Pa deer rifle opener

Ok guys in Pa who’s going to brave this weather tomorrow for the first day of rifle deer season? 100% chance of rain until around 4pm I’m going anyway. I have rain gear so I think I’m going to tuff it out in the morning. Anybody as crazy as me?

2 day ML season tomorrow
Next Monday is our 6 day shotgun season.
I'll be out and shoot one before I go to my nets tommorow.Rain no problem I hunt out of a box stand.All baited up.(legal in NJ)
( I go deer shoot'n NOT deer hunt'n)

I was fortunate enough to once again shoot a buck in archery but I am going with my buddy to be an extra set of eyes and I just love being in the woods. Good luck to all and please be safe.

The kids and I will be out. Lawrence county.

i'll be out, rain don't bother me in a heated shanty! gonna put more traps out in the afternoon.

You guys are making me jealous with all these shanty’s to hunt out of, I’ll be sitting in my ladder stand, and no I don’t have a portable roof

Are you only allowed 1 buck a year there?

yes

I'll be out there getting rained on until around 10am and then I'll call it quits unless I'm seeing deer.

Yep, although I'm not enthused about the rain. Hope one comes by early.

The rain is supposed to hold of until late morning here in southeast PA, hoping to have at least one, hopefully two down and hanging by then.

I'll be out there. A little rain never hurt anybody. Some of my most memorable hunts were in heavy rain storms.
Just a little different this year. Fell and really messed up my left shoulder, so bad I can't even move it.
So I'll hunt from a blind with the Caldwell tripod. Took 3 shots at 200 the afternoon and made a Mickey mouse.
I think that's good enough.
Good luck to all you Penn's Woods hunters.

Where’s all the rain we were supposed to get? Not that I’m complaining lol
I just checked the weather it’s not supposed to rain until Friday yippppy!!

Your either still a little tipsy from last night. Or you didn't look at the radar.
Rain is in 1/3 of the state already. Lol
Don't forget the rain gear. And lay off the sauce. Lol
Good luck out there.

I just looked again whats the matter with this weather channel

Good luck everyone, be careful. There are plenty of idiots first day.

Looks like I'll be rain-free until at least 10:00. Good luck everyone.

fooooooooooogggy,stay safe,dry and good luck.my furshop is a great deer blind and warm if it gets too bad.

Good luck to all and have a safe hunt. Taking a break and working on some fur. Our muzzle loader season opens saturday then NY muzzle loading. Two more weeks of hunting then done.

hung,skun,and cleaned up by 7;30.not quite as picky as i could of been but i'm ready to trap and saw an opportunity to get in before the wind and rain got rocking.saw 19 deer in a half hour.

I'm going to try and stick it out all day, in my climber with a roof I rigged with my camera arm, a couple zipties, and an umbrella. It's keeping me decently dry so far, 6 does and one spike sighted.

Just got back for lunch. Saw two red fox and a squirrel...

I think the threat of rain kept a lot of guys in. Nobody was hunting the neighboring property so my stand overlooking an escape route from there wasn't productive.

Still-hunted up the swamp to my other stand with a portable roof over it when it started drizzling. Sat there for an hour and a half then still-hunted my way home.

Now to get the wife to drive me back to where I parked the truck...

just took the son back to his.

I got this 6 point at 8 am this morning, I shot and it dropped and slid down a hill. Just as I got done gutting it it started pouring down raining.

Hunted til noon in a steady rain and gusting winds and occasional fog. Saw 1 grey squirrel. Not even sure I heard 10 shots all morning. Hoping the last couple hours and tomorrow will be more productive.

I have a DMAP for the same area I was hunting so it’s doe time tomorrow

Good job pcr2. Nice buck, more meat for the freezer

Love seeing pics with snow in them. Nice buck congrats grayfox54

I was not so lucky. Saw 19 doe and 2 buck. No shooting, first one was heading to the landowners boy. Unfortunately he missed. Second one was one the way home from the Dr. Had to get a cortazon shot in my shoulder.
Good luck to all those going out tomorrow. I'm back to work.

I headed back out in the drizzle. Kicked a big one on the way into my stand, didn't see what it was. I wasn't in my stand five minutes when a doe walked through the thick stuff. I got her. There was a four-point with her and try as I might, I couldn't grow that other point. Even after I shot the dow he hung around my stand for about two minutes.

I dressed and tagged the doe and got back in my stand until quitting time.

What WMU are you?

5C=concurrent season, thanks for asking.

Went out till 11:00, came in to dry


out, saw 5 doe. Went back out, none seen. Really slow on shooting, I don’t think I heard a dozen shots all day.

hunted all day, seen 2 bucks, a 4 and a 6. not legal in 1a. had 3 coon feeding right to me at about 1.30.pretty neat to watch. glad we built shantys with heat ! back at it tomorrow. oh,caught 1 coon, had a deer trip one set.

you guy's better put a chin strap on those orange hats this mornin.

Just a light breeze here right now.

the slidin glass doors are flexing here,gettin big snow west of us.

a neighbor says he watched the big bear walk on to the flat yesterday afternoon so when i get chores done i'm headed lookin for tracks in the snow.son got called in to work so i'm bummed.cant even set traps as we are flooded out again pretty bad.

glad we built shantys with heat !

No shortage of partners wanting to hunt with minkless I bet.
Took my first antlered deer in Ven. Between Pleasantville and Rouseville. From an old sawcust pile. 2 point.

Conditions "look" better here than yesterday. Good luck folks.

So foggy on the mountain ya couldn't see 20' and you'd have to be tied to a tree today or you'd get blown off the top. Maybe tomorrow will be better weather.

i just did chores and can honestly say i'm glad i'm not out huntin in it.

We got a skiff of snow last night and early this morning. The wind is coming out of the west and most of it is hitting the back of the tree I’m in, jumpin jeehosafat someone just shot below me

have 3 heated blinds here.my house,my workshop,and a 32 ft camper with lots of propane and electric.

I don’t mind the cold and wind too much unless my feet get cold

i'm goin down in a bit and gettin the front legs and make a big pot of venison stew.course we had backstrap for dinner last night.

Not bad here, just a little wind, Nice tracking snow. Went out for an hour. Could have shot some does.

Hunted nearly all day from a ladder stand with an umbrella in Crawford county. Got plenty wet on way in but was prepared with extra clothes. Only saw two deer, both fawns. Highlight was 6 gobblers. No close shots but there was more shooting than I expected. Also enough other hunters to move deer except they were mostly huddled under hemlocks and not moving squat. Toughed it out without a heated shanty most of the day, so proud of that at least.

Been sitting here 2 1/2 hours didn’t see anything yet, just heard a shot. Lot of shooting this morning early but nothing came my way. Now I hear some guys driving guess I’ll stick around a while longer

Nice bucks PCR2 and Greyfox!

Got this nice and early yesterday, and like others that got bucks already, I am glad I'm not in this wind!

Nice buck trapre!!

place reminded me of ice fog in Alaska this morning! snow stuck to trees so thick the logging trails where like a white tunnel! didn't see a deer all day,only one grouse! buddy said you had to kick the deer in the butt to get them moving.

Fresh tenderloin from yesterday's doe. Backstrap on top from a doe I got during early muzzloader season last month:



Medium rare, just the way I like t!

I’m taking a break tomorrow have a drs appt

Lugnut they look scrumptious!!

Congrats trapre nice buck there young man

I'm heading out in the wind tomorrow. It's supposed a west wind.
I have a good still hunt area for that wind.

Great bucks and like reading your reports. Keep them coming.

winds have actually picked up this morning here.i wouldn't wanna be outside in it.

pcr2 been outside since day break. Strong wind. Gotta watch a branch or tree doesn't fall on ya.
Did a 1 man drive for the neighbor. That worked out on the second walk. He killed a 7-point with 18" inside spread.
Attending a friends viewing at 10 am. Going 'as is' and not dressing up. He'd do the same. Then back outside the rest of the day.

haven't saw any of the deer or turkeys this mornin but the squirrels are every where.

did go pull my 1 trap rat line,it was 4 ft underwater just how i left it.

wife made me sausage,eggs,and toast-gotta go.

I’m glad I stayed home today have some stomach flu I better be alright the rest of the week, I’ll go anyway lol

that average little 8 i shot early openin day is lookin like a better and better move all the time.

That's what I need; someone to do some slow, one-man drives. I know where they are but they ain't moving. I may try to sneak up on one this afternoon, wind might help me get close enough for a shot.

My doe is still hanging. It's going to be almost perfect temps to leave her hang all week. Outta make for some tender venison.

I still hunted a bedding area this morning. I managed to see 3 doe and 23 turkeys. That wind was something at times. I went through a stand of jack pine, the wind started to bang the trees together rather violently, so I moved out of there rather briskly. Lol.
Well tomorrow is another day
Good luck to all and stay safe

Never turn one down!
An old saying of mine, that goes for women too is............Every one ya turn down is one you'll never get.

I didn't even go yet, need some better weather for the Deer to venture where i hunt. Looks like this weekend might be ok.

Got this fella 7am monday morning, spent the rest of the day skinning, stoke the fire, put on a drive to my cousin, stoke the fire. At the end of the day he ended up getting an 8 pt, so i helped him track it, and it was a great way to end the day with two buck hanging in the pole barn. He cut his deer up yesterday. I'm letting mine hang a few more days with this cooler weather.

Great deer so far, lots of tasty meals, and good luck to all still out in Penns Woods

nice buck and rifle coyotesoldier. Love those model 70's.

I was in my tree in the wind and rain.

Nice Model 70. What caliber? I use a Model 70 30-06

Nice buck Mad Trapper

Does it taste good?

Congrats coyotesodier nice buck
And congrats madtrapper very nice buck as well

And I think they are both model 70s

Great buck madtrapper!! Love my model 70. Finster, mine is chambered in 7mm rem mag with a drop out magazine, and I don’t do much tracking with that gun lol. I think you’re right wetdog about the model 70 but not certain.

tastes really good.

Today was my best day for seeing in deer since they had the 3 day doe. I think the rain helped save a few more bucks on Monday. Between the 3 of us we seen over 30 deer on public land. Without doing the small deer drives we wouldn’t be seeing much. 2 spikes a 4 point and 2 nice ones are still running around along with a red fox sitting on a log . Wish I had a kid to take with. I’ll be out tomorrow bright eyed and bushy tailed!!

The wind is going to lay down later today. I can hunt the afternoon shift. Little work this morning.
Anyone else going afterem today?

I'll be out this afternoon. Gotta do some work in the shop this morning then I'll sit from about 2:00 until quitting time. There's no pressure on the neighboring property and next to none where I hunt. Hopefully they'll get out of their beds and go feed while it's still light enough to kill one.

I saw six doe and a buck feeding in a pasture yesterday a 1/2 mile from where I hunt, no hunting allowed on that property, middle of the day.

Lugnut try a little calling if the wind lays down.
I like to call the second week, but I've called them in at this point in the season as well.
Get as closed as you can to that posted property. And down wind.
The less pressure, the easier they are to deal with.

i'm ready to fill doe tags.

I always wait until the last Saturday I hunt two very unpressed properties.
But I hunt pressured land as well
I have 2 tags and they will get filled

same here,bucks cut up,can't wait.

Anyone else going afterem today?
Naw. Instructional morning. Helping a young friend skun, flesh & board Fox this morning.
This afternoon, hope to clean up the last of the fallen leaves. (but my rifle will be nearby)

Sunday, am going to do a 'ride-a-long' with Nittany Lion on his Mink line. I've been riding with him for many, many years each Deer season. Always a great experience and fun. He usually has 200+ traps to check & maintain. But NL said he had a slow start with high water and early snowfall. Am sure with no rain for the pass few days and until Sunday, NL will have a good size line out for Sunday check.

good on you Hern.

pcr2, come over this afternoon. You can run the tractor & pick up leaves, I'll stand by a tree and watch you and watch for Deer

son pulled cards from cameras last night and was shocked at the amount of deer movement mon. night then the pics quit when that wind took off.movin this mornin as i can see 9 in the cornfield now.

I've got two 3A doe tags and three 5C doe tags. I've already filled one of the 3A (early muzzleloader) and one of the 5C (first day concurrent rifle season). I usually kill 2-3 doe a year but this year I'd like to fill as many tags as I can, wife's orders!

Last year my new shop was under construction, the old shop that had occupied that space was torn down and everything inside was under tarps in the back yard. So I didn't really have any place to process deer. I sat out the first morning and watched eight doe walk by me (was holding out for a nice buck). I thought, "this is stupid" and went home and continued working on the shop.

As a result, I didn't get any deer last year, the first time in over thirty years that has happened. We ran out of venison, sausage and scrapple, wife was not happy! I am under orders to fill the freezer with enough deer to make sure it lasts until after next deer season!

Full freezer=happy wife=happy life! LOL

Man did I ever get hit with this bug last evening I even broke out in hives, scared the crap out of my wife, she never seen it before on me, I knew it wouldn’t last was gone by this morning. I still feel a little rough this morning I hope it’s gone by tomorrow. Two days of vacation left.

Found a bunch yesterday, seen from Walmart parking lot, Allegheny County. Two good racks among them.
Stay tuned for, leasing out your kitchen window for trophy buck$. lol

Largest herd I've seen in twenty years.

Edit. I had those hives bad last year. The Doc nor I knew why.

big bear swam the river last night and has to be holed up in the riverbottom somewhere cause there's no tracks comin out.like the blues brothers were,i'm on a mission from god.we'll see.

oh yeah,got a good ol fashioned landowner dispute goin on across the river bottom.now one has his truck stuck and the other is just a screamin at the top of HER lungs.know why the bear bailed from there now.gonna go watch my piece and see what else they kick out or if the big bear tries to sneak back in there.soon as i finish my venison stew that is.

man,dodge must build a mean transmission.i'm thinkin i should be videoin this.

I forgot bear season is in I do have a license

Pcr2 from the sounds of it, you’re probably seeing more action today than most will see all season.lol. Can’t wait till Saturday, all my neighbors will be driving for doe, and I’m just gonna sit back and wait. Two doe tags, a thermos of coffee and my rifle on an open field between two thickets. I like my chances.
Best of luck everyone and keep at it.

po po come and took away all my fun and the bear crossed back and must be in town.

I love the Model 70. I have a Model 70 Ranger Youth in .243 that my dad got me when I was 8. I have shot every deer I’ve ever shot in my life with a rifle with that gun but 2. The other 2 were with my sons .223 the year I got it for him just to see how it was going to do on deer. The Ranger Youth was only made for 2 years if I remember correctly. It came with a coupon to send it in and get an adult stock put on it for free when the Youth stock was too small. I love the compact Youth stock, and mine was never sent in to have the stock changed.

Question for you guys back there. Are you all hunting private. Is there any ground that’s public just curious

Lots of good public land in PA- State forests, national forest. lots of game lands.
May not find many trophies, but we have lots of deer.

Yes there’s good public land to hunt around here, this buck was killed the first day on public land near me

May not find the trophies but their there

Buck Fight!

I got to my stand about three this afternoon, kicked two deer out on the way in. My still-hunting skills aren’t what they once were.

No sooner did I get settled in, was just putting my gloves on, when I saw a deer about eighty yards out. I eased the M70 up and scoped the head, it’s a buck. I see a second deer, it’s also a buck! I crank the scope up to 9X and examine both their heads. Both are four-points and, even trying as hard as I was, I couldn’t locate a third point on any of the four antlers which would have made either deer legal.

They face off and walk towards each other and ever so gently put their heads together and start a friendly shoving match. This continued and intensified over the next hour. The “ring” seemed to be centered on a small creek and they never went more than fifty feet from it. At least a dozen times they were both standing in the creek sparring.

They’d slowly butt heads then start twisting each other’s heads and necks and shoving downward. At one point one of them actually dunked the others face under the water of the creek!

As the match intensified they’d lock up and drive hard with their back legs, shoving each other back and forth while trying to twist each other off-balance or pin the other’s head down.

Every couple of minutes they’d break apart and stand looking at each other before reengaging. At first these breaks only lasted 20-30 seconds but became longer as the deer tired. Towards the end the breaks were several minutes long.

Even though they were eighty yards away, I could hear the antlers clicking pretty clearly.

They were pretty evenly matched but one was slightly smaller in body and rack. Towards the end of the match he would break and dash off ten or fifteen feet before reengaging or being reengaged.

After an hour and ten minutes, the smaller one simply walked off after the last engagement. The victor, who was again standing in the creek, watched him go then took a long drink of creek water. He climbed the low bank out of the creek and took a healthy dump before browsing his way out of sight down the swamp.

The whole time I kept scanning the area around me hoping the ruckus they were making would bring in a bigger buck, like the ice eight-point I saw several times during archery. Or at least a doe…

Some great bucks.

I’m hunting private land(family). Public land is pretty abundant. Can be lots of pressure in rifle season especially, but there are good bucks. you’re gonna put in some time and may spend a whole day or days chasing a ghost. Any buck 3.5 or older can be pretty wise here on public land, but he’s still gotta eat, drink, and spread his genes. Pre scouting is crucial. Group hunting drives through the thickest, nastiest laurel, north faces, or high ridges has always been an effective way to get some really nice deer. Lots of deer here, some places are thick with deer, mainly depends on food or pressure.

my legs are sore and never caught up with mr black butt.but he headed the right way before dark.hunting from my house to a buddies 2 miles downstream with a small group.none of it hunted yet,slow two man pushes to 2 guys.

Lugnut,been a big ten bedded across the river from your carp spot.the guy downstream with the new cows is my buddy and we are gonna hunt down one side and back up the other.he was shocked when i made 2 phone calls and got us the do whatever you want from the other landowners.

I’m back in the saddle again headed out to my ladder stand in a few minutes

i was just realizin i'm the only one without a deer tag and will be walkin full time.

Good luck, maybe you'll see a bear today. It's nice to have permissions, especially the "do whatever you want" kind!

It's more shop work for me this morning then another afternoon hunt until quitting time.

I'll be out all day tomorrow.

the water is over the road going down back and that bear swam across just below the 2 rivers twice yesterday.if i had sat where i first saw his track,i coulda killed him and on my own property.him and other bear may be around on this stretch today.

Not much shootin today I’m about ready to head back to the shack and cuddle up to that nice warm cook stove and take a snooze lol

its pouring here and actually quite a bit of shootin for no doe.

on break figurin out the weather now.5 doe and 37 turkeys in the cornfield not smart enough to get in out of the rain.

whats everyones opinion on where the rut is??seem to really be chasin here but maybe its just my imagination.

Seen a 8 point chasing 6 doe last nite and last weekend up md seen a 8 pointer chasing 4 doe.

A young family friend shot a big 10 Wednesday right after he watched him breed a doe

Big gang on the mountain this morning, i assume driving for Bear/Deer. Didn't run anything past me....

Tomorrow will be hopping with Doe season starting so i'll be there again.

i been practicing my doe huntin while lookin for bear tracks this morning.

I don't have a doe tag so i'll be horn hunting. I have a muzzleloader stamp so if i don't connect, i can use my buck tag then.

Seen 11 doe today and 1 tail. 2 bears were spotted tearing everybody’s garbage apart last night. 175 lbs they guestemated. I still got my bear tag. I’m guessing it’s in till tomorrow

Still-hunted my way to my stand at the head of the swamp this afternoon, the one where I saw the buck fight last evening. About an hour after I got there I saw two deer moving in the thick stuff. One of them, a yearling, takes off at top speed. I'm wondering what spooked it. The other one, a bigger deer I'm assuming was it's mother, stayed in the area, milling around in the thick stuff.

Turns out the yearling wasn't spooked at all, it was just burning off excess energy.It did a big circle at full speed, came back to it's starting point then started on a second lap. I didn't see it after that. I could see the doe moving away towards where the yearling had been headed. She was on a trail that leads to another one of my stands farther down the swamp.

I've seen them doing this before on several occasions. Always in the overgrown field I watch. They usually start by kicking up their heels then just go flat out at a dead run in big circles. I've also seen them do false charges at the adult deer. My guess is they are trying to get them to play. The adults just ignore them.

Hunted until 2pm today did a few small pushes 3 of us, then called it a day. Will be out in the morning until it rains. Should be a good day since everyone and their brother will be out, good luck tomorrow everyone!

Lugnut sounds like you had two very good afternoons with nature. I always enjoy watching the yoy play, always puts a smile on my face and floods my mind with memories.
I hunted the last hour from my shooting bench. Saw the same 5 come out right at dark.
Hoping the rain holds off till lunch or later. Im hunting a property I haven't hunted this season. Probably my favorite place to still hunt.
Pcr2 shot that darn barrr. He will cross the river in the same area, I'd bet money on it.
Good luck to all headed out tomorrow
And stay safe out there

It ought to be an interesting day being the first day of doe and the last day of bear in 3C. Sounds like a lot of good days in the outdoors while I slaved through my 3 whole days of work this week(I love vacation time). A doe would be great but a bear or coyote would be even better. Best of luck everyone

Careful out there today fellas, first day of doe can be dangerous and the weather isn't helping much. Make sure that orange is nice and bright.

Heading out in a bit. Hopefully they do some driving on the surrounding properties and move some deer into my "sanctuary" swamp.

Good luck Penn's woods hunters.
Stay safe out there

with my luck,the biggest buck in the valley will run up and give me a kiss.hopefully the misses is with him.

Very little shooting so far I think I heard 4 shots all pretty far away

Nobody doing any drives on the properties surrounding ,me, nobody even hunting some of them!

I saw a red fox mousing in an overgrown field around 7:00. I did some lip squeaks and he heard me but didn't come any closer. I watched him for about five minutes before he wandered off.

Didn't see any deer.

About 10:00 I still-hunted my way back to where my truck was parked beside my neighbors barn. I slowed way down when I got close to his place because I know they like to bed in the woods behind his barn. I walked up on three bedded doe. We saw each other about the same time and they stood up. They weren't real sure what I was so weren't too spooked. They were seventy yards out and it would have been an easy shoot but they were lined up withj the barn which was about a hundred yards behind them.

I had no choice but to watch then trot into the thick stuff and disappear.

The neighbor, who isn't a hunter, was out when I got back to my truck and I told him what happened. He said, "You should have shot, you could fix a hole in the barn."

I told him I would never take any shot like that, I said, "I might be able to fix a hole in your barn but I doubt I could fix a hole in you."

Heading back out this afternoon.

Sat in my ladder stand until 10 this morning then went to the shack to get warmed up and ate some hot food. Now I’m back in the stand waiting for my buddies to kick something up from the bottom hopefully. He said there’s a lot of sign down there we’ll see what happens

I had a couple short faces bed down 50 yards away. I was watching them through the scope. I'm holding on for something bigger.

i thought so to Finster,then she stood up and walked straight away letting me see just how big she was.BIG

i have about 3 more miles in on the bear and if he doesn't cross back through the river by dark,he will make it another year.bear don't interest me much but when they get over 500-i get interested

Finished my HVAC project, just as the rain started.
I'm beat.
Like all Steeler fans know, plenty of time left lol.

Looks like I’ll be heading to the stand with the roof over it.

Had some drivers come through they haven’t seen any either I’m sitting on the porch of the shack watching down the mountain don’t know where my buddies got to. We’re not supposed to get any precipitation until 2:45 but as cold as it is up here we’re liable to get snow instead of rain. Think I’ll take a walk

WELL! That weather app lied to me again! Was heading out to take a walk and it started pouring

Watched a young buck broke off on one side and three points on the other play cat and mouse with the neighbor, he shoots at buck, buck comes onto our property dumb as heck, hangs out, walks back into thicket, minute later, shooting starts again, buck comes back out running in a circle and heads back into thicket and I hear a direct hit. Fella lost that game of cat and mouse. Checked a trail cam I have there, had that small buck, running back and forth, two decent buck this week, a grey fox, red fox, a small bobcat the day before the rifle opener, and one coyote yesterday afternoon while I was at work. Don’t get many daylight photos of k9s, but when I do, I get fired up. Barring the 30th monsoon of the year, I’ll set some traps tomorrow afternoon but I doubt it.

Good luck and stay dry

Well, I had a little 4 point walk right under me this evening. I could have got him with a pocket knife. Nice size deer too. I hate antler restrictions. Archery is for trophies, rifle is for meat, at least for me. Way to much hunting pressure around here. I'll bet I heard over 200 gunshots today(easy), hard to believe there are any deer left.

Went out this morning, super foggy on mountain, bunch of guys, by 9:00 everybody left. Went to a thicket sat til 2 pm, heard 4 shots, raining hard , headed in. Been a rough season so far.

Crazy first day of doe. Normally, we would have about four hanging. I hunted all morning and saw 2 deer for about a second. Nobody else in the family got any either. Lots of shooting going on. Did some small drives in the afternoon. No deal. Just bad luck. It ain't over till it's over.

Had a spike and a 4 point come into me at 8 o’clock and that was it. We drove the whole mountain without seeing a tail

Anyone hunting any game lands by Mercer PA?

Crawford county, not very close to Mercer, but at least in the general area. Never heard so many shots in one day. I could have filled two does tags if I had any left. Also had the scope on a 6 pt. I guess just a catch and release day.

Got a buck tonight, a small-racked six-point with decent body size. That makes three of six tags filled.



He had a fairly fresh sparring wound.



The grandkids get excited when I bring a deer home, doe is from Monday.

I lucked out and got a doe at daylight, tried pushing to my dad the rest of the day but no luck for him.

Congrats Lugnut. I wouldn't think he went anywhere after that shot.
I had a good day until the rain came. I saw 3 buck early this morning and more doe than I see most seasons.
I still hunted my favorite bedding area and no real shooters today. The one buck was a decent 8 that someone layed a bullet across his back. It was superficial so I didn't feel the need to use my tag.
Had a first today. Watched a redfox work a test hole of mine.it was quite interesting.
They are a timid animal.

Thanks Wetdog. That pic of is of a fresh sparring wound, not my bullet hole. My shot went through his heart, tore it in half. He still ran about fifty yards.

Only saw a couple deer that didn't give me a shot but
I had a group of 3 otters come through 10 feet from my blind,
made up for not getting a deer, could've shot a doe out the
bathroom window at 530 in the morning but didn't.

We had backstraps from the doe I got Monday tonight. She was aged five days, just butchered her this morning. The meat was tender enough to cut with a fork.



The buck is going to hang until next Sunday. It's a little warm today but near perfect hanging temps the rest of the week.

Going to make scrapple out of the bones of the first two this week.

Nice stuff keep your stories and pictures coming.

I had back straps tonight for supper he hung since Monday, mine were a bit chewy but edible.

Back to work tomorrow for me will be out Wednesday my last time out.

i'd like to know where the bucks hide out during the season. seen this guy during archery, this is the last picture I have of him.(pulled the camera's for rifle season. still looking for him!

no foolin around today,i need to shoot me a doe,maybe.

I saw a huge 8 point yesterday on my way to Lowe's. He was bedded along interstate 81 right in plain sight( if you were looking for him) on a non used service road, 10 feet from someone's yard. I have to go that way today. I will stop and ask if I can shoot him. Crossbow is already in the truck.
I'd say he's between 150-160 BC
Wish me luck

lot of them hunkered down in similar spots like that all over the state i bet.

The big guys know where they're safe, that's how they got to be big guys.

The 180 acre farm behind my property was sold off, six lots of 11-20 acres each. They are all yuppie type horse farmettes with lots of cover and no hunting pressure. A neighbor on the far side bought twenty acres and turned it into a fenced hay field. She doesn't allow hunting. I can go there any time of the day a see deer feeding in that field. I saw seven doe a and a nice buck there one day last week on my way to the hardware store.

There are sixty acres of the original farm left. About forty acres are prime deer habitat; swamp, hardwoods and overgrown fields. I have sole hunting access to it since the new owner bought it four years ago. I've killed a bunch of deer there but after opening day of rifle, the smart ones head for the "safe areas."

I'm in a pickle. The homeowner doesn't want me to kill it. So I can't go across her property. I can respect that.
My problem is I can get to him and get a shot, but I know he will get up and run into her yard. It's only 10' from her property line.
And where he's laying is state ROW.
I don't want to leave without him in the truck.
And I think he's closer to 160BC gross and he's very symmetric.
Decisions Decisions.
Guess I'll go do the 2-3 hour job and think about it
Going to be a long morning

glad its you and not me.just fed the 270 some neck meat.

I was making venison sausage this morning when I accidentally backed into my grinder.

Now I've gotten a little behind in my work.

been a good week to age venison.cut up loins and fronts earlier but hung both rear hams from my buck up to age till now.looks gooooood.

I'd like to know where these guys hiding places are, they're right where we hunt at


That top one is a tank!

Nice bucks grayfox54. They can travel miles in a night, or only a few hundred yards. The problem with whitetail's is they never stick to my plan. Lol
I went back to the big 8 yesterday, sat and ate my lunch, watching him lay there . he did not move his bed from the day before. I think lm going to have to wait until late season for a shot at him. Or at least where he my have spent the rut. I got permission to hunt a large section of the mountain behind the peoples yard he sleeps beside.
I guess that's why we call it hunting.

Good luck getting him

Those are some really nice bucks on them trail cams grayfox!

I think I'll sit in my stand near the head of the swamp this afternoon. I've gotten three deer in the last six week, that's usually my maximum. The cuts, sausage and scrapple from three deer usually last us a year burt we usually have to start rationing the last couple of months to make stuff last until I process again.

I have one 3A and two 5C doe tags left. I think I'll try to get another doe here (5C) this week and take advantage of this extended perfect hanging weather. Then maybe head to camp (3A) after Christmas and try for a flintlock doe.

I'll still have the extended flintlock season here in 5C after that.

beaver trappin and smokepole huntin.

and i swear i could fill a semi with squirrels.they are stealing the black walnuts i used to boil traps as i type.wish deer ate hickory nuts,i'd be set.

That sounds like a really, really good idea.

just mentioned such a thing to a couple of the other pa guys on here about it.i get lonely up here.

Next time I come up we'll have to do some hunting or trapping together instead of just chatting when I come down to buy eggs.

no doubt

Saw a buck and what i think was a doe this evening about 4:40. They were about 100 yards out at the end of my main shooting lane. I couldn't get a good look at the second one's head, even with the scope cranked all the way up. Didn't see antlers but kept thinking it was the other four-point from the two I saw fighting last week. The first one looked like one of them two.

So while I sat there racked with indecision, they both browsed into the thick stuff and out of sight.

Ain't never gonna fill the freezer that way...

One more day for me tomorrow unless I hunt evenings the rest of the week which I might do. Good luck to those heading out the rest of the week.

Got out of work early for once and sat for the last two hours of the day. Saw a small doe, probably YOY after about 30 minutes and let her have a free pass, even though I was sitting with a new 7mm-08 I had won in the spring in a gun raffle, and really want to take a deer with it. Hoping to get done with work early Friday and get another afternoon sit in. Not too concerned as I have Saturday, also. If not, flintlock it is.

son had to stop and let our biggest buck walk across the road in front of him about 10 last night.

Lol, at least you know he is still alive and well.

the 4 trail cam cards that we looked at 2 nights ago were mind boggling as far as what is still running around.

Heard one shot earlier seen nothing so far, it’s a nice morning 20* and so quiet you could hear a pin drop

i just walked around the riverbottom and agree it is a beautiful morning out.wife gets home at nine and i'll have her drop me off at my neighbors farm and poke home.flat out checking on a fisher and cat bait i've had out.

Well I’m done for the day going to cut up the hind quarters and grind some burger, love deer burgers!

did you see any signs of rutting activity??i purposely went to 2 scrapes and both are tore up and full of bloody urine in them.we have a small amount of fresh snow and i honestly saw evidence of it everywhere.i'm in and cutting up my doe so i can shoot my last one.

They must not rut where we’re hunting, no scrapes anywhere but we did find some new rubs this morning. My buddy found a deer trail in our area this morning that was all tore up, I think they’re nocturnal now. Just wish there was still snow on the ground so we could backtrack them to their bedding area. There are thick patches of laurel so thick you can’t even walk through it. I did notice on the way back to the truck there were tracks on the skidder road that wasn’t there Saturday, I’m thinking a buck checking trails for a hot doe.

7 doe out in the cornfield already an hour before dark.gonna try and watch em but the fireplace is roarin and Jerry is on.

my neighbor died last year,150 acres not getting hunted this year. guess where I think the deer are! didn't hunt today,will try again tomorrow.

Good luck to all who are headed out tomorrow. I have to work(a bad word during deer season) the rest of the week.
But I will be back after them Saturday.
I will try again to get a pic of that big 8 point that is now haunting my every moment. I have to go that way in the afternoon. But my phone's zoom is about worthless.

Today I'm boiling off the bones of the first two deer I got. It's the first step in making scrapple. I can only do two broke down carcasses at a time in my 22 gallon pot. The buck I got on Saturday is still hanging. We'll process him on Sunday, he'll be aged seven days by then. We are currently having almost perfect aging temps and I'm taking advantage of it for tender meat.

I'll be headed out this afternoon to try and fill another doe tag.

I’m at work wishing I’m in the woods hunting!

Just shot a yote this morning and an 8 point 20 minutes or so after that. The deer was 420 yards.

Not doing bad out in the swamp here. Buddy got an 8 the first day, bonus daughter #2 shot a spike first day, brother got a big 6 last weds, my boy shot a 4 last thurs and my wife and buddies son each shot a doe sat.

Now I need to get to work on these deer. Got almost 2 done, 2 more to go.

After seeing deer a few times that didn't offer any shots, we finally found some dumb ones last evening. The top one is my son's buck which we pulled out of the swamp last night after dark. He likes to ambush them way back in the sticks. The little six point I shot a few minutes later at the other end of the woods. He was chasing a doe and somehow I shot him in the head/face. I swear he still has that dumb rutting look on his face.

Good going! Skinner!

Nice bucks!!

Way to go Jerry jr, PA Skinner and skinner jr!! Hoping to get out of work early tomorrow for an afternoon sit and Saturday. Getting done with lunch break and back to work. Good luck to all still hunting

Taking bonus daughter #1 out in a couple hours. Hoping to have another deer to skin. Right now I am wishing I would have skinned my wifes deer a couple days ago. Much easier to skin when warm rather than half frozen. Shouldn't be long now if I can keep the fingers warm.

good mornin,outta tags now.son might get one but the women are overpowerin the deer in his little world.can't blame him though-i was 19 once.

I’m going out after work today and tomorrow I have 3 tags to burn

I didn't get out yesterday afternoon, it took longer than anticipated to cook the meat off the deer bones for scrapple, mostly because I kept getting sidetracked by shop projects and forgetting to keep the fire under the pot blazing.

But it's done now. I separated out the bones and ground the meat this morning. Got it seasoned and ready for the final cooking tomorrow.

The ground meat from the bones with coriander, pepper and salt thrown on and ready to be mixed:



That's half the batch. I got a five-gallon bucket of meat off the bones of two deer, about eighteen pounds.

I gotta run down to the local, Amish-owned dry goods store and pick up some buckwheat flour and cornmeal for tomorrows cooking.

I'm sitting out this afternoon for sure, only two days of rifle left and I'd like to fill another doe tag. I'll save the last 5C tag for flintlock.

Guess I'll hit the woods tomorrow for the final day. I still have my buck tag. I do not expect to see a legal buck but with all of the desperation last day drives that people will probably be putting on, you never know.

Fin, borrow some of my last day luck.
Shot one of the biggest of my life last day.

Second year after herd reduction.
A usual gang of us planned to hunt first 3 days in Forest Co.
After the first day, NO ONE seen A deer.
We decided to bug out and spend our remaining days at home.
We hunted as hard as we had the time.
Only I scored a buck the last day.

THAT, was the end of a Tradition started in the 60s, as no one wanted to hunt the shot off ANF.
I did not like AR then, and do not now, but it is the rules.

I have a bunch more ammo to this debate. It will just bring out the," your group don't know how to hunt. And the science says we need to shoot the best, and leave the runts" crowd.

Anyone remember "Been There"? He sure did stir the hornet nest.

Oops, thought I was on one the other Pa hunt posts. Looks like I don't know how to internet hunt properly lmao.

I remember him and the AR/HR wars.

I don't go on that forum much since it changed hands,I check in maybe once every two months or so.

Spooked three on the way to my stand this afternoon. They were adult-sized deer, doe I'm guessing, didn't get a good look at their heads.

They weren't spooked too bad because I was moving slow and they weren't sure what I was. They trotted off about a hundred yards, slowed to a walk and put their tails down. I sat in the vicinity until dark but didn't see any more deer.

Went out after work didn’t see anything, we had snow last evening in the higher elevations but it didn’t look like the deer moved at all. One more day

Good luck guys, I have to work tomorrow. And I'm the boss.
I guess late season it is, for me. I'll carry the smoke pole on my walk trap line.

yepper,good last day luck to all ya's.i'm gettin a few traps ready and workin in my shop.

I'm having withdraw, I haven't bedded a trap in 2 weeks. I have them ready to set, no time to set or check for that matter.
I did get a call from the man who's house I'm working at, he said bring your gun we are going hunting this morning.
So at least there's that.
Good luck to everyone going out today.

Good luck to all. I'm mentoring a young fella today hoping we can get him his first deer.he's had some opportunities this season but wasn't completely comfortable with the shots, maybe today.be safe out there

Good luck everyone!

I'm finishing of a batch of scrapple this morning and hoping to hunt this afternoon.

as usual is snowing here.watched a big area since before daylight and never saw a deer.bedded right now for sure.afternoons about 1 pm the last few days has been the time they been gettin real active right now.wife and i can ride the 3 miles to ny and see 60-80 deer easily.no hunters really and 3 of the landowners up that stretch are trappers who do everything we can to eliminate them.biggest factor i think.sorry yotes i meant.

Well about ten minutes before I could see good enough to shoot anything, something runs up right behind me. I’m on the ground so there no sense in turning around and spooking it. Has to be a fox or coyote. It must’ve seen my barrel or left leg cause it stops dead. It’s there about 15-20 seconds and then off it goes away from me.

710, my dad text me and says Theres a doe in my field which is right behind my house. Perfect, here I am sitting a 1/4 mile away or more in a bottom. 730, text from dad, tall buck with doe. Even better. Gotta love it. I got my buck but still like seeing em. I have two doe tags and got bored so I pushed a small patch to the neighbor between that field and his. 2 deer cam across his, never stopped and too far. Went into a another big brush field. A bunch of neighbors are meeting up at 10, set a plan, get standers in place and do a big last day drive. A few haven’t gotten any deer yet so it’s their turn. And I love driving, find lots of sign to sets trap on tomorrow. Good luck

I went today, and yesterday for a morning sit, the only days i hunted and nothing. Last year was the first year in about 15 that i went the first day, and killed one at the break of day. Fur prices happened to start on the up-swing when they put the a.r.and doe shooting the first day of buck in place so i started trapping again. Prices fell off so i started hunting again.

Gonna dust off the flinter and have a go at it.

We're up to 7 deer for our group. They're tracking another right now. All taken on public land.

My son found a fresh spike shed last Friday.

i missed a big fat doe tonight. Boy, that really grinds my gears! I thought for sure I'd have another one for the meat pole.

The good news is the first batch of scrapple is finished, got about fifty pounds from the bones of two deer.

The loaf pans are about 2.5 lbs each.



They've been scored in half and put in the freezer. Tomorrow they'll be vacuum-sealed in 1.25 lb blocks.

Gotta process last Saturday's buck tomorrow too.

Well we put on 4 drives on over 300 acres of land today, not one deer shot, only two deer seen, and I could’ve shot one of them which was a really nice buck. At least 8 pts, almost stepped on him before he got up, and he must’ve known I didn’t have a buck tag cause he put his tail up and trotted away in no hurry. Heard 7 shots all day. Where are the hunters. Still got two doe tags for late season and looking forward too it. Hope everyone enjoyed rifle season.
Lugnut-not a fan of scrapple but I’m sure it’s better than the scrapple I tried at the cafeteria at work haha

Another deerless evening for me, I went to a hollow I hunted before and saw deer but when I got to the tree I stand at the wind was blowing right into the hollow. So I left and went for a ride on my way home. Didn’t see squat. I saw somebody standing along the road and I stopped to talk to him, he was out the past three days and didn’t see anything either. So now am waiting for archery to come back in maybe the deer will get back to normal by then or I’m wishful thinking lol

Well I can say that I thoroughly, enjoyed rifle season. I saw enough deer to keep me interested and saw lots of other cool stuff.

I am not a fan of pork scrapple made with sage, don't like it at all. My scrapple is venison, coriander, salt, pepper, buckwheat flour and cornmeal. It's a totally different taste than pork scrapple.

I'm looking forward to flinter season.

I slept in this morning and didn’t get out till 9:30. I decided to hunt by myself and zig zag through the woods. I seen quite a few but couldn’t get a shot. Then at 3:30 a big doe is standing under a pine tree looking at me. I raised my 7mm -08 and gently squeezed the trigger. So I call dad and say you better come over cuz we gotta drag this thing over 3 stripping pits. I had it skinned in under 30 minutes thanks to the practice I get trapping. Kept the hide. Lol

Congrats Pilgrim!

One of the best days in the woods for me in a long time.the young fella (9 yrs.old) i was mentoring made an absolutely perfect shot at 10 :50 this morning on a very nice doe and it only went 30 yards. I was so proud of the youngster I couldn't hold back the tears and the memories of when I had my own son(now 27) out when he was young harvesting his first deer all came flooding back. By far made my whole season and I am very much an archery Hunter to the core and have taken many fine deer here in pa. With a bow, BUT I would give it all up to see the look on a youngsters face when they take there first deer and I am right there with them !! Today When this youngsters father got to us after the harvest the emotions were priceless. I admit I am one that briefly got caught up in "I must shoot a giant" every year or else. And i for a short time forgot what it was all about. The time spent in the outdoors with friends and family and teaching our future how to do it and enjoy it is what it is all about. I have taken many youths out hunting and have been there for there first turkeys or deer but I believe today was a real "wake up call " to remind me why we do what we do.god bless everyone and I hope everyone was able to have as satisfying of a season as I did with the youngsters and family and friends.

Excellent post PA. Trapper, congrats to you and your mentored youth!

I know the feeling you are describing from when my daughter got her first deer at age 12. After her shot we watched it run a short distance and pile up. The smile her face when she looked back at me was priceless. Those are the moments that last forever.

agree with you both and must include here when both boys brought home the first deer they got on there own.

had that dang i'm glad that's over feeling this morning but the fact i harvested my deer off my own property has me giddy.that and the great trapping forcast i just saw on the seven day.

congrats to all.

Finally figured out how to add a pic of the youngster.

That's awesome PA. Trapper!