PA Deer Hunters

Good luck during tomorrow’s rifle season opener.

Same to you. Watch out for the idiots.

Good luck to all you PA guys tomorrow. Be safe! I sure was wanting to be over there this year, maybe next year.

Good luck, PA Hunters, I didn’t get a license this year or bid for the non resident doe tag.

Hope you kill a good deer even if Sunday hunting will ruin everything, and destroy the universe because others can hunt three extra days the deer didn’t know about.

Good luck to all Pa deer hunters!!

Hunting in the Sproul SF for does with DMAP tags. Never fails, I will see a honker buck an have no tag to shoot it.

Even though I have bee hunting for 53 years this will be a year of several firsts for me and most deer hunters in PA Since I started to hunt deer the season always open the Monday after Thanksgiving So this years opener is the Sat after Thanksgiving Also for me I will be helping a Nephew that is over 50 and his daughter that is 12 go out for their first deer hunt together We also have 2 other junior hunters in our group of 10 Looks like the weather will be good .Everyone be safe out there today

Good luck everyone

I'm going and love waiting for daylight while sitting quietly in a tree. Watching the woods wake up is priceless!

Good luck today everyone. And stay safe.
I agree Hippie, I have no tags left but I have to sit out back and listen and watch the dawn of another opener.
Hopefully one of the young fellows gets one of the big ones outback.

Good vibes to all. Be safe!

I'm headed out the door to hopefully put a nice buck in front of a young man that hasn't killed his first deer yet.

This is what it's all about, passing along the tradition as time passes by.

Man I LOVE opening morning.

X 3

About to head out.

same here after 2hrs a checkin traps in the dark,saw a couple dandies in the headlights.good luck and enjoy yourselves.

Good luck you guys, be safe!

Good luck to all , be safe most of all!

Anybody have any luck today?

Got myself a DMAP doe this morning at 10:30am
Was the first deer I saw, didn’t see any deer at all
In archery season I was beginning to think there
Wasn’t any around!

Good job grayfox.

Good job . Congratulations

My daughter got one this morning. I saw one buck, didn't get a shot.

Great pics guys!!

Congrats Stan (grayfox54). WTG GIRL TOO!!!

Congrats gray fox n skinners daughter, great job.

Good job young lady.

Nice shooting grayfox54. PAskinner congrats on making memories with the family.
I sat at my shooting bench till 8. Least shots I've ever herd on opening morning.
I saw 3 doe and a small 7 point across the road from from my house right before dark. Non of the neighbor boys drew blood, but 2 of them saw buck and got shooting.

Congrats Paskinner's daughter!

Every year during the rifle opener I count shots I can hear. This year was a bit better than the average over the last three or four years with 38 the first thirty minutes and 61 the first hour. none were nearby, say a half-mile radius from my location.

I was on stand from well before sunrise until noon, walked home to feed the fire and myself then back out until dark. Two deer all day. One was the big eight-point I have seen a few times in the last several weeks. I saw deer legs walking in the thick stuff and then a right antler... not enough to shoot at. He never crossed the shooting lane and would have to cross a large field to leave the woods so I think he bedded near where I last saw him. He doesn't know I was there, nobody hunts there but me and there's lots of season left.

Passed on a small doe (legal game in 5C).

The birds were very active this morning. Twice a sparrow landed in the end of my barrel. First time he was setting there looking around and when our eyes locked I swear I could read the surprise in his. He dropped off the end of my barrel and free-fell 5-7 feet before flitting away, it was comical, I had to suppress a laugh. I don't know if it was the same bird or not the second time but, if it was, he was just having fun with it.

A large flock of bluebirds hung around my stand for nearly an hour. There was disproportionate number of males, 12-16 in a flock two dozen or more. Even though the males had their muted fall plumage on they were still easily recognizable. Soon after they left a smaller flock of goldfinches came through. The males were 80%-90% changed into their winter drabs but were still recognizable. Then there were the cardinals and doves, a couple of pileated woodpeckers and more. Enough to keep me entertained almost all morning.

The view from my stand near the center of a 40-acre swamp.

Congrats to the successful !!

Things were very quiet around me, very little shooting and very few cars parked along the road. Really surprised me being a Sat. Opener with Bear in also.

I didn't see any Deer, but was entertained by other wildlife none the less.

Congratulations to the hunters who scored. Thanks for sharing the pics too!

Right on, Lugnut and hippie, oftentimes the best part of the hunt is the observation and interaction with the other wildlife. One year I was in an old wooden stand and had a squirrel sniffing my boot, trying to figure out what I was. When our eyes finally met you'd swear he had springs in his legs by the way he bounced outta there.

i hadn't saw a deer by noon and it may have been one of the best opening mornings of my 40.grey poppin in and outta his den kept me entertained for quite a while.must admit up here at least,i think the forgot to send the deer the Sat. opener memo.

Preety slow over here. Heard 3 shots by noon then a volley at 4.
Saw 1 deer, a coon, and 2 cats. Lots of those little woodpeckers.
Nice calm cloudy day. Was happy to be out.

One more I'll have my limit lol.

Same here except for the fox. Great conditions. First and only deer for me at noon. Checked trail cam about 250 yards from my stand and had two bruisers in last two days. One was out walking Thanksgiving afternoon.

bet 30 guns were sighted in around in the last couple days.e went from 12-15 in the fields and yard by dark and haven't had one here in 3 days.they will calm down and the best huntin here will be yet to come.son filled 2 ny doe tags in the last 2 days so i may just save my tag for late season and beaver camp.

I always enjoy seeing other wildlife too like squirrels and birds. One time while sitting in my ladder stand in archery season a Brown Creeper landed right on my knee. It stayed there looking at me for a minute then flew over to another tree, I wished I could have gotten a picture of that!

The other wildlife seems to keep ya entertained through the slow periods. I have an archery stand that has another tree close by...like 4 feet. Had a gray squirrel come up to see what I was doing and just hung on there at head level. Looked like he was going to jump on my stand for a second. Made some pretty cool sounds at me for a few minutes then decided I was no threat and left.

i was in the middle of 25 blown down red pines that make a neat blind and at daylight you get to hear the doves wake up and head out.may be why i didn;t see a deer the first hour.

It was a slow day for my group One saw a total of 11 doe but 8 where in the same group .Most saw 1, 2 or 3 . Very little shooting anywhere close .It was a nice day to be out .And I enjoy just watching whatever is happening One of my friends said he saw a red headed woodpecker trying to get something out of a corn stalk .His comment was he did not know they would feed on bugs in cornstalk and had never seen that before .There is something to observe if you just stop to see what it is My nephew and his daughter hunted for about 2 hours until she got cold and wanted to go in .He told me this morning he really enjoyed hunting and hope his work schedule allows him some time to go a few more times during the season .He only took up hunting this year because his daughter wanted to go So hearing that this morning means yesterday was a good day If hes liked it without seeing any deer I guess he would like it better when he sees some .Maybe he will turn into a hunter after turning 50

very slow here and not much shooting at all. went to another farm around 1 and drove through some GLs, only saw 6 vehicles out. i expected to see way more people and hear alot more shooting

My son and I hunted from daylight to dusk and didn't see a deer. I saw a ton of squirrels and was thinking that I should bring my 17 HMR next time. We were on SGL near Newville and saw several hunters but not much shooting. Still trying to get him his first deer so the Saturday opener was a blessing, he'll hunt again tomorrow but then his time is mostly consumed with wrestling practice.

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Just like I predicted....one of five bucks to come past my stand. Zero does!

I made a venison roast tonight since the wife had to work today. Roasted rutabaga and carrots on the side.



I'm down to two roasts, a few blocks of scrapple and maybe eight-nine pounds of sausage from the three deer I killed last season. I better quit screwing around and get one for the freezer. Maybe tomorrow...

That's looks great lugnut

Looks like a good day to hunt. Fresh snow, decent temps.
Good luck to all and stay safe out there.

i'm gonna watch from here in a bit.2 in. of snow stuck to the trees and everything here.be a purdy sunrise.if i don't see anything here i'll walk over to the shop and start the stove and watch from there.will wait for the trees to clean themselves and the state can clean the roads,then i'll run my little mink line.

X 2

I was very happy to see a a coating of snow on the ground, heading out in a little bit.

If I had a tag I'd be looking to cut a good buck track this morning.
It is favorite way to hunt anymore. And today is puuurrrrrfecto.

if you go in the woods here,take a shovel cause when you pull the trigger,your gonna need it.trees are hangin to the ground.

Snow?? I'm coming over there guys.

The phrase deer sausage caught my eye. I bought son Con Yeager spices to try,
Maybe we can get a sausage/smoker/snack stick topic going after the harvest.

Good luck everyone.

After an extra nap while a others got in position before daylight, I headed out about 7:00am a little after daylight to push some deer around for others. By 7:30 am my second shot landed close to its mark and was good enough to drop this guy in his tracks. 3A opening morning kill.

dandy dude--there is one in there chasin does this mornin but seeing more than 10 ft is impossible.

Way to go Jason (southernduke84)!

A few more of the same buck.

There were tons of doe and I'm sure more bucks then most people think are down there.

That's a dandy. Congratulations

Jason,was a 1000 pound black and white "doe" this mornin in your dads field at the end of coons.thats the one i want.

pretty sure i saw your buck last week by the tall gravel pile thats left.great job again.

ps-i don't know what you hit with the first shot but it sure made a heck of a thud.

Can you believe no deer showed it's face today? I mean look at this perfect set up.

In front of my stand:



The shooting lane to the right:



I sat from dark until after lunch then still-hunted around the swamp until dark. I saw five deer, no shots were offered.

I couldn't take the lack of hunters in the woods and finally got up and went stirred things up a bit. I was literally kicking the deer in their rear ends they were bedded so tight.

Managed to put a 5 point in front of my buddies son, which his dad let go by him, and he nailed it with one shot. 13 years old and got his first deer.

My year is basically made when I'm able to do something like that.

Passing on the tradition!

Congrats to the young man for a good shot and his first deer. And congrats to you for a fine assist.

Didn’t see a deer today but was kind of enjoying the scenery, we couldn’t make to where we wanted to go this morning so we went to another DMAP area across the mountain. Finally made it up here at the shanty later on after we put about a dozen cement blocks in the back of the truck. Decided just to stay overnight here so I wouldn’t have to make that climb in the morning. Southern duke nice buck!!

Glad to hear the young guy got his first buck. Memories to last a lifetime.

He was seen a lot by many. I'm sure he has wandered by your place even at times.

Good luck to all those going out tomorrow.

Seen a few more deer than I did on Sat .We had a light snow for the first 3 hours of light .It was a nice day to be in the woods The deer have not been moving much in the morning But the evening seems to be much more movement Back at it today

hopin its fallen off the trees this mornin so i can see more than 20 ft.

Dandy buck southduke. Congrats
Good luck to everyone headed out today and stay safe

Sat in my ladder stand this morning only to leave an hour later I swear that wind was blowing 50 mph, my tree was rocking, ain’t worth dying for a deer. Ended up cutting firewood for later, the wind is still howling

winds pickin up here i noticed and blowin the snow off the trees finally

deer been within 3 ft of my house for 360 degree circle.

Woke up at 3 and saw a nice buck in my yard. Tracks everywhere. And I am stuck at work for another 10 hours.

Figured i'd, take the day off and cut up my deer

My son got a 5 point today. Was a 6 not to long ago.

WTG, meat in the freezer and time in the woods!

Congrats to your son Hornady Reloader.

Now hopefully my turn.

There has to be deer in there!

3 so far. All doe. Can't shoot them till tomorrow

I was hunting out of my trap shed that overlooks the woods. My trap shed was built over my chicken coop. the deer kinda sneak along the woods in the the mornings so I decided to keep a watch on that area for a couple hours this morning. Nothing! But it got me to thinking....my wife has 32 hens in that coop, we been only getting 6 to 8 eggs a day. But if a deer did come by she would have 32 eggs today!

Sounds like it's time for some chicken dinners!

Saw the one this AM, I did not take the running shot.
Know his local and will be waiting later today.
Tick tock must resist going in there tick tock lol.

Be deer moving tomorrow guys.

Oh lord no! These are her pets!! I told her not to give them names!!

movin here today.i've had my arse handed to me by 2 seperate shooters.both chasin doe.

LOL

I am also tempted to still-hunt through the swamp today. The wind and wet ground are perfect conditions for that but I don't want to move them out of their "safe-spaces.". I'm forcing myself to wait until tomorrow and let other folks move them to me.

Slow going here, need some hunters to root the big ones out!

Still hunt was my main way until buck and doe got combined. I got shot at twice, enough.
Dang wind switched around this afternoon. Where this guys layin there is no approach on him, just wait down or cross wind. I'm not good at waiting.

Have not seen them chasing since rut round one over here.
I bet you have more doe Pcr. And less habitat loss.
Big parcels have doe, and you pay to hunt those here.

All ;n all pretty good, seeing deer most every shift.
That is more important than tagging out to me.

Was out this morning until 10am didn't see a thing. My buddy did a one man drive we saw nothing. Checked the trail cams we have out yet, all the deer on there are nocturnal now, they're running at 11pm and 5am. heading to another property in the morning for doe season. Hopefully we'll see something there,

Wright Brothers you got SHOT AT TWICE? I would’ve shot back if someone shot at me twice.

I was thinking the same thing vermont! I wonder if it was 2 different occasions?

2 different occasions?
Yes.
And I'll just take the 5th on the return.
The stump sitters miss the walk hunters.

What may differ from youns areas is,
doe is open on day one here.
The first few years of that were dangerous,
then they got em thinned down.
All my pards quit within 5 years.

Good luck tomorrow guys.

Got mine to night out of the same stand my son got his yesterday.

nicely done HR

I'll say, way to go HR!

todays theories-----old doe,new hole
...............................3 on a side,give em a ride

good luck all,i imagine it'll be my self mandated last day of hunting till x-mas.

In stand now waiting on a doe.

had 2 deer run right up to me at daylight.spike and 3 point-can't make that up.i'm gonna head to my round bale and watch a while longer then poke along to somewhere else i guess.crunchy is an understatement but i can sneak there pretty quiet.

Congrats that's a great one.

Nice buck Mark!

I am now finished got a doe today. Well I may go for a walk with muzzleloader after Christmas.

Nice of the wife to let you pose with her deer.


Son got a doe today in 2F. Haven't a deer with that much fat on it in a long time.

Got a nice doe just hung up a few minutes ago. I gotta start shooting them closer to the truck. My lower back is starting to lock up now. All done now. Actually glad its over, cept for the cutting. Well i guess almost have a bunch of stands to take down.

Nice Buck PCR!! Thats a dandy!! I sat in the stand for 10 hours and saw squat! Could have shot a hundred pounds worth of squirrels.

Yeah, I've been seeing many more squirrels than normal all season.

Got a doe for the freezer about a half-hour before quitting time.

There ya go! Even got a crik to washer yer hands.

nice,good eatin right there.

WTG Lug, nice!

Nice buck pcr2 congrats!!

Congrats Lug

My wife got a doe and a buck today! She started hunting last year.

Thats awesome! Congrats to her!

thats awesome

Congratulations to her!!

Good for her, I guess she's just showing you how it's done!

That's a dandy.

Did you shoot her takin a bath? Lol Great job and good eating.

It was really nice having a crick right there, have to try that more often.

Got my buddies son out today for another mentored hunt. He got it done about 8:45 this morning in the same stand I took him to last year when he killed his first deer.we were 2 for 2 hunting together the last two seasons until this afternoon about 2:30 he missed an 8 point. He was bummed but happy for a clean miss on the buck this afternoon and the doe he got this morning. Was a great day.

Sounds like a great day and kudos to you for taking him out.

Good on you PA Trapper and congrats to your buddy's son. Too bad about the miss but at least it was a clean miss.

Thanks fellas. He is a great kid that loves to hunt and I love to take him. Today was a plus because my adult son was hunting in the next stand over from us also. It was the first time we've gotten to hunt together in 3 years because of his work schedule. Just a blessed day in the outdoors.

Some great stories and great deer. Congrats to you all
Managed to arrow a nice 5C doe yesterday. Freezer is full. Passed on a nice young 8 point. Hope we cross paths next year. He should be a dandy if he makes it.

I haven’t been on in a while but, wow some nice deer and congrats to you all that got some venison for the freezer. I was able to hunt opening day and then Monday. Saw a small buck pushing a doe the first day around 9am and then didn’t see any deer till 330 when 5 doe came through. I had changed stands midday. Monday in the snow I saw a whole bunch of does, so I’m thinking Saturday should be fun. Saw a flock of snow geese midday. I heard what I thought was some sick Canadian geese and a flock of 60-70 snow geese went by. Made my day. Didn’t care if I saw another deer that day. I did, it was a yearling 7pt around 430. Didn’t hunt Tuesday. But I was able to get out of work early enough Wednesday, Thursday and Friday to hunt my dads field last hour of the day. Saw a button buck and a decent deer after legal shooting light Wednesday off at a distance. Thursday night I saw a small bobcat, probably this years litter. That was cool. Saw a fawn Friday night around 4, and nothing else but squirrels. So I decided to hunt the stand I was in the first two mornings yesterday and had a doe and fawn close enough to shoot at first light but they were just eating acorns, not moving, figured I’d wait cause I could hear some more deer on a bench or two above me. Not long and a small buck comes down the hill and eats his way to about 50 yards behind me. I can still hear another deer and it comes down nearly the same trail as the first buck and he looked pretty good so I figured If he gave me a good shot I’d take him. He slowly fed around, but stayed lower than first buck, got under a hemlock and put his head up and was making a scrape, one shot, dropped him with the trusty model 70. 8pt. Pic to come. Lean. No fat on him. Got a horse doe in the afternoon that had 3” fat on her. Yesterday was a good day, great hanging weather. Got some work to do today.

Great write up coyotesoldier229, congrats and thanks for sharing.

Here's a pic of him in the scrape, quick dirt nap. He had a good scrape on his nose and a small gouge by his right eye. Both the buck and doe were full of acorns. I hadn't been seeing many deer since mid October. Don't know where all these deer were from then till now, but it all worked out.

very nice

Nice one!

Remind him that a clean miss is the second best shot a hunter can make. Great story!

Nice Buck Coyote Soldier

Thanks. I’ve seen some really nice deer get killed this year, happy to get a decent buck. Just got done running errands for the wife. Gonna go cut up some fronts, straps and inner loins. Let the hinds hang another day. Happy hunting.

Nice buck coyotesoldier

Finally got a doe today. First deer Ive seen in days. Meat for the freezer.

Congrats goldnut, nothing better then having meat stored up.

Congrats goldnut. See lots of deer coming home from the club tonight.

X 2

Congrats, happiness is a full freezer.

Wet and warm for tonight's sit. I heard couple of confused frogs croaking at each other. No deer.

I had to process the doe I shot Saturday this morning, it got too warm to leave her hang any longer.

we have had some really good weather for aging deer this year here.

Yeah, except for today the whole week looked great. I figured if I got one tonight it could hang until Saturday or Sunday.

no acorns this year. I've seen 3 deer this season. they went to the food, just can't find them!

Congrats Goldnut. Good eatings. Good hanging weather, got my deer cut up last night.

Minkless, I was down in state forest in central pa hunting bear and the acorns were few and far between, but had one good stand of acorns at my place and that’s where I lucked out.

I can say that for rifle season, and doe coming in last Saturday, I have heard so few shots it’s mind boggling to me. We have strong deer numbers in my area, I have to think that it’s just less hunters out.

Too much posted land, Antler restriction, Kids not interested and the older guys are getting...well....old. What else am I missing?

I’d say those are valid points. I would add limited people driving deer as well. That being related to the points you listed.

I didn't get a shot at anything but a couple of does which were not legal at that point...BUT what I did participate in was playing the "dog" for my buddies 13 year old son who hadn't killed his first deer yet. I went and kicked the lounging critters in their behinds to get them up and moving (yeah like WHERE IS EVERYONE? the woods were basically empty and it was difficult to tell that deer season had opened....sigh) In any case I managed to move 9 deer off beds and a tenth one I didn't see which turned out to be a nice sized "3-up" that my buddy Pete let go past right to his son. Jr. smacked his 25-06 off a tree and caused the buck to jump but fortunately for him it stopped out at 50 yards and turned broadside. From there he did exactly what he needed to do and made a beauty of a lung shot. By the time I got there Jr. was roaming the "kill zone" looking for his deer with no luck.

So I had him regroup, first checking his rifle (yes he was shaking and all that good stuff, I love it) for a live round AND that it was on safe. Then I had him go back to where we had him standing and point, to the best of his recollection, where the deer was when he fired. Within ten minutes I found the first blood and then I saw the blood trail (he got beauty of a first trail that a blind man could follow by smell alone). Bubbly, bright red, and I knew his first deer was on the ground not too far ahead. We got him on the blood trail and had him follow it out to the end, rifle down and ready, and about 75 yards later there he was. Showed him how to approach and check to make sure the deer was dead, which it was. The "first gutting" was comical as has been usual in my experience anyway. The drag not too bad at all either. Things turned out well.

Got another kid hooked on hunting, and that made my season.

I think I'm going to buy a good crossbow this year and join the rest of the folks that are no longer rifle hunting.

JT

Excellent post JTaddeo, your story made my day. Thanks for the write up.

X2

X3 way to go

Yep! Great story. And good for you on getting another sportsman in the field.

CWD and the cost that some have to pay because they can't or won't do their own butchering.

Welp, gave the deer a rest the past few days it's time to get the 270 out for the last three days.

Good hunting the rest of the season GF54.

Tonight's sit was the exact opposite of last night when it was raining and warm. I even heard a few frogs last evening.

Tonight is was about thirty degrees colder, sunny and windy with about an inch of snow cover. No frogs but I did see a coopers hawk land on a branch about twenty feet away and on the same elevation as me. We studied each other for a few minutes before it decided to fly off.

I saw the Cold Moon rise and it was an awesome sight, it looked huge coming over the horizon. I wanted to get a pic but didn't want all that movement, I was expecting to see a deer at any moment. It will peak at 12:12 AM early tomorrow morning (12:12 on 12-12).

Heard then saw the jungle birds (pileated woodpeckers) that live in that swamp.

No deer were seen despite the excellent viewing offered by the snow cover. One year ago today I killed a six-point from that stand as he came sneaking out of the thick stuff with about ten minutes of shooting time left.

Good luck you you too Lugnut!

Found a doe after work today....

You got about as much snow out there in the southwest corner as we did here in the southeast corner.

Congrats on the doe gutthooked.

Congrats gutt! Meat!

Thanks guys, getting 2 capicola hams made and some slim jims with this one.

Nice size doe Gutthooked, congrats!!

I’ve heard of smoked and chipped hinds, which I love, is the capicola ham similar with the seasoning on the outside?

Thanks guys I thought it might resonate with some other folks. I've killed so many deer over the years that I'm not particularly worried about "the kill". In fact spending the week out in the woods reminded me again just how much I love being out there. Getting another youngster hooked, and I'll get some deer stick out of it, is an awesome thing. But participating and sharing in a young man's first kill is absolutely priceless. It's one of those things that touches a man's soul and for me invokes deep nostalgia. I got to relive, at least in part, my own first while adding this set of memories as well. Happy and proud father, son, and buddy.

The only "downer" for the day was when Jr. realized he had to return to school the following day. I gave him the answer to that one too........you have bragging rights now...

Wait until I put hen crazed long-beard out in front of him this coming April.

Good luck and safe hunting to all participating.

Yes, seasoning on the outside , I'll post some pics when the processor gets it done. They make peppered hams there too.

That sounds fantastic.

You're making my mouth water.

ive saw 7 so far this mornin and aint left the house.that doe tag i have left started burnin a hole in my pocket but i threw some snow on it.

had a doe shot at the knee out back this mornin,no tags left for me.

All tagged out here, wife and daughter are going to Texas this afternoon to visit family for a few days and I’ll be home, with no tags, probably just keep the 223 handy while I putter around the garage in case I see any coyotes cruising.

Went out this morning until it started to sleet then it turned to rain. Didn’t see a deer heard three shots out the mountain from me. Tomorrow is the last day with 100% chance of rain all day. Don’t know if I’ll make it out or not. We have flintlock season after Christmas. I think I’m going to set some traps next week between rain showers lol

pulled my mink sets today,moved traps up and down enough.

Rain and fog this evening. Luckily, my stand is under a roof. The guy who had permission to hunt this property before me put it up and left it when the new owners bought the place. It’s at a pretty good location so I put up a ladder stand under it. It is my go to stand on rainy days.



Soon after I got into my stand the fog really started rolling in. By a little after 4 PM I couldn’t see much more than 20 yards. I didn’t see any wildlife at all tonight.

Last day of the season. Good luck and stay safe out there

I'm staying home for a bit now, too much rain for me.

Seen a spike chasing a doe yesterday.

i'm done but the son got home from w.virginia about midnight and says he's usin his other doe tag today.no rain for me today--no tags and no traps out.have to take care of the 90 traps and wire in the jeep and cut up my buck today.he's getting canned mostly.

good luck to those still huntin.

Time to bust out the flinter.
Poor deer hunting for me this year, but it ain't over yet.

Good luck to anyone still hunting. Stay dry.

Full rainy day in forecast here. The nice hunting westher Saturdays are over. Its meat grinding and packing for me today. Stand removal starts tomorrow. Wish i had a local tag for flint. Just a 3a, but not planning to travel after the holidays. Dont need any more meat but just cant stop the urge to hunt.

i walked to the horse run bdg this mornin at daylight with my thirty ought stix.

Raining hard here, to change to snow, may go out this afternoon. Got many chores today, want to get fisher traps out, have deer to process, make jerky meat, shop on Amazon. To all out , stay safe n dry.

Just got back from a four-hour still-hunt. Perfect conditions for it; foggy with light drizzle, nearly silent walking.

Saw lots of sign but no deer. Found my third deer skeleton in the last two weeks. I'm unsure whats killing them. Two doe and a spike.

Will try again this evening if it's not pouring but the radar is not looking promising.

backstraps fryin then time to fill the canner

i think potter county ordinance states ya must have a fryin pan with meat cookin while cuttin up deer.

Lugnut do you have CWD down there?

It’s been raining pretty steady here since noon or so. Neck roast with taters, carrots and onion in the crockpot for dinner. Watching the Army vs Navy game on tv and out the window at the rain coming down. Good luck in this last hour if you’re hanging in there still.

Sounds good coyote soldier. I have beer can chicken on the grill. Yours sounds better.

we have an inch of snow already

Those chickens with beer in their rears are pretty darn good too, hope your grill is under cover. Pretty wet



Good for tracking tomorrow. My plan is to take my dogs for a hike and pull some stands. Wish we had some snow. Snow would be great to see what’s hanging around still.

Fisher traps?

Rain turned to wet snow around 9:30 this morning. A determined hunter could walk silently in this and do well. Got my last deer packaged and pork ground too. All ready to start making sausage over the holidays. Feels good. Im 3 beers deep. Wife's got pork chop in the oven. Life is good.

Grill is on the porch with roof over it. I grill all year round.

The snow sounds better then all this rain. I have 8 trail cans out and will be checking cards tomorrow.

The rain ended soon after I got on my stand this afternoon. I even saw some patches of blue sky. The wind came up shortly after. I saw a bunch of squirrels again, I'm going to get the granddaughter out after them next week and try some of the pressure cooker methods suggested on the "Squirrels" thread.

I didn't see any deer, heard a few shots about a half-mile away, the first I heard all day.

Looking forward to the after-Christmas season. I still have tags to fill!

Now...back to catching fox.

My season ended with a thud .Rain and fog made this morning and yesterday afternoon almost pointless to go .Out of a group of 9 hunters we got 2 buck and had another shoot at a doe that missed.And many days the combined group did not see a total to 10 deer .I may do some late season archery depending on how the weather is . And I hope to do some trapping and perhaps some bird hunting with my 2 dogs

He is still alive. Maybe next year if he makes it.

That is a great buck .But I learned a long time ago a lot happens in a years time . I had pictures of a nice 9 point that where taken after buck season end . He was killed by a car between Christmas and New Years days . This summer I had several pictures of 4 or 5 different buck . Than I heard one of the local landowners had been poaching deer right before the start of the rifle season .I do not know if that is true but if it is none of those dead deer will have antlers next summer . However it is great to have a buck like that go past one of your cameras Good luuck

i took a walk over to my ground blind tonight and sat for the last hour and a half. It was snowing when I went in but soon turned to sleet. I had my condom in the end of the barrel and kept the lock under my armpit until I got to the blind which has a roof.

About 5:10 I'm nodding off and wake to a doe trotting away. She was apparently standing ten feet away trying to figure out what I was. She stopped and turned broadside at fifty yards. I line the shot up and get a nice shower of sparks but no pan ignition. She takes a nervous step but doesn't bolt. I pull the hammer back again but neglect to close the frizzen so there wasn't even a spark the second time I pulled the trigger.

She was a nice fat doe too.

I tell ya, if it wouldn't be for bad luck I'd have no luck at all during this season's muzzleloader hunts.

Tough luck Lug. Each Saturday since new year's has been horrible for flintlock here in northwest. Days like today almost require to wait until see deer to prime the pan. Or else just 30 minutes before dark.

At least you got out.

Yeah, I'm sure the priming powder got damp. I use 4F which is notorious for absorbing moisture. I heard about guys using 3F with good results but have never tried it myself.

I use 4f too. In damp conditions i got a hang fire in 45 minutes just unloading after dark on the last day once. That's where i got the 30 minute timer from. I haven't actually shot enough in real world conditions to understand how far i could reasonably stretch it. I didn't go this year since out of tags. If i was in my blind waiting on the last 5 min of daylight then it's pretty easy to time. Plus if come out early the blind will allow for movement to prime.

Yesterday,out of a party of 11 we got two doe. 7 different hunters shot with no problems till about noon.Then it was party over after that (ice & rain).

I was out for one last hunt this evening. Flintlock season closes today in WMU5C. Oh I took some precautions so I wouldn’t have a repeat of the misfire I had last Saturday in the rain and ice. Today’s weather wasn’t much better. The rain had quit by the time I went out but there was a heavy mist, enough to make the rifle wet.

I put a condom over the barrel, actually it’s a finger protector for mailsorters and such.



I didn’t prime until I got to my stand and I changed priming powder every 30 minutes per your suggestion Claypool. I also kept a plastic Ziploc baggie over the lock.





But no deer showed so I could see how effective the changes were.

What was the results of your changes ,Lugnut?

For my lock cover i actually use a detachable hood from an old camo rain jacket. The elastic band makes a nice attachment but once got it snagged on the trigger guard. Great for carrying gun in and out especially if knocking snow off braches you bump into.

i don't know, didn't see any deer and didn't fire the rifle.

When I'm in those conditions I usually keep the lock tucked under my armpit. it's not the most comfortable position but it keeps it dry. The plastic baggie was a afterthought, I dug it out of my daypack and tossed the chunk of cheese I forgot to remove last week when I saw the wind was blowing mist into the blind and getting my lock wet. It worked okay but I was tucking it into the trigger guard and one time I tried to remove it to change priming powder it hung up on the trigger. I stopped using it after that.

I thought about getting a period-correct cow's knee to cover the lock in wet weather but it seems like they would take too long to remove in a still-hunting situation.

So back to under the armpit.

Any of you guys hunt around Emporium? Started deer hunting there in the 80's with my father and grandfather . Enjoyed reading all of your guys posts. Brought back some great childhood memories. Still got family their, but have only got back to deer hunt a couple of times about 15 years ago. Hunted with my uncle then in Gillette, just south of Troy NY.

I have a camp about an hour north of Emporium near the PA/NY line. It's a nice area.

THE Gods Country.