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Unseasonably warm weather, later leaf-drop and rain made it more challenging to pattern deer movements and take whitetails throughout the statewide six-week archery season, which concluded Nov. 12. Now the Commonwealth’s “orange-clad army” awaits its next opportunity to hunt deer in the statewide firearms season.

And it looks like rain will continue to be an issue for hunters. Wet weather and mild temperatures are forecast for most of the area on Monday, so some hunters will find themselves trudging through mud and water to reach their stands.

Miller Stella, who hunts in Huntingdon Mills, said he needs a boat after visiting his deer stand last week.

“The whole area around my stand is flooded. I’ve never seen it like this,” Stella said.

He added that deer may be changing their patterns due to areas of the woods that are saturated.

“When we had snow on the ground, I didn’t see many tracks around my stand. But up higher, where it’s dry, I saw plenty of tracks and well-used trails. I really think they’re avoiding the wet areas, but that might change once they get pushed on Monday.”

Weather is one of the biggest factors behind the statewide harvest each year. Over the last three years the statewide buck harvest has increased with more than a million whitetails taken over the period. Pennsylvania’s firearms season draws the biggest crowd and consequently has been the state’s principal deer-management tool for more than a century.

As important as the season is from a wildlife management standpoint, it’s equally important in regards to tradition.

In many rural areas, the opener is equivalent to a holiday, and some schools still close their doors to allow their students – and teachers – to hunt.

The firearms season opener is the day every deer hunter wants to be afield. It’s almost always the most-exciting day of the season and therefore usually offers the greatest opportunity. About 45 percent of the season’s buck harvest was taken on the opener last year.

“Opening days have been drawing the largest crowds of hunters for a long, long time,” said Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “It’s that day when anything really can happen, when lifetime bucks are taken, when hunters are bound to see more deer than any other day of the hunting season. It’s when every hunter wants to be tucked away in the woods waiting for a big buck to come his or her way.”

Burhans added that the first Saturday is also a major day when it comes to deer harvest. Last year, he said, hunters took more deer on the first Saturday than the opening day – a first in Pennsylvania’s deer-management history. The first Saturday also coincides with the opener of antlerless season in many Wildlife Management Units, which contributes greatly to the overall harvest.

But when it comes to antlered deer, larger-racked – and older – bucks are making up more of the deer harvest with each passing year. Last year, 163,750 bucks were taken by hunters, making it the second-largest buck harvest in Pennsylvania since antler restrictions were started in 2002. It was the 10th best all-time.

In 2017, 57 percent of the antlered buck harvest was made up of bucks 2½ years old or older, said Christopher Rosenberry, who supervises the Game Commission’s Deer and Elk Section. The rest were 1½ years old.

“Older, bigger-racked bucks are making up more of the buck harvest than they have for at least a couple decades,” Rosenberry said. “Hunters like the bucks in Pennsylvania today compared to what many of them saw 30 years ago.”

Every year, Pennsylvania hunters are taking huge bucks. Some are “book bucks,” antlered deer that make the Pennsylvania Big Game Records book or Boone & Crockett Club rankings. Others simply win neighborhood bragging rights.

But it’s important to remember, every deer matters when only about a third of hunters harvest whitetails during Pennsylvania’s slate of deer seasons.

“Whether it’s a young hunter’s first deer, or a big buck that fell to a hunter on a dark-to-dark sit, they all matter to these hunters, their families and the communities in which they live,” Burhans said. “Hunting deer has been an exciting Pennsylvania pastime for centuries, and it’s sure to remain that way for many generations to come.”

Statewide Season

The statewide general firearms season runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 8. In most areas, hunters may take only antlered deer during the season’s first five days, with the antlerless and antlered seasons then running concurrently from the first Saturday, Dec. 1, to the season’s close. In WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, however, properly licensed hunters may take either antlered or antlerless deer at any time during the season.

Rules regarding the number of points a legal buck must have on one antler also vary in different parts of the state, and young hunters statewide follow separate guidelines.

For a complete breakdown of antler restrictions, WMU boundaries and other regulations consult the 2018-19 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is available online at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov.

Hunters statewide must wear at all times a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on their head, chest and back combined. An orange hat and vest will satisfy the requirement. Non-hunters who might be afield during the deer season and other hunting seasons are asked to consider wearing orange as well.

In order for a buck to be legal in the northeast, it must have at least three points on one side. Deer season opens on Monday, and for much of the state only antlered deer are legal until Saturday, when the season becomes concurrent for both bucks and does.
https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/web1_Buck1.jpg.optimal.jpgIn order for a buck to be legal in the northeast, it must have at least three points on one side. Deer season opens on Monday, and for much of the state only antlered deer are legal until Saturday, when the season becomes concurrent for both bucks and does.
Hundreds of thousands of hunters will hit the woods for Monday’s deer season opener

By Tom Venesky

[email protected]

Field Conditions for Deer Season

Precipitation through spring and summer have once again fostered an exceptional supply of fall foods in Penn’s Woods. Grazing grass was available in early November. Soft and some hard mast crops have been remarkably plentiful.

Cornfields have stood longer this fall than usual. Trees held their leaves longer. These conditions have made deer movements tougher to sort out. Deer typically key on food sources within good cover. And, in the case of cornfields, they might never leave them until the corn comes down. So, hunters are urged to confirm deer activity in areas they plan to hunt before they commit to them.

Deer usually make a mess wherever they eat, so it shouldn’t be hard to sort out whether they’re using an area. Look for raked up leaves, droppings and partially eaten mast for confirmation.

When setting up a hunting stand, it’s also a good idea to use the prevailing wind to your advantage. Wherever you hunt, the prevailing wind should blow from where you expect to see deer to your location. Then, dress for the cold and sit tight.

Remember you’re not alone while you’re afield. Other hunters also are waiting on stand, still-hunting or driving for deer in groups. So, even if your position overlooking a feeding area fails to bring deer, the movements of other hunters might chase deer your way.