New deer hunter needs your assistance.
- Thread starter DaveInPA
- Start date
Jack O'Conner
New member
Dave:
I hunted on SGL near the border of Lebanon and Lancaster County. Its the area northwest of where 501 crosses 322. Very good hunting opening Day.
I've had good luck at Ft. Indiantown Gap. The Nat'l Guard has a mandatory orientation saftey meeting.
But best hunting is northern Bucks County just south of Allentown. This is shotgun only. Its all private land and posted. But all you have to do is type a short biography and attach the Sportsman's Pledge. Then put this in every mailbox in the area. You'll be suprised how many folks will invite you to hunt!
Basically all this does is make yourself advertised as an ethical hunter who won't sue them over an injury claim.
I'm working in Virginia this winter since S. Dakota construction work is weak.
Jack
fbrown333@suddenlink
New member
PAhunting
Didn't mean to sound nasty sometimes I come across a little rough. Just wanted to make sure you didn't bet your self in a pickle with local law.
Didn't mean to sound nasty sometimes I come across a little rough. Just wanted to make sure you didn't bet your self in a pickle with local law.
MontanaRifleman
New member
Howdy Dave, I'm originally from PA, Bethlehem area. The most important ingrediant of deer hunting is you. Scouting, and hunting skills. My Uncle was the best PA deer hunter I ever knew. He always got his buck and it was usually an 8 point or better. He was very attentative and very patient. Miserable weather didn't distract him. His best buck was only a few points shy of of B&C which is quite an accomplishment since very few PA bucks live past their 3rd or 4th birthday. Deer hunting in PA is exremely competive, or at least it used to be. I was a tree stand kind of guy but not my uncle. He would pick a natural blind near some promising trails. And if the early morning wait didn't turn up anything he would still hunt which is quite an art if you do it right.
OK, so as far as gun, scope etc. go. This depends a lot on what kind of a shot you expesct. Most PA hunting is fairly close quarters so you probably wont need a 300 WM like a lot of folks out West use. My Uncle used a 308 which is probably the perfect PA deer caliber. Very accurate and will easily get the job done with a little less kick than a 30.06. 30.06 is a good round but for PA I would prefer the the 308 and 30-30's are quite frankly a weak and not very accurate round. You can get a Tikka or Savage for less than $500, both very good rifles. One more thing, wood stocks are real purdy, synthetic stocks get the job done.
As far as scopes go... DO NOT buy a cheap scope. You dont have to get top of the line, but you would be better off with iron sights than a cheap scope. I once had a cheap scope that sent bullets flying evrywhere but where they were supposed go. Nikon Monarchs and Busnell Elite series are some good scopes, and they run about $300 - $600. On the lower end of the power you'll be looking for 1.5 - 3 and on the upper end 6 - 10. The larger your objective the more light you will gather. I wouldn't use anything less 40mm.
Hunting clothes??? What ever keeps you warm and dry. Deer see in shades of gray and could care less if you're wearing advantage or real tree. Dont forget your head and ears. In Montana I use Merino wool under layer in cold weather. It keeps you warm and comfortable when you're less than dry. Awesome.
Scent??? you cannot ever cover up, mask, or hide your scent, that is all a bunch of marketing garbage. You can minimize it and most importantly know which way the wind is blowing. Remember, on opening day of deer season in PA there will be multitudes of humans in the woods and the deer will be scenting them and you. Figure that into your tactics.
Some good comments on foot wear in other posts. Get some warm dry boots. $100 - $200.
As far as ammo goes... if you dont handload get premium loads. I would recommend Federal or Nosler. And I would definetly recommend Barnes bullets (in the Federal loads) although there are a lot of bullets that will do the job. For Nosler, I would recomend Accubond. 150 gr bullets for 30 cal are ideal.
For sighting in??? Once again it depends... for PA hunting 200 yd zero is good. At 200 yds zero you can hold dead on from point blank out to 250. For Montana I use a 250 yd zero in 270 Win, 7mm Rem Mag and 300 WSM.
For a knife??? I have a Gerber interchangable blade for utility, bone saw and skinning. I think it cost me about $50. But you could do fine with any knife that kept a descent edge.
There is no place in PA I would need a GPS to find my way out of the woods. A good map and map reading skills is all you need. When in doubt, walk down hill until you get to the nearest road.
Happy Hunting, let us know how it goes
OK, so as far as gun, scope etc. go. This depends a lot on what kind of a shot you expesct. Most PA hunting is fairly close quarters so you probably wont need a 300 WM like a lot of folks out West use. My Uncle used a 308 which is probably the perfect PA deer caliber. Very accurate and will easily get the job done with a little less kick than a 30.06. 30.06 is a good round but for PA I would prefer the the 308 and 30-30's are quite frankly a weak and not very accurate round. You can get a Tikka or Savage for less than $500, both very good rifles. One more thing, wood stocks are real purdy, synthetic stocks get the job done.
As far as scopes go... DO NOT buy a cheap scope. You dont have to get top of the line, but you would be better off with iron sights than a cheap scope. I once had a cheap scope that sent bullets flying evrywhere but where they were supposed go. Nikon Monarchs and Busnell Elite series are some good scopes, and they run about $300 - $600. On the lower end of the power you'll be looking for 1.5 - 3 and on the upper end 6 - 10. The larger your objective the more light you will gather. I wouldn't use anything less 40mm.
Hunting clothes??? What ever keeps you warm and dry. Deer see in shades of gray and could care less if you're wearing advantage or real tree. Dont forget your head and ears. In Montana I use Merino wool under layer in cold weather. It keeps you warm and comfortable when you're less than dry. Awesome.
Scent??? you cannot ever cover up, mask, or hide your scent, that is all a bunch of marketing garbage. You can minimize it and most importantly know which way the wind is blowing. Remember, on opening day of deer season in PA there will be multitudes of humans in the woods and the deer will be scenting them and you. Figure that into your tactics.
Some good comments on foot wear in other posts. Get some warm dry boots. $100 - $200.
As far as ammo goes... if you dont handload get premium loads. I would recommend Federal or Nosler. And I would definetly recommend Barnes bullets (in the Federal loads) although there are a lot of bullets that will do the job. For Nosler, I would recomend Accubond. 150 gr bullets for 30 cal are ideal.
For sighting in??? Once again it depends... for PA hunting 200 yd zero is good. At 200 yds zero you can hold dead on from point blank out to 250. For Montana I use a 250 yd zero in 270 Win, 7mm Rem Mag and 300 WSM.
For a knife??? I have a Gerber interchangable blade for utility, bone saw and skinning. I think it cost me about $50. But you could do fine with any knife that kept a descent edge.
There is no place in PA I would need a GPS to find my way out of the woods. A good map and map reading skills is all you need. When in doubt, walk down hill until you get to the nearest road.
Happy Hunting, let us know how it goes
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Get a good quality treestand. I personally recommend Gorilla climbing stands. A climbing stand will allow you to change where you hunt day to day and be simple to use. I for one consider it utterly foolish to be hunting deer without being in a stand for both scent and safety reasons.
HOLY CRAP. Now I am thinking about getting out of deer hunting. I didnt realize that you have to be in the upper income bracket to hunt. I better get my hunting guide back out.
I think it is great that some of you would only buy the cream of the crop. But if the guy is just getting in to deer hunting, I am thinking you can get away with a lot less money. Mabey I am all wrong. When I started 10 years ago, I bought a $100 shot gun, cheap army surplus camo, GOOD BOOTS, some long johns, and few boxxes of shells. I am quite sure I didnt invest $1500-2000. My first deer was a basket 6, was back at the house 08:30 for coffee opening morning.
Since then I have added a couple of guns, cheap Mossbergs, Knight disc, H&R ultra slug, H&R sb2-44, T/C Contender. I have all 3 of my kids and a couple others hunting with me. I did have to splurge a couple years ago and buy a deep freeze. For some reason we have stupid deer in Indiana. They didnt realize we had the cheap stuff
. What a tasty mistake.
Buy what you can afford, practice until you are comfortable with you skill, dress for the weather and go get a deer.
I think it is great that some of you would only buy the cream of the crop. But if the guy is just getting in to deer hunting, I am thinking you can get away with a lot less money. Mabey I am all wrong. When I started 10 years ago, I bought a $100 shot gun, cheap army surplus camo, GOOD BOOTS, some long johns, and few boxxes of shells. I am quite sure I didnt invest $1500-2000. My first deer was a basket 6, was back at the house 08:30 for coffee opening morning.
Since then I have added a couple of guns, cheap Mossbergs, Knight disc, H&R ultra slug, H&R sb2-44, T/C Contender. I have all 3 of my kids and a couple others hunting with me. I did have to splurge a couple years ago and buy a deep freeze. For some reason we have stupid deer in Indiana. They didnt realize we had the cheap stuff
. What a tasty mistake.Buy what you can afford, practice until you are comfortable with you skill, dress for the weather and go get a deer.
Hey Dave, I'm another Dave from PA. Grew up in Pittsburgh, and I've spent plenty of time in Potter County too. I didn't get into hunting until I'd been in Maine for 20 years. But I did spend waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay less than two grand on it, although after two seasons I still haven't bagged a deer, although I have had a lot of fun trying. So take my advice with a grain of salt, there are plenty of better sources of info to be found here.
Here's my number one tip, look at Sierra Trading Post. They've got a great website, and I've found amazing deals there, just go to the hunting section.
Like I said I've never bagged a deer, but I did spend over ten years as a professional cook. I've cut a lot of meat, and I highly recommend a fixed blade knife. They're way easier to clean, think about cleaning blood and hair from a folder. Go with something with a blade that's less than four inches, three is really all you need.
If possible try to spend some time in the woods where you plan to hunt before you invest in too much gear. You'll find out if you need insulated boots, or insulated knee high waterproof boot, and the more time you spend out there the better you'll know what the deer are up to.
Here's my number one tip, look at Sierra Trading Post. They've got a great website, and I've found amazing deals there, just go to the hunting section.
Like I said I've never bagged a deer, but I did spend over ten years as a professional cook. I've cut a lot of meat, and I highly recommend a fixed blade knife. They're way easier to clean, think about cleaning blood and hair from a folder. Go with something with a blade that's less than four inches, three is really all you need.
If possible try to spend some time in the woods where you plan to hunt before you invest in too much gear. You'll find out if you need insulated boots, or insulated knee high waterproof boot, and the more time you spend out there the better you'll know what the deer are up to.
davlandrum
New member
Although I think your budget is plenty to get you up and running for deer season, I found a way to stretch the budget - used clothing stores! I have 4 kids, so get a lot of clothes at Goodwill, etc. We have one local called Value-Village. They usually have wool coats, heavy pants, etc.
I actually found a blaze camo insulated coverall there - looked absolutely brand new - $10.
I actually found a blaze camo insulated coverall there - looked absolutely brand new - $10.
stantonizm
New member
I use a Ruger 77 .270 and its always done the trick for me in WV. One thing I like is that its an all-weather: synthetic stock and stainless steel. Its not as pretty, but it shoots well and is a little lighter to carry. If you get rained on and put it away damp for the night there arent gonna be rust spots in the morning. My friend uses a Remington 710. You can get them scoped with a Bushnell 3x9 for 300. It has the worst action of any rifle I've ever used but it shoots really, really straight. I use a Leupold 3-9 scope which works great. Just make sure to get some good boots and socks. Those little clip-on butt pads are nice too if you're gonna be sitting.
davlandrum
.
YOU GOT IT, BROTHER
BEEN THERE DONE THAT, AND PROBABLY WILL AGAIN
PHP:
Although I think your budget is plenty to get you up and running for deer season, I found a way to stretch the budget - used clothing stores! I have 4 kids, so get a lot of clothes at Goodwill, etc. We have one local called Value-Village. They usually have wool coats, heavy pants, etc.YOU GOT IT, BROTHER
BEEN THERE DONE THAT, AND PROBABLY WILL AGAIN