bryced1

hey yall, i really need some help finding deer. im new to hunting this season and really dontknow any knowledgable people to help me.ive been hunting in the jefferson national forest in montgomery county and have had a hell of a time finding some deer. any tips, locations, or any help at all would be awesome

Blueheeler101

Study the topo maps andhunt close to privatefarm land. Find some funnels and/or ridges leading to and fromsomefood sources on these lands. The deep woodlands may have somebrowsing deer during the day. This time of year most deer are going to key in on aneasy food source andin most cases this is going to be found on farm land. So stay close to the farms because the deer are,you can even ask andtry to gain access to the forestthru someonesfarm. Thiswill give you an advantage and help youget to deer other hunters can't.Your best times are going to be just aftersunrise and just before dark.Good Luck Chris,

virginiashadow

Bryced, blueheeler gave you some great tips. Another tip is to be patient and work hard. All things being equal, the guy that works the hardest generally gets onto the deer, and that means being in the woods hunting instead of being on the couch. Find thick nasty cover. Find out where the deer are eating by looking for acorns and stretches of ground where the leaves are rooted up and or there is a large amount of fresh deer droppings. Set up with good backcover and wait, and wait, and wait if necessary. If you observe deer moving but they are not close enough to shoot, just reposition the next time you hunt so that you are downwind of them. Move in close enough to get a good shot depending on what type of weapon you are using.

How are you washing your clothes? How about your boots? Have you seen any other hunters around where you hunt and if so, how far are they going in to hunt? Just give us your observations and we can help you out even more. When I first started hunting 16 seasons ago I had noone to help me and hunted public ground just like you...I struggled for years. Take care and best of luck to you.

Brett

virginiashadow

Here you go..here is a topo of the Forest around some farms that blueheeler suggested. Looks like you could use the powerlines and try to cut off some deer moving to the farms in the nothern part of the link I provided below:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=Jefferson+National+Forest ,+Virginia&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=35.410182,78.75&ie=UTF8&amp ;cd=1&geocode=FSs0OAIdDTUt-w&ll=37.267223,-80.905595&spn=0.017384,0.038452&t=h&z= 15

WhackemNStackem

I used to hunt there quite a bit while I was at VT. The deer on Brush Mountain fed me quite a bit, you might have some luck at my old honey hole. Head down Craigs Creek Road to Caldwell Fields, hang a left there up the dirt road on Brush Mountain. A quarter mile up or so there will be a handicap hunting access road to your right. Park and head down it ALMOST all the way (~ 1 mile) There was a small cutover on the right there that was thick and shared a border with a private farm. I killed from either edge of it and rarely went a day without seeing a deer day there. Good luck!

coachsteve

This year the acorn crop suked down low along Craigs Creek where Whackem was talking about. I had to move higher up on the mountain, you can go farther up the dirt road he was talking about or stay on the main road and go on down to the "Hall Road" you will see the sign, and go up on the mountain there.

hammer06

This past fall was my final deer hunting season at Tech. I got a couple does down Poverty Creek this year. I have also had luck in Craig County (John's Creek Mountain) and some down towards Caldwell Fields. Don't forget areas like Preston's Forest which is closer to Blacksburg but also above a subdivision. The best advice is go where others don't go (this means deeper and odd places). Also, don't tell people exactly where you're going or what you're seeing. I thought the handicap road mentioned above was great until I took a friend who told someone else and the next several times I went those guys were there. If I could stay around for a few more seasons I'd look harder at Poverty Creek though. Over the last 3 seasons, my roommates and I took 6 deer out of there. If you want big whitetails scout John's Creek Mountain though.

doe slyr

basically the best tip if u want to kill deer is get by a river or a swamp