So what do you think is going to happen to this big boy when he is located on 600 to 800 square miles of state forest land that is all open to hunting and easily accessible?

He'll likely live to be even nicer next year, because there won't be enough hunters in that large of a tract to give him any headaches...unless someone has the time and dedication to really pattern him, or just gets lucky?

Or rot to death! So Mav, you going to tell us a buck can't live to get that size on 600 to 800 square "miles" of forest.

Or rot to death!

It's occured to me many times while driving through Tioga County and looking out across miles of rolling, forested mountains, that there have probably been countless numbers of deer that've lived their entire lives in some of those places, without ever having encountered more than a few human beings. Or perhaps, not even one?

Not likely.

I'd beg to differ on that notion Denny. Maybe in another century in another time. But not nowadays. The TSF isn't as remote and secluded as it seems. With a good set of legs, I could probably hit a road every 60-90 minutes no matter what direction I would travel. What with the flower sniffers, the treehuggers, the eco-terrorists, the hikers, the floaters, the geo-cachers, the hunters, the fisherman, the foresters, the biologists, the loggers, the mountain bikers, and the deer poop counters, there ain't to many deer that haven't had a regular encounter with humans.

"There is no misrepresenting your statements."

Sure you most certainly blatantly did.

" Bash every thing the PGC trys to do."

No. I just state the facts as they pertain to the failed deer plan. Dont like it? Tough. Deal with it. If you intend to lie or insult every time I do so, then you better pack a lunch. Im free to give my opinions just as anyone else, and free to discuss the facts. This isnt huntpa.

" LOL deer like the one in the pic are right under your nose and you don't even know it."

Course they are. Behind every tree. lmao. Last big buck youd seen was probably the one lil' Gary was waving while wearing his bulletproof vest in the now famous pic. lol

" As for the little punk thing, I have been around long enough to tell your the classic example of the kittycat butt who can't back up the tiger mouth. LOL "

Physically, Im a greek god who has prolly passed turds bigger'n you, so please keep the rediculous insinuations of beating my arse or anything close to it to yourself. Ive had more than enough laughs for one day. lmao. You most certainly were acting like a little kid punk when you did what you did completely lying about my post. Dont wanna argue? Dont poke at the tiger with the kittycat butt. lol

The TSF isn't as remote and secluded as it seems.

Talking about far more than the TSF, Kev. Besides, TSF is broken up into many smaller chunks over a very wide area, not just one big parcel. Drive across 362 from Ansonia and gaze of to the north and north east while up on the high parts of the road. One helluva vista off in those directions, for many, many miles. And there is no shortage of such vistas in them parts.

Hell, SGL 208 has 8,000 acres on it. How much of that gets trudged during firearms deer? Most of the guys I know that hunt there, never get more than a quarter or half mile from the road. You wouldn't have found great numbers of deer well back-in prior to HR, but there have always been some deer in the most remote corners. The higher concentrations of deer on that SGL have always been closer to the few food plots and ag lands.

Granted, there are lots of roads, farms and small villages scattered out across some of those areas you can see from Rt. 362, but most of it is remote steep, forested mountain land.

I can get up on the highest part of the ridge behind my camp and see clear over to the big chicken farm off in the direction of Whitesville, NY. Crow-wise, it's probably 12-15 miles. In other directions I can see across far more territory than that. Same deal and I've been through some of those areas, which are virtually peopleless and roadless, but for narrow, rutted goat trails. Few venture into them in firearms seasons, especially when the weather is bad and them goat trails are virtually impassable.

Sure you can see for a long ways from those vistas. What you can't see from those vistas, is the patchwork of roads. There's plenty.

208 gets hit pretty damned hard during the firearms season. The side south of 6 gets plenty of pressure. On the west side of that tract back through Elk Run, private landowners allow family to access it easily by driving damned near to the top. On the north side it gets accessed by hunters from Kenshire. Over on the east side up through Lick Run it get accessed by the logging road in Deer Lick Hollow along with access roads from the Patterson Timber Co. property. On any given day, you can see 3-4 vehicles parked in the little cemetary back there.

As for the side north of Rt 6, that section gets hit pretty hard to. From the intersection of 349 and 6 on out to Phoenix Run, there's dozens of camps with hunters that hit 208 from the south side of that tract. Then on back through Phoenix Run just about every wide spot will have 3-4-5 vehicles parked. And that's not even taking into consideration the hunters from the camps at Phoenix Run or the camps behind the trailer park on 6. How about the food plots up on top? You ever wander around up there? Those food plots are huge and they get hunted hard. Then there's the pressure from the 349 side. Not all of those guys get less than a half mile from the road. I've been dropped off at the top food plots on that SGL and hunted my way back to Gaines with snow on the ground and found hunters tracks most everywhere I've went. 208 isn't as inaccesable as you think and it sees its fair share of hunters every year.

Huh? Prior to HR, the more remote areas of 208, with its thick laurel and oaks, always had good numbers of deer. I'm not sure where you are thinking of, but it surely can't be 208.

Sure you can see for a long ways from those vistas. What you can't see from those vistas, is the patchwork of roads. There's plenty.

Acknowledged that there are roads, farms and people out across those vast areas. There are also large tracts that probably don't get much hunting pressure, either. How many hunters now walk several miles in one day, during deer seasons?

There's a 600 acre+ parcel down the valley from my camp, that's now owned as a "hunting club" and has been for years. All posted since it stopped being a working farm and hunted by no more than a half dozen guys (if that), during firearms deer. Most of them are gone by the first Wednesday, maybe two or three stay until Saturday. Even with ATVs, gotta wonder how much territory a few guys cover in less than a week? Especially if most of them tend to sit in tree stands much of the time, which they do.

All things considered, don't think most of the more remote areas up there see much pressure, especially after the first few days. One guy walking miles, is only seeing a very small part of the picture. And there aren't "hundreds" of guys doing it at the same time, after the first few days.

What is now 208 always "had deer". My relatives hunted Long Run back in the 30s and 40s, because that's where most of the deer were back then. Few deer to found up in the farming country north of Rt. 49 then, which is why traditionally, Long Run was the place to be.

I don't know. How many hunters walk several miles each day on 208 on any given day? I know how many hunters and signs of hunters I've run into on most any given day that I've hunted 208. How many have you run into over the last several years when you were hunting 208?

Ummm, zero...'cause you were there and I wasn't?

Got any info on them other places?