2018 rifle season offers challenges and promise to Pennsylvania deer hunters

Pennsylvania’s orange-clad army of 700,000 deer hunters have their work cut out for them this season.

They will be slogging through mud wallows. Deer may be holed up in cornfields or in other favored feeding spots.

Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season opens on Monday, Nov. 26, with plenty of challenges and promise.

The long, wet growing season has been a mixed blessing. Deer grazed on grass in early November. Soft, and some hard, nut crops have been plentiful. Some cornfields have have yet to be harvested. Archery hunters found it harder to spot their quarry this fall as trees held their leaves longer.

“We should be in store for a good season,” said Bert Einodshofer, game warden supervisor for the Game Commission in southcentral Pennsylvania. “Throughout the year, I’ve heard very few negative comments about lack of deer.  Many comments I’ve heard are the opposite.”

About 45 percent of the season’s buck harvest was taken on opening day in 2017. Hunters killed 163,750 bucks last year, making it the second-largest buck harvest in Pennsylvania since antler restrictions were started in 2002. It was the 10th best all-time.

In each of the past three seasons the buck harvest has increased, but typically just one-third of hunters get their deer in a season.

Michaux State Forest District Forester Roy Brubaker said, “I think in general the deer population is about as robust as I've seen it in the past eight years since I've been here, both in overall numbers and in the numbers of decent buck being seen and taken in archery” season.

Good areas in Michaux to focus on are recent timber sales and some of the large prescribed burn areas along Ridge Road, Brubaker said. 

Easy access to public lands could be a problem this year.

“The wet weather has been hard on all our roads,” Brubaker said. “While we'll be trying to open up gated roads, it will complicate things if the heavy (precipitation) continues through hunting season, and we might have to gate a few more than we, or the hunters, would prefer.”

For the most current information on road access visit https://www.dcnr.pa.gov/Recreation/WhatToDo/Hunting/RoadsOpenForDeerSeason/Pages/default.aspx or call the district office the day before your hunt.

The abundance of standing corn will keep deer harvest lower in some areas because of the additional cover it provides, according to Einodshofer. Most places have a good mast crop.

Brubaker said mast is “pretty spotty” in the Michaux.

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“What did come down wasn't heavy at all,” he said. “Certainly if hunters find the odd area with some remaining acorns, those are always good sites, but they might spend more time looking for them than they will have to find deer.”

 “Scouting is important to every hunt,” Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans said. “Deer like to hang out where food is the easiest to obtain. But hunter pressure and other disturbances can inspire their selection.”

The Game Commission urges hunters to confirm deer activity in areas they plan to hunt before they commit to them:

• Deer usually make a mess wherever they eat, so it shouldn’t be hard to sort out whether they’re using an area. Look for raked up leaves, droppings and partially eaten mast for confirmation.
• When setting up a hunting stand, the prevailing wind should blow from where you expect to see deer to your location. Dress for the cold and sit tight.
• Remember you’re not alone while you’re afield. Other hunters also are waiting on stand, still-hunting or driving for deer in groups. Even if your position overlooking a feeding area fails to bring deer, the movements of other hunters might chase deer your way.

“Expect the unexpected on the firearms deer season opener,” Burhans said. “It is hands-down that one day when you never know if or when that buck is coming. You must be ready to take it. Don’t let that buck of a lifetime catch you playing with your smartphone.”

Many schools close for opening day, an unofficial holiday in Pennsylvania.

The statewide general firearms season runs from Nov. 26 to Dec. 8. In most areas, hunters may take only antlered deer during the season’s first five days, then antlerless and antlered seasons run concurrently from the Saturday, Dec. 1, to the season’s close.

“The firearms season opener is always worth the wait,” Burhans said. “But so is the first Saturday of the season. Last fall, hunters took more deer on the first Saturday than the opening day – a first in Pennsylvania’s deer-management history.”

You're more likely to fall than get shot

The risk of falling from a tree stand is greater than being shot by another hunter in Penns Woods.

Falls are on the rise, according to Pennsylvania Trauma Systems Foundation data compiled by Dr. Joseph Smith, a Danville critical care physician. In 1987, fewer than one in 100,000 hunters experienced a tree-stand fall while hunting deer in Pennsylvania. In 2015, almost 12 in 100,000 fell from a stand.

About 40 hunters a year suffer traumatic injuries from falls from tree stands in Pennsylvania.

Game Commission officials urge hunters to wear a safety harness when hunting from a tree stand.

A full-body harness can prevent falls to the ground only if it is connected to the tree.

“That means you must wear your harness, and be sure it’s connected to the tree, at all times you’re in the stand, as well as when you’re getting into and out of the stand, or climbing or descending trees,” said Meagan Thorpe, Game Commission hunter-education chief.

The non-profit Tree Stand Safety Awareness Foundation offers safety ABCs:

• A -- Always remove and inspect your equipment.
• B -- Buckle on your full-body harness.
• C -- Connect to the tree before your feet leave the ground.

Always take your time and be safe when using stands, Thorpe said. Always put on your safety harness while you’re still on the ground, and keep it connected to the tree at all times until you’re back on the ground.

It takes only a little longer to climb with a rope, and if the tree stand fails or if the hunter slips or loses his or her balance, the harness and rope will prevent a fall to the ground.

With pre-installed hang-on stands – and especially ladder stands – the most-practical way to stay connected to the tree is through a safety line, commonly referred to by the brand name Lifeline, that hangs to the ground from above the platform.

Because the safety line is installed above the platform, the tree must be climbed first. When installing a safety line at a hang-on stand, a linemen’s style belt can be worn while ascending the tree. A linemen’s belt might not be an option for many ladder stands, but a separate ladder and linemen’s belt could be used to install the safety line before the ladder stand is installed.

When using a ladder stand, climbing stick or tree steps, make sure to maintain three points of contact (two hands and one foot, or two feet and one hand) with each step.

The Game Commission also reminds hunters to be sure of their target. Think SMART:

• S – Safe Direction: Keep your firearm pointed in a safe direction at all times.
• M – Make Sure: Positively identify your target.
• A – Always Check: Know what’s beyond your target before shooting.
• R – Respect Firearms: Treat all firearms as if they are loaded.
• T – Trigger Caution: Don’t touch the trigger until ready to shoot.

Chronic wasting disease still a concern

Chronic wasting disease is not going away any time soon.

The disease is fatal to deer and elk. The Game Commission currently has established three disease management areas in hopes of preventing its spread. Much of the local area is in DMA 2.

“The number of positives detected is still trending upward,” Einodschof said.  “Thus far in 2018 we have 45 confirmed case all in DMA 2.  Two hunter-harvest positives were detected in the late flintlock season in January, and thus far four have been detected since the fall deer seasons opened.  The remaining positives have been road-kills or suspects displaying symptoms.”

Because of the spread of CWD in DMA 2, the Game Commission approved six special areas for taking more doe, according to Einodschof. The aim is to get samples in the areas where CWD is showing up farther away from the core area where it was first detected in 2012.

The state has three DMAs. DMA 2 includes parts of Adams, Bedford, Blair, Cambria, Clearfield, Cumberland, Franklin, Fulton, Juniata, Perry, Huntingdon and Somerset counties. DMA 3 includes about 350 square miles in Armstrong, Clarion, Clearfield, Indiana and Jefferson counties. And DMA 4 encompasses 346 square miles in Berks, Lancaster and Lebanon counties.

For the specific boundaries of each DMA, check www.pgc.pa.gov.

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Hunters harvesting deer within a disease management area may not export deer parts deemed to have a high-risk of spreading CWD from the DMA. The head – specifically the brain, eyes, tonsils and lymph nodes, spinal cord and spleen are considered high-risk parts. Once high-risk parts are removed, hunters can export the remaining meat on or off the bone, cleaned capes, cleaned skull plates with antlers, and finished taxidermy mounts from the DMA.

Hunters can dispose of high-risk parts through their curbside trash service or in dumpsters provided by the Game Commission. Locations of dumpsters, processors and taxidermists can be found at www.pgc.pa.gov.

Jim Hook, 717-262-4759