Anyone hunt the big woods of vermont

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

I call them the big woods cause that's all I hear them called.me and a buddy of mine are coming up to hunt this year. We are used to steep rocky mountain terrain here in the mountains of western north Carolina. We would like to know what to expect up there and when does the snow fly we have always wanted to track down big bucks in the snow our number one reason for coming up. Also we dont get very much snow down here and when we do it shuts the deer down completely

 

[Fyrstyk]

The "Green Mountains" in VT are similar to the ones you hunt in NC. The woods are mostly Birch, Maple, & Beech with the higher elevations and swamps being in conifers. Snow can fall at any time in November, sometimes requiring the use of snow shoes. Deer densities are not high in the "Big Woods" You could go the entire season and not even see a deer. If you plan do try tracking deer in the snow, you will want to hunt the forest areas that are remote, and be sure to bring a compass or GPS, and gear for a unexpected overnight stay.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Already got that stuff I can use my Garmin that I use for bear hunting. Sounds about like there deer density where I live in n.c. I just hope y'all don't have the cursed mountain laurels like we do here

 

[Fyrstyk]

Mountain laurel can be found in the southern portions of the Green Mountains, but I have yet to see any North of route 30. The real dense stuff is found in areas that were logged. Birch and beech sprout growth can be as thick as the hair on a dogs back, but the bucks like that stuff to bed in.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Now that I have you let me pick your brain for info. On my hunting apps I have found a very large tract of public land in the north eastern corner of the state. Have you ever hunted there or know anything about it

 

[CatamountRob]

Now that I have you let me pick your brain for info. On my hunting apps I have found a very large tract of public land in the north eastern corner of the state. Have you ever hunted there or know anything about it

That’s probably the Silvio Conte NWR and the West Mountain WMA that you are looking at but there is way more land than that up there to hunt. There is private timber company land that has conservation easements held by the state and in VT, any unposted private land can be hunted.
I’ve hunted moose up there 3 different times, we stayed in Canaan and mostly hunted the area around Black Mountain which I think is in Averill.

 

[CatamountRob]

The Conte and West Mountain are like 45,000 acres combined but Weyerhaeuser owns another 80,000+ acres in that area that the state of VT bought public access on. There’s a road called Gaudette road that starts on Rt 114 to the west of Averill Pond, that road connects to the VELCO power line which runs all the way south through the Conte.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

All I know is it's huge and with all the public logging access there has got to be some super sized bucks around in there. I'm not making the trip just to shoot a spike that's for sure. If I go during the muzzleloading season and don't get one and go back during the rifle season do I need to get a tag for that season or is my original tag still good. That place is called Williams something or another I'll have to look at it again

 

[CatamountRob]

We have 2 muzzleloader seasons, one in late October that is antlerless only, the tags are by lottery and there probably aren’t any in that zone. Regular gun season is 16 days and ends the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The late muzzleloader season starts the following Saturday and runs for 9 days.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Well that helps some so is my tag good for the entire season or just for the rifle season. I know some states your tag is only good for the muzzleloading season or the rifle season and if it goes dead for the one you have to buy another if you hunt out of state

 

[CatamountRob]

A VT big game hunting license ($102) comes with a rifle season buck tag and a late season bear tag, if you want to hunt the muzzleloader season you need to buy a muzzleloader tag ($40) too.
You are only allowed one buck so don’t buy the muzzleloader tag until after rifle season because if you killed a rifle season buck you would be done.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

So what your saying is if I kill a buck during rifle season I can get a second tag for the late muzzleloader season just don't buy one for the first and only hunt the rifle season and late muzzleloader season. Sounds confusing to me

 

[CatamountRob]

So what your saying is if I kill a buck during rifle season I can get a second tag for the late muzzleloader season just don't buy one for the first and only hunt the rifle season and late muzzleloader season. Sounds confusing to me

No that’s not what I’m saying. I’m saying if you kill a buck during rifle season and you had already bought a muzzleloader tag, you wouldn’t be able to use it because we have a one buck limit. Only buy a muzzleloader tag if you haven’t killed a buck during the gun season.

 

[Bobbyjoe Surrett]

Ok now that makes more sense lol. Could I pm you to get more information about the land and regs up there

 

[CatamountRob]

You bet.