# Pennsy 2020



## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

If things hold together, my son and I will have permission on private land this year in northeast Pennsylvania, near the state lines with New Jersey and New York. Pretty country. Heavy woods and rolling landscape. Good deer hunting tradition and culture in that area. No CWD as far as I can tell from the state game commission website. 

My son will have his own camo set for the first time, and he will use my Tikka T3 in .30-06. I will use my grandfather's 1930s Model 94 in .32 WinSpl. The Tikka with a Zeiss drives tacks farther than we will have space to shoot. I am limiting myself to 50 yards or less with the open-sighted .32. The Buck 110 will be sharp and ready for action. 

We plan to hunt the first two days of regular firearms season, the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving. Antlered deer only in that area, at that time. Antler restrictions in the area are three on one side, and the brow tine can be included as one of the three points. In western PA, the brow tine does not count, so the regulation is effectively four points on one side in that part of the state. 

This will be our third hunt in PA, having hunted in previous years on public land in rugged, mountainous terrain. Hunting private land with less topographical gradient will be a nice treat. 

I will post more as time goes on. Hopefully there will be some successful hunter photos!


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

Good luck. Heading to north central pa to rifle bear hunt this year. First out of state hunt and really excited! Question about non residents buying licenses. Can we just hit a Walmart like we do here and buy them or are there special steps we have to take?


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

MapleRiverSalmon said:


> Good luck. Heading to north central pa to rifle bear hunt this year. First out of state hunt and really excited! Question about non residents buying licenses. Can we just hit a Walmart like we do here and buy them or are there special steps we have to take?


Good luck @MapleRiverSalmon ! What county or WMU are you hunting? North central PA counties (Clinton, Potter, Tioga, Lycoming) are rugged and beautiful. I have hunted, fished and hiked in these counties, and it is another world compared with Michigan, because of the terrain. 

I would buy the license online, now. It's the easiest thing in my view.

Read the regulations thoroughly. Some types of licenses, for example antlerless deer (private land?), the only place to purchase is in person at the local town clerk's office. I don't know if this applies to bear hunting, but I would triple check.


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

kroppe said:


> Good luck @MapleRiverSalmon ! What county or WMU are you hunting? North central PA counties (Clinton, Potter, Tioga, Lycoming) are rugged and beautiful. I have hunted, fished and hiked in these counties, and it is another world compared with Michigan, because of the terrain.
> 
> I would buy the license online, now. It's the easiest thing in my view.
> 
> Read the regulations thoroughly. Some types of licenses, for example antlerless deer (private land?), the only place to purchase is in person at the local town clerk's office. I don't know if this applies to bear hunting, but I would triple check.


Area 2g Clinton county. Bought on-x penn and looked for a good area based on terrain. Just going for a long 4 day hike and hoping for the best. Just the opportunity to hunt bear again this year is worth it. 

looks like I can buy licenses at any Walmart. Planning on getting down there a day ahead of time, picking up a license, and doing some scouting. I’ll let you know how it goes and good luck to you as well!


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Clinton County is great. Very rugged and can be physically demanding depending on where you hunt and your hunting style. A 4 day hike is a good way to look at it.

You might run into "bear gangs", or a hunting party using dogs. Driven hunts are fairly popular in Pennsylvania for deer and bear. I haven't run into a deer drive, but I know people who have done them. I don't bear hunt, so don't have direct experience.

I have seen bear when I have been in the area north of the West Branch Susquehanna River. Bear are present all through the county. All through most of the state, also.

The wild areas noted on maps, south of the West Branch Susquehanna, are some of the most rugged in the state. What I have found useful is to study the topographic map of your hunting area, memorize it, and plan your hunting/hiking route. Because there is some very steep topography in the area (sheer or nearly sheer cliffs), you can find your route choices limited unless you plan ahead. From a terrain point of view, it is completely unlike Michigan. The woods and forest will be relatively familiar because of the prevalence of oaks. In Clinton Cty there will be hemlock, beech and black cherry also. Probably sycamore in the creek bottoms.

Not many maples, not much pine and very few cedar.

If there is a cold snap, this area gets colder than others. But that's hunting.

This is the main hunting forum in PA to my knowledge, and this post mentions gangs/driven hunts and a good bear population in 2G/Clinton County. https://www.huntingpa.com/threads/25-bear.131075/


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

kroppe said:


> Clinton County is great. Very rugged and can be physically demanding depending on where you hunt and your hunting style. A 4 day hike is a good way to look at it.
> 
> You might run into "bear gangs", or a hunting party using dogs. Driven hunts are fairly popular in Pennsylvania for deer and bear. I haven't run into a deer drive, but I know people who have done them. I don't bear hunt, so don't have direct experience.
> 
> ...


More than thankful for the help! Watched a ton of bear drive videos and planned our hunting area close to private land, rivers, etc to try to avoid being in the middle of a drive. Looking for transitions and pinch points to watch for bears kicked out of other areas. More or less a scouting trip with a chance at sealing the deal. If we like the hunt we might make it a yearly thing and improve or tactics and approach as we become more seasoned. Thanks again and I’ll be sure to check out the forum. Good luck to you as well!


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

MapleRiverSalmon said:


> More than thankful for the help! Watched a ton of bear drive videos and planned our hunting area close to private land, rivers, etc to try to avoid being in the middle of a drive. Looking for transitions and pinch points to watch for bears kicked out of other areas. More or less a scouting trip with a chance at sealing the deal. If we like the hunt we might make it a yearly thing and improve or tactics and approach as we become more seasoned. Thanks again and I’ll be sure to check out the forum. Good luck to you as well!


@MapleRiverSalmon Yes, this is exactly how my son and I have deer hunted for the past two years, in a similar area, Potter County. We hunted "down low" one year, and "up top" the next year, at different elevations of the same topographical feature. Fun to learn an area. Maybe not the best way to hunt, because we were "still hunting", which seems like a low percentage way to hunt. We saw lots of sign, and only two deer in the two seasons. We were also hunting on the last day of the season, in both cases. The deer were probably pretty weary of hunters in the woods, by that point.

This year we have access to private land, so it will be different because we are stand hunting in one spot. Hopefully my son will take his first deer. We shall see!


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

Good luck and hopefully it’s a good hunt. More excited just to do my first out of state hunt than being successful. I was a trapper and have been very fortunate with hunting bucks in the u.p. So hopefully that skill set of reading sign gets us in the right area to see one at least. Thanks again, Wayne.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

@MapleRiverSalmon This is a good map to look through. The north central "Deep Valleys" region is where you will likely be hunting. My son and I have hunted that area twice. Deep valleys is a good description. Steep and deep terrain. Beautiful and unique. This year we are hunting in the far northeast part of the state, Wayne County, where there has been some glaciation to round off the hills and fill in the valleys to some extent.


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## MapleRiverSalmon (Aug 19, 2007)

kroppe said:


> @MapleRiverSalmon This is a good map to look through. The north central "Deep Valleys" region is where you will likely be hunting. My son and I have hunted that area twice. Deep valleys is a good description. Steep and deep terrain. Beautiful and unique. This year we are hunting in the far northeast part of the state, Wayne County, where there has been some glaciation to round off the hills and fill in the valleys to some extent.
> 
> View attachment 601607


Ya I told my son as we were looking at maps last night that one of the areas we plan on hunting there is a 1000’ elevation change in 1000 ft! Lol. Then I explained our driveway is 1000’ long. In that distance it’s 1000’ higher, so a 45degree angle. He smiled. I’m excited, lol


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

I'll be in Forest county. Not too big of country where we are at.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Good luck @kracker ! What days are you hunting? Forest County is in/near the elk territory of Pennsylvania, there is a chance of seeing one. 

We are hunting Wayne County private land on the first two days of gun, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving. 

I am pretty sure all of our major gear is gathered. Need to do a grocery run for food while in the field, chemical hand warmers, etc.


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

kroppe said:


> Good luck @kracker ! What days are you hunting? Forest County is in/near the elk territory of Pennsylvania, there is a chance of seeing one.
> 
> We are hunting Wayne County private land on the first two days of gun, Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving.
> 
> I am pretty sure all of our major gear is gathered. Need to do a grocery run for food while in the field, chemical hand warmers, etc.



We are just outside the elk area. We have been hunting our spot for over 30 years and haven't come across any sign of elk. That would definitely make it a little more interesting having elk around. I'll probably start setting up camp the day before Thanksgiving and stay through the following Wednesday. Good luck to you.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

@kracker How did you decide to start hunting PA all those years ago? We lived in the eastern part of the state for 14 years, and my grown kids are on the east coast. Hunting PA is a way for my son and I to spend time together.


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

kroppe said:


> @kracker How did you decide to start hunting PA all those years ago? We lived in the eastern part of the state for 14 years, and my grown kids are on the east coast. Hunting PA is a way for my son and I to spend time together.


From PA originally and still have family there. Started going to our area in the mid 80's and I have only missed 2 years since. I don't buy a hunting license every year but still go to camp to be with the guys. 

When we started going there, there were camps set up in most of the good camping spots....we have outlasted all of them. We went probably 10 years without any other camps in the area. With the start of the Saturday opener, bear hunters started leaving there camps set up to come back to for the deer season. It will be interesting to see if that continues this year. Some years are better than others but its simply the tradition of our camp that keeps us going there.


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

Started hunting in Clearfield county in 1976 with friends that have a camp on leased land from the state of PA. Have hunted there over 20 times over the years and was planning on going this year, but we have several guys coming to camp from out state plus locals, so considering the COVID situation decided to pass this year. Hope to be back there next year. 

We’ve had some great hunts with good friends over the years. Good luck this year and be safe. 

I’ll miss the traditional Monday after thanksgiving opener. Hope MI never switches from November 15


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

bucko12pt said:


> Started hunting in Clearfield county in 1976 with friends that have a camp on leased land from the state of PA. Have hunted there over 20 times over the years and was planning on going this year, but we have several guys coming to camp from out state plus locals, so considering the COVID situation decided to pass this year. Hope to be back there next year.
> 
> We’ve had some great hunts with good friends over the years. Good luck this year and be safe.
> 
> I’ll miss the traditional Monday after thanksgiving opener. Hope MI never switches from November 15


Clearfield County, a pretty part of the state. Each region of PA has a unique character because of the changing terrain, forest and watersheds.


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## kroppe (May 7, 2000)

Weather for the Saturday gun opener is looking good - mid-upper 40s and no rain. Same on Sunday. I plan to post some LFTS if I have a cell signal.


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## bucko12pt (Dec 9, 2004)

kroppe said:


> Clearfield County, a pretty part of the state. Each region of PA has a unique character because of the changing terrain, forest and watersheds.


There’s some pretty wild country and a lot of steep hills, with plenty of mountain Laurel. If you’re headed east on I 80 and you see the sign “HighestPoint On I80 East Of The Mississippi” look to you’re right just after that sign and that’s where our camp is built on PA game lands. 

Lots of deer killed around that camp.


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## kracker (Jan 25, 2013)

Already in camp. Rolled in and set up on Tuesday. Earliest I ever set up camp. Rained all of last night and part of the morning.....dry weather will be welcome. Great night tonight as we digest Thanksgiving diner by the campfire.. A couple of short hikes have revealed plenty of sign in a few different areas, will decide on a spot after tomorrow mornings hikes. Good luck to all the PA guys.


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