Hunting Report Archery Duck Deer

What it boils down to is this: hunters, I think, are going to see more deer in the woods than they have in several years. I also have faith that those counties and lands off I-80, all the way from the Poconos to the western side of Pennsylvania, will have a substantial whitetail hunt.

Since some facts are required, understand that I base that claim on scouting and driving across the state in the last few weeks, including some intense scouting in the north central region, in Tioga County, and in the Montgomery-Berks county area.

I acknowledge my evidence is anecdotal evidence but when it comes down to it, that’s what deer hunters rely on. We base our scouting of whitetails not only on sighting deer, but on finding rubs, scrapes, scat and trails. With that, I’ve convinced myself that in those places I hunt, I’m finding evidence of more deer visiting my spots, certainly more than over the past two or three years.

I believe there is good reason for this as well.

Frankly, we’ve had a string of mild winters, and there is every indication that the herd, at least on the eastern side of the state, has not been stressed by starvation. I also believe that family size has remained strong over recent seasons. All summer and fall, I have seen does with two or three yearlings and the number of bachelor groups I encountered both here and in the north central region was significant.

Again, call me an optimist, foolish or what have you, but that’s what I’ve observed.

While this is good news, it doesn’t mean hunters are able to haphazardly enter the woods and spot deer. It’s not as it was in “the old days,” and it may never be that way again.

In addition, at the start of this season, hunters may have a hard time shaking bucks loose from cover. They might face antlered ones sitting tight during the shank of the day — not leaving cover to chase does.

The first peak of the rut occurred around the full moon in early November. That’s when I observed numerous wide racks pursuing does in the middle of the day.

Personally, I live in a rural-suburban zone next to the Green Lane Reservoir. I have a decent backyard with a number of fruit trees and other vegetation I planted to provide food for wildlife. A week before the full moon, I was finding piles of scat beneath my trees. I even saw a trio of deer standing on my sidewalk — on my sidewalk! — before dawn one day. My dog alerted me to their presence.

About the time of the full moon, I started keeping a close watch on my neighborhood. Early one morning I looked out a back window at 4 a.m. and there, in the middle of my fruit trees, stood five antlerless deer. I kept the lights off and soon was treated to the sight of an eight-pointer busting down the swale. He had one thing on his mind.

Since then, the rut, at least on the local level, has calmed down. It can easily pick up again, and probably will, but the high, first wave is over.

On the Thursday before the start of bear season, just about 10 days ago through the new moon, I took my dog hunting on a farm in Salford. We were chasing doves from one tree to the other, putting them in range for a young hunter I meet that day.

Eventually, I headed towards a deep ditch on the farm, one that covers some sixty yards and is carved out at least twenty feet deep between two ridges. As we neared the spot, I heard the bounding crashes that denote exploding deer and sure enough, two bucks — one a spike, and the other a wide, eight-pointer — flew up the ridge. The bucks were surely taking a siesta at noon, and I felt strongly that the eight-pointer would have been working the countryside, if the rut were strong.

Earlier I said, I expect there to be a good harvest along the wooded zones that border I-80 across the state. Also around the November full moon, I had occasion to drive from Red Hill to Erie and back again over the course of three days. The number of dead deer I saw along the interstate was astounding. I talked to an archery hunter who made a similar trip after I did, and he bore out my observations, adding he had seen at least thirty deer from Williamsport east to the exit for the Pennsylvania Turnpike. What was doubly interesting was neither of us saw a carcass, or blood spill, on the Northeast Extension from the Pocono exit down through Quakertown. Perhaps the high, mid-road barricades and the fencing along this section of highway have deterred deer from making the crossing. Or perhaps the guy in charge of picking up dead deer in this area already made his stops. I don’t know.

While you can’t hunt a dead deer, the I-80 fatalities provide anecdotal evidence there are numbers of deer in that boundary region.

Whatever may be fact or fiction in these observations and findings, only time will tell. I am, however, going into this season with high hopes. And if you’re a whitetail hunter, that’s the best approach you can take.

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