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"2021 Hunt"
"2021 Hunt"
by Bryan Austin
Started - November 26th, 2021
South Mountain Game Lands, North Carolina
Gun, Antlered Deer - Nov 22 through Dec 11
Doe Day - Nov 27
Day 1 - 26 November
So after seven years living in North Carolina, I decided it was time to learn to hunt in the mountains...and it ain't going very well!!!! This place is beautiful but the terrain is torturous.
My first day consisted of just learning the area. Visiting a south/central location, I waited till most guys were done with their morning hunt then I walked around. Only walking a little over a half mile up the north end of this hollow, dragging a buck back to the truck would have give me a heart attack...and it was on a road.
After a short rest and a few photo ops, I eased back to the truck and called it a day...trying to leave before the guys came back for the evening hunt.
Day 2 - 27 November
Unknowingly, Day two was a bit more ambitious than day one. This adventure started on the north west side of the game lands, following the northern border, it soon drew me closer to the north central area of the previous day. The road was an old logging road that hugged the contour of the main ridge tops
There are a lot of good places to hunt here, just very hard to get to them. One can only walk in and out of the majority of the lands, thus making hauling out a kill alone quite challenging. I am not ready for that this year. I hope to be better equipped next year and I do have a few spots of interest for scouting when the time comes.
Much of the area, with direct access to the road, consisted of 100 to 200ft drop-offs. On my way back out I was able to find a small bench (ridgeline) that settled downward to the deep hollow. This area was obviously not hunted for I did not find any trails leading down to the point. The leaves were all fluffy and dry and I imagine I sounded like a herd of buffalo stampeding across a prairie of dry twigs!
After a short while, I decided to take my notes home and give the place back to the hunters that surrounded every noise I made.
Day 3 - 1 December
I had a place scouted back where I was on day one but duty called and I had to skip a day. I noticed a field with a lot of (night) traffic coming in and out from a specific area seen in some 2018 google earth photos.
Not sure if it's hunted out but..... Most shots should be between 50 and 65 yards in all directions down to the creek, but I can reach out to 165 yards on the opposite hillside if needed. Even if I did get something, I doubt I could drag it out alone.
I eased in about 11:30ish so I could find a spot and be still until dark. It was working but unfortunately I started to cough about 4:30 so I eased out before taking a chance on spooking anything that be be headed down that pathway. Till next year!
Day 4 - 8 December
Day 4 was much like Day 1 and Day 2. I ran into some squirrel hunters on the way in so I decided to just do a bit more scouting. The longest I walked in, 1.27 miles and by the time I walked out I was beat! I did find a few spots I liked that I might put up stand next year. I do need to gather some more items but I am looking foreword to it.
On my way out I saw this track. I do not remember seeing in on the way in and it is moving downwind. I may have jumped a late walker on his way back to the bedding area. Who knows, but there are deer out there.
Over the next year I'd like to try and put out some trail cams and visit a few times to see what the off season traffic looks like. This place was cut out some years ago and it can get pretty thick in the bottom. In the photo above, the thick young stuff goes up about mid-slope and opened up into the older area.
This game land mountain hunting is gonna take a little getting use to.
20 December 2021Another day and new area. This time I ventured an hour or so North to a different location. I really liked this place but can't hunt there in 2022 because it is now a State Park. A place I called 5 Points, where several old skidder trails can to an intersection. Terrain is very steep.
22 December 2021
Last dat to hunt. I let this spike go. Although I can't hunt here next year, I did find another place a few miles to the east of this place. Again tons of scraps but few rubs.
12 February 2022
With deer season gone, squirrel season was in but I think I was illegal because you are supposed to hunt (on public games lands) with the weapon you would hunt squirrels with....can I hunt squirrels with a 44-40? I only had one day to try my first coyote hunt and as you can tell from the previous sentence, hunting coyotes on public lands in NC is a pain so I probably will not hunt them again until I can find some private land.
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