sproulman

dont come to WMU 2G of great state of pa.its bad.i have friend who hunted privateland in w.virginia.he only came back with 1 deer this year.he said hunting is bad there to.

Four Sox

If by chance you try your luck here in Pa on public lands, try some in the Southwest, or Southeast that borders posted and QDM areas.

usajag

I would give some thought to PA. Sure the numbers are down but there are plenty of seasons and regardless of what people feel about the shrinking deer herd, there are still decent bucks taken every year all over the state. If you are coming from Mass, I would just stop in the Promised Land area along I-84, it has the highest deer density in the state (outside of the suburbs) and plenty of game lands.

LIAF

I realize this is not the north east but if you are looking for a place to rifle hunt in january during the rut then there is no better place than alabama. I did it for about 6 years in the early-mid 90's and had a great time.

jpm8920

Well I love the Catskills in NY because I have hunted there all my life. But as for the number of deer you can see and shoot, nothing compares to Jersey if you can find land. If you are looking for antler quality it would be PA or ME.

dvdegeorge

My vote goes to NY great hunting and trophy potential also, SW Pa. aint to shabby either

Lefty26

Sorry about the first post I was just being sarcastic. Honestly the best state to hunt is MD. I'm from PA moved to MD a few yearsago and have never looked back. I have also hunted Maine, New York andNew Jersey and still think MD is the best. Private land is real hard to find but there are some decent public areas. Most hunters here are just as lazy as everywhere else and if your willing to hike a little bit you will never see another hunter during archery season. Gun season openers can be a little crazy but after the first day things quiet down a lot. We get a lot of out of state hunters already with PA's shenanigans but I dont think its hurts anything, there are plenty of deer to go around. I really dont think you can go wrong with any of the states you mentioned though, do your homework before hand and you will get on deer in any of those states.

jf5

Excellent input, and some fun posts too...Thanks guys..

Rick James

A lot of frustrated people give very innacurate descriptions of the hunting in PA and NY. The best hunting in the northeast region of the country for both quantity of deer and size of deer is both NY and PA and possibly MA. I have hunted in every state here except for Maine, and the hunting is WAY better than a lot of people portray, there are areas in each state that I am surethe hunting is not as good, however PA and NYstill offer the best hunting in the northeast for both quantity of best chance at a quality buck.

Look at this chart showing # of P&Y and B&C entries from each state. Compare the # of entries from each state in the NE region compared to PA and NY.

http://www.i-maps.com/Qdma/frame/default1024_ie.asp?C=48449&LinkID=0&NID=0& amp;cmd=map&TL=100000&GL=0100001000000&amp ;MF=11000

I put in 150+ hours this year split between PA and NY. I passed very easy shot opportunities on 5 legal bucks and countless doesin NY, and I passed 4 very easy shot opportunities on legal bucks in PA as well as countless does. I had over 100 deer sightings including 1 buck in the 135"+ class in NY that never got close enough while running a doe. Does this sound like poor hunting conditions to you? I don't think so.........

I did not kill an animal this year, but that is because I got a little too picky in anticipation of a 100" or better buck.......I still have the PA late season where I plan toplug the first legal doe that walks by and I am pretty darn sure I will have that opportunity.

andesman

I have hunted snce 1977 in Md andfor 15 years in Pa. A look at the exellent maps by QDMA and others show deerPSM and B&C and P&Y.. One trip to the MD trophy deer contest will getyapumped. Pa just hastoo many hunters.. A few pockets that have fewer poachers and hunters aregreat.. Have been seeing nice bucks in pa from private land.. But still believe that in MD you will see more deer and have better chance at a real shooter, less pressure andmore liberalseasons.

NY certainly should be looked at. UpsateNY has some good counties.looked at some land around mohawk valley, some truly big ones there, PSM were just as high as PA, Lots of nice deer on peoples walls. Long island sububia looks good..

But,if you like me, bowhunt the rut... Md is the place.