Some nice Pa bucks...

[Little John]

Beautiful deer Ryan, good luck.    Kenneth

[Ryano]

That they are Pat. One thing having this camera has taught me is most of the scrape rub activity occurs after dark.
heck every picture I have of the bigger bucks is either really early morning or late at night. I'm convinsed your only chance to kill them is durring the rut unless you can slip into thier bedding area undetected which isnt likely...

Thanks Kenneth. Any luck with them elk yet?

[Pat B]

We had pics of 3 different bucks on our club last year with split brow tines. Nobody in the club in almost 25 years of hunting there has seen a split brow tine deer.   All the pics but one were midnight to 2am. The one was during prime morning hunting time but a week before the season. None have been seen since.     Many of the older bucks probably go nocturnal as soon as we hit the woods.

[Hardawaypoints]

Have you seen a lot of changes to your herd since Pa. added the antler restrictions? 

I have a friend outside Harrisburg that wasn't real keen on them until  a couple of years passed and some trophy class bucks began showing up on his scouting camera.  Before, a tight-racked 4 x 4 was enough to make him drool, now he has a chance a a real good deer and those big boys are doing the majority of the breeding.

Jim

[Postman]

My nephews say the same hardaway.....they hunt the kittaning area and have gotten some bruisers on public land the last few years.
I haven't hunted in pennsy since '98 

[Pat B]

with small bucks," let them go...let them grow!"    Shoot all does!!! 

[Ryano]

Hardaway, I have mixed feelings on the issue. We've always had big bucks up here in north western PA. Where its mostly farm land with small wood lots. I think the antler restriction has had a positive impact in some area's and not so much in other area's. Where its very heavily hunted they still kill off nearly all the year and a half old bucks since youth and senors can still shoot anything. What I don't like is it kills off the deer with the best genetics the first year because they usually are a small basket rack 8 pointer their first year here. The better way to do it would be to go by spread instead of a point restriction. Say anything wider than out side the ears of the deer would be legal. We've been seeing some monster 6 pointers showing up around here since the restriction. They aren't legal to shoot here not matter how old and mature they are.....which is BS... as far as I'm concerned. Pennsylvania has far to many hunters in the woods for it to become a real trophy state.

[Little John]

Ryan, have had mixed blessings on the elk. Every thing from a complete miss to two bulls walking past my ground blind Just as I was approaching the stand and still too far for the shot, been scented, busted by a big bull that had approached the stand un noticed (still behind a slmall stand of trees but within 30 yards) when I gave up the stand and was going for a walk about to try and find some by listening for bugling.  One last try this weekend.  Any way a bad day of primitive hunting is still much better than a good day at work      Kenneth

[Hardawaypoints]

Thanks for the reply Ryano,
At our lease (in the N.C. piedmont), we have a self-imposed antler restriction where the buck has to be as wide as his ears and 8 points or better.  Because of that we don't shoot a lot of bucks.  But those we take are pretty nice.  I got a 140 inch 8 point with a muzzleloader 3 years ago.  We also have a mandatory two doe minimum.  Last season there were no bucks killed and 18 does harvested.
The biggest issue we have is when those non-shooter bucks (to us) leave the property and promptly get killed by rifle hunters or guys who run a pack of dogs ( hunting with dogs is legal in that County) across the property because they know we manage it for quality bucks and they hunt the adjacent property lined up waiting to blast any decent buck that runs by them.  Unfortunately, there's nothing we can do...Except, I have bought large quantities of brown-colored stinky bar soap and thrown it across to their side of the property, so the deer are more conditioned to stay away from that side of the line and run toward another property boundary when they're being chased by dogs where those clowns can't hunt.  The brown soap is not real visible and it refreshes every time it rains or there is heavy dew.  It is kind of expensive, but it is worthwhile to get over on those scumbags who thought they were getting over on us. 

Jim

[Ryano]

Ya, I know exactly what your talking about. To many A##hole hunters in PA. Or as us archery hunters refer to it " The Orange Army." To have much of any kind of Quality deer managment program work. Most people are on the "if its brown its down" program and will trespass on private land and never give it a second thought. 

[Postman]

Ya, I know exactly what your talking about. To many A##hole hunters in PA. Or as us archery hunters refer to it " The Orange Army." To have much of any kind of Quality deer managment program work. Most people are on the "if its brown its down" program and will trespass on private land and never give it a second thought. 

yep - remember a guy in Tionesta who painted C.O.W. with orange paint on his livestock to keep them from getting whacked. saw a few guys up there hunting drunk also

[Ryano]

Postman, Its freak'in unreal aint it? Tionesta ain't to far from here. About a hour drive. Its even worse around here. Mostly flat farm land and more heavily populated. They really need to consider making this county shot gun only.