North Central PA has large areas of public land where a deer will live it's entire life never seeing an agricultural field. It takes a while for a deer to put on some size and weight. In some of the remote areas they probably only see humans during our 2 week rifle season. (Though we still get a good many rifle hunters, they a fewer than the heyday.)
The herd numbers are low making any deer sighting rare. That can be frustrating for sure.
Every once in a while you see or get a photo of one like this to keep you motivated. Keep in mind that except for years with good acorns this deer lives on sticks and leaves! He has good acorns right now and looks like he packing on the lbs.
The photos aren't too good. I had the camera set on video and had to take stills off of that. Even in the remote area where he lives he is completely nocturnal according to my cameras. (http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p714/tas0323/Mobile%20Uploads/23CA75F3-2EA1-401A-8255-898341468216_zpsuylo3f37.jpg)
Not a big as mid western bucks but pretty good for a mountain buck. He was at my stand just 2 1/2 hours before me on saturday morning. (http://i1347.photobucket.com/albums/p714/tas0323/Mobile%20Uploads/ADD7253F-7B0B-4ADA-9998-F9529883A7B1_zpsmgyac3jn.jpg)
Keep at em!
I grew up in North Central Pa near the Allegheny Natl Forest. Ive got pics, vids, and others same of bucks a lot bigger than that. Yours is a good one. And there are some monsters running in those big woods. Good luck. They are extremely wary.
Cool.....a lot like the Adirondacks, not much to eat and long hard winters. He is a true monarch. Nocturnal, but he may get stupid in a few weeks, best of luck.
Yep, don't hunt the good spots until Halloween or Nov 5-10
Best thing PA did was go to 3 min on a side. Now guys are showing me pics of big bucks like that. A lot of people didn't like it at first but look at what it did for the hunting. I wish NY would do the same.
He is a giant woods buck !
:thumbsup: :archer:
Hope you can connect with him .
Thats a big ol mountain deer for sure! I belong to club in north central PA.....these big boys are around, we see them on the trail cams on our food plots.....but like you said, always at night, even when people haven't been up to the camp in months, seems like they only come down of the laurel flats well after dark.
I really noticed the difference hunting the big natiional and state forests near Grayling, MI. They don't seem to have any normal patterns, but just wander the woods randomly. Put them near farm lands and they become much more predictable.