St.Mary's PA - Insight into the Buck population

[jhoffman]

My family owns a little over 100 acres just outside of St. Marys PA off of the Million Dollar Highway on Springrun Rd.
I am hunting the property for the first time with my brother and my two cusins this year during rifle - wish I could have gotten there for Archery but I have been told that there is an over abundence of doe and not many bucks in the area by the locals there -

i am just wondering if anyine hunts the area or if they are from around the same general are and if so what is you prespective on the Buck population around St.Marys or even in Elk County in general.

The property has not been hunted by anyone in the last couple of years and not hunted heavy for many years before that. I am getting my hopes up that there are a couple nice mature bucks on the property and without much human contact and hunting pressure maybe they got dumber and will be easier to hunt. Yea right -

[livbucks]

We have a campon Elk/McKean line. The deer are pretty thin around there. If you have a chunk of private land it may be a little different for you. Deer numbers seem to be pretty low around our place. That is why we drive out to hunt. Quite a bit of pressure near the camps.

[Lattimer]

My family owns a little over 100 acres just outside of St. Marys PA off of the Million Dollar Highway on Springrun Rd.
I am hunting the property for the first time with my brother and my two cusins this year during rifle - wish I could have gotten there for Archery but I have been told that there is an over abundence of doe and not many bucks in the area by the locals there -

i am just wondering if anyine hunts the area or if they are from around the same general are and if so what is you prespective on the Buck population around St.Marys or even in Elk County in general.

The property has not been hunted by anyone in the last couple of years and not hunted heavy for many years before that. I am getting my hopes up that there are a couple nice mature bucks on the property and without much human contact and hunting pressure maybe they got dumber and will be easier to hunt. Yea right -

Any relation to Julia from St Mary's?

[jhoffman]

No the j stands for Jim - My camp is the old Connely camp and the area where we are located is off the Million Dollar Highway between St.Marys and Weedville. We did some research on the property a few years back and it used to be known as the Old Dodge Farm and used to actually have a school house and small community on the property but they strip mined the top of the mountain probably about 30-35 years ago now and the community was gone way before that not sure of the dates though. Nice chunk of land though. Bear and Elk are through the property on a regular basis and I normally see a fair amount of deer on the property two but have only seen a handfull of bucks but until this year I am normally there in the summer months and the deer are back further in the woods in all the mountain lorell - that stuff is pretty thik all over the property. Lots of white Oak and big stands of lodge pole pines all over too - the back side of the property is owned by the PA power authority and they patrol that land pretty heavy but they let you hunt it just no ATVs or permanent tree stands that cause any damage to the trees. There was a guy caught up there a couple of years ago and was sitting in a stand that had been there for as long as I can remember and was caught by a game warden and got fined - They said that it didn't matter that he was not the one that put the stand up he was in it so he was liable and the fined him the market value of the tree which came out to a couple hundred $$$. Overall we have close to 500 acres of land to hunt on and don't really have to worry about anyone else on the property.

[DoubleLung55]

I know thats where straub comes from .

[jhoffman]

Straub - that's all my Grandpa drinks -

Headed down Saturday to do a little scouting and I'll be out on Monday for the PA opener.

[todd a smith]

sounds like u need a management plan and some clover planted...mineral sites...the whole nine and u would see a change in the size and health of your herd

[schliker]

IM FROM ST MARYS NOT MANY DEER ANYWHERE
SMALL GROUPS HERE AND THERE JUST HAVE TO TRY
OUR BEST THIS BUCK SEASON

[GREEK HUNTER]

hey j do what todd said and you will see some nice deer they won't leave the property untill you start shooting and most of the time they won't if you need any help let me know i'm a philly boy but my cousin has been managing land his whole life... we kill 8-16 point bucks on our land and thats right out side of phila pa...we don't kill nothing under a 8 pointer... and kills enough does that it is 2-1 2 doe to1 buck works out great