So this is my 3rd year hunting in NC and everyone says there's soooo many deer here but I'm not convinced, I do get a decent amount of trail camera pictures but I never see deer on the stand. I've been hunting the past week in some areas that are a mix of mostly hard woods and a few pines my buddy went out last night with me and went to a section that was all lines and ended up seeing a couple of doe. Anyone who hunts the south is it better hunting in the pines? I'm not sure what to do in thinking about taking my climber to another area of mostly pines tonight any input is appreciated thanks guys!
You have to hunt where they are going to be in daylight. Find the freshest set of tracks or droppings and set up downwind of that. Most of the time it's hunter error like hunting the wrong wind or bumping them while setting up for not seeing deer in areas with high deer densities. Always hunt fresh sign
in the north I've bumped deer bedding under lone spruce or pines in bad weather but here in the south with the large tracts of pine where they harvest the pine straw and its pretty clean and open I've not seen much sign.
Ive been hunting in NC near Fort Bragg for several years until I moved to Ohio last fall. Down there Id find creeks or dried creeks where oaks line the hill side. Find the acorns find the deer Ive always been told
I hunt Eastern North Carolina just outside Oak City. All of our property is standing Pine. See my screen name. We do however have soybeans on one side and corn on the other and there is a stand of oaks just off our property. You can bait with corn to get them started to trail to you with some consistency. One issue you might be having is even if they start to your corn or stand some acorns are starting to fall and they will still stop by your corn or stand but have their mind set on the acorns. I think someone mentioned creek banks or shallow ditches. They will use them for both water and as a travel corridor. So if you fine water and acorns right now you should see deer. Try to set up on a travel lane and drop some corn just to stop them long enough to evaluate and shoot if you decide to harvest. Don't get to sweaty and take a Thermo Cell to keep off the mosquitos. I have not seen may bucks moving in day light but should start soon with cooler weather coming in. Good luck hope this help in some way.
Thanks for the input guys, I did some scouting today and found some fresh tracks leading into the pines from the corn and found a ton of deer trails through the pine so fingers crossed for the morning!
I grew up in South Georgia in big acres of pine woods. If there is any creek bottom on the property I would work that area, if not think the key is hunting the edge of transitional areas. Hunt just off the trail near oak trees. If there is a power line on the property definitely check that area out thoroughly.
Good luck this morning. Also from most of the activity I have seen has been in the afternoon starting just after 5:00. I did have some doe come in opening morning around 8:00 but scented me blew and took off. I walked out and got breakfast. Just curious, what area of NC are you hunting.
