PA primitive season so far
 

Saturday - opening day. Rainy, windy, downright nasty out. Not the kind of weather that makes a flinter very reliable. Stayed home. Monday- nice day but no deer. Hunted morning and evening only saw squirrels. Today - cold, 30 mph winds and gusts probably approaching 50 mph (was blowing all night and most of today). Slept in, had coffee, took a nap, reloaded some ammo, took a nap, watched some TV with lunch, took a nap. Saw just a many deer as yesterday?!?!?
Tomorrow - Have to go to work in the AM but will be out in the evening. Hopefully the snow will be coming soon.
The high winds had the deer sitting tight. They are a bundle of nerves the way it is from being hunted all year without dealing with the wind that messes with their hearing and nose.
Don't really care if I get anything - Just like being out there as long as it isn't raining or blowing hard. Got to help my buddy fill a tag. Maybe do a couple pushes for him.

I understand the not seeing deer thing. I have black oiled sunflower seeds out in the bird feeders and there is not a single deer track in the snow near the feeders. Normally when I feed the birds the deer come around looking for leftovers.

Sometimes sitting in the house where it is warm is a nice thing. Better luck next time out.

Dang Bronco what part of PA ya in? Im about 40 miles from Northeast PA and we have been buried in the snow and cold. I know what your Hunting in we had that kind of weather during our first week of shotgun season, it sucks! With the snow comming them deer will be up and moving. Good Luck and let's see some pics.
(BP)

It's good to know when to say no.

When the weather's rotten at least you get to go hunting on the forums.

Well maybe the weather will change for the better and you can do some hunting. Good luck.

[quote=bronko22000;3542354] Hopefully the snow will be coming soon.
[quote]
Be careful what you hope for:s4:. I said the same thing.

Breechplug - I am in Northumberland Co.,near Mt. Carmel
Chet - I saw the pics. Looks like the kids are having fun anyway. And you did too with that nice buck.
Happy New Year to all.

your comments are same here in western clinton county.we have been observing deer movements on privateland from daylight until 11pm.we have about 12.from rut until now very few of those 12 deer move 100 yds.its hunting pressure and WEATHER ......
roads are icy mess....winds are awful.no one is getting too many deer yet i saw a lot of hunters.mostly road hunting.
2 guys were road hunting ahead of me on summerson mtn road in clinton county at 1 pm yesterday....
they jumped out to try and shoot a small doe that ran accross in front of their truck.
the driver slipped and fell on road.he spotted me 100 yds behind him.they ran back to truck and left.
i heard they were hunters from york that have camp in summerson mtn. i heard they are mad at me for disturbing their hunting and causing one to fall.

oh well, maybe they shouldnt hunt from road.
conditions this week are going to be bad........this is worst season from what hunters told me on deer hunting.most like the buck only first week but all feel doe hunting needs stopped .

If your talking about PA, yes the Doe Hunting should be stopped. It was nice when they had Doe day the last 2 days of the season. Then they started giving out doe tags like water then let you shoot them from opening day on.
When I used to go to PA for the opener we would see sometimes over 200 deer, mostly does but that was a-lot for opening day. Now you dont see any.
I know you now have antler restrictions on Bucks and are taking some nice one's, but I know a-lot of PA Hunter's that come to N.Y. for the Opener just so they can see deer again.
(BP)

yes, you are right about wmu2g in pa.i believe pgc says we can hold 9 or 12 dpsm.its around 2 dpsm ,it was 4 dpsm last winter on our feeder surveys with cameras etc.
why cant we get our doe to the 9/12 dpsm .i think most would be happy with that.yes we are very happy with AR but feel it should be for everyone except first year of kids hunt, like 12 yrs old .
boy, wind is bad again today .i just walked toby and he beat me to my house.brrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Best keep Toby on a reign, lest he become Coyote fare.

toby has toe injury from oct grouse season.so i have not had him out for late grouse season........
i dont like going out when deer hunting is in .we are taking it easy.he just hunted up 3 rabbits in dark with my spotlight along about 1 hr ago.
i dont even know if i will get out anymore for late muzzleoader.have feeling the bucks that are left lost their horns with this cold weather we had.
things are very bad right now here in clinton county.i might do some ice fishing....i got one of those propane heaters and outhouse tent.............

Them yotes get hungry when it's cold. They have been known to target a dog. Keep an eye on Toby.
Sure is cold and hard to convince yourself that you should go. I have never regretted it once I mustered the gumption to get it out there.

when you are with someone hunting, no bad weather will stop you..
by yourself,its not same hunting or fishing, for sure.with toby with me, i really like being in woods a lot even if i dont see anything which is norm now in clinton county,pa.
yotes, i have not been after them so far .if weather gets better i will be out at my favorite time.1 half hr after it gets dark,like 5;30 pm.i only stay out for about 1 hr.
that time is best i have found for CALLING coyotes.best time for NOT CALLING is about 1/2 hr before sunrise.they are heading for den then and not hungry.

I don't get it? I thought just about all states made it illegal to hunt from the road. Here in Virigina we call those scum, poachers.

We have dog hunting clubs here and I was actually stopped once by an idiot hunter in one of these club holding a gun on the road. I stopped and got out of my truck an flashed my LEO badge at him and called the warden.

These idiots give all hunters a bad name. I may be a come here, but these clubs go beyond established rules of hunting.

I only wish that moron who slipped while hunting from his truck didn't bust his head open and add a huge hospital bill to his worries!!!:fighting0007:

i dont think ANYONE that has ever hunted that did not do road hunting at 1 time or so in their past.......its very hard to find anyone who has not done it.a lot are very good people, pillars of community......
others like you said are not very good people on their morals etc.
its like the disabled hunting permit.i like it very much for disabled.you can use your vehicle as blind and shoot out window at deer .but what do most do, they ROAD HUNT and shoot out window from road and when we caught them,they said, I HABE PERMIT TO SHOOT OUT WINDOW.

it was sad to hear about ones i know that got arrested,some were sick etc. but all violated law......all are very nice people.
where is line drawn between good /bad people.i dont know.........

I understand the disabled have the right in most states to hunt from their vehicles, but hunting on the roads is a safety issue. Once you start hunting from the road, then it is down the road and then accross the road. Understand that this is a dangerous action and issue.

Remember that we are always trying to know where our bullets will go once they leave our guns. That is just being safe and responsible.

Now as to where to draw the line, that is easy. We have laws that tell us where the line is! Think you have a bad law, get it changed.

When people stop following the law, you end up with anarchy -- which leads to chaos and confusion!!! And remember, good people don't break the law intentionally. If they are ignorant of a law, that could be a justified excuse. If they break the law and know they are doing so, they are no longer good people!

I hope I have shed some light on this matter brother. Good hunting! :happy0001:

hunted for 5 days of fdlintlock in 2D. Saw over 100 deer and yes Sproul the horns are off, I saw plenty w/ horn holes that went by me. I beleive they started in December. Local boys say same. We have a coule inches that ended w/a foot of snow for Monday morning and i was able to get a doe at 90 yards measurd. Got another Tuesday and both these ona farmers mountain fields way back in. We are doe heavy in 2D. Havenot hunted in snow like that for many ears. Got to make my tea brew back in the mountain off a little fire I got going and hunted by myself for all those days. Heard some grouse hunters in the valley on Yuesday. I saw a lot of Yote tracks and will return for them in February during the Mosquito Creek hunt. All the days I hunted this year, these past 5 were the most fulfilling, not because of the meat pole but it was just beautiful back in there.

Buck Hunter 1

Nice harvest and hunt.

I went up to my hunt club camp last sunday and saw quite a few deer, mostly does. They are legal now in my county here in Va. Tuesday afternoon I hunted one of our stands on a swamp piece and had some dogs working not far from me. I was pretty sure I would see some action and I did.

I had three large does come into my area. They were just trying to get out of the area from the dogs and were not running hellbent. I got them to stop three times, but they would always stop behind cover. On the forth time the lead doe stoppped in the clear and I shot her.

She was hard to get out of the woods, but this old man did it. She field dressed out at 88 lbs. She is at the meat processor getting made into summer sauage. She is deer number five for the year. I got an 8 pt, big 5 pt and 3 does. Our club hunt master wanted a total of 15 does harvested off our property, but I think we will come up short. When I left the camp we had five in the cooler and four days left to hunt.

I have one tag left and one day to hunt, but am truely tired and will stay home saturday.

I will be gearing up for crows and yotes in the next few weeks.

you guys are very lucky to see deer like that.i would be very happy if here in clinton county that we would see the 12 dpsm that the PGC says we could have.........
boy, it is real bad here.
if not for LOCAL CREWS that i know not shooting a doe i believe we would be down to below 2 dpsm........

I went out with the flinter today, got to my stand about 2pm. By 2:20pm I had a doe and fawn feeding across the hill at about 30 paces. I watched them for an hour and then sat quiet until about 4pm, when a button buck came running in and stood at 4 yards from me bobbing his head at me. Then he went about to browsing away and then came back and stood in his same tracks and looked at me again. Then he slowly browsed away in the opposite direction and I sat tight until he was on the top of the hill. By then it was getting pretty dark so I got to packing up and heading for the truck. I kicked up a lone deer over the hill near my truck but couldn't see what it was. I made it to the truck, fired it up and sat in it for awhile with the heat blasting. I was pretty cold from sitting still all that time with the deer around me. It is gonna be brutal tomorrow though, with highs in the mid teens. Tomorrow will be a tracking and stalking day for sure. Not much standing in one spot for any length of time.

saturday is going to be bitter cold here in clinton county.i just took toby for walk and that awful wind is coming again.this is just plain nasty cold this winter.......

Well I was out Saturday. Morning and evening. That wind was nasty. It was about 17 degreesd with 20 - 30 mph winds. But my Arctic Shield jacket and gloves and polyurethane undies and flannel lined pants and pack boots kept me nice and warm. I din't mind it at all. But now deer seen. I think they were sitting tight in this wind. The few that are around anyway. Seen some tracks. But also coyote tracks.
I often thought of how did the indians and pioneers handle this weather? No poly undies, no thinsulate. Just wool and leather. Bet there was a lot of frostbite.

I'm also thinking they stayed out overnight in that weather. They had to have depleted game populations in local areas? Way hardier than us...I was bow hunting here in OH, the deer were not moving today.

Bronko have you ever tried them (body Warmers) made by HotHands that have the sticky side on them, you peel off the sticky side and I put them on the outside of the last shirt I wear near my back, usually near my kidneys. These things work awsome. I use two to four of them when it's brutal cold out, they keep you toasty warm and they will last all day from 6 in the Morning untill dark. Just make sure you take em out befor your drive home as many a time I had to stop the Truck and get them off as my back was on fire!
They sell them at Wal-Mart or wherever else for $2 a pack, you get 2 of the body warmers and 2 small hand warmers with them. I also buy the Big Body Warmers without the sticky side on them and put one in my mitten and the other in my pocket. With all of these Im good to go even when it's Zero out and -20below windchills.
Happy Hunting and stay Warm!
(BP)

i went out back to test my SLEEPING BAG IDEA....i bought one of those 15 dollar kids camo sleeping bag at wal-mart and put suspenders on it to hold them up.
i was sitting there for about 1 hr at 15 degrees -5 wind chill and it worked real good on wind...........i could keep my arms down in bag also,all that was sticking out was top of my shoulders up.......keeps air off your legs and going up the back of your coat real good......

another idea i like very much is i bought those BOOT BLANKETS .i bought my regular boot size not as instructed ON BIGGER SIZE to put over your boots.then i take a BIG BOOT HANDWARMERS and throw 1 in each BOOT BLANKET.
it works great but you have to be careful if sitting in treestand as they are like bedroom slippers.my only problem is when i go to walk out i have to put on my boots and are they cold.i stick them in my duffle bag but still are cold ......i use HIKING BOOTS for this set-up not rubber boots or hunting boots.they are smaller and dont heat up walking in and fit in my backpack.......

sproulman

I think they have a commercial body cozy for tree stands. It should be great for you guys in the upper parts of the country. Here in Virginia, it doesn't get that cold on any regular basis. Only on rare ocassions will it get that cold, thank God!

As to the foot cozies, I have a pair and they work very well. I did get the larger size and do put them over my regular hunting boots. They keep me very warm and comfortable. But I must say the idea of wearing them as slippers with handwarmers in them without boots is a great idea. That is until you are ready to get out of the treestand and now have to put on them very cold boots!!! ;)

heck just put your handwarmers inside your boot before ya' put em' on. Should warm them some.

I use those "Toasty Toes" warmers with adhesive, that stick under your toes, when I hunt in a treestand in very cold weather. I swear there are plumes of smoke coming out of my boots when I use them. They only last about 4 hours though. Don't believe the writing that they last 6 to 8 hours.

I also take an Advil before heading out. It really helps.

yes, they are cold.this is why i use just hiking boots going in/out.they are light and easy to put on and i dont sweat going in/out.i use ladder stand and i climb down the steps with the BOOT BLANKETS ON .you have to be careful as it has vinyl on bottom but so far, i have not slipped.
then on ground i put on my hiking boots from my duffle bag.
if theyare kept in closed duffle bag or any bag with zipper, they are not real cold.........

of all things i tried this is BEST set up for feet.you dont get that pressure on your feet from boots etc.i can wiggle my toes and they are real warm with the big handwarmers in there.it takes a little bit to get used too because you have no support and it feels like you have bedroom slippers on but it is just great for me.

also you can use my sleeping bag idea and those BOOT BLANKETS fit in there real nice......

those bags they sell like sleeping bag suit are fine too but cost 200 dollars or more.at wal-mart you can get a kids camo sleeping bag for 15 dollars.its not water proof but you only use it in cold anyhow..........it keeps WInd off of your legs up your back.....

SPROUL HAS SPOKEN!!!!

Hillbilly horse-sense. Nothing finer, Sproul!

I THINK THAT CAMO KIDS SLEEPING BAG IDEA WAS a good one. on ground you can use it too.just scrap leaves away.i throw a piece of thin carpet down on ground to keep bag dry on bottom.
you can put your regular hunting boots inside also but i like the BOOT BLANKETS the best.
buy the suspenders that have the metal clips.you can pull that kids bag almost up to your neck with your arms inside.
you wont believe this but i put my flintlock down inside the bag the other day in that awful wind while sitting .
i also use one of those portable seats you strap on tree.i pick a big fat oak,this helps with wind.
this is great set up if you want to brave cold we had last week or so.
i bet i look like MUMMY sitting there:jaw: