Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Good luck to the Pennsylvania boys

I'll be in Waterford, but will probably head on down to gameland 269, in Crossingville. My family used to own 550 acres of it, and I just like to carry the 99 Savage around there, for old times sake.

What a great tribute to the Pa. experience. Those of us that have been lucky enough to experience a few decades worth of Pennsylvania deer camp outings know from whence we speak. Gnoahh, you go out and show them young whippersnappers how it's done, sir. I wish I was back on the hill this year my self.

I remember hopping off I-80 at old exit 17 in Sabula on the Friday before the opener. There'd be a fireman in his gear standing at the bottom of the ramp handing out camp rosters and a reminder about the Sandy Township Fire Department's annual Hunter's Dinner, always on Saturday. We went a few times. Great to sit around with a bunch of other hunters chewin' the fat over a good meal.

There's just something special, something different about the Pa. opener. We keep a book at our camp. Everyone that visits makes an entry. The book is in it's second "Edition" and goes back to the spring of 1950 when our guys bought the lot our cabin has occupied for all these years. I will sink into the old overstuffed easy chair next to the wood burner, with a whiskey on the rocks and crack that book and let the memories flow. I'm not much of a drinker, so the burn bites in a bit as I read these fascinating stories from years past. The big bear that all most ran my dad over one time while on a deer drive, the albino buck that was taken by one of our members, the summer runs up to camp for blueberry picking and trout fishing. It harkens back to a simpler time, and a great place to be.

We go back now, and it seems like things have changed a bit. The whole top of the mountain is laced with gas wells now. There was an old pump station up above our camp on Finlay Hollow. Dad used to spend the morning hunting up there to visit with the old grease money that lived there and maintained the pump. It was a big "one lunger" pump that ran on crude oil. The last time I was up there, everything was long gone. The only remnants of the pump was one piece of pump snaking up the mountain to where the pump had sat.

Different times, different memories. Have a great hunt guys.

We would hire a cook for the first week of the season. He would arrive on Saturday with his station wagon packed to the gills with groceries. The weekend would pass with him baking bread, pies, cakes, and cookies for the upcoming week. He would start providing three meals a day starting with Sunday night dinner- each evening meal was a Thanksgiving dinner in scope, each breakfast was a gut buster (and ready at 4AM). While we all hunted all day he would spend the time mucking out the camp, hauling water (no indoor plumbing), toting firewood, and slaving over a hot stove (wood fired, of course). I swear that even after trudging around those tough mountains all day every day to the point of exhaustion that when I went home at the end of the week I had gained ten pounds instead of losing ten pounds as a result of "Cooky's" ministrations.

My God, I would sell my soul for another helping of his fresh venison liver and onions!

The cook never hunted, but he always bought a license. The protocol was that whoever was the first to shoot a buck had dibs on the cooks license to fill his tag for him. (Shhh, don't tell the game warden.)

Good times for sure... Hunted Pa. for the first 12 years of my hunting life.. Very enjoyable.. Deer camp of course was a special event.. First one in Clinton C. that was lost to of all things a tornado !! Then I moved west at 25 and have been here ever since.. But even before I retired in 99, I managed to head back to Pa. for deer season.. Deer camp again was a big event..
About 3 years ago, the principal owners decided to sell out.. There were only a couple of us left, so the camp was sold.. Living so far away, it was not possible for me to keep the camp up, so it went.. And that was the last of my Pa. hunts.. But the hunts were sure different from those of the late 50's and 60's.. More posters, more stress on big bucks, the fun was not the same.. Still I would not mind another Pa. hunt, but it is not in the cards any more..I keep up with a could old pals who live there and still hunt.. Maybe sometime I will swing another hunt.. Those mountains of north central Pa.. Still beckon me, especially in late evenings and early morning.. Can't say I am sorry I left... Most of the big events in my hunting career would have never happened if I had spent my life living in Pa. But it certainly does have a unique and wonderful flavor not found in any other hunting.. So folks enjoy the hunt and hope you all score on a nice one.. I will miss out on the deer hunt, but have to do a late elk hunt, so I will have some fun in Dec..

Comment about the camp cook cracked me up a bit. One of my parents' neighbors was part of a big camp in Clinton County for many years.

Several families from here at home were camp members and they usually had close to a full roster from the 1950s until the mid 90s. Some of the kids my age cut their deer hunting teeth there, so I got to hear their camp stories for many years..The neighbor more or less quit deer hunting in his mid 70s, as far as going out with the gang, but still got his license every year. He took over the camp cook chores, maybe wandered around near camp a bit and that was the extent of his deer hunting for several years.

One year everyone was out driving the mountain on opening day, he was there by himself mid morning. Went out on the porch to chuck the dish water and there was a buck standing in the lane about 50 yards from the camp, looking the other way. He set the dish pan down, got his rifle, went back out on the porch and killed it. So there was a buck hanging on the meat pole when guys started coming back in.

Neighbor was a character, had a different story of how he got the buck, every time someone came in, saw the buck and asked WTH was going on. That started a new tradition of humor there the following year, as some said they weren't driving with the gang, were just gonna sit out on the porch. Last deer he ever killed, as he passed away a few years after that. Told me once that if he'd known getting a buck was that easy, he wouldn't have spent years tromping around in he woods up there, would've just sat on the porch. ;O)

I started going to the local Grange Hall on the Sunday nights before the deer opener,some years ago. All you can eat for a donation. Much of the local community of farmers and families are there, most of whom I've known for years. Pancakes, home fries, sausage, bacon and eggs. One family makes maple syrup, always provides plenty of it for the pancakes. When I buy a jug from them always tell 'em I don't want that watered down stuff they donate for the supper, want the good stuff. That always draws a salty comment from the old girl that sells it.

Why, we all have a rootin', tootin' good time of course!

Actually, it's kind of a continuation of a tradition for Brad and I. His dad was butcher by trade and a pretty darn good camp cook. He died way to early at age 66 and Brad took over making the chili. But family issues arose and he lost access to the ground where they had their camp near Reynoldsville. So I invited him out to hunt at our place near Luthersburg.

Camp for me used to be the old farmhouse (owned by some relatives) just out the road from our farm. The gang from that camp is pretty much all gone now, just me and Dad hunting around the farm and the neighbors property. We either had chili or a huge pot of vegetable soup for lunch. And the cook (Phil) was also a butcher who worked with Brad's Dad.

So call it a 'merging' or 'evolving' of traditions but chili and Zappia's bread at lunch is a common thread for us and very much a link to our past camps.

Dale

One things for sure. After the last few days I'm tired of trying to work the mountains in deep snow. I'm hoping it's mostly gone by deer season.

Deer camp in PA is a special time. Grandpa won't make the trip this year for the first time as he just had a procedure on his feet.

Dad, uncle's, cousins, friends, the wife and sister will all be there though for Monday. I'll be hunting till Wednesday then back again for Saturday.

Our camp is in Indiana county. Not the mountains like some of y'all hunt. I go to a camp in Clinton county most years for bear and it's a special time too.

Then I'll be there for three days the second week as well. And some for flintlock if I don't get a buck in rifle.

There's something special about deer camp. That's for sure

-Jake

Bump for rain on monday...

Will be hunting new ground this year. The place I leased on is owned by a guy who can get strange. I took the Grandkids up a couple weeks ago to spotlight and let them see some Deer, and he took offense and said he didn't allow spotlighting and doing so was mentioned in the lease agreement. I said I knew that, but it also wasn't mentioned in the lease agreement that I go along and confront two outlaws with him. It wasn't mentioned in the lease agreement that I help him get a Deer out. It wasn't mentioned in the lease agreement when I informed him of a couple places I discovered that were baited and helped him remove it so the place wouldn't be shut down if the GC found out. It wasn't mentioned in the lease that I should find him another two hunters to sign on this year for $2000 total. All of which I thought was worth a pass to take my Daughter and Grandkids on an evening spotlight adventure. He wouldn't get off on reaming me out, so I stuck the key in his hand and told him to kiss off.

Good luck to all and have a safe hunt.

Of the several friends that got into north central PA leases over the past eight or ten years, only two are actually happy with the results.

One guy bought into a large lease up in NY a few years ago, after souring on a Potter lease. First year wasn't too bad as far as deer seen, last year was poor. But he drives three hours to his Potter camp, then it's another hour or so up to that NY lease.

Found out this fall that the one farm that adjoins my camp, is now under lease. Guess I'm not permitted to hunt it any longer, like I have been for the past 30 years since he's owned it, but i'll look into it this coming weekend. Been hunting on it since the 1960s. Previous owner was a relative. Another piece that joins me and was never posted, was leased/posted last year. Oh well, nothing stays the same forever.

Best wishes to all heading out, hope things work out as planned.

It’s a great place and has been so for years. No problem as far as game or results. His place, so he gets to make the rules. But when you do him favors and he can’t do something in return is where the issue starts. Then he isn’t bright enough to look a year or two into the future and realize I would have signed up the Grandkids also. The night was also a test to see their enthusiasm and they passed.

Things change and you have to adapt. There are a couple spots I also hunt that are close by and one actually borders his, so not all that big of a deal.

Again good luck to all.

battue, i am sorry to hear of your experience, that really sucks. I have belonged to two camps that were within a hour drive of my Indiana Co. home and it seems like crap like that happens everywhere. I as well gave up on that lease/camp stuff because of ridiculous people and now drive 2-3 hours up to Potter Co.to hunt with my cousins and there friends on my family's farm where i started hunting in the early 70s.
In my case, im glad that happened, the drive is not conducive to hunting after before or after work, but its awesome once im there until i leave. I hope things workout as well for you.
Happy Thanksgiving, and safe and happy hunting!
Paul

Brad sounds like a good man, Dale. What's the snow like up at the farm? Good luck to you guys and tell your folks I said Happy Thanksgiving and "hi."

Reading these replies is really making me homesick. I haven't bee back to hunt on the mountain in a few years now. The last time I was back, I had EFW and MJBGALT from here on the fire in to join us. EFW took a nice buck first morning, and we got to show them the Pa. deer camp experience. I gotta make a point to get back home next year.

Good luck to all of you this season. I hunt in Sullivan and Lycoming County and it has been a slow fall here for sure. I hunt mostly private land but also hunt several state forest tracts and some game commission ground in the Little Pine Creek watershed. Bears are also in season the first week in several of the areas I hunt, so that adds some possibilities if they have not denned up yet. Going to try for a fall turkey here in the next couple days also. Good luck to everyone!

John

i hope you get back next year gophergunner, and i hope the weather is better than it has been this year when you do. i had rain every time i made the drive to Potter co. in archery season.
i could not get off for bear season, but the rain changed to about 13 inches of snow and walking the mountains has been difficult according to my cousins. I am heading up to the farm near Austin tomorrow and the forecast is calling for rain showers on Monday.So hopefully it is dry and the walking is easier where you are. Paul

Grew up in PA the memories of deer camp are the most cherished, love hunting the west but Deer camp was special.

I'm lost in life without Loyalsock State Forest. When I lived in North Carolina I couldn't get it out of my head. I'm getting to the point I don't want to hunt anywhere else outside of the 'Sock anymore. Though my son has talked me into a Wyoming pronghorn hunt next year.