My grandfather was a old time deer hunter in Pa. At first they used to take the train to Center Co. and hunt out of a man's home.. He came across the river in a boat to pick them up because the train tracks were on the opposite side of the river from the house. It was all walking, no ATV's, no good boots..The country was straight up and straight down.. They used to go for two weeks.. A week for bear and then a week for deer.
I remember when I started, felt boots and over boots were the best thing for stand hunting for deer.. Don't know what happened to mine..
Later, grandfather and some of his cronies, built a bear wagon.. It was an old converted Studabaker hearse .. They made bunks in this and had a cook tent.. One trip, they broke an axle and had to walk out 10 miles to get to town, then find and axle..
There was a camp limit of 6 deer in those days.. Party hunting was common, but not legal.. My Grandfather shot a .30-06 model 54 Win. In those days, a .30-30 was considered a big rifle.
I only wish I would have written the stories he told me down when I was a kid.. I remember many, but there were lots of others.. He passed when I was 12, but his partner lived another 20 years.. He often told me stories about the past hunts, but I failed to write them down also.. I moved from that country 45 years ago, and lost contact with all the old timers.. Lots of history has been lost...
