Here is a link to WV's Mountaineer Heritage hunt.

And it looks to be cold. Here in the valley we've got about 7 inches of snow, up in the mountains, it goes up to 15 inches or better. I've got 16*F now, a friend that lives an hour west of here has 6*. With a pretty good breeze too.

The snow is still drifting.

https://wvmetronews.com/2025/01/08/mount...ode-to-history/

That EHD is happening in Pa. as well!
The Game Warden said we had the perfect storm this past spring
and summer for it to happen. Also said after some good frost,it would go away.
The older hunters are dying off,and we need to get the phones and tablets out
of the younger generations hands,or we might lose hunting the way we know it.

In Wisconsin, a hunter can use a muzzleloader during any season that uses a firearm. There also is a special muzzleloader season, for deer only, right after the standard gun hunt season. Pistols are not legal because some can be loaded through the cylinder. Bear hunting has it's own special season, and method.

I agree, we're dying off faster than we're being replaced. Sad to say, but I think it's like that for everything outdoors. Hope I'm wrong.

That one link above has a couple good points. It's just like the property where my friend Diana lives, that property was busted up in 20 acre lots. It's ruined. And the prices, they are just out of line for the average working man.

I might have mentioned this before? But back during the Covid mess and all, there were for sale signs all over the place. Washington, DC, isn't really that far from here, 3 hours or a little less.

Those folks were looking for a place to get away, and the real estate business was booming. I noticed one property that was for sale, so I took the phone number and called later. The price was way out of line, but someone bought the place.

I was out scouting the other morning, we had a pretty good snow in the mountains. Going up the road, there were 2 fawns standing on the shoulder of the road. Gotta be careful driving now, that little strip of grass and road salt will draw them in.

Anyway, those fawns were tiny. My dog weighs 75# and she's bigger than those fawns. Went on up the mountain, just tracking out the road, other than a coyote, handfull of deer and squirrels, that was it. The snow had been on for a week.

Snow drifts pretty good up near the top, where the road breaks off on the west side, looked to be up to the headlights on my S-10, so I figured we'll just let things ride for another few days.

While I was on the mountain, I tracked a couple of fawns, deed honest I think you could have covered their little tracks with a Quarter. A 25-cent piece. That's not a good sign. There's not much up there for them to eat, now it's under snow.

The ground was froze before the snow, and I expect it to stick around for a while. I noticed 2 months ago, where the deer were eating the pine brush. It's mid January, it's going to be tough on the game.

Last Friday, the 17th, I went up on the mountain just to check things out. That batch of snow was 2 weeks old (3 weeks now), I'll tell you it was just too much for small game to navigate. That snow was a dry, fine textured snow and it was blowing and drifting for 10 or 12 days. Anyway, we had a couple warm and sunny days, the snow settled and crusted over with a heavy crust. Some places deer could walk on top.

The drifts still have the road messed up, and probably will for a while? My "lured rock" camera is only a half or 3/4's of a mile behind the gate, so I walked out, just tracking the road. Didn't see any game, I did track a bobcat, an old track. Most of it was drifted over and closed up.

The last deer carcass that I tossed over the bank, doesn't seem to have been touched. And there is a little bit of meat on it yet. I might have the bobcat on the camera, I didn't mess with it.

Sunday of this week, we got another snow. Here at the house I had 5 inches, it's a better tracking snow. Critters have had 5 nights to make tracks. So, I'll ride up tomorrow and walk out there again.

Depending on what I track, I might set snares in the morning? I'm not sure, but I'd guess there is going to be a good 10 inches of snow on the ground. Minus the crusty snow, about 5 or 6 inches?

We've had our 3 coldest days of the winter this week, starting Tuesday, I had 2*F, Zero and I had 1* this morning.

Still no word on the bear harvest, that should be out soon. Talking to some of our local hunters, it seems like the cold days we had before Thanksgiving/buck season, they just stopped moving.

Walking out the road the other day, I noticed a single deer track that had walked over and was eating on a laurel bush. In the mountains, that's about the only thing they do have to eat. Never know how the deer herd will fair this winter? But this weather is going to be tough for those little tiny fawns that I've mentioned.

We got the same weather pattern here! 6 inches of new snow and -8 for a low.
I have farm land around me ,and the deer are digging in the cornfields.

Yes, about the same as here. Big difference between here in town and up in the mountains. Friends in all directions have been below zero degrees.

Up on the mountain today, just not much action. The new snow has been on since Sunday, I did track a coyote, looked to be 2 or 3 days old. The snow at that elevation is a dry/fine snow. Still good for tracking.

Very few deer tracks. But I did track a weasel, that's the first and only weasel I've ever tracked in that area.

It came into the road, kind of zig-zagged across the road for 75 yards or so? Checking out every stump and snag along the way.

Not much traffic up the main road, but it is about half slick. I walked in again today, just not much sign, and the snow is good.

I'll give you an update. Monday, January 27th, my buddy Steve stopped by for a chat. Steve is retired, lives alone, just him and his dog. Steve goes out for a drive, just about everyday, sometimes it might just be a short trip. Other days he might ride around 75 or 80 miles, or more.

Anyway, Steve told me that he'd tracked where a bear had crossed D. Run Road. That's 25 miles out of town. Just happens, my buddy Ashby lives in that area. Long story short, I told Ashby there was a bear track on the east side of the mountain.

I was a little bit shy about telling Ashby, I didn't see the track in person. And as far as know, Ashby is still working 6 days per week and not getting home till 8pm. He's young and must be as tough as a pine knot.

Ashby sent me a message, later that night, right at bedtime. His old "cold nosed" dog rigged the track. He said she rigged it hard and had his truck rocking. He sent me a video of the track, I could hear his dog hammering.

It was warm that day, and on the south side all he could make out was it's toes and claws. There was still 6 or 8 or 10 inches of snow in places. Then, Jack's son tracked a bear about 2 or 3 miles north, could have been the same bear? We'll never know why it was up moving, there's nothing out there to eat.

We had some warm days, the snow melted off here in the valley, higher up it was slush and then it rained. Most of the river ice had melted, the rivers got high, but right here locally it was no problem. Our streams go down fast.

Otherwise, I've not been hearing of any bear being seen or caught on camera. Still hearing of a few bucks with antlers yet.

Our ground is pretty much soaked now, yesterday we had anywhere from over an inch of rain, sleet or ice. Some places the timber is down big time. The rivers are up now, more than they have been for a long time. The rain has stopped now, give the rivers till daylight and we'll be back to normal, pretty much. As of an hour ago, some of the back roads are flooded.

We're muddy here and can't go anyplace without a chainsaw.

I'll give you another update. Sunday, Feburaary 9th, I checked the weather forecast. They were calling for 100% chance of snow on Monday, 90% chance of snow on Tuesday. And it did snow, but very lightly. School was canceled both days, and a delay on Wednesday. Long story short, right here in town we had about 4 inches total. I know that's not much, but this county covers a good bit of ground.

Longer story short. The snow stopped sometime Tuesday night, after my bedtime? Wednesday morning, I tracked out the mountain, a little bit more snow up there. I found a weasel track, same place as before, and that was it. There for about a 2 mile stretch, there wasn't even a snowed-in deer track.

I checked the "lured rock" camera, it'd been about 6 weeks since the last SD card change. I did have a picture of a bobcat, that was about 3 weeks old. And pictures of 4 or 5 deer, they were all the taken the same day. It's possible it was only 3 deer? They were eating pine brush and laurel on the edge of the road. Otherwise, nothing.

Last Friday, with the same snow on the ground, I checked out a different spot. It's a little bit higher ground, up around 3,200 feet, still had a good soft tracking snow. Other than a couple sets of deer tracks, the only tracks I found were a pair of coyotes. The tracks looked to have been made right at the end of the snow.

I've talked to a half dozen of my best friends, it just seems like nothing is moving.


Here is a link to the WV bear harvest. https://wvmetronews.com/2025/01/28/bear-harvest-lower-but-not-significantly-for-2024/

Talking to different guys that bear hunt with dogs and all, about the only thing we can figure, is the first batch of cold weather we had, they just stopped moving. Another thing we've thought about, with them going in early, maybe we'll have an ever bigger bear harvest this comming fall and winter. We'll see.

I was grouse hunting in late January with the temp around 5-10 below
and jumped a bear out of its bed! That bear was sleeping under a pine tree
and had pine needles pulled up around the tree.
I also was trailing one while checking my coyote and bobcat sets,
he was following a creek,and fell in the water at the only deep hole in that area.
The ice was froze over so maybe it was trying to cross the creek.
It seems in the areas that i hunt,the animals come down to the low areas and feed.