MARTINSBURG, W.Va. — Although West Virginia features a considerable amount of public land for hunting, most hunters will seek out private land for a variety of reasons. However Chad Grove of Martinsburg enjoys the challenge of hunting bucks in the mountains which haven’t had many interactions with humans. It’s taken several years, but he has found tremendous success in the process. This year he managed to connect with another large whitetail on the Sleepy Creek Wildlife Management Area on the Morgan-Berkeley County line.
“He was one of the few deer I had pictures of over the summer. He wasn’t my number one deer, but due to some other circumstances I wound up chasing him on that evening. Through some scouting during the wintertime and running trail cameras through the summer I was able figure out some bedding on that deer. It just so happened he and his buddy came out of those beds on the night I was there,” explained Grove in a recent interview for West Virginia Outdoors.
Listen to “Chad Grove — Berkeley County Buck” on Spreaker.
The bedding areas were in a rather remote location. Grove entered the area from the top of the ridge and on this particular night dropped off the top of the mountain a couple hundred yards and positioned his stand to where he could overlook the bedding area. Around 6 p.m. the action began as the massive buck he was after appeared and started to make his way up the mountain in his direction.
“I can honestly say it’s one of the most textbook things I’ve ever had happen in the mountains was seeing those deer some up out of those beds and come straight toward me. All those days of scouting in the winter and running cameras in the summer paid off for sure,” he explained.
It may have been textbook, but there is always a twist or two. This hunt was no different. The “buddy” Grove referenced was a six point buck who was with the big one and the smaller buck was the lead deer coming up the hill.
“He got behind me where my wind was blowing and kind of busted me. This deer was in front of me about 10 yards but he stopped behind this giant oak tree. I’m at full draw at 10 yards and can’t get a shot,” Grove laughed.
Grove explained he knew the lead deer was going to bolt and very likely alert the big one behind him. That’s how it happened, but as luck would have it, the bigger buck came from out of cover and was stationery just long enough for the arrow to fly.
“I did rush the shot a little bit and didn’t make the best shot, but I did end up putting him down rather quickly and I was happy of that,” he said.
The buck didn’t go far and was quickly done and the recovery wasn’t an issue.
According to Grove, the biggest issue on public land is being conscious of the wind.
“A lot of times you try to get your shot to where if something like that happens, you’ll still get the shot. These public land deer aren’t dumb, they know what’s up when they smell you and once they bust you, they’re gone,” said Grove
Scouting is the key and timing makes all the difference. Grove always tries to get his hunting done ahead of rifle season. When gun season opens, things change dramatically.
“Pressure definitely comes during rifle season so over the last few years I killed a big one in 2020 and killed a big one last year up there. Hunting them early in the season when the pressure is low they’re not expecting certain things to happen. If you can get in there and find where they’re at, it makes it a lot easier to get on them for sure,” Grove added.