Ep. 118: Keys to Consistent Success Hunting Mountain Bucks with Nathan Killen

On this episode of the East Meets West Hunt podcast, Beau Martonik is joined by Nathan Killen coming out of the mountains of southern Virginia. Nathan had an amazing 2019 deer season, but his consistency in killing mature deer every year is even more impressive. We talk about buck bedding, precision stand placement, hunting the same stand more than once, egress/regress and much more! In addition, Nathan wrote an article for me on some of these topics available at www.eastmeetswesthunt.com/journal.

Topics:
Background on you and the type of area you hunt in Virginia
Brief synopsis of your 2019 season
Hunting bucks vs. "deer"
Buck bedding
The decision a hunter makes regarding sign found and how/where to hunt in relation - precision stand placement
Hunting the same stand more than once
Egress and Regress

Resources:
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[@sethhussey5804]

Good stuff. Nice to hear whitetail hunting from somewhere other than midwrst ag land

[@grizzledmillennial4765]

Fellow Virginia hunter, glad to here about others in the mountains as well!

[@outdoorlife9410]

Not often your listening to your favorite podcast and you hear your cousin on here talking about killing giant mountain deer. Great job Nathan! Keep em coming!

[@appalachianhunter2523]

Virginia Mountain hunter here - love to hear a fellow Virginian! I hunt near Charlottesville, VA in GW National Forest. What's amazing is how few hunters there were the last few years compared to this past opening weekend of bow season. 2020 has more hunters in the woods then 2019, but still not in the numbers from long ago. However, the spot I park and where I walked in I only had two other trucks and never saw another hunter along the way. I didn't see any deer, but snuck up on 4 bears!

[@grizzledmillennial4765]

Glad here another here about another Virginia mountain hunter. Good luck this year

[@MrEvanbaseball]

Great information! Not much out there for our eastern mountain hunting. Also great guest, Nathan is a smart, great person!

[@MrEvanbaseball]

Beau Martonik already have! Also a die hard Appalachian whitetail fanatic. Keep up the good work!

[@douglaslockard9241]

Nathan has a great buck in the west Virginia record books

[@thebigbuckslayerr579]

Ya know I've listened to so many podcasts , watched a ton of videos , read ... a ton of things and I've never heard someone say anything about visualizing what a buck is going to do ... I'm adding that to my arsenal I love it great tip

[@2CanTan]

Beau, just found your channel and these are some of better podcast around no doubt. Thanks. I’m in Arkansas pine farm lease land in the foothills with elevation changes so I try to use big woods tactics I learn. I like the way you don’t act like as some do and sound like a guy that would chill at our deer camp and vise versa. Keep them coming the same way!

[@zacharygentzler5538]

Fantastic podcast and 100 percent correct . Also it was a good blog

[@thebigbuckslayerr579]

You should have this guy on again if you haven't lol . I'd like to hear more from you too . About mountain hunting in general ... especially buck travel...

[@Chrisbreezy1979]

I’m in Harlan County Ky still Appalachia’s, were butted up to Va on three sides of the county. Mature bucks here are few and far between. All I know is I’ve hunted western Ky farmland and it’s way easier terrain and way more deer with a variety of food which is totally different from here at home. But I have to find a pinch point in a worn out trail or their bedroom. Like the podcast.

[@2CanTan]

Will y’all be doing any turkey tactics in the big woods and cut overs etc? Our woods are similar but less elevations and our cut overs have smz’s left so we have hardwood strips and edges that they roost in. We are in a 60,000 plus acres continuous of same habitat so these big wood and hill or mtn buck podcasts are closest things I can find to relate to. I listen to exodus , WHS, Higgins, 100%, Deer S, etc and other than GRant woods it’s these big woods tactics. We are what the proving grounds are terrain wise except just the mtn creeks are left not cut and rest is pine rotations.