Originally Posted by
germain
Not scientific but it's a fact.This is the worst year our group has experienced.The shots fiired in our area on the two first days can be counted on my two hands.I've heard the same from a boatload of other people.Looks like we finally hit rock bottom on public land.Some places might be damned close to wiped out.
You take a deer herd down to a certain level with yotes and bears those predators are going to keep those low numbers down.
On our drive home from Clearfield we counted one doe on a vehicle.And that's a 3 hour drive on highway.Talked to a guy from Tioga who also saw only one deer in/on a vehicle driving home.
Thing that bothers me the most?I have grandchildren coming up in age to hunt.
If the economy improves I'll be looking into a lease in Maryland.It would suck not going to camp but it's just a waste.
We were holding on for a few years not shooting does but as I expected that two week snow cover took it's toll on our few doe remaining last year.They stuck out like sore thumbs.
Rich,I really have to question where you hunt.I hunted two days in Moshannon state forest this past week.On Monday,I SAW 8 deer and my buddy saw over 20.We went back this saturday and I killed a doe right off the bat and saw at least 8 or nine doe in there.I pushed two areas out for him and he saw at least 14 different deer but no clear shots.We left there and hit more public land about 2 miles away.I saw another 3 deer and he saw at least another 5.On friday,my buddy sent me a text of a spike his 10 year old son shot on SGL 77.That same day,his nephew killed a 7 point on the same game lands.The next day,my buddy killed a wide 6 point,once again on SGL and that was after passing up several other bucks all week.He didn't complain one bit about the number of deer he saw.Today at the gym,I talked with another buddy who hunts SGL 93.He hunted there on saturday and saw over twenty deer including three small bucks that he passed.His cousin that was with him missed a nice buck that was later killed by someone else.The guys I hear complaining the most are actually guys that hunt private land.The guys that hunt public land aren't really all that discouraged.I can honestly say that you can have some slow days if you hunt some of the better spots and sit all day.There so many acorns this year,the deer don't have to move to feed.They lay up all day in the thickest laurel and steepest hillsides they can find.They have food right there so there's no reason for them to get on their feet.However,if you get a few guys that know the areas,you can get the deer moving and have a good season.I talked with my neighbor a little while ago.He's having a good year down here and he even hunted a spot on Rockton mountain.His father on the other hand lives in Tioga county and hunts Pine creek.He said that he only saw two deer all week and it's been getting worse every year.He doesn't blame lead poisoning however.he claims there simple isn't enough pressure in that vast steep country.