When I ascended the treestand around 4:30, I was extremely confident. Located on the edge of the George Washington and Jefferson National Forests (GWJNF) and private land in Virginia, the area featured a mountain laurel thicket on the public land and a red oak grove that began on the G.W., and continued into a farmer’s parcel. Sooner or later, I felt, deer would leave the laurel and enter the oak stand where the trees were shedding their acorns.

Given the way major terrain features in the Blue Ridge stand out, bowhunters will likely find the deer easier to pattern.

About half an hour later, a whitetail came down from the laurel and began eating acorns. An additional 15 minutes passed before the deer stood broadside at the magic 20-yard distance. It was then I released an arrow. The deer bounded off, but a few seconds later, I heard it crash to the forest duff. A few minutes more and it was time to begin those most satisfying of archery chores: field dressing and dragging.

That whitetail was the first of four I took last autumn while bowhunting the Blue Ridge states of Virginia, West Virginia and North Carolina, which, along with Maryland, make up a quartet that offers quality mountain hunting for whitetails on both public and private lands.

Travel Tendencies

Sportsmen unfamiliar with hunting the Blue Ridge should realize that patterning deer here is much easier than doing so in the flatlands. That’s because the major topographical features (such as mountaintops, finger ridges, benches and saddles) that funnel deer are much easier to locate on maps and in person than their counterparts in rolling hills and flatland terrain.

Carol Croy, a forest wildlife biologist for the GWJNF, said a prudent first step toward locating a place to hunt is to contact the ranger district or public land office closest to the planned hunt area. Then ask for maps of the area and information about where recent management activities, such as timber cutting, controlled burns and the creation of wildlife openings, have taken place. Next, the bowhunter can use a topo map in conjunction with the public-land map and the info on management activities to plot several potential stand sites.

Hard mast — particularly acorns — has a heavy influence on deer movement in the?Blue Ridge states.

Presence Or Absence Of Acorns

The predominant food sources in the Blue Ridge Mountains, especially on public land, are white and red oak acorns. Last autumn, the mast crop was spotty, and deer were concentrated in very few areas. When I located those places, the deer became exceptionally easy to pattern. Conversely, an abundant mast crop makes finding whitetails much more difficult in the vast expanses of these highlands.

After a bowhunter selects a public-land parcel to hunt or gains permission to hunt private land, the final step toward determining stand placement is locating the oak grove that is the current hot food source. Then you’ll be all set to bowhunt the Blue Ridge.

Public-Land Options

Virginia and West Virginia:

George Washington and Jefferson National Forest

(540) 265-5100

West Virginia:

Monongahela National Forest

(304) 636-1800

North Carolina:

Pisgah National Forest

(828) 257-4200

Maryland:

Savage River State Forest

(301) 895-5759