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

This is the first Pennsylvania Opening day I’ve missed since 1982......have to take a trip to Florida and couldn’t get time
Off from work.

Sounds like between early fog and rain it was a good one to miss. Hopefully there’s some good stories to follow, let’s here them.

Worst weather I've ever experienced for a PA rifle opener.

Please stop with the great Pa hunting tradition. It is history.

Here the rain let up to a drizzle and around 9:45 I started in. Kept it up until about 10:30 then just spit occasionally. Passed two guys on post about 600yards in. Went on back, and around a mile in saw another guy on post that came in on a backside road. Then the wind started to blow good, but it didn't last all that long. Saw 3 Deer back in there. Left and went to another place and it was covered with Deer trails, buuuut it is essentially a 50 or so acre crab apple thickest with a few openings here and there. I had to move some Deer, but never saw any.

The scenery:



Toasty boot pic:



Moved down the road a little bit to finish out the day. Saw one Doe and one hunter. Total for the day 4 Deer and 4 Hunters. The Deer and I were the only thing traveling thru the wood. It is history.

Bud shot what looks to be an older 7 point across the road from the crab apple jungle.




Pretty sure further North they should have snow. Although my Cousin who lives outside of Marienville said he saw very few hunters. Opening day....it is history. Book it Dano.

Far from the worst weather ever experienced on opening day here in NEPA.

Rained then blew cold in NE PA. Little basket 6 only this am. It’s public land and a huge departure from liberal season in NC. Going from 4 mos. 4 bucks and pretty much unlimited does to climbing up and down rocky scraggs during intermittent season is fun but different. Kind of like where I grew up in the ‘Dax but more picturesque. A few good bucks in this area due to limited access to public land. Kid killed a 145” I hadneighborhood pics of last year. Big 10 was here all summer though now only seeing his sign. Will be climbing the opposite wall of the Gorge in the am looking at some new area. Seems rain and wind forecast here. Was excited for snow and colder it lasted only a few days. Good luck all.

Not the worst opening day weather I've experienced but definitely near the the top. Pretty much rained all day and no deer and no hunters until late in the day. Did talk to the neighbors, they saw a couple of bucks but didn't get any.

Tomorrow's another day.

Dale

Turning to snow right now with a nasty wind. Bud texted and said he saw 12 up and feeding just before dark. With the weather change here, the locals may be holed up tomorrow.

Today was my 57th PA deer opening day. If it weren't for the half dozen guys that I was hunting with, you would never know it was opening day.

Of course, I remember when the first day of rabbit and pheasant season attracted a crowd.

Sad to see it falling apart.

donsm70

Perhaps it seems worse than it is now that Deer pretty much populate the entire State. Back then all headed North to above I80. Posted land most certainly hasn’t helped.

The younger crowd is more into bow hunting, so we don’t see many of them come rifle season. The bow season Is longer, the days are longer, the weather nicer, they often can hunt small suburban covers close to home and they get the peak of the rut. Bow hunting in and of itself may be harder, but it certainly is more convenient and easier in the sense that most perch up in a tree like a Turkey on the roost. And most archers don’t make it an all day sit. Run home from work and perch for a couple hours. It is more convenient.

And from a rifle standpoint, it is nice not bumping into another all day long.

We’ve got nine guys in camp this year. We’re short one to college and one to a dying dog. These are the most cherished days of my year.

Yep and yep....

.



Here there was not a single yard track in the snow overnight. If they are up and about the yard would be crisscrossed. Odds are they knew it was coming, fed and then tucked in. And it is still snowing. Wind is still up here also. One may have to bounce them out until the weather breaks. Or hope someone else does and gets them moving.

Im not in any hurry to get out today. The first warming day will be different.

More snow on the way until at least noon. This evening may be a great time to sit and watch. A little afternoon walking around and then late afternoon sit is my plan for the day.

Thursday: Sun is supposed to comeout with rising temps and less wind. I’m looking forward to the weatherman being right for a change.

Thanks for the replies guys. You guys have me thinking about camp and smiling at your stories. Have a great hunt and stay safe.

Oh man! Perfect deer hunting weather. Get out of those stands and walk one up! Wind, blowing snow, they'll never hear ya coming.

Got to my stand at 6am, rain started at 603. Stuck it out all day, did some still hunting in the late morning and early afternoon hours, and went back to my stand for the last few hours of the day. I figured they would be up and moving the last hour or so, as the rain had let up. It paid off when I killed a heavy 9 in the last 6 minutes of legal shooting time. He died in the middle of a what used to be a 10 acre corn field, but is now just a 6” deep mud pit. Made for quite a mess by the time I got him to my truck. Saw 4 deer all day, including the doe this buck was locked down on. Only heard about 6 shots which is about 50 less than normal. Nobody likes the rain I guess. On a side note, if anyone here wants to pm me a phone number, I can send a couple pics to post, as I STILL can’t get it to work for me.

p.s. where is your camp Dale? I grew up about 4 miles from Luthersburg, and still hunt there occasionally.

My buddy[and son] headed home to DuBois Sunday after being down here in VA hunting his families farm.
I don't know how much the deer wander out of Treasure Lake where they live but they had many pics of some fine bucks!
Good luck to all of you guys!

Wood had this look about it today and the snow stayed on the branches all day. Only saw two, but from tracks moved some others. However, a Bud that was a mile down the road saw 18 with 10 in one group.




Stopped to put my neck gaiter on and then looked up and this little guy was looking at me. He was nice and gave me time to get my camera out and take his pic. After about 10minutes or more he wagged his tail and went on to wherever.

Family farm on the Salem-Helvetia Road. Currently 'camp' is actually my parents house. It's a rough place to 'camp' what with showers, flush toilets, heat, electricity, internet, and Mom's cooking

Windy as all get out today but the 2 inches or so of snow made for great visibility. Saw one buck (I think) feeding in corn field at about 6:50 AM. I'm pretty sure he wasn't legal so it got a pass. Saw 2 does later but couldn't get a shot, too much brush. And yes, doe season isn't open but I have a DMAP tag for CWD area #3. So I could have popped one of them.

Dale