Welcome, but you actually joined before me! But I saw your comment about hunting mountain deer. Same here actually, and ive put a lotta years into now. Just few personal thoughts? Im soon 67, have hunted all my life, squirrels mostly. I didn't really get serious about deer around here, SE Ky, until I retired in 2016. I hunted deer randomly from late 90's on, and Elusive is the best definition for them. Nothing but big mountains here, they left me scratching my head constantly. I'd get fed up with them, determine, why miss out on good squirrel hunting for the aggravating things!!! I mostly bowhunted them to take advantage of our early generous season, and always hunted on ground, i hate sitting in a tree, just aint hunting to me!
But now, ive declared them the ultimate, most worthy challenge in hunting! I love it, and since retiring, ive gained a patience I never had before. I killed one with a bow in 2019, but just not interested in anything now but rifle hunting! I hunt year around, as to scouting & preparation, enjoy it all! Found my early years was waste of time, using the BS you read in magazines and see on TV! Mountain deer are not flat & farm country animals! No agriculture here. Have learned to hunt funnels, and funnels in mountains can equal a big picture, thats hard to describe! But these travel corridors are the key, and its usually never a daily thing. But an occasional but sure thing! Especially when rut is gearing up! Here, most Does are usually low, thickets, best places to raise fawns. Big Bucks, mostly high to near the tops of ridges & peaks ( not all of them)! I usually hunt the bottom half as a general rule overall! Kerp my camera's low, in the Does. I hardly ever get a Buck pic until late Oct, but all of sudden often & regular buck pics! But most always night pic's! And by early Nov, they're taking chances more n more often. And using these funnels for travel ways! Ive taken a deer on a regular basis, hunting these places based upon what i learn from previous year! Im no trophy hunter, not interested, but im quick to just take a decent buck, and have past three seasons, when most hunters average a deer maybe every three years! Very low number of deer per squaremile here! But i love it, all of it, nothing like it!
Hang in there, have fun, have faith in what you're hunting, be willing to wait!
The places I hunt, are places no one else will even fool with, I never see another hunter! The kinda places that draw lotta hunters, I dont fool with!
