Besong_1

Just curious and need some advice on how everyone goes about their first day. I just have a couple questions maybe some PA hunters can help me with.

1. Will the Rut still be in affect in PA on opening day (Nov. 26)?

2. Do you or will you use any scents?

3. Do you or will you use any calls?

Thanks for the help!

PABowhntr

1. No, it would be considered "post rut" in the grand scheme of things but that is not to say that you might still find a few buck chasin' does around. The "2nd rut" usually kicks in right around the 2nd Saturday of rifle.

2. Yes, probably some type of curiousity scent. I am partial to Kirschner's.

3. Probably the can-call as it seems to be more of a contact call more than anything else.

Hope this helps.

rybohunter

It will be past peak, but I'm sure a few bucks will still be exhibiting rutting behavior.

Calls, scents and any other thing resembling trying to use a deer's natural behavior or movements are out the door after the 1st 30 minutes of the season in my neck of the woods. After that it is merely hope you are on the right escape routes as they get pushed around all day.

If you are in a remote and unpressured area, or catch a still aggressive buck that hasn't been spooked out of his mind yet calls may work. Scents I wouldn't bother with, as I don't think they would offer any sort of an advantage.

sproulman

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here in WMU2G.

no.1 YES bigtime,full blast,rut was late this year in wmu2g due to warm weather.
bucks i saw sat 10th were still walking together.

no.2 i dont hunt doe here in wmu2g do to lack of them,why ruin your future hunting.
if you do use doe/heat lure you WILL scare away the doe but attrack a buck.
so if you hunt doe,DONT USE IT.

no.3 no calls, they dont wotk very good on stateforestland but do on tv.dont waste your money..

livbucks

We have seen rutting activity during the rifle opener occasionally in the last few years. The trick is to have a doe that wasn't bred in the first round that comes back into estrous. It's not uncommon but a hit or miss type of thing. Hunting pressure will nullify the effect if it does happen. One thing is certain: any buck that is chasing a doe around the woods is guaranteed to get shot in rifle season. I've seen it happen though.

mauser06

i always said forget the rut, scents and calls...get out there and find a good funnel deep from the road...the other 1 million pumpkins in the patch generally hunt near the road, dont stand long, and many arent truely hunters and will spook more deer than they will ever see. as the deer flee from them and come through your funnel, you will have easy pickins if your funnel is a good one.

for years dad and i had an awesome setup in a maturing timber cut. thick enough to provide thickness and cover and make the deer feel semi-safe...but open enough for them to run easily and easy enough shootin. boy did we have some fun in there...really wasnt a true funnel, im sure it is for one reason or another i just never noticed, but the deer traveled it hard core.

another thing that often works is setting up in a thicket..somewhere you can see some heavily used trails or just outside a thicket where deer will enter as they are spooked...

hunt smart...let the other hunters do the work for you. if you are hunting an area that you will not be the only one hunting, forget food sources, calls, scents etc...

thats why after the opener, the success rate plumits...less and less people out there to move the deer, and the deer are scared out of their hides after being chased, spooked and blazed out by pumpkins...so food sources, scents, calls etc just dont work all too often unless you get really lucky...

ive never hunted anywhere opening day that didnt have piles of other guys around...

good luck...shoot straight and be safe!

first opener i wont be taking stand somewhere opening morning...gunna be awkward....hope my new chaps are home to break in this weekend..gotta get them broke in before next monday...i'll be home at noon to be a deer dog for the crew...

sproulman

i liked your coments as that WAS way it used to be.
FUNNELS today usually have more orange pumpkins than ever before.
its so bad today, i bury my deer guts on my bucks,if i get one.
if not, next year, PUMPKINS. you are right, if no one is pushing the deer after first 3 days, you can almost forget about killing a buck,doe no,they still come out and feed,but buck will go noc-turnal.i dont hunt doe.
i have sat for 2 weeks and not seen a buck after first day or two because i am wayback and no one drives there too much.

so, if no one is DRIVING deer or hunters moving deer,chances are very slim you will see a nice buck unless RUT is in .

but, i still do it and almost all my big buck i got on first day or tuesday or sat afterhunters come back and move deer.

i like you used to have funnel all to ourselves,NOT ANYMORE..

crazedbowhunter

1. Somewhat, i have just started seeing bucks chasing does here in WMU 4D.

2&3. No
Thefirst day of rifle season i find a good spot and wait for "lazy" hunters to push the deer to me.

firststate

I let the other hunters do the work for me. I am setting my stand up the same spot as last year. I have a spot on the top of the mountain that allows me to see all of the deer that the people at the bottom push around when they get tired of sitting. Usually happens at about 9:00 am or so. Last year I had a buck in front of me for about 45 minutes. In our area (3B) the buck needs to have atleast 3 points to one side. I couldn't tell if the brow tine that he did have was an inch or not. So I had to let him walk. I probably saw about 20 deer between 9:00 and 10:00 because of the impatient hunters at the bottom.

I say just find a good spot that is far away enough from others but let them do the work for you.

mauser06

sproulman...funny you mention burying your deer guts...

that is exzactly what happend to our hot spot..we seen 20-30 deer every opener and saturday mornings in that spot for a few years. we had snow the one year. we put down 2 doe and my first buck by 9am..dragging before 930. never thought about dragging out with snow...but the next year we were setup there dang near 2 hours before light(state game lands) half hour before light a whole herd of flashlights came...we shined ours and gave them a little holler..lights went out...broke light and we were completely surrounded. havent been back since. this spot is well over a mile hike from the road too...only ever saw a couple guys back there, and they were guys like us, that hunted it yearly...we talked to them each year..funny, that last year we hunted there, the regulars werent there.

good ole PA for ya...gotta love it. still have a love for rifle season...but the past 2 bow seasons ive hunted have been pretty nice...only 1 run in with a guy that wanted to fight.