Big woods whitetails

[beginnerhunter]

I love hunting big woods whitetails. I’m bad at it so I don’t have much advice to offer. Most of my success has been hunting ridges. In my experience ridges are about the only place big woods bucks will move during the day as they are very nocturnal. Most ridges offer some decent shooting lanes and rutting bucks seem to like ridges. Here are some crappy pictures of some pretty heavy deer. The archery buck was only 2.5 years old but I was pretty pumped to get an early season big woods buck with my bow. I was sitting behind a tree.

This has been my experience as well. Biggest public land mountain bucks I've found were on top of narrow ridges and saddles. Also have good luck finding them on recent timber harvests and burns (or maybe just because I can actually see further).

 

[Mainewoods]

Maine 2018, 3 hour tracking job, 213lbs fully dressed. It’s an awesome way to hunt big whitetails.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Maine 2018, 3 hour tracking job, 213lbs fully dressed. It’s an awesome way to hunt big whitetails.

That's an awesome buck! Congrats!

 

[Mainewoods]

After reading @wllm1313's post on moving back east and the mention of big woods whitetails it got me thinking. Anyone have any stories or pics they want to post up of this style hunt? When I was kid I used to read about the Benoit family tracking big woods whitetails in the snow and was always fascinated by it. Someday I'll give it a go once I get a few other hunts checked off the list. Post up some pics or stories if you got em!

Ex Vermonter myself and loved following the Benoit’s. A lot has changed with technology and all, but the fundamentals that they lived by still hold. I think I love the simplicity the most, not that tracking whitetail is not hard, it’s just fun.

 

[Slm864]

I got this buck In some National Forest area in Ohio 2012 archery. Sorry for only the euro mount pic. The harvest pics are on a old flip phone. I’ll try to retrieve them. I had tagged out early in PA and decided to go to Ohio for 3 days. The first 2 days on stand I had only seen 2 deer which I was not use to. Sitting sunup to sundown during peak rut I was expecting a little more. It was very dry and unseasonably warm so I decided to try and locate some water. I found a marshy area a little over a mile from the road and seen this buck the evening of the second day. I went back the next morning and rattled him in and shot him at 10 yards. There were a lot of deer in that area and I could only guess that scarce water and hunting pressure had pushed them back that far. I seen 2 bigger bucks Cruising for does after I shot this one. That was a fun hunt and a different experience of big woods hunting compared to the big hills and mountainous areas of the Allegheny national forest that I was use to.

 

[Dougfirtree]

Ex Vermonter myself and loved following the Benoit’s. A lot has changed with technology and all, but the fundamentals that they lived by still hold. I think I love the simplicity the most, not that tracking whitetail is not hard, it’s just fun.

Yes, you're connected to that buck all day long. I can't get enough.

 

[Nick87]

After reading some of this I might have to make this hunt more of a priority.

 

[Mainewoods]

30-06 shell in that track and had room to spare. If you get on a track like this, he'll stand out from the other tracks and make it less likely to get screwed up. I took this buck way the heck up above Moosehead Lake in ME and was not able to get him off the mountain until the next day. I didn't sleep much that night, haha!

 

[Dougfirtree]

30-06 shell in that track and had room to spare. If you get on a track like this, he'll stand out from the other tracks and make it less likely to get screwed up. I took this buck way the heck up above Moosehead Lake in ME and was not able to get him off the mountain until the next day. I didn't sleep much that night, haha!

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That's a stud! Here in the Adirondacks, our bucks run a little smaller and their feet are definitely smaller. You could go years and years without seeing one like that. We substitute a .308 length shell for the .30-06. That 5.5 year old buck that I posted a photo of only had feet that were about 2.3/4 inches wide.

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

Maine 2018, 3 hour tracking job, 213lbs fully dressed. It’s an awesome way to hunt big whitetails.

Interesting that Maine requires you to keep the deer whole.

How do you do extended camping and or river trips. Seems like the law is designed to almost encourage meat loss?

 

[Dougfirtree]

Interesting that Maine requires you to keep the deer whole.

How do you do extended camping and or river trips. Seems like the law is designed to almost encourage meat loss?

I've hunted in Maine a bit and the saving grace is that all that land where people are tracking deer is timber company land that's open to public hunting. So, there are logging roads criss crossing it, as well as lakes. So, often, guys can get a truck, 4 wheeler, snowmobile, or boat closer to the deer, but those folks still end up with some gnarly drags. A 200 pound deer, going 2 or 3 miles over the blowdown, through the brush and around the cliffs would be a pretty epic undertaking and one that happens with some regularity...
In the Adirondacks, out state land, which is where I hunt, is all wilderness. So, you've only got your muscles to get one out (maybe a boat if you're lucky). So, it's lucky that you can quarter a deer here! You'd be amazed how many people don't though...

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

"A person must present a bear, deer, moose or wild turkey for registration in its entirety, except that the viscera and rib cage of the animal may be removed in a manner that still allows the determination of the animal’s sex"- Maine Regs page 13.

This is how the reg reads, has anyone ever tried to actually quarter a deer and bring it in? My elk guiding buddies occasionally do this, they have a saw in the field and literally cut the elk in 4 pieces hide on. How about just halve the spine?

 

[Mainewoods]

"A person must present a bear, deer, moose or wild turkey for registration in its entirety, except that the viscera and rib cage of the animal may be removed in a manner that still allows the determination of the animal’s sex"- Maine Regs page 13.

This is how the reg reads, has anyone ever tried to actually quarter a deer and bring it in? My elk guiding buddies occasionally do this, they have a saw in the field and literally cut the elk in 4 pieces hide on. How about just halve the spine?

You can quarter a moose in Maine, that's legal and in the regs. Honestly, since I normally hunt the 3rd week of November, keeping an animal cold is not a problem. I also stay at a camp, no power or running water, but I can get to a store with ice, etc in about an hours drive. Regarding tent hunting, etc, you do not see it too much up this way. A few do it, but it's not super popular.

 

[Slm864]

That seems like an old antiquated rule that could really stand to be updated. Anyone who has ever tried to drag a 200 pound deer any distance knows that it’s a chore. Makes you regret shooting it lol. I ran into a guy a few years ago at the truck that shot a buck about a half mile back on some public. He looked like he was about to kill over after dragging it all that distance in warm rainy weather. He admitted he wished he never shot it but I give him credit for working his ass off. I have found deer and elk before that have too much left behind because of people who don’t have a good plan for getting them out. It stinks that a regulation makes it that much more difficult for getting your animal out of the woods. Unless “in its entirety” means it can be broken down but all pieces must be accounted for when presented?

 

[AvidIndoorsman]

That seems like an old antiquated rule that could really stand to be updated. Anyone who has ever tried to drag a 200 pound deer any distance knows that it’s a chore. Makes you regret shooting it lol. I ran into a guy a few years ago at the truck that shot a buck about a half mile back on some public. He looked like he was about to kill over after dragging it all that distance in warm rainy weather. He admitted he wished he never shot it but I give him credit for working his ass off. I have found deer and elk before that have too much left behind because of people who don’t have a good plan for getting them out. It stinks that a regulation makes it that much more difficult for getting your animal out of the woods. Unless “in its entirety” means it can be broken down but all pieces must be accounted for when presented?

Looks like some NE warden's are going to be getting some questions... on the upside the CO, WY, and MT warden's are going to get a break from me for a bit


Love the pics and the threads if you guys have any more.

 

[Steiny]

Always thought one of those boat access hunts on Lake of the Woods in Canada or Minnesota would be fun.

 

[Mainewoods]

That seems like an old antiquated rule that could really stand to be updated.

For sure, and just like the no hunting on Sundays in Maine. Ridiculous. However, I'll never complain about dragging out a big old whitetail, no matter what shithole I shot him in. That's how I grew up and didn't know anything different until I hunted elk last fall. My worst drag was in 2016, when I shot a beauty buck on bare ground with rather warmer than usual weather. This guy had big shoulders, and dragged hard! It was the middle of the night when I finaly got out of the woods and to my truck, but it was cloudless and a full moon, so plenty of light. When I think back on it, there's no place I'd rather be, than dragging one out, as that's the easy part.

I carry my coat, rifle, and fanny pack about 100 yards, and then go back and drag the buck to my stuff. Gives your legs a little break when you do it this way.

Here he is

 

[DouglasR]

I hope I’m not derailing the op.
Before I realized it’s pretty much ok to take a deer out in a backpack in Il I was trying to think of ways to get a whole deer up a steep 50-100ft ravine alone.
Has anyone ever used a rope system like these climbers have to accomplish this task? Is there a better way?

 

[Slm864]

When I think back on it, there's no place I'd rather be, than dragging one out, as that's the easy part.

I definitely remember some miserable drags just like I do packouts. I’m not quite as enthusiastic about it as you haha but I think it’s great that you enjoy it.

 

[Slm864]

Looks like some NE warden's are going to be getting some questions.

I have called the PA wardens several times about idiotic things and seem to get brushed off a lot. I called once to express my displeasure with jacklighting deer and how I was tired of hearing gunshots at night and was informed that i needed to complain to my state representative as jacklighting is a recreational activity. Sorry, not trying to derail thread. Just thought it was interesting where some rules come from. Not always game commission.