Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Bucket list? Dedicated to Ingwe and pappy!

No bucks on public land in Pa? Calling BS on this. We've had a camp in Pa. hunting only State Forest land for over 60 years now, and I never remember a year when there wasn't at least one buck hanging on the game pole. EFW shot a nice buck from our camp last fall.

I'd just like to revisit some of the elk hunting areas of my past; to one last time view the beautiful mountain vistas of the Uinta Mts, the area around Spread and Grizzly creeks, the mountain benches along the Idaho/Wy border by Smoot, Shell creek/MacDougals Gap and Thompson Pass. Maybe one last deer hunt above Cokeville. Used to be some nice whitetails up there. I loved walking through the large Aspen groves there, and by Big Piney reservoir, the Wyoming Range, Horse creek, west of Merna. Got some nice whitetails and mulies there, way back when. Memories revisited, all in the Nat. Forest.
I don't ask for much.

Now did I say there are no bucks on public land in PA? No, I didn't. And what's one buck on a game pole for a crew of guys ? The other thing you don't understand is PA is a big state and I'm in the most heavily populated side of it. You're not. You don't hunt SEPA public lands. You don't see the orange army.

How many days of the rifle season in Pa do you usually have to hunt?

4hour plus a little drive for you to the middle of the States big woods country? Which would get you away from the crowds. (Philadelphia to Potter Co. Which is about the max distance from the East.) Combination of State Forests, Gamelands and mountain country that is open.

Mountains around State College an hour or so less. Good Deer Country with a lot of public lands and GameLands.

Cultivate contacts and I would think you should have some great wooded farm country to hunt.

How many acres of GL do you have within a 1.5-hour drive? Guarantee they will be little hunted middle week and back in a bit.



2.5 hours NE of Pittsburgh will put me in the middle North of the States Big wood. 2.5 North will put me in the ANF. 1 hour NE will also be excellent Deer hunting. Lot of places in between I could hunt if I worked at making it happen.

Hard in Pa to be further than 4 hours away from good public land Deer hunting and most are much closer.

Addition: always nice if one has a traveling/scouting/help bring one out partner. Couple younger guys I know do that up in the ANF. Admittedly they pay their dues and work hard at it. They always don't hunt the same spots every time in that they hunt where they see Deer and sign. Both usually fill their tags every year

Sticking to deer only, my bucket list is pretty simple.

1. A nice mule deer, preferable one of the desert mule deer variety.
2. A place within 2 hours of my house that I can successfully hunt (multiple) deer each year without spending a small fortune.
3. Another CA blacktail hunt up in the Lake Tahoe area with my dad (would be even better shoot a deer this time too)!

Whats you're definition of a good public land PA buck?

Your #4 might be tougher than you think. The winters and wolves have the deer almost wiped out in the U.P. Good luck though.
The bluffs in western Wisconsin would be my choice.

A still hunt in Maine
Desert Mule deer hunt in Mexico.
Coues deer out west.
Argentina and New Zealand for the biggie.

You can reach any part of the state in about one tank of gas. It's your choice to hunt in a inferior area when there are way better options less than half a day's drive away. Don't knock it until you've tried it. Join us in central Pa's big woods some time. You'll see some other hunters, as it is public land, but the opportunities to harvest a nice deer are definitely there.

I'll be the first to admit that what happened to me this past fall at gophergunner's camp was likely a fluke, BUT I saw another legal buck while I was dragging mine down the mountain. My hunting partner saw one while he was on his way up to meet me (could have been the same one), and mjbgalt saw one up on top of the mountain that evening. Unfortunately they didn't get shot opportunities, but I'd say that's pretty darn good odds.

Finally, Angel and I drove down from Michigan because we were feeling as though opportunities were lacking up here. Mjbgalt drove from Ohio for the same reason. We were all three really happy with our odds and planning to go back.

The tactic I use just about everywhere I hunt is I look over topo and aerial maps and if my response to a potential spot is, "Boy that sure looks like a nice place to hunt!" I figure the same goes for everyone else. If my response is, "Oh my you'd have to be nuts to hunt THAT hell hole!" I figure that also is what everyone else thinks and I go hunt it.

Even if it requires driving and/or walking a ways to get there.

Angel, a couple other buddies from church, and me will be over near Sabula again this fall! I hope to see you with a big wide grin on your face!

Gee, my county is bigger than Rhode Island, has like 75,000 people living in it, and 75%+ of all the land in the county is Public Land... plenty of opportunity to hunt on Federal Land here...but the geography certainly isn't Kansas...

I'm just a former private land hunter who has been forced onto public land and is having a tough time navigating my way around the orange army. Nothing wrong with PA public lands I just have to find the right one.

You've got to go where others won't, or can't.

Mine is simple, a mule deer buck that's worth a shoulder mount. It'll be on public land, no doubt. Ever since we relocated to CO I've always focused on elk because I love elk hunting, mule deer have been an afterthought. I need to change that.

My desires will never happen...

But I'd love to hunt Caribou in Quebec...

Hunt each Scandinavian Country...

Hunt Australia and New Zealand...

Hunt Scotland, Ireland and Germany...

Wellllll, since my name is on the thread and I have been fortunate to have filled my bucket list some years ago, I might as well post the last and ultimate thing on my list. Everything else I've hunted ( except leopard...) pales in comparison...

Wow what an animal sir. A big old Buffalo are on top of my list but looking at the prices these days I suspect it will remain only a dream! Second is a 40"+ Sable

Like this one?

That was mean.

No worries....Elkhunter49 knows I covet his big Axis.........