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PA - if you had to pick one week? (2021 Dauphin Co.)

TreeCreep

Well-Known Member
SH Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2020
Messages
786
I know this is like asking whats best boot / bag / saddle... but
I have a standing invite to hunt private in Dauphin Co PA large mountainous land near A. Trail and borders conservation land / game lands.
So if you central PA guys had to pick one week?
Im trying to put days on 2021 calendar to hunt with my old friend . Curious when you see most deer. Ive only hunted PA for gun and leaning toward archery around Halloween week.
Can do gun but prefer not to crowd family time on the opener .
Thanks
 
I took off and hunted the 9th through the 15th this year and saw at least one buck everyday but one, and that day I took my dad out to a new spot in the mountains and he saw a nice buck not far from me. I hunted different spots every hunt but one as well so they were cruising HARD that week. From the sound of things they still are a little. I read a research article about fawn births in PA and rut times, basically came down to the peak being around the 15th give or take. I would look at sometime around then unless you got a specific buck you are trying to pattern and hunt for. I’m going to try and come up for the same timeframe next year if I’m able.
I killed this 8 below on Thursday after I missed this high 8 the day before when walking to our camp on state ground. Passed some smaller ones and seen one that made all the others I’ve seen look like babies. Hell the one night I couldn’t get down from my tree bc all I could hear was deer running and grunting as a buck ran these doe around me.
 

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I took off and hunted the 9th through the 15th this year and saw at least one buck everyday but one, and that day I took my dad out to a new spot in the mountains and he saw a nice buck not far from me. I hunted different spots every hunt but one as well so they were cruising HARD that week. From the sound of things they still are a little. I read a research article about fawn births in PA and rut times, basically came down to the peak being around the 15th give or take. I would look at sometime around then unless you got a specific buck you are trying to pattern and hunt for. I’m going to try and come up for the same timeframe next year if I’m able.
I killed this 8 below on Thursday after I missed this high 8 the day before when walking to our camp on state ground. Passed some smaller ones and seen one that made all the others I’ve seen look like babies. Hell the one night I couldn’t get down from my tree bc all I could hear was deer running and grunting as a buck ran these doe around me.
Thanks . Helpful feedback. I was basing October off a scouting trip 4or 5 years back where i saw a few nice bucks cruising.
Great story and congrats on the buck.
There are a good amount of basket 8 pts on this land and always a few wide racks that are tough to get close to in the thick spots but often show up on the front yard at night ...
 

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I know this is like asking whats best boot / bag / saddle... but
I have a standing invite to hunt private in Dauphin Co PA large mountainous land near A. Trail and borders conservation land / game lands.
So if you central PA guys had to pick one week?
Im trying to put days on 2021 calendar to hunt with my old friend . Curious when you see most deer. Ive only hunted PA for gun and leaning toward archery around Halloween week.
Can do gun but prefer not to crowd family time on the opener .
Thanks

My vote would be for the first week of November.
 
Thanks - its pretty obvious except for muzzleloader open in NH same week
 
Quick follow up. Had great sightings this past week.
I could only swing 4 days due to work and family.
It was an amazing hunt , saw at least a buck the size of the 6 pt below, or bigger each day.
unfortunately I missed 2 different giants on Thursday and Friday evening.
I hunted all day, moved when things quieted down and got aggressive .
Passed on a few legal but younger bucks.
5B7B25AD-A7F2-44A0-A33E-48D4453F930D.jpeg241A6207-9B50-4AC5-A438-23D6553627BF.jpeg
had both young and mature deer right under me . Oddly I never got busted even with mountain thermals.
 
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