Fellas - back from deer camp. Deer were thin, but we had a good time. I wound up killing a really nice coyote on Monday afternoon. I was doe hunting, but never bothered to shoot one, given the scarcity of the deer in general. I did a lot of walking around with the rifle, just trying to get some deer on their feet and keep them moving for the other guys. I saw a decent buck and two doe. It was hot (daytime felt likenear 70)and dry, so the deer were hunkered down pretty tight.

We had a few last-minute additions to the roster, and took 9 guys to camp. Out of the nine, we saw 23 deer total in two days of hunting and a day of scouting, but of those, 15 were seen while hunting, and six were shooter bucks. We had a guy take a whiff on a really nice 4x4? at 30 yards and another guy miss on a slam dunk 75 yarder,but we wound up killing a decent 3x4, and a really nice 4x4.

In all, everyone who hunted hard both days had a chance to fill their tags. Most of the guys who didn't see any deer at all spent the majority of the two days sleeping back at camp and fattening up for christmas.

We were hunting the Allegheny National Forest, which is basically the largest parcel of woods left in the state of PA. The age structure of the herd in there is excellent - and we saw several mature buck through three days in the woods (one day scouting - two hunting). The buck/doe ratio in that area is scaring 1:1. So, it's long, boring days on the stand, but when one comes through, you've got a really solid shot at it being a good buck. The heat surely didn't help.

One of the other guys brave enough to hike back into the far reaches of the ANF killed amonster 6x7just around the ridge from me. Lots of big buck sign, huge rubs, a few scrapes, etc., lots of bear and coyotesign too.

Amazing how things change. Just 15 years ago, you could hunt that same area and see 30+ deer in a day, maybe not a single buck. If you were lucky enough to see a buck, it was always a 1.5 year old. Nonstop action all day. Now, you're lucky to see 3 deer in a day, but the bucks are a whole lot bigger than ever before. Not sure if it's the state's increased doe tag sales (herd reduction program), or maybe the feed, or the increased predation. My guess is that it's a combination of the three factors, but it's made for better mature buck hunting without a doubt.

I'd post pictures but I have none. I have two pics of the bucks on my phone, but the batteries are flatlined, and I left the charger at camp... well... because... that's just the kind of stupid thing that I routinelydo.