Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Pa Rifle season 2023

Found puss in this deers blackstraps!



Called the game warden to see if I can get another tag.

Really? Something that small I'd just cut out and discard. It's likely just an antler wound or something similar.

It was through out the back straps, I wasn’t taking a chance with it. Warden discarded it and issued me another tag.

Blech! And me getting ready to eat a hunk in a bit…..

Did he let you keep the antlers?

It was a doe. There was a three inch long wound channel in its back. The infection was running along the spine in the back strap.

Grazed by a broad head you think or something else?

That's what it sounds like to me.

Lots of great animals taken so far! Great job hunters. 👍

Still pounding the woods trying to get my daughter a chance.


Pat85,

Just put some honey mustard on that spot! LOL just kidding, because that’s what it looked like to me. Glad you got a replacement tag. 😎

I can't tell, thinking small caliber bullet. Doesn't matter now, warden took the deer and replaced my tag. He thought the deer would have healed its self eventually.

Our little camp wrapped up for the year. 3 bucks and 3 does for the week. All in all another successful year in the PA deer woods.
Good luck to the rest of you guys on the final week

Spend Saturday with family and friends. No bucks seen.

Had my nephew with me shoot a fat doe just before dark.

i got a 2nd doe thursday at 4:45pm with my Husqvarna m46 in 9.3x57. it was a whopping 15ish yards when the 275gr WFN GC and IMR4895 flattened her. i still have to chronograph the 9.3, but i think it should be 1800-1900fps. anway, she was shot behind the shoulder and it went out 2 ribs behind the other shoulder. the lungs were trashed and the boolit came out about 1 1/4" hole.

i didn't take a picture because it was dark when my son field dressed it. i figure she weighed about 190 - 200 lbs. she was big, old, dry doe that i seen in my backyard at nite. my son pulled fat off her in a 5 gallon bucket. other than the backstraps, she be made in straight deerburger, no pork or hamburger.

Sounds like a good season. Haven't hunted Pa. since 2015.. Those days are probably over. Enjoy!

As usual we had a great trip. Lots of deer and some really nice bucks seen.

We figured a few things out this time and finally got away from deer drives. I have to admit that I can handle hunting pressure but I cannot handle deer drive pressure. Your state and your tradition but man when I hear the hoots, hollars, barks, and marine corps chants coming through the woods, I look for a rock to hide under. Thankfully we got away from those areas early on.

I grew up doing drives. After the first day it was full blown driving. I hated it! Point restrictions slowed that down, but it still goes on.
We never do that now. At most, a guy will doing a little loop around to bump something up, slow an quietly.
Finally got my doe last night.

I've never really understood the "driving" I understand it gets the deer moving but it's chaos and that's from a guy that runs deer with dogs.
We have a lot more luck wind bumping and slipping through none bedding areas with standers blocking the escape routes on the downwind sides.
Your shots are normally at much more relaxed deer as they themselves are trying to slip away without drawing attention to the perceived threat upwind

I loved doing the deer drives back when I was young. 25 guys all working together. But I can't physically do them anymore. Not in the mountains anyway

I've been out for a bit each morning. I saw a good one, one morning last week. Haven't gotten another chance. No luck yet though.

Took my son out for his first deer. It took us 5 nights, but he made a great shot on a three point.


This week has been pretty dead. We're supposed to get some snow in the AM. Hopefully that jump starts things.

We never did ‘bang the pot’ type of driving. We didn’t try to sneak but if you broke a branch or kicked a stone that was fine. It’s a chess match. If I send the drivers this way, where will the deer go today and where do I need to put the watchers to see them? Much more interesting and fun than sitting in a tree hoping a deer walks by.

There was usually a half dozen or so of us at camp. We would sit opening morning, then start driving. There were a couple of other family groups in the area that did the same thing. I miss the old gang.

Dale