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Opening Day Gun in PA

J

jjroberts1977

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Nov 30, 2020
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522
Yesterday was the first opening day for gun that I went out since getting back into hunting three years ago. I was in my saddle and very surprised by how many guys were still hunting walking within 100 yards of me all morning. Of course they didn’t care to go the other direction when they saw me. My spot was blown up by 7:30am. Is this the typical gun hunting style on public land?
 
jjroberts1977 said:
Yesterday was the first opening day for gun that I went out since getting back into hunting three years ago. I was in my saddle and very surprised by how many guys were still hunting walking within 100 yards of me all morning. Of course they didn’t care to go the other direction when they saw me. My spot was blown up by 7:30am. Is this the typical gun hunting style on public land?
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Before I blindly say yes, which county are you in? (But in most cases, in my experience, yes.)
 
jjroberts1977 said:
Border of Berks/Chester
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Oh then yes definitely. I live in Lancaster County. I hate hunting the SE corner of the state. Hunters everywhere, small public land, and little respect for space or safety is largely what I’ve seen there. And I feel usually it just pushes the deer off the public to bordering private. Don’t mean to rain on your parade if you’re trying it. I still do from time to time and yes it works sometimes but I much prefer to hunt elsewhere or out of state.
 
It blew my mind when I archery hunted 5B public this fall and was the only guy out there all day. I’m so used to being overrun by orange vests. I had to double check OnX to verify I didn’t stray onto private. I think rifle season just brings ‘em all out.
 
Yes it is typical. I stayed home for the rifle opener and am staying home today. I'm probably going to limit my PA hunts to weekday hunts. Of course it helps that I got a buck in VA already so I don't have the freezer pressure.

Marmuzz - 5B was very busy for me in archery this year, more so than previous years. Consider yourself lucky
 
Yea its everywhere. Im sorry but it just seems to get worse.
People are just so smug, rude, and just self privileged.
I hunt new Jersey and Delaware and the main gun seasons are when i stay home and get some things done.
 
Lebanon Co. guy here. Haven’t hunted game lands in yrs because of it. Parcels are too small for the amount of guys

Northern Pa where there are larger parcels of state Forrest you see less ppl but yeah what you saw will be the norm for the 5B 5C areas in rifle
 
I have also learned not to hunt opening days. It's when the casual hunters roll out around here. These are the guys who run around the night before turning the house over for their orange vest and some shells.

This past turkey season I was thoughtless enough to think opening day would not be TOO bad. I got out about 1 1/2 hours before daylight since I expected people to be out. I have not seen that many trucks outside of an SEC football stadium parking lot of game day. I just had to laugh. A few days later and it was back to normal. I will not waste the gas to drive out there on the opener next season.

Overall, I have developed what I call a "contrarian" strategy, not only in hunting, but in life in general. I hunt when others are not likely to be out and in areas they don't or won't go. I rarely hunt weekends and If I do I go into it expecting to be disappointed. That way I don't get bent out of shape. I have a saying "animals don't cause problems, people do". It has been my experience that if you avoid people, you avoid 95% of the issues in life.

From the sound of things where you are hunting it may be hard to avoid people, especially opening day. My advice would be to use them if you can't avoid them. Post season, look the property over good. Get a topo map and mark where the people park and how they tend to advance through the woods. Find tight pinch points way ahead of where the opening day pressure will originate and set up there a few hours before daylight. Let the hoards push the woods for you and drive deer past your location.
 
I’ll hunt 5B or 5C for bow only anymore. I went on public in 4A some yesterday (Huntingdon) and it was a freakin pumpkin patch. I think I counted 30 trucks in the lot. Big parcel but saw people walking by all afternoon. It’ll fizzle after the opener but this is why I love archery more and more
 
My wife and I have a hashtag that we use when we text each other about dumb ridiculous things we see while hunting. It's usually followed by a couple of shrugging emojis.

#HuntingPA

Went to parking lot that's empty all year. First day of gun? No place to park... #HuntingPA

Saw man walking thru the woods driving deer wearing a full white snowsuit and lime green hat... #HuntingPA

By noon, there's lots of trucks driving around on forest service roads, but nobody actually gets out and goes into the woods... #HuntingPA

Hear a volley of 5 rapid fire shots. What are you shooting at? Are you even aiming?... #HuntingPA

Still dark out. Got to spot early to beat the crowd. Getting gear out of truck with headlamp. One lone shot rings out in the darkness a mile away. Did you shoot yourself? Are you poaching? Seriously, what was that?... #HuntingPA

Can we please turn this into a "dumb $hit you see while hunting in PA" thread? :tearsofjoy:
 
DB4x4 said:
My wife and I have a hashtag that we use when we text each

#HuntingPA

Still dark out. Got to spot early to beat the crowd. Getting gear out of truck with headlamp. One lone shot rings out in the darkness a mile away. Did you shoot yourself? Are you poaching? Seriously, what was that?... #HuntingPA
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Could this have been someone predator hunting? We can shoot furbearers in NY day or night even during open deer seasons but there are restrictions on what firearms you can use in areas where centerfire rifles are not allowed.
 
So, I see this alot, and I am even guilty of it. I literally saw a guy yesterday (I was driving a main State route, didn't hunt PA yesterday) and I saw a guy sitting 50 yards from a parking area, on a main access trail. If he were to get mad about someone walking thru his spot, I mean, bro, look where you are set up.

I have a stand that I have killed multiple does from during archery seasons past that is about 10 yards from a main access trail. I don't get mad about people walking it, I choose to sit there. However, the deer still insist on using it as well.
 
Talk to a guy in the parking lot. Says he shot a buck. Drops tailgate to reveal tiny 3 point half rack. Says sometimes he likes to come up to camp to shoot these little mountain bucks even though he has giant bucks by his house in Pittsburgh. Shows me trail cam photos of enormous 10s and 12s... #HuntingPA

Guy in parking lot brags about taking a deer with his new gun. Shows me yearling doe shot through both shoulders with a 300 win mag. Enjoy your purple meat jelly... #HuntingPA

Van full Amish get out. Four of them have guns. The rest have pots and pans... #HuntingPA
 
Pulled into parking area for access area to Michaux. Never in my 55 years of hunting the general area have I seen that many vehicles at that spot. Walking into the area I want to hunt is an old logging road and there are litteraly cat eyes along the road marking the road???? Mind you my spot for the day is 3/4 mile from the parking area and a guy is posted up 10 yards off the logging road and gives me crap for walking past him, 1 1/2 hours before shooting hours. I just kept walking. My son shot a doe and was tracking it and a guy in a ladder stand gives him guff for walking into his area when the blood trail goes directly UNDER his ladder stand. Asked my son to hold off tracking because there is a big buck in the area. My son obliged him for the moment to come help me track the doe I shot. He went back about an hour later and found his 25 yards from the guy's ladder stand. WTH #HuntingPA I guess. I am still amazed with the inconsiderate nature of people these days.
 
Ha! You should have some bumper stickers made up for the #HuntingPA or start a webpage devoted to all the crazy stuff that happens. It would be great.

A couple of years ago I saw a guy pull up in a giant truck, pulling a giant trailer with three 4 wheelers on the back. Strapped to the top of the back 4 wheeler was a deer (assuming buck) with a black garbage bag tied over its head. Now, we have antler restrictions, and he was alone (so no youth exemption) for shooting a fork horn spike. I guess he thought putting a bag over its head would fool any game warden he happened to meet. I walked by and said "congratulations, but man, that must have been one ugly deer!" Dude didn't know what to say.
 
huntin_addict said:
So, I see this alot, and I am even guilty of it. I literally saw a guy yesterday (I was driving a main State route, didn't hunt PA yesterday) and I saw a guy sitting 50 yards from a parking area, on a main access trail. If he were to get mad about someone walking thru his spot, I mean, bro, look where you are set up.
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Sometimes I get lulled to sleep during archery season, forget how busy it gets on opening day. One year I find some decent sign near the ranger station a couple days before the opener and think this could be one of those hidden in plain sight spots, too close for anyone to hunt. Yeah no :D. Got in early and didn't see anybody before daybreak so I'm starting to think this crazy spot may work. Sure enough, once the day starts to break, first guy comes stomping through, never saw me. Then the second a little while later. Quiets down for a bit before a half dozen shirtless teenagers with shotguns, no orange, hightops untied, come rolling through talking and carrying on.

Called it a day after that and got a chuckle at my own expense knowing those guys have no idea what they're doing yet I'm the idiot hunting in their spot :D
 
DB4x4 said:
My wife and I have a hashtag that we use when we text each other about dumb ridiculous things we see while hunting. It's usually followed by a couple of shrugging emojis.

#HuntingPA

Went to parking lot that's empty all year. First day of gun? No place to park... #HuntingPA

Saw man walking thru the woods driving deer wearing a full white snowsuit and lime green hat... #HuntingPA

By noon, there's lots of trucks driving around on forest service roads, but nobody actually gets out and goes into the woods... #HuntingPA

Hear a volley of 5 rapid fire shots. What are you shooting at? Are you even aiming?... #HuntingPA

Still dark out. Got to spot early to beat the crowd. Getting gear out of truck with headlamp. One lone shot rings out in the darkness a mile away. Did you shoot yourself? Are you poaching? Seriously, what was that?... #HuntingPA

Can we please turn this into a "dumb $hit you see while hunting in PA" thread? :tearsofjoy:
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Oh the one that used to really irritate me is putting in the leg work for someone to set up 50-60 yards from me. Like dude I whistled you waved to me and you still proceeded to sit down.

Had this happen to yrs back when I didn’t hunt game lands and when I confronted the guy he said “well I’ve been hunting here for 20 yrs”
 
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