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- Jun 5, 2020
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I tagged out early last season in the Adirondacks, because my season ended quick I decided to try a new state, I picked PA based on all my research and close proximity to NY, the forecast looked good for some snow the first week of rifle so I booked a hotel and decided to go, solo. My plan was to miss opening day completely, I hate crowds, do some scouting from my truck on Sunday, start hunting Monday, and basically wait for snow, I track for those that don’t know already. Having never been to PA hunting before I wasn’t sure how bad the crowds would be, everything I had heard was correct and it was completely nuts on public land, people everywhere, I have never seen anything like that in my life and I won’t lie… I contemplated going home the next day… as I was unloading my truck just before dark, in the evening, on opening day, while checking into my room, the hardwood ridge across from the hotel was ringing with gun fire. Sunday I spent almost the whole day in my truck checking a few places I had marked on ONX, learning the roads, taking it all in, Sunday night I finally found a piece of woods that looked good, less people, more remote, and more my style, my plan was to hunt it Monday. Monday I spent the whole day still hunting, scouting, poking around, and I saw 11 deer if my memory is correct, all does, lots of good, big buck sign. Snow was coming and I found the right piece of woods for how I hunt, so I was set for Tuesday or so I thought. Tuesday morning I woke up to bare ground and my entire plan was shot, I had to start over.. look for snow, so back in the truck I go driving like a mad man to find good tracking snow and big public land. Sometime late morning I finally found what I was looking for, good tracking snow, so I started looking for a track.. I checked many, nothing looked special, when I look for a big buck track there’s quite a few things I look for, this PA country wasn’t producing that so finally I decided to park the truck and head in somewhere, travel on foot and see what I could find. I made a couple mile loop if I remember correct, same old thing nothing special, I tracked one buck for a bit, I jumped him quick and never got a look at him, it wasn’t this bucks first rodeo I could tell and I had let my guard down, he won.. Wednesday I was up early and on a mission, I knew where the good tracking snow was already and I headed there immediately, my plan was to not settle for anything less than a big, classic, mature buck track. Once again this PA mountain country was not producing anything that interested me, all the tracks looked the same, nothing special, I found quite a few decent buck tracks but nothing that got me excited. After checking several roads I ran into a couple locals doing the same thing, looking at tracks, I asked them a few questions, told them my deal, I hunt and track on snow, and haven’t found any big ones, they assured me they were here and off they went. As luck would have it I ran into those gents a little while later on another road, they stopped me and said… hey you wana see a big PA buck track, walk down that trail right there about a 100 yards, a monster buck crossed there sometime last night… was their best guess… I said are your serious… absolutely you can’t miss it, so off I went to check this track, after thanking them for the help. I couldn’t help but wonder if those guys were laughing on their way out of there.. about some guy from NY complaining about not finding any big buck tracks lol, I know if I was in their shoes I would have been lol, some of out towner chasing a buck all day on snow getting soaking wet and tore up by berry briars, super nice guys and I still appreciate the help if by chance they ever read this, I wish I had gotten their phone number because the excitement in that guys voice about the size of the track he had found and shared with me.. I know he would have liked the picture I would have sent him that night.. So off I go, yup it was a nice track, a hair bigger than anything I had found yet, I won’t lie it still wasn’t impressive, but here I was with fresh snow, a good track, just after daylight, it was time to send it.. A couple hours later down the track, a mile or so in, I can’t completely remember it’s been a few months.. the buck started feeding, zig zagging around through an old clear cut, I knew I was getting close, so I started creeping along, one step at a time, crawling through those briar patches, my head was on a swivel, I got burned the day before on that other buck, today I was more tuned up and ready. He made a small rub, nibbled on some browse, stopped a couple times, he was close.. and I knew it, so I was in full stealth mode at that point. If you have never tracked a buck on snow, the next 15-30 minutes is what generally separates those that kill deer versus educate them, it’s not easy, and difficult to explain, it takes many blown opportunities to learn from to get there, where your confident enough to finish the job. So I’m basically at this point taking baby steps down this buck track waiting at any moment for the brush to explode in from of me and hopefully catch a glimpse of him, I’m 100% ready, finally after about 10 minutes that’s exactly what happened except it was a partridge and it just about gave me a heart attack, I reached for my GoPro, as I film all my hunts, but false alarm. So I waited probably 15 minutes or so, I let the woods die down again before moving, I was sure that buck heard that bird, I don’t look at my watch, but know when enough time has passed, the woods went quiet again, so back I go down that track, one step at a time, my head was on a swivel, slowly pulling briars off my retro 1990’s blaze orange fleece jacket. I would guess maybe 100 yards or so, from where I jumped that partridge, once again the brush exploded except this time it was that buck coming out of his bed, he was close, I would have to guess under 30 yards, super thick with briars and small saplings, anyways I sent one his way and immediately I knew I mite have made a bad shot, with the small brush/briars and hard quartering away angle I had about one second to get on him, it’s never easy when your tracking, Sure enough I had him hit, the bullet hit back and traveled up through the middle of the deer and broke his shoulder blade, and a small chunk of lead exited his shoulder, so the chase was back on, he wasn’t bleeding much but with snow I knew it was a matter of time and something would happen. I spent the rest of the day working that deer up and through those clear cuts and hardwood ridges, hoping a tree stand hunter or anyone really wouldn’t get a shot at him before me, I knew he was dead if I had enough time to catch him, finally just before dark and in a more normal piece of open hardwoods I caught up with him and the hunt was over. The buck that made the track those 2 locals had showed me was dead, my first time ever hunting PA, solo, with almost no help, I was pretty happy. I crossed several seasonal roads while chasing that deer, I checked my ONX after he was down and I believe it was 4 miles total from my truck, I never seen another hunter while in the woods all day, the walk back was not fun, had I not been alone I easily could have been picked up closer by a friend in a truck, as it was I had to walk all the way back out, tired, wet, through those briars, pitch black, I was beat when I got to my rig. I dressed that deer out and covered him up with my contractor bag I always carry, along with a pair of my Kuiu base layers, to keep the coyotes at bay, I knew the next day I could get closer with my truck and it would be easier in daylight to finish getting him out, so that’s exactly what I did at first light. One coyote had circled my deer that night but never got within a 100 yards or so, I’ve done this many times over the years while hunting solo and never had a problem yet. I had a great time, and will probably be back someday, assuming the conditions are right and depending on how my season at home goes. He green scored at 131 3/8 gross, scored as an 8, nice long tines, one completely broken off brow and the other one was super short, he had a nice big frame and would have scored a lot better had those brow tines matched the rest of the rack, it was a great hunt with a super nice buck and I have no complaints, the locals were nice and the country was just like I had imagined, I will be back! Jon
@woodsdog2 @Plebe @bigmike23 @Bigterp
@woodsdog2 @Plebe @bigmike23 @Bigterp
