign to look at but once the pressure gets on the deer, you may not see much in daylight. If you are having a tough go of it and it gets late in the season, I’d pick the windiest nastiest day you can hunt and stalk the trails from the bottom to the top to figure out where the deer are traveling/bedding. If that place truly hasn’t been hunted in 35 years you ought to pull a few good ones out next season.


Ceehawk
here is an image looking back in the opposite direction, the saddle now being the closest to you. I had the idea of trying somewhere here but not certain how to enter or climb.

Altitude
"Starting Point" - 1,345ft, heading westerly
Base of Ridge - 1,432ft, climbing southwesterly
"Bench/Knoll - 1,644ft
Saddle you mentioned at the top - 1,740ft

.83 mile walk/climb

395ft climb will kill me...LOL!!
"Trail" on left of saddle is on another property and can not be used...stops on top of knoll, far left bottom.

Property comes to a point in far lower right corner of photo.

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The saddle is labeled "saddle" and the circle shows the top of the ridge. There is actually a smaller saddle just to the bottom right edge of the circle and an actual "bench" at the bottom left center of the circle that is slightly lower than the terrain inside the circle.

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Ceehawk37

Ten Pointer
Seems like you may have a good hike on your hands to get in there. Any way to get on the spine of the ridge easily from where you park and walk it up to the far right point on the saddle? Seems that may be a little more gradual of a climb.
That bench area would likely be a good spot too especially if it has oaks that are dropping acorns early season.
It looks like you’ve done your homework on the right spots to hunt, now you just need to figure out access. You’ve still got a little time before the deer are going to be on their fall pattern so I’d use that time scouting the routes to and from the areas you have picked out.
 

Winchester 73'

Six Pointer
Seems like you may have a good hike on your hands to get in there. Any way to get on the spine of the ridge easily from where you park and walk it up to the far right point on the saddle? Seems that may be a little more gradual of a climb.
That bench area would likely be a good spot too especially if it has oaks that are dropping acorns early season.
It looks like you’ve done your homework on the right spots to hunt, now you just need to figure out access. You’ve still got a little time before the deer are going to be on their fall pattern so I’d use that time scouting the routes to and from the areas you have picked out.
I sure hope to get out there in the next week or two to at least scout out the lower areas just to see what might be there. I'd like to at least walk the creek all the way to the top of the rim. The land owner asked me to to rid some beavers near the pond.
 

JJWise

Twelve Pointer
I haven’t hunted NC mountains much but I grew up hunting WV and still hunt there a little bit every year. Personally, when looking at a new area before getting boots on the ground, I like to look at topo maps. Learn to read them well and combine that with some knowledge about how deer navigate terrain and you can usually find good spots pretty quickly. Personally I like hilltops (the smaller the better), benches about halfway up a ridge, and flat spots at the top of a draw. I’d say 80% of the deer I’ve shot in WV have been on one of those 3 terrain features.
 
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