Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Snow for the PA opener

battue quarter them up and bring them out piece by piece, forget dragging!

Agree….I’m almost there.

Well said battue.. Same all over.. Predators are to be one thing.. Targets!!

I was only able to hunt until lunch time on Saturday, saw one tail bouncing thru the brush. Very little shooting in my area, saw no hunters in the woods, a couple of cars parked along the road but they left before I did. I did go out for a couple of hours Sunday afternoon, no deer and about 3 shots in 2 hrs.

Most of the neighboring properties are now posted (used to all be enrolled in PGC access programs) and most of the neighbors sit in tree stands both during archery and rifle seasons. Nobody drives deer, nobody moves around. God forbid you chase a deer off your property and onto someone else's.

To me, the best part of hunting was the drives. It's like a chess match with deer. We go here, they go there. Get a shot at a buck and it was a successful day.

And I agree with battue about crossbows and archery seasons that last friggin forever. And No, I'm not buying one. I have absolutely no desire to hunt with a bow of any sort.

Dale

They were driving today and pushed me a big coyote which I promptly dispatched.

Saw 5 does and a buck around 7:15 first morning, could see a fork on one side but couldn't see a third point so not shooting so far.

Sunday afternoon was productive.

I had mature lone doe step out at 430. 243 165 yard shot.. 3jumps and ass over tin cups she went

While I was gutting her my phone started ringing. I've been mentoring one of my sons friends and he was calling. He was in one of my stands a mile away and shot a buck but lost sight of him in the cut.

We went and helped him find his deer. A nice 8pt.

The biggest problem the PGC has helped create is the lack of recruitment of new hunters - primarily for the reasons you and Battue have voiced. Other problems are people don’t need to hunt and hunting traditions have not keep pace with the times. Most people when I was growing up made Thanksgiving/deer season a holiday unto itself and families were together over those times - how many families are together now? I couldn’t wait to go hunting because all my siblings, cousins, uncles, grandfathers and pretty much anyone else were going. We hunted for meat and antlers were secondary. Now with the antler restrictions (which work - why wouldn’t they??) we seem to have become greedy - posting land to keep “our bucks” from others. I’m not against trophy hunting but it was not how I was raised and I could care if the racks are big or not - I have shot some nice racked whitetails but not my priority - opening day this year I shot a 165 lbs dressed six point in 2F. I hunt the Allegheny National Forest and some places have lots of deer others not so much but the average age of deer in the areas I hunt is up there because most don’t go in that far (I bone my deer out and backpack out and I try and stay in the woods as many days as I can depending on schedule). I also typically shoot one deer per year which is enough to keep me in venison (only my wife, MIL and myself currently and wife is not a big meat eater).

Hunting is only going to get worse as $$$$ drive the management practices - I’m older and I’ll enjoy what I can and try to help keep what traditions I can alive to help some of the future generation……don’t expect to make big inroads but hopefully a few can appreciate hunting the way I have.

PennDog

Battue, you bitch and moan more than most women I know

lack of grouse as a whole lot to do with loss of habitat specifically the general publics feelings that clearcutting is bad, west nile isnt helping the situation.

Pheasats- again habitat, if you cant see how farming practices have changed you're a bigger moron than you put forth here. there are no more hedge rows, its all crop to crop right to the woodline edge. Pheasants need those hedge rows and edge covers to propogate.

the deer herd is fine, you are familiar with the term Carrying capacity aren't you? the populations of the 80s and 90s were just too much, we are now getting more in line with what the CC of the lands are.

younger hunters are tending more towards archery season for a plethora of reasons, not the least withstanding is the fact you can really scout and pattern the deer. they enjoy hunting unpressured deer. maybe you should take up bow hunitng and stomp complaining.


I have had our entire 640 acrea camp to myself aside from opening day. I have passed several fairly decent bucks because I have a specific one I am after. I did fill a doe tag the first afternoon just to break in a new rifle.

I happen to know one of the commissioners, and have known him since i was about 10 years old. you wont find anyone who ahs done more towards getting kids involved in hunting and fishing than him. he is also the main reason we are allowed to hunt Bobcats in this state.

as posted above either go hunt or STFU, either way quit being an obnoxious blowhard

Today in 2D...

5 Does and one unknown...All seen from 3:30-5PM...

The drive home is past a Deer processor...There were at least 50 lying on the ground in the driveway...If any were Bucks there wasn't much sticking up...This was one small sample....Looks like the Does took a pounding.

Tomorrow on the drive by I'll try to get a pic of the hides stacked previously...Impressive, if one is into a war on Does..Bud said his processor friend is pissed with Does being in for 2 weeks...He can't keep up with it...

Thanks PGC.....

Seems as if the GC has changed their thinking on Pa Grouse and the problem being lack of habitat. Have posted a GC Video on it more than once. Perhaps you and your Commissioner friend should sit down and watch it. Or he can ask one of his biologists about It….Lisa Williams
You should really try and keep up with what is going on, instead of talking out of your ass about what you don’t know.

Bow hunting? Have already killed a couple with a bow years ago. It wasn’t all that hard. Now that the GC tells me almost 45% of the Bucks are killed in archery season, I think the rifle guys are getting the short end. And crossbows make it even easier.. Did your commissioner friend get lobbied by the bow manufacturers also?

STFU??? You must think you are one BAMF.

And ask your commissioner friend why hunting license dollars are spent on eagles and raptors. Last I looked there wasn’t any season on them. With commissioners like that soon we will
spending license fees for diversity training.

You're little more than another campfire old fart who thinks he has seen it all. Always funny 😂

Addition: And you shot a Doe, “just” to break in a new rifle. Wow, that is impressive….Was it a difficult shot? Tell us about it. I’m sure the rifle is much happier tonight. Hilarious!!!!

Here, try this on Grouse habitat and then STFU until you get up to speed.....Perhaps you and your friend can watch it together and learn something...

All I know is still hunting with a bow sucks. Sitting on in stand for 8 hours with a stick and string is a good time fat asses.

I missed a Doe today and snuck up on three large Bull Elk and took some grainy pics with my junk Samsung Android phone. The Elk had me feeling on top of the World but missing the Doe right at dark kind of deflated me. First shot I got at a deer this Rifle season. This was in Karthaus PA

bbassi

How did you make out? You still up here?
I live\hunt on my property off Irish Farm road about a mile from where you are camping. All fall I have been watching a large 6 pointer but he has not been around the past few days.

Ted I didn't end up filling my tag. I had a real nice one Saturday morning bumping does around me, but the one time I had him close he was behind me and caught me trying to get the gun up. I never saw a deer Sunday. There are not a lot of deer back in there. I feel pretty lucky just to get an opportunity there. I did pull a camera I had placed 7/24. It had 189 pictures up to 11/5 when apparently the batteries died. I had it on a huge scrape I found on top of a nob way back in. Does were on it right after I put it up, but no bucks until 10/11. Several turkeys, a coyote and a boo boo bear. Probably 12 different bucks on that scrape. This was the best one. Not bad for a mountain deer with zero agriculture.

Interesting side trip around Karthaus….

https://uncoveringpa.com/jet-bunkers-quehanna-wild-area

Day 4 is upon us. I'll probably process my doe after work today. I won't hunt until she's in the freezer. Currently hanging in the garage.

My boy hunted yesterday. He didn't see any but he also didn't see any other sign of a human. He left his stand and started working his way back to our property before dark.

Cell cams had a few does moving just before last light.

There was one shot close to the house. Probably one of the camps next door.

That's interesting.

I've hunted bears just east of Karthaus for many years.

I've worked in the area. Seen elk there