Any advice for hunting in the woods.

[hat_man]

Hello to everyone,
This sort of goes along with my question about keeping my detector in the truck. If I can take it with me to work there are 3 nice state parks with acres and acres of woods to play in on my way home. Some of them border the river and there were many Indians in our area. When you are hunting the woods, do you stick to the public trails or take to the deeper parts of the woods? (By "you" I mean personally not as a MD'er in general ) I wonder if the public trails are placed because they were old footpaths from long ago or because they are just easier to maintain. Or maybe the original pathways are buried deeper in the woods. Is there much to find deep in the trees? I realize the public trails will yield more "modern" finds but where do you all find interesting things? Any other advice would be greatly appreciated and I will offer half of my extensive pull tab collection to whoever helps me find my first "keeper" from the woods. Thank you all for your patience and help.

Hat_man

 

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[hollowpointred]

my first piece of advise would be to check the laws in your area. in a lot of states, state parks are a no no, and you can get fined or even get your equipment (including your car) confiscated. if it is in fact ok to hunt in the park, i always look for pine trees that seem to be growing all by themselves. people used to plant them around old home steads. also fruit trees, flowers like tulips, any non native plant like bamboo. all of these things were probably planted. also keep in mind that nature doesnt draw straight lines. if you see trees or rocks all lined up nice and neat it is almost always the work of man. trails are also a good idea.

 

[drywasher]

what is woods now, may have been a road, trail,pathway,yard,storage area for a business, 75 to 125 years ago.
just because it's grown up now does not mean it was always that way.
one of my very very best finds was on a ridge 3/4 of a mile from the nearest road and 2 miles from the nearest house.
this ridge is over a mile long and at it's widest part 50' with the narrow part 12' wide.
in the 1880's a sawmill was located at the north end of the ridge by the river at the south end of the ridge was a small bar/store/girlie house.
nothing remains of the sawmill or the bar ,but, the ridge top always gives up something.....
sometime modern and sometime quite old...
when you are in the woods always look for the easiest route thru the area, people are lazy and will almost always take the easy way, this is true for a 100 years ago as it is today. why walk thru the swamp when they can follow an old deer trail on the ridge.
respectfully, george

 

[Gypsy Heart]

Those old parks werent always parks....get an old area map and see wherethings were located.....trails....roads....farms...stagecoach inns....taverns....etc

 

[gallileo60]

Great question, great answers...I go to alot of wooded parks myself, and sometimes strike off to the not so beaten path....Good luck..

 

[Sandman]

Everyone else said most of it except wear Blaze Orange if you detect the woods during deer season.

 

[gallileo60]

Everyone else said most of it except wear Blaze Orange if you detect the woods during deer season.

Good point, Sandman........

 

[doozis]

If you happen to see places where tree stands are used , you outta
make a quick sweep around them , sometimes hunters drop really nice
knives , coins...etc. A friend of mine's son in law lost his GPS in his
excitement after shooting a deer 2 years ago and its never been found.
keep your eyes peeled

Doozis

 

[Gypsy Heart]

If you happen to see places where tree stands are used , you outta
make a quick sweep around them , sometimes hunters drop really nice
knives , coins...etc. A friend of mine's son in law lost his GPS in his
excitement after shooting a deer 2 years ago and its never been found.
keep your eyes peeled

Doozis

You better hope to God a hunter doesnt find you near his tree stand or there will be hell to pay. Hunters really go to great lengths to keep any human smell away from their stands and usually bait and use deer or bear scent to bring in the big ones....worse than the hunter catching you fouling his area is a bear..........

 

[wesfrye53]

You'd better listen to Gypsy...she spends a lot of time in the woods

 

[doozis]

In Virginia in a national forrest they better NOT have a permanent
tree stand , thats a big no no . I would never hunt in the woods
during the hunting season , not only is it stupid , its also very rude
to disturb the hunters ( I have been one for over 40 years )

Doozis

 

[joya_dorado]

If you happen to see places where tree stands are used , you outta
make a quick sweep around them , sometimes hunters drop really nice
knives , coins...etc. A friend of mine's son in law lost his GPS in his
excitement after shooting a deer 2 years ago and its never been found.
keep your eyes peeled

Doozis

You better hope to God a hunter doesnt find you near his tree stand or there will be hell to pay. Hunters really go to great lengths to keep any human smell away from their stands and usually bait and use deer or bear scent to bring in the big ones....worse than the hunter catching you fouling his area is a bear..........

Damn straight! Couple years ago I stumbled on a group of bears that had a noose around the neck of a hunter and were about to string him up. Couldn't really blame the bears but I thought it best to save the guy so I rode in with the reins in my teeth, swingin' the metal detector like a sword with one hand and shootin' with the other. Most of 'em scattered cept for one big silverback and a younger female. I persuaded the big feller to leave after I bit off his ear while the young female... well she and I are dating now

 

[Green1]

i woods hunt all year long,, i look for paths off of paths and hillsides are usually good too..when ya can't do the playgrounds or yards or whatever cause the ground is froze, woods are great!! usually here in mass it's just the first 2-4 in' that's froze up...

 

[MD Dog]

Since your looking at State parks, I doubt you'd find any permanent hunting sites. However hunting is allowed in alot of State parks just not the permanant tree stands or blinds. So blaze orange is a good idea. That said, any sort of water attracts people through out the ages, hug the banks unless you have a water MD. Unless artifacts are your thing, look for open areas since dense weeds would prevent you from getting your coil close enough to the ground for smaller items like coins.

 

[silverswede]

I also do alot of woods hunting and you've already got some real good ideas put forth. I guess though I'd worry more about joya protecting his female than hunters. Seriously in the parks though I would still look for places where people, lots of people gather, picnic areas, lake shores, parking areas, any place a tent could have been set up. When people sit or lie on the ground they lose things. Whatever you do just have fun, Hat_Man and take pictures.

 

[gallileo60]

If you happen to see places where tree stands are used , you outta
make a quick sweep around them , sometimes hunters drop really nice
knives , coins...etc. A friend of mine's son in law lost his GPS in his
excitement after shooting a deer 2 years ago and its never been found.
keep your eyes peeled

Doozis

You better hope to God a hunter doesnt find you near his tree stand or there will be hell to pay. Hunters really go to great lengths to keep any human smell away from their stands and usually bait and use deer or bear scent to bring in the big ones....worse than the hunter catching you fouling his area is a bear..........

Damn straight! Couple years ago I stumbled on a group of bears that had a noose around the neck of a hunter and were about to string him up. Couldn't really blame the bears but I thought it best to save the guy so I rode in with the reins in my teeth, swingin' the metal detector like a sword with one hand and shootin' with the other. Most of 'em scattered cept for one big silverback and a younger female. I persuaded the big feller to leave after I bit off his ear while the young female... well she and I are dating now

Kinda chickenshit how they feed them ,a nd then shoot them...Not very sporting if ya ask me....Go ahead shoot bambi...

 

[Gypsy Heart]

I dont know if you are really hitting the groomed areas of the parks or the deeper woods....if hitting the true woods then.....

I have learned that it pays to take a pair of safety glasses along....alot of times I am getting into some pretty brushy areas and the glasses have saved my eyes more than once.....I like the cheapy ones from Harbor Freight because they have elastic that makes them easy to push up if I have to.

I always carry a backpack with water,cell phone,flashlight (because sure as heck there will be a cave ,hole or well I want to look into) extra batteries,extra knife,rain poncho, map ,compass and a lighter.

I also carry pepper spray because I am a loner and not wanting any uninvited company.

I usually research the area I am going to first and then plan a route. I like to look for foundations, caves, water routes,bathing/swimming areas ,wells ,old line fences,etc. I keep an eye out for bottles or rusty cans because that tells me where people were going through.

I hunt in all iron mode when deep in the woods because if I hit iron....I am hitting where people were.

 

[Montana Jim]

Woods? What's woods?

 

[gallileo60]

Wow Gypsy,
You have it going on.....

 

[re-tek]

interesting reading guys.. keep adding!
i'm going to west virginia soon and will be totally out of my city habitat!