Western Edge Hunting Journal

Western Edge Hunting Journal Public land DIY style hunting. Mainly Whitetail/ Mule Deer, Elk and Turkey. Follow us and experience

Just a couple of guys from PA and Ohio who share the same passion for hunting fishing and simply spending time in the great outdoors. Our passion and goal is to do 100% DIY public land/public access hunts. Our main focus is chasing whitetails and turkey, but mule deer, turkey, elk and western whitetails in various western states always call us west every year for the thrill of the spot and stalk s

tyle hunting, its what we call our western edge....Follow us to keep up to date on our latest adventures and improvements to our content.

Ohio Public •12-21-25• Undoubtedly the toughest year I ha...
12/24/2025

Ohio Public •12-21-25• Undoubtedly the toughest year I have ever had in Ohio, EHD cleared out at least half of the deer herd I hunt, and probably closer to 75% of bucks 3 years old or older. Struggled to even find a 130-140” buck, held out until the bitter end. Finally got eyes on a decent buck doing deer drives with the boys and decided to close out one of my toughest seasons in the last 10 years. Very blessed despite all the hard knocks this year. I’ll be back in the game soon enough ✌️

Colorado is kind if you know how to grind. Or something like that 🙃. Elk hunting is quickly becoming my #1 addiction, l...
10/08/2025

Colorado is kind if you know how to grind. Or something like that 🙃.

Elk hunting is quickly becoming my #1 addiction, love my deer too but man, elk are a thrill. I need someone to mentor me on moose now 🤣.

2025 elk season was a crazy 6 days of hunting, from calling in a bull in the first six hours of the hunt and making a superficial shot, to calling him back in two hours later and my first time elk Hunter brother-in-law killing him. The story just got crazier as the trip went on and on day six I was fortunate enough to kill a beautiful mature bull. We had three days left to hunt with no tags to fill of course but we went fishing and enjoyed Colorado before heading home. It was super cool to take a first timer out again, I’m looking forward to more trips in the future. I’m still a novice elk Hunter, only four trips under my belt so far but I have learned a hell of a lot. If you see me, let’s talk about elk!

OHIO-2024- Its finally over for me, looking at this year in review its been a tough season, for several reasons; moving ...
12/06/2024

OHIO-2024- Its finally over for me, looking at this year in review its been a tough season, for several reasons; moving from OH to PA in March threw a lot of wrenches in my program. Building a cabin in OH near my favorite hunting area has been a challenge and took much of my woods time away. Despite everything stacked against me I had solid intel on a number of big deer and I had a lot of history with. With limited time to hunt I focused on historical data and new intel, new ambush sites, and was rewarded with several great encounters with great bucks. Nov 10th was my last rut hunt. Knowing my next window to hunt would start Thanksgiving, just before rifle, I strategized to hunt food when I returned. Leading up to thanksgiving a 5.5yr old buck called BT was daylighting somewhat consistently between a few spots, night 1 was a miss, saw deer but not him, but night 2 I took a huge risk to hunt my best spot on a bad wind. I took in a stand but ended up on the ground in setup I had little faith in, but after a number of close deer encounters BT stepped out and gave me a 17 yard frontal shot. My arrow was true and the rest is history. Still feel the solo recovery, sorry for the crap solo pics. One day between me and the orange army. What a season. So thankful to all who supported me this crazy year!

Throwback to October when I was able to take my first archery bear ever, on public land in PA. It’s no secret that bears...
11/27/2024

Throwback to October when I was able to take my first archery bear ever, on public land in PA. It’s no secret that bears love corn fields and this big sow was no exception, I waited until the corn was picked knowing the bears would be in the woods nearby. Bear trails are a real thing in PA and I sat on the biggest one I could find, 30 minutes into my sit and I was able to make a great shot on this old 240 # sow at less than 3 yards from only 12’ up a tree. Capturing the kill on video is always fun and I managed to pull it off this time 💪

OHIO •Mid season update• It’s been a tough year for me to get in a tree with my personal projects and family obligations...
11/19/2024

OHIO •Mid season update• It’s been a tough year for me to get in a tree with my personal projects and family obligations but I have had a couple encounters with a giant deer that is still alive and well. Been a roller coaster year for sure, one of the biggest bucks I have ever seen made early appearances and left us all on read after my cousin and frequent accomplice had a heartbreaking miss. Follow that with several shoulder shots and a miss on great bucks by a couple of my hunting buddies and it’s been a stressful season full of near misses. There are some bright spots, however, three great bucks hit the dirt on public land including one first archery buck which was very special to the young man who took him. Overall, it’s been a very good season, we’ve been dialed in on the deer but between projects in Ohio and Pennsylvania, I have just not had a lot of time to hunt. Things are looking up now and I’m looking forward to a few more days of bow hunting before I start to think of gun season. Lots of time left to turn my season around. for today just enjoy sprinkling those pictures from the season thus far. #

October is becoming my favorite month to hunt whitetails in the east/midwest. The predictable nature of deer is much eas...
10/30/2024

October is becoming my favorite month to hunt whitetails in the east/midwest. The predictable nature of deer is much easier to take advantage of before the chaos of the Rut and a huge influx of hunting pressure. Last weekend was a great example of how scouting, knowing food sources, and hunting cover can pay off. My cousin Matt has been hunting with me for several years and has really dived into the public land game with great results, after a botched opportunity at a stud 8 point Matt made up for it the following day with a perfect 5 yard shot on a beautiful Ohio 11 point that chased a doe under him on a morning sit inside a thick bedding area. Congratulations Matt! The season is just getting started.

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