I hunted Pa last Nov for the 1st time during gun season. I was on private property that was posted. I wasin a stand. What I observed(wished I had a video camera) was this.
#1. 2 people set up right on the edge of the property.
#2. I had a doe coming toward me along the edge of the corn field. I was getting ready to kill the doe. BANG! Doe goes down. Wait a minute I did not squeeze the trigger of my rifle. MAgic maybe. NOT. Then a pumpkin comes up to the fenced property line. Looks at the doe then lo and behold he sees the stand I am in. He jumps the fence.grabs the doe and drags it back across property lines. I should have called the authoritiues but nothing would have happened since I heard a vehicle leaving right away.

#3. Heard some commotion in the woods behund me. Looked into the woods and saw some orange moving around. Then HAHA a deer pops out of the woods and ends up in a service road that runs along the stand I was in about 65 yards away. The pumpkins heard the deer also. They couldnt see it clearly. I could. Bang! Dead deer! They start to head to where the deer was. I open up the door and get out of the stand. They decide to leave. I get to the deer and put my tag on it. While I did that they stood at the edge of the woods and watched.

#4. Another deer was running along the edge of the cornfield and one guy fired 4 shots at it. It finally turned around and went into an apple orchard and I saw it finally cross the road about 1 mile away. BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM BAM etc

#5. In the 2 days I was there I saw around 30 people coming onto private property that was posted. Me and the 2 guys I was hunting with are the only ones with permission.

Let me say this I know that all the Pa hunters aren't this way. I have hunted with 3 residents who I am proud to call friends. Plus I do not believe that it is just Pa that is this way. I hunted during slug gun season here in Ohio on public land and that was a horrible experience and will not do that anymore.
I agree that education is the best key to stop this. In Ohio it is better most of the time when it comes to trespassing on private property. There is no excuse not to understand the laws concerning this.
Finally I LOVED hunting in Pa and hope to make it a yearly tradition.

Edited by - WorthlessNut on 01/20/2002 08:18:50