My opening day of archery....long
10-02-2007, 07:53 AM
#1
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
My opening day of archery....long
Sorry for not posting more guys but things have been busy on my end for the last year or so. Two little boys and two or more jobs tends to keep things hectic.
I had a rather interesting opening morning. It went something like this.....
The alarm clock went off at 2 am. I proceeded to get out of bed, hit the shower and get the truck packed up in short order. My primary hunting spot is only ten minutes from my home at one of the local gamelands. At this point it is important to put the story into perspective....
Directly across the road from the gamelands that I hunt is a local game preserve, the Trexler/Lehigh County Game Preserve. The entire preserve covers well over 1100 acres of excellent habitat. The central range houses the Lehigh Valley Zoo (20 some acres) but the rest of the property is a mixture of rolling wooded hills and valleys with some agricultural fields mixed in.
This past year the county and the trustees of the preserve decided to open up the North Range section of the preservefor hunting...archery only for deer and turkey. Almost immediately following the public announcement some of the animal rights groups in the area began to dispute the decision and attempted to fight it in court. The case was thrown out a week or so ago however that should set the stage for my opening morning.
I rolled into the gameland parking area at 3:30 am to find five other cars parked along the road and five more cars parked in the parking area. One of the cars was my hunting companion. He had arrived at 2:50 am to already find two cars in the lot. We spoke briefly and then headed in to our stands. (A later conversation with a hunting buddy who rolled in at 4:30 am revealed 35 cars parked along the road that borders the far side of the north range).
My stand location is about 300 yards from the gameland parking area but only about 115 yards from the road that I drive in on. Directly downhill from my stand is the entrance to the North range of the game preserve. This entrance allows hunters to have access to the main parking area and thus the entire north range. However,hunters can park anywhere along the roads that provide the property boundary for the range and just walk right in (no fences). I counted 22 cars entering the North Range prior to 7 am. Most of them entered before 5 am.
Around 7 o'clock a few cars parked along the road next to the front entrance. The people that left the vehicles were not dressed in hunting garb but rather plain street clothes. Some were actually dressed in black though I paid little attention to it at the time. They began unloading flowers, wreaths and various signs from their vehicles. After setting up these "decorations" they began to stand around and chat at gate. They were far enough away so that I only caught brief bits of the conversation and I really wasn't paying much attention as I was actually there to hunt.
A little after 7:30 I heard a car pull up in front of the crowd and a brief, muffled conversation followed. The last words out of the driver's mouth were rather derogatory in nature before he pulled away. A short time later another car drove out of the preserve and stopped in front of the protestors. This car proceeded to spin its tires on top of the gravel stones before speeding down the road. No words were exchanged.
A little after 8 am another vehicle pulled up in front of the protestors and a gentleman exited the car. He was dressed in plain clothes and calmly walked around the vehicle to stand in front of the protestors. The next fifteen minutes that followed were filled with expletives that I dare not repeat here. However, it took the Game Commission to break up the exchange.
Every fifteen or twenty minutes or so afterwards a different vehicle would pull up and some angry words would follow.
At 9:30 am I decided to pack it in as I had not seen a deer all morning (nor had anyone else in my crew...we are guessing the moon played some part).
The afternoon hunt was less dramatic but much more rewarding as I took my oldest son ( 5 years old)out with me for the first time. We set up a ground blind at the edge of a previously productive field. Though we did not see anything I received a great deal of enjoyment out of having the opportunity to share a hunt with him. We left a bit early as dad forgot to pack enough snacks and a silent video game to keep him occupied....
. We did get out last night again but that is a story for another time. Pictures to follow this evening.
I look forward to having the opportunity to hunt more this season includingsome excursions into the game preserve itself as there truly is the opportunity for some record book bucks in there. Once our small game and muzzleloader seasons open up in a few weeks the game preserve should be much more productive for archery as the gamelands will receive quite a bit of multi-season pressure.
Matt, Frank S. .... I did not forget you two. We will have to talk about some hunting opportunities later in the season. Hunting pressure should get lighter as the season progresses.
Just thought I would share my opening day with you guys.
I had a rather interesting opening morning. It went something like this.....
The alarm clock went off at 2 am. I proceeded to get out of bed, hit the shower and get the truck packed up in short order. My primary hunting spot is only ten minutes from my home at one of the local gamelands. At this point it is important to put the story into perspective....
Directly across the road from the gamelands that I hunt is a local game preserve, the Trexler/Lehigh County Game Preserve. The entire preserve covers well over 1100 acres of excellent habitat. The central range houses the Lehigh Valley Zoo (20 some acres) but the rest of the property is a mixture of rolling wooded hills and valleys with some agricultural fields mixed in.
This past year the county and the trustees of the preserve decided to open up the North Range section of the preservefor hunting...archery only for deer and turkey. Almost immediately following the public announcement some of the animal rights groups in the area began to dispute the decision and attempted to fight it in court. The case was thrown out a week or so ago however that should set the stage for my opening morning.
I rolled into the gameland parking area at 3:30 am to find five other cars parked along the road and five more cars parked in the parking area. One of the cars was my hunting companion. He had arrived at 2:50 am to already find two cars in the lot. We spoke briefly and then headed in to our stands. (A later conversation with a hunting buddy who rolled in at 4:30 am revealed 35 cars parked along the road that borders the far side of the north range).
My stand location is about 300 yards from the gameland parking area but only about 115 yards from the road that I drive in on. Directly downhill from my stand is the entrance to the North range of the game preserve. This entrance allows hunters to have access to the main parking area and thus the entire north range. However,hunters can park anywhere along the roads that provide the property boundary for the range and just walk right in (no fences). I counted 22 cars entering the North Range prior to 7 am. Most of them entered before 5 am.
Around 7 o'clock a few cars parked along the road next to the front entrance. The people that left the vehicles were not dressed in hunting garb but rather plain street clothes. Some were actually dressed in black though I paid little attention to it at the time. They began unloading flowers, wreaths and various signs from their vehicles. After setting up these "decorations" they began to stand around and chat at gate. They were far enough away so that I only caught brief bits of the conversation and I really wasn't paying much attention as I was actually there to hunt.
A little after 7:30 I heard a car pull up in front of the crowd and a brief, muffled conversation followed. The last words out of the driver's mouth were rather derogatory in nature before he pulled away. A short time later another car drove out of the preserve and stopped in front of the protestors. This car proceeded to spin its tires on top of the gravel stones before speeding down the road. No words were exchanged.
A little after 8 am another vehicle pulled up in front of the protestors and a gentleman exited the car. He was dressed in plain clothes and calmly walked around the vehicle to stand in front of the protestors. The next fifteen minutes that followed were filled with expletives that I dare not repeat here. However, it took the Game Commission to break up the exchange.
Every fifteen or twenty minutes or so afterwards a different vehicle would pull up and some angry words would follow.
At 9:30 am I decided to pack it in as I had not seen a deer all morning (nor had anyone else in my crew...we are guessing the moon played some part).
The afternoon hunt was less dramatic but much more rewarding as I took my oldest son ( 5 years old)out with me for the first time. We set up a ground blind at the edge of a previously productive field. Though we did not see anything I received a great deal of enjoyment out of having the opportunity to share a hunt with him. We left a bit early as dad forgot to pack enough snacks and a silent video game to keep him occupied....
. We did get out last night again but that is a story for another time. Pictures to follow this evening.I look forward to having the opportunity to hunt more this season includingsome excursions into the game preserve itself as there truly is the opportunity for some record book bucks in there. Once our small game and muzzleloader seasons open up in a few weeks the game preserve should be much more productive for archery as the gamelands will receive quite a bit of multi-season pressure.
Matt, Frank S. .... I did not forget you two. We will have to talk about some hunting opportunities later in the season. Hunting pressure should get lighter as the season progresses.
Just thought I would share my opening day with you guys.
10-02-2007, 08:05 AM
#2
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Butler, Pa (back home after all these years)
Posts: 920
RE: My opening day of archery....long
Looks like Matt is out.......bastard........just may be you and I Frank....Sounds very interesting there the first day......sorry it did not go like last year......but it is a long season.
10-02-2007, 08:12 AM
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Madison County, IL
Posts: 551
RE: My opening day of archery....long
No wonder you didn't see any deer... Did the protestors hang around in order to haggle the hunters? Sound like you made the best of an annoying situation. I can not wait to take my son hunting for the first time.
10-02-2007, 08:20 AM
#4
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Southeast, VA
Posts: 2,119
RE: My opening day of archery....long
I always run out of snacks too. My 6 year old is a self proclaimed "Deer Grunt Call Expert" and I am starting to think it was a mistake to introduce him to that thing as he always wants to sound off with it.....and of course I let him. I am taking the boys out (hopefully) on Oct. 13, we might not see much but we'll have a good time. I know how you feel about work and the kids PABowhntr, good luck this season.
10-02-2007, 08:28 AM
#5
Fork Horn
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location:
Posts: 304
RE: My opening day of archery....long
Amazing,
I have been hunting for a long time and have never met a card carrying PETA member.
Nor have I ever seen such a protest.
If the managers of a preserve decide to thin the herd they still protest.
I would think these managers are educated people who have the deers best interests in mind and based their decision on sound management principals.
How can PETA be against this ?
I would assume they would rather see the deer suffer starvation and disease than succumb to hunting pressure?
Do they offer funding for trapping and relocation ?
It is amazing how different things are in other parts of the country.
How do the hunters organize against these groups ?
I have been hunting for a long time and have never met a card carrying PETA member.
Nor have I ever seen such a protest.
If the managers of a preserve decide to thin the herd they still protest.
I would think these managers are educated people who have the deers best interests in mind and based their decision on sound management principals.
How can PETA be against this ?
I would assume they would rather see the deer suffer starvation and disease than succumb to hunting pressure?
Do they offer funding for trapping and relocation ?
It is amazing how different things are in other parts of the country.
How do the hunters organize against these groups ?
10-02-2007, 08:34 AM
#6
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: My opening day of archery....long
Frank,
Ok, me and you bud. Once hunting pressure in there dies down...as I am sure it will as soon as more of the guys have the opportunity to take out a gun instead of a bow, and the rutting behavior starts to kick in, then that will be the place to be.
Timmy,
Actually, no, they did not really harrass the hunters in the way I expected. They basically stood around the signs and the flowers without actually speaking to anyone unless someone approached them first. They were not there in the afternoon when we came back for the afternoon hunt.
New,
It is funny you should bring up the issue of calls. My son is fond of the "Estrous Can" call. Every 10 minutes..."Can I use the call again Dad?"
...a great time for sure.
cpt,
I wish I had the answers for some of those questions but I do not. I was following the situation in the paper but did not really expect much when opening day actually arrived. It was my first time to see such things as well. Hopefully it does not continue every Saturday for the rest of the season.
Ok, me and you bud. Once hunting pressure in there dies down...as I am sure it will as soon as more of the guys have the opportunity to take out a gun instead of a bow, and the rutting behavior starts to kick in, then that will be the place to be.
Timmy,
Actually, no, they did not really harrass the hunters in the way I expected. They basically stood around the signs and the flowers without actually speaking to anyone unless someone approached them first. They were not there in the afternoon when we came back for the afternoon hunt.
New,
It is funny you should bring up the issue of calls. My son is fond of the "Estrous Can" call. Every 10 minutes..."Can I use the call again Dad?"
...a great time for sure. cpt,
I wish I had the answers for some of those questions but I do not. I was following the situation in the paper but did not really expect much when opening day actually arrived. It was my first time to see such things as well. Hopefully it does not continue every Saturday for the rest of the season.
10-02-2007, 08:39 AM
#7
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Antioch, IL
Posts: 661
RE: My opening day of archery....long
ORIGINAL: cptleo1
How do the hunters organize against these groups ?
How do the hunters organize against these groups ?
10-02-2007, 08:44 AM
#8
Join Date: May 2004
Location:
Posts: 106
RE: My opening day of archery....long
PETA would rather the animals die horrendous deaths and that no one should own a pet.
Hunters need to start posting their kill numbers of deer on signs with PETA's kill number of dogs and cats posted right next to it.
Hunters need to start posting their kill numbers of deer on signs with PETA's kill number of dogs and cats posted right next to it.
10-02-2007, 09:24 AM
#9
Boone & Crockett
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Lehigh County PA USA
Posts: 12,157
RE: My opening day of archery....long
It definitely was an eye-opener that is if for sure. I felt like I was watching some form of reality television. I will be interested to see if it continues or if this was a once and done type of situation.
