Patterning Deer In 2F

I recently met up with a landowner near me in 2F. I have hunted this area for many years along with other areas in Pa. The area we visited in 2F has no agriculture at all. A very large woods with little population. Very few trees that produce soft mast and many that produce hard mast. One thing I have noticed is that the deer in this area are very difficult to pattern. There are very few trails that they use. Yes you will find a trail leading into a small area that produce apples but after they are gone the trails don't get used anymore. Acorns only last for a short time and deer will scatter about sucking them up. Again no trails. Late early archery is best hunted by trying to find a good food source. Hunt the does and the bucks will be there. Other areas farther south with smaller woodlots, you can find trails that look like cow paths and pretty much set your watch to their travel time. Anyone else ever notice this difference in hunting deer only 100 miles apart and how different hunting up north is from hunting southern counties or counties with agriculture?

ORIGINAL: Claypool313

It works for me though.  Just gotta be OK with 1 deer per 3 hours of stand time.

Even though most won't believe me, that would work out close to what I see here in 2b...

Whenever I plan on hunting a large tract of unfamiliar land, I always check out the topo and satellite maps.  I understand the properties I am referring to are not quite the same as the "big woods", but you can still learn an awful lot by studying the maps.  Quite often you will notice some obvious travel routes to check out like benches, swales, pinch points or funnels.  

I'm kinda in the same boat as you when hunting 2F. Thing is the area has changed in several places due to logging. After two years you would think that the deer would return to the same place prior to but not so. Areas that once held a descent number of deer don't anymore during light. I don't think they like the openness of where the cutting took place. The apple trees alway hold deer but for a short time then some will over hunt the area and deer wont visit until after dark. My best bet is to wait till later in Oct when deer are moving more and look for sign, rub lines, active scrapes, etc. Small game hunters would sometimes move the deer also but the number of small game hunters have decline to were they have little effect on moving the deer. Best to set up several cams and see whats going on day and night.Many hours are spent perched high with no deer sighted. I try to move and not over hunt a set. Pressure those northern deer and you will not see them again until maybe firearms season. So much big woods and so little deer. It is very tough hunting but I still prefer it over SW Pa.

I know exactly what your talking about S-10 sounds like Trunkyville - West Hickory area. Food plots are a good alternative but you have to keep people out if they are going to pay off for you. Just too much time, effort and money to have someone come in and shoot the deer you worked hard to attract. Hunt clubs and leases seem to be taking over in many areas as deer numbers decrease. Remember when a trip up north used to mean that you would see lots of deer ,turkey and a few bear? Now many are staying south with the same results. The northern woods can be very lonely for the bow hunter nowadays.

    Bow season can be a pain trying to figure the Deer anyplace= their food sources are often in transition.
We had 4 Deer  that  basically lived under one Oak tree for bout 3 weeks alongside my cousins pasture. Each trip to the barn ya could see one or two or all of them gettin up from a bed and wandering under the tree picking up new drops and bedding again.
Bump them off THAT tree and they will find another quick and not come back- no need to.
    Those 'barren' woods are suddenly filled with food and they dont have to move much.
Have sat in a number of trees for too many days watching them eat under ONE tree some distance away. They come in directly to that tree- eat and leave. When that tree is finished or not producing enough they go someplace else.
Hard to pattern can be an understatement in decent mast years. Even the commonly used trails are often changing over in this season.  All bout da belly.
Never tried it but a fella suggested fertilizing ONE good tree on a ridge hoping they would use it during the mast drop.