Archery Talk Forum banner

How is the deer hunting in North Carolina???

10K views 28 replies 24 participants last post by  CAPTJJ 
#1 ·
My company just relocated to NC and though I will remain in VA for an undetermined amount of time working, the time is coming soon where my project will dry up and I will be asked to relocate to North Cackalacky. Most likey I would be in the Raleigh/Durham area. My wife and I are weighing the pros and cons of a move and one of my big concerns is deer hunting.

Here in VA the deer are plentiful, the regulations are relaxed and I can basically shoot unlimited deer. I took 7 last year (6 in VA) and would like to be able to take at least that many every year. I will look up the NC hunting regs, but I was just wanting to hear from some NC hunters about how deer hunting is.

I heard from a guy in my company (bowhunter, but not very passionate, hunts rarely and usually takes one deer at most every year) that he isn't even going to bother trying to hunt in NC because all the locals run the deer with dogs and the hunting is crappy because of that. Any truth to that? Are there lots of deer? How about the quality of bucks?

Any and all info would be appreciated. I need to start making this very important decision very soon and I want to have all my arrows in the quiver when I make that choice. Thanks,
 
See less See more
#2 ·
I live in SC about 15 mins south of the NC border. The deer hunting here is getting better and better! Last yuear my partner and I took 23 deer with our bows and 18 were from SC. I know that some of the places we work in NC have a lot of good deer and I have never seen them run with dogs near the upstate, I think thats more of a coastal area thing...Hope you are happy whatever you do, any ?'s shoot me a PM, FLingr
 
#3 ·
I was going to try the Charlotte, NC area. Not sure if it will be this year but I heard there were some nice deer around there. I have to do my homework first because I've heard this from a relative who isn't a hunter but says he's seen some nice deer.
 
#4 ·
I'm originally from WV, moved down here for work also. There are more deer down here than there are in WV, not the size of deer back home body wise. There are some nice deer down here, just seem that there are alot more smaller deer mixed in.
From what I know they run deer dogs alot on the coast and in the southeastern part of the state. I don't know anything about the hunting in the Raleigh/Durham area, so I can't help you there. You are allowed to take 6 deer a year. Hope this helps.
 
#5 ·
I lived in Wilmington, NC for years, and it is very different hunting there.

When I became frustrated with tiny deer, dog hunting, and swamps, I headed towards Raleigh or Charlotte and felt much more familiar with the terrain and the hunting.

You will do fine. If things get too strange, you can always head towards Asheville and the Blue Ridge. I have hunted the Blue Ridge in NC and VA.....it will feel just like home, trust me.
 
#7 ·
north carolina aint got any deer

Joking we have a few quality bucks running around and several are take in the Triad area every year - be prepared to pay for a lease and hope you enjoy te state
 
#9 ·
it all depends on which area your going to hunt.the bigger deer are here closer to the mountains and the numbers are out east.the eastern part are dogged alot and good luck finding land,clubs rule there and have for a long time.....its the most desireable place because of the numbers.better quality deer are found in the piedmont and central and still good numbers.the best counties to me are....allegany,ashe,anson,halifax,northampton,bertie,montgomery,wilkes,
alexander,stokes,caswel to name a few and also the state record came from pearson county kill by a friend of mines dad right after he finished taking the browns to the super bowl (well log):eek: didnt say we had the smartest deer.:wink:

maxx
 
#10 ·
NC ain't so bad. Depending on the zone, you can get some VERY VERY long archery only seasons!!!:wink: I hunt in Cleveland county (30 miles west of Charlotte) and I get 2+ MONTHS of archery only. I'm the only one in the woods for a long long time!!!:becky:

With a sportsman's license, you get 6 deer, 2 turkeys, 2 wild boar (I think it's 2), and 1 black bear.... all tags included for the $40 resident sportsman's license. There is also some GREAT duck and goose hunting in the eastern part of the state. Speaking of the eastern part of the state, that is the area that it's legal to run dogs. The western half of the state, no running dogs = :thumb:

Also new for this year is the urban archery season!!!! Starts in Jan. (after all other seasons close) and runs until sometime in Feb. AWESOME! I'm not sure of how each city handles implementing it (if they choose to). I know there is ALOT of deer overpopulation and car accidents up in the Raliegh-Durham area.... so I'd bet some of the cities around there go for it in the next year or so.

-ZA
 
#11 · (Edited)
Come on Down you da next contestant for the LOVE of the Crown>>---->

Hopefully the HUNTING will be better thean my little rhymes. :wink:
Plenty of deer too many in some areas

Quality getting better with attitudes changing- Genetics are good and Habitat is suitable WE JUST NEED THE AGE ON THE DEER
Lots of people are just not willing to pass the deer because of lots of pressure

Good Luck and GOD bless you what ever you decide

PM if I can help you more
^2Bucks, 4 does or 6 does, all feral hogs you want,2 turk turks,2 boar good fishing
 
#12 ·
Looks like the bag limits are just about the same as VA! The feral hogs thing intrigues me...are there really little piggies running around or do you have to go to a "hunting preserve" where they have them fenced in? In VA we are allowed to take Elk with our hunting tags, problem is...there arent any elk in VA. Are the pigs in NC like that? You can take one if you see it, but they really arent something you would see in the woods?
 
#14 ·
Where you are going you won't have to deal with dogs,, thats only here in the east. You get six deer, and you have some decent habitat just north and west of you. The deer are bigger in the central/piedmont side of teh state. YOu have archery only zones too.
Most all has been said already..I'd say stay in VA just because I am tired of people moving to NC.. :D
they are driving up housing, over developing and blowing up the lease costs.. but hey,, it's not all your fault :D LMAO. jus kiddin.
rye
 
#15 ·
Love the deer hunting around here,pigs are coming in to. As for the hunting alot of people travel from Orange and Caswell to work in Raliegh and that is some good land there to hunt,I hunt caswell myself and seen some big deer taking there.You might get permission to hunt,if asked nicely.Jordan Lake has game lands all around it some archery only.Good luck with the move.
 
#16 ·
There are some decent deer around here. Basically, like was said the farther west, the bigger the deer. But there are less deer in the mountain counties. The bag limit is similar to VA, but you only have to buy one license for archery and firearms...no special archery license. I also hunt in the mountains of Virginia where my inlaws live. The deer there are much bigger. You can find a few places to hunt in the triangle area. I usually hunt in Franklin county, just northeast of Wake.
 
#18 ·
Hunting in NC

Well i live in NC and i hunt in cleveland county. we have a very long archery season and last year some very good bucks were killed here that i kno of. I didn't get to bowhunt much last year or riflehunt as much as i would have liked to. But the hunting can b good if u do proper scouting, and try to manage the herd. Good luck:darkbeer:
 
#19 ·
Im in Asheville during the summer...id stay here if the hunting was good but its not. I go back to Va. in Oct and Nov cus the deer are plentiful. In Va. I kill 10+ every year(so do most my friends) and pass up another 40 easy. In Asheville id be lucky to have 4-5 deer inside my 25yd comfort zone. Ranger said the soil minerals in WNC werent as beneficial to the deer here. The parts of NC to the east have a better population im sure. The mountains in WNC sure are pretty though(best part of the Smoky's imo)...too bad so few deer.
 
#21 ·
Rumor has it that Buzzkill gags when gutting a deer. :sick:

Signed....annonymous witness....:tape2:
 
#23 ·
Lots of deer

The Raleigh area has a ton of deer, however the bucks tend to have racks with not much mass. If you can find some private ground to hunt you will do well. When looking for a house try to find one with some surrounding buffer land, you will be surprised with the amount of deer that roam the neighborhoods. I live just south of Raleigh, great fishing in some local lakes, caught a 7.5 lber yesterday, my fishing partner and I consistantly put a 5 lber or better in the boat every trip.
 
#24 ·
I grew up about an hour east of Raleigh, and use to hunt some around Johnson Co, and Pitt Co area. The Pitt Co property was a family farm, and the deer had large bodies, but it was from eating a bunch of soy beans, winter wheat, corn, and peanuts. If I was moving back up there, and did not know anyone, I would probably try to find some land in the NorthHampton Co area. It will be a couple hour drive from the RDU, but the largest racks are in that area. If not, you should be able to find some decent hunting north of Raleigh, as well as west of Durham.

Good Luck!
 
#26 ·
VA deer are small bodied and small racked for the most part as well. I've shot many deer up here the size of a big dog...anda couple the size of a small dog. :embara:I was just hoping to find that I had decent bag limits and would have a reasonable chance of seeing deer on a small plot of land and if there is any good public land opportunities. I was a little disappointed to hear that there are leases there, that isn't something that really happens here in VA. Usually you can just get permission to hunt since landowners are looking to thin the herd.
 
#28 ·
he isn't even going to bother trying to hunt in NC because all the locals run the deer with dogs and the hunting is crappy because of that. Any truth to that?
dog hunting is only allowed in the eastern part of the state. There are times when it can be a tremendous pain. I guess you live in the part of VA where dog hunting isn't allowed, because there are parts of VA where it is and it is no different than NC.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top