Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Public land

Every year we look for someplace out of state within days driving distance of western Ny to smoke pole hunt and extend our season. Huge bucks are not necessary, as we look to just have fun. The past few years we have gone to East central ohio. We are looking elsewhere now, any of you guys have any recommendations where to start ?

You drove right through some of the best deer hunting in North America to get to Ohio. Pennsylvania has plenty of public land opportunities. Two ML seasons-one for all ML's, and one for flintlocks only. Take your pick, buy a tag over the counter, and go have some fun.

Personally, I'd look to the Shenandoah Valley with the NF on either side, all the way down into and through TN and NC. ML seasons generally coincide with the peak of rutting activity.

The early muzzleloader season is antlerless only and runs for a week in October. The last 3 days of that week, junior and senior hunters can use regular firearms.

The late season starts the day after Christmas and is flintlock only but bucks (if you haven't already got one) and does are legal.

Depending on the Wildlife Management Unit you pick, there is a good possibility for non residents to draw at least one antlerless tag.

Check out the Game Gommission website for more info.

http://www.pgc.pa.gov/Pages/default.aspx

Dale

Virginia also has a pile of public land and dinks, you get 2 or even 3 buck tags per license and a 3 week late muzzle season...Countys like Bath, Rockbridge, Botetourt and Craig are mostly National Forest.....Good luck......Hb

There are no deer in Bath lol.

I used to hunt Bath Co. around Millboro back the 80's, at that time there was a pile of hunters in those woods from anywhere and everywhere you could think of ( like Ohio is now) ...I only know one guy that still hunts that area and he tells me he has the woods mostly to himself and he usually kills a couple Bath Co. 90"-110" bucks but he is happy with that so more power to him............Hb

I live in Bath. Very few hunters. Even a lot of locals have gotten out of it.

EHD and Blue Tongue hit that area very hard, in back to back years.

Used to hunt VA national forest ( Bath , Highland, Botretaurt, Rockingham and Augusta co) back in the 80s and 90s was a lot of deer. They're still some decent hunting but nothing like it used to be.

Got to get the clearcuts happening again. Deer will be back.

This is key. My area of PA has had some major logging in the last 10 years and more ongoing. Couple that with reduced pressure in gun season and we have some top notch hunting.

This is right...........Bath Co and that part of the state is rough and beautiful country, I miss the scenery but the buck im after today dont live there.............Hb

I had not heard this......Thats too bad.......Hb

Doesn't even have to be clear cuts. Some decent selective cutting would open the canopy up to allow sunlight in and some early successional regrowth.

Oh they live here. Just few and far between. Some of these places the mountain laurel is taller than the trees.

Ha! Yeah I have no doubt there are a few bucks in Bath Co. I'd be proud to shoot, but just like you said they are too few and far between..........I would camp on Pads Creek and mostly hunt Rough Mtn. and some on Mill Mtn........It is some beautiful country, your lucky to live in that area.........Hb

Yes, you are exactly right here.........Hb

Be damned nice to get some grouse back, too.

Yeah, we used to be covered up with grouse in Wise and Scott Co. 20 years ago but i bet i did not see 3 gouse all Fall in My area.........I think we have seen the last of the grouse........Hb

A friend/classmate of my son who has family ties to Bath killed a monster on Rough Mtn. 3 seasons back. 140 range.
In VA there is also very good NF hunting in Pulaski, Bland, Montgomery and Giles counties. Plenty of primitive camping options etc.
One basically just has to go past the last bootprints seen to find some nice deer there.

Lack of clearcuts isn't specific to your area. Same problem here. Started with greenies screaming about the spotted owl and got logging shut down. Logging never recovered, nor did all the associated industries. They offered us fast food and tourism instead. People relocating here from California brought construction money for a while. We had a few high tech companies start or move here, otherwise Oregon would have completely died. Lots of logging communities dried up and have suffered for 3 decades now.

Not only the loss of clearcuts has hurt deer and elk, but voter mandated loss of hound hunting for cats and bears. Big game has suffered to be certain, all at the hands of greenies that told us they knew best.

Yeah, i dont envy you people that have to live with the west coast tree huggin Liberals......California is probly the worst state to live in...........Good luck......Hb

The forest service area manager or whatever told me that all it took was one dissenting letter to delay or stop a proposed clearcut and that is why they do not happen any more.

Pennsylvania would be #48 on my list of the lower 48

The Sunday bull [bleep] is reason enough

A chunk of GW/J National Forrest [in southern VA] is just dead standing oak these days due to the gypsy moth. No foliage at all in many areas. I would think that there is much undergrowth emerging there.

Yeah, I certainly can't argue with that, but it's very good hunting, with tons of public land. Another nice feature is that the same license you buy to hunt deer is also good for small game and turkey, during their respective seasons.

That's not correct.

VA still has some stupid Sunday restrictions as well. We're working on that.

I share a lease in Northern Missouri with 4 men from PA....they can't stand hunting in PA but do it out of convenience

north central PA has tens of thousands of acres of public ground and some nice state run campgrounds. potter, tioga and clinton county. the deer herd has been coming back there from what i hear due to lack of hunting pressure. it would be a bit tough to go in blind but if you did a little research you could do well. research the kettle creek valley and slate run areas.

Thats a stupid policy but im not surprised at all..........Hb

Thanks for clearing that up. I hope folks in this part of the country are paying as close attention to the attempted transfer of federal lands as folks out west are. I'd rather cuss/discuss management of those lands than lament the loss of them...

if you own the land or have the permission of the owner, hinge cutting can be very productive.

( and Ohio has no deer at all, not one. you're wasting your time. don't even bother looking. consider this a public service announcement!.......(mine, mine, all mine!))

A big +1.

Amen.

Folks out this way are starting to wake up and pay attention.

For the states with National Forests, they need to be on the horn with their representatives asking them to oppose HR 622. A bill by Chaffetz that states:

"To terminate the law enforcement functions of the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management and to provide block grants to States for the enforcement of Federal law on Federal land under the jurisdiction of these agencies, and for other purposes."