Huntr104 Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 We'll after 20 years of banging my head against a tree in Vermont. I think I'm gonna pack it up and try hunting in PA. Although I love Vermont, it's just not the same as it used to be. So if I'm going to travel from Rhode Island to somewhere I think I'm going to try Pennsylvania. Most likely Bowhunting but may take a chance on Rifle and or Muzzleloader hunting What would anyone who hunts PA give to me for advice for the 2007 season? I'm thinking of exploring the Northeast North Central areas. I'd like to hunt in a place that still has decent deer #'s but lower hunter #'s. Will I find anywhere like this? ANy help would be appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAstringking Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s well i have property in Bradford county and we might have good deer numbers but our hunter numbers are 3 times as many as anywhere else. this is mainly for rifle season but if you want to archery hunt it can be done with a lot of work. my property is right next to a very big lot of state game woods that is easily accessable but to get a good spot you will need to hike a good bit. Deer size has gotten a little better in the past few years. we used to not shoot anyhting but 8 points and every once in a while an 8 with a kicked would come along to make a 9 point. this is my buck from 05' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M00N Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s Well, if you want my honest opinion, most of the public hunting lands in this state are pretty low in deer populations and high in hunter populations in muzzeloader and rifle seasons and sometimes even in the archery seasons. The few exceptions would be the more suburban public hunting grounds seem to have better populations due to how difficult it is to hunt them, but still suffer from the high hunter populations. I hunt in Clearfield and Dauphin Counties and scouted areas in Centre, Elk, Cameron, and Huntingdon counties. My general opinion of the public hunting lands we went to is they are all almost equally suffering from low deer populations and high hunter populations, especially during the rifle season. The only exceptions in any of these counties was the military bases that don't allow rifle hunting and only shotgun or archery hunting have much better deer populations, but require classes and courses to gain permission to hunt them and are very controlling of where you can hunt on a daily basis. It's difficult to hunt these areas because they open and close certain parts of their property to hunting randomly and it's hard to scout because you never know what area you'll be able to hunt and not hunt during the open seasons. I'm not saying the public hunting lands are impossible, just be prepared to hike back into the hunting lands as far as you can go to hunt to get away from the hunting pressure in order to see the deer. Best bet is if it is possible find private land to hunt that isn't already all killed off due to surrounding properies' hunting methods. A lot of the private lands where I hunt are restricting doe hunting and only allowing their hunters to kill legal bucks to try to bring the populations back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hoyt03 Posted December 23, 2006 Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s [ QUOTE ] I'd like to hunt in a place that still has decent deer #'s but lower hunter #'s. Will I find anywhere like this? [/ QUOTE ] Thats is going to be tough to find especially if your stuck to hunting state game lands and with archery gear. It can be done but takes a lot of time and luck and if you live in Vermont I do not know how much scouting you will be able to do. Goodluck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntr104 Posted December 23, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s Thanks guys. Well like I've said i've been hunting in Vermont and there are approx. 1 deer per sq. mile. Which is ridiculous. I live in Rhode Island so I'd probably bring my camper down to hunt for a week and hopefully a couple weekends in the off season to do a little scouting. Nice buck PAstringking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest PAdeerdreamer Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s Well I live and hunt in northeast PA. Mostly Monroe and Pike counties. All I can say is goodluck. Public land isn't to bad during archery but the deer numbers are hurting. As a resident I spend close to 3wks. just scouting. But I always see deer when hunting. If you are going to hunt PA. you will have to spend alot of time in the woods. Their are many residents that go all year hunting and not seeing anything because the herd is not what it use to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Huntr104 Posted December 24, 2006 Author Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s How hard would it be for a non-resident to gain permission to hunt private land? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Strut10 Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s The general consensu among folks I've talked to is this: You wanna see more than a chance deer.......hunt the western 1/3 of the state. There's lots of public ground there. As far as gaining permission on private ground........ chances are probably no better or worse than anywhere else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAstringking Posted December 24, 2006 Report Share Posted December 24, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s in Bradford county...if your going to ask permission you mine as well just repeat NO in your head a 1000 times. but hey if you want to drive around and ask then go for it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htephil Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s There's some decent hunting in several areas with good public access in both NC & NW PA. The absolute best time to see bucks moving is ...LOL- in bear season(seriously). The last 2 weeks of archery can be exciting if cold weather sets in. If I was going to really spend a week in PA for deer it would be the first week of rifle season for numerous reasons. #1- you can use a bow, muzzleloader, crossbow, shotgun, or rifle during this time WITHOUT having to buy any other tags or permits other than the general hunting lic. Any other time is special regs. specific....ie..archery season- you need a gen. lic. & an archery license. Same for the muzzleloader seasons. #2- If it's your first trip in you can really have a better chance to look around at the hunting pressure in different areas. I've taken several trophy buck in WMU 2G on unposted mountian land and State Forest areas, which many PA hunters will admit may be the toughest management unit to hunt in PA. But, I sure spend alot boot leather time locating productive food sources(White Oaks mostly) & travel corridors. I've found that my best scouting is actually during bear season the week of Thanksgiving ...besides, who wants to have drag a heavy stinky ol' bear anyway when you can watch bucks chasing doe! I also strongly believe that ya can't outgive God when it comes to Blessings, so I try to help others whenever possible. I'd be glad to email you pics of some of the bucks I 've harvested & maybe give you some tips locating a possible hunting areas(no guarantee success implied)...drop me a PM if you're interested- Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PAstringking Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s [ QUOTE ] The absolute best time to see bucks moving is ...LOL- in bear season(seriously) [/ QUOTE ] that is such a true statement. i saw my ownly shooter buck this year during bear season. he was a 135" 8 pointer. he evaded me all during archery and during rifle. darn smart animals Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
htephil Posted December 28, 2006 Report Share Posted December 28, 2006 Re: Pennsylvania Hunting ???\'s [ QUOTE ] [ QUOTE ] The absolute best time to see bucks moving is ...LOL- in bear season(seriously) [/ QUOTE ] that is such a true statement. i saw my ownly shooter buck this year during bear season. he was a 135" 8 pointer. he evaded me all during archery and during rifle. darn smart animals [/ QUOTE ] I saw my 8 point the 2nd morning of bear season at 18 yards and got the priviledge of observing him for several minutes. I was again blessed to see him the 1st afternoon of rifle season at about 125 yds....racing towards my crosshairs! 17 1/2" inside spread with a 44" chest measurment . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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