Thought I'd start a thread for those of us that hunt the public land of PA.

Come along and enjoy, i'll try to periodically post pics and storys.

We'll start off by saying the wife and I were sitting eating supper a few minutes ago when she said....BEAR!

Turned around and there he was just strolling past the living room window like he hadn't a care in the world.

2019 season in PA mts.

starting back in Jan....scouting and running trail cams to see what was left over after firearm season.

Bald Eagle state forest

Shade what town are you near? I’ve hunted Shade mountain since I was a kid. My family is from Paxtonville.

The Bald Eagle state forest contains some of the most rugged mts in the state. Most rise to an average height of 2300 ft from the valley floor. Numerous trout streams drain the area, and is home to bear, deer, and turkey as well as grouse.

2019 is looking to be a good year in PA. Icy cold rain in much of PA on the opener of gun season last year put a damper on a lot of hunters. The result is a lot is bucks made it and some really nice sheds were found this spring.

hiked in the Tuscarora state forest to enjoy an easter sunrise

scouting this spring Tuscarora SF

early spring Sproul State forest in a remote swamp

Early morning scouting in the Bald Eagle state forest...put some boot leather down that morning, view from the top

scouting on a State game land in north central PA, Game commission has done some habitat improvement for deer, NO agriculture anywhere near here, solid mts for as far as the eye can see....deer make use of these openings provided by our PGC.

Closest thing to agriculture these deer get is spotty buckwheat in a food lot created by the PGC (PA game commission)

Couple buck pics trail cam north central public land

We are rich in State Forest and State Game Lands, from small 3000 acre SGL's to a State Forest that is over 400 square miles in size. Lots of game for those who get out and spend the time....like you Steve. I've hunted some of those big forests north of I-80, but my main haunts are the SGL's close to where I live. Awesome country we live in.

This particular area is THICK! with rattlers. saw one that I'm certain would have measured 50" didn't have a camera that day.

I was wading through this when I heard one start buzzing, I stepped up on a log to get a location on him and two others started buzzing figured I was onto a den...was really thick couldn't really see the ground I decided to back out a let well enough alone. Medical bills for rattlesnake bites are expensive.

This is in the Moshannon State Forest this area was covered at one time in pure virgin white pine and hemlock, many of these stands contained volumes exceeding 100,000 board feet per acre some of the best white pine in the U.S grew here.

According to Conrad Weiser in 1737 " The woods are so thick that a mile at a time we could not find a spot as big as a hand where the sun would penetrate"

Many places in the moshannon down in the deep hollows are still dark. Giant rhododendron and Hemlock keep it shaded and moist.

Up on the tops wildfires ravaged much of the land after the logging boom. Today many of these areas have never regenerated back and are characterized by bracken fern and scrub oak.

The Moshannon sees some harsh winters. Places like Black moshannon state park exhibit vegetation much like you would find in Canada.

Bobcat?

Got caught leaving the scene...was hot that day so I carried my rattler prod. Hickory walking stick I've had it for years, has saved me from many a nasty fall on those steep sides, and its nice to move vegetation when you can't see where your stepping. Rattlers don't alway's rattle.

trail cam in a choppings in north central PA....none of these areas are near a hard top rd or agriculture or civilization.

One cannot grasp what actually lies within your realm of view, until you actually begin exploring.

There you will find things that were hidden from your lofty view. Swamps, deep hollows, open meadows, streams with native brook trout, large tops thick with mt laurel,.. ect

to micro analyze seems mind boggling.

stump a bear tore up..i'm scouting hard for them. we have added archery opportunity.

Wow! Beautiful country!

Shade I’ll be following this thread! Just put a couple of cameras out in Bald Eagle. Will be posting some pictures soon! Thanks for starting this thread!

Thanks, good looking country.

Outstanding pictures.

I thought this pic was pretty neat, was right at dawn

This pic is kinda blurry but it looks to be a good buck. This choppings is up on top. I suspect this guy beds down over the side. Its steep rugged country full of big hollows and ravines.

large rock outcroppings with plenty of rattler dens.

Surprisingly I ran across some college students at a gated parking lot, they have been conducting some small mammal surveys.

We had a pleasant talk, I asked them if they ever saw any rattlers..lol the one young girl said......ooooooh yea....every time....lol

Very nice, Steve.

I'd suggest wearing snake proof boots/chaps.

Buddy of mine got bit last summer at Benezette Pa while 2 miles back in hiking.

He's lucky to be alive, was life flighted and spent 2 weeks in the hospital.

You just never know.

Great post! Thanks for sharing!

yes wonderful ! thank you !

Had a slack day today for work only needed to stone and grade a garage to pour concrete tomorrow, so I was back in the mt by daylight.

I had found a good crossing last year while scouting, wanted to get a trail cam in there. Got it done this morning finally.

hemlocks on the bottom

nice big brookies here

snake boots a little added comfort wading through this stuff

farther up this hollow it becomes nothing but car and house sized boulders in a narrow gap, I stay out of there in the summer, don't mind rattlers at my feet....don't care for them at eye level

be some close shooting here...be a good spot to drive for bear

BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY! Be careful of the snakes, might be more than rattlers wandering around. Maybe copper-heads or cotton mouths. BLESSED BE!

Steve that one buck is going to be a giant!

I’m actually very impressed. Most guys wouldn’t think of going in some of these areas this time of year. It’s very thick, can’t see where your stepping, would be very easy to get turned around in the big woods, hot, snakes, bugs. I scout this time of year and people think I’m nuts. I get the impression you go farther off the road to hike and scout on a warm summer day than most do while hunting in the fall. Very cool keep the pics coming.

Yes keep the pictures coming!

Jason

It is something how different the woods look during the summer compared to fall.

All the summer foliage make it harder to keep your bearings yes.

I had found the crossing last winter. A very well used trail going over the top between two rocky areas on the mt.

The other morning I began second guessing myself of its location, everything looked different because of the foliage. Also deer change their patterns, so what was hot last winter might not be now.

But I located it, and it looks like they are still using it heavily.

I'll be anxious to check that camera. Its location will make it hard to check regularly though, takes some time to get in there, even at a fast pace you chew up a half a day in and out.

Get us some some snake pics

oh i'll get some rattler pics this summer sometime I'm sure...here is a strange one, his eyes were so much the same color as his skin it almost looked like he had no eyes...never seen that before. But this is a old pic, i'll get some new ones

probably will be concentrating on this area for bear this year.

Great photos and wonderful country. Love the big woods but don't care for snakes.

What are the GPS coordinates on that last photo?

(I hope you know I'm just kidding)

Awesome, I grew up in Union county.

Great pics. I'm with Phil.,

Sure miss hunting PA at times. Scotia Range, Indiantown Gap, Mt. Gretna, Rothrock, Middle Creek. Great times.

Doing construction work affords me a few days off due to weather occasionally, it also means that my hunting and scouting often coincides with nasty weather.

The recent rains and thunderstorms, prevented pouring concrete on outside pours.

It did however give me a chance to put some boot leather down in the Sproul.

Tomorrow calls for severe thunderstorms, I'll be spending some more time in the Sproul.

Pic from today....heading in.

Great photos and a pleasant narrative to go along with them! I hope you continue doing this right through to the May 2020 Spring Gobbler season!

Keep them coming shade!

Where are the snakes? Lol

I'll try and get you some Babysaph, some areas are snakier than others, haven't been back to the area from the first pics, but next week I'm working up that way so i'll try and get back in there again.

In the meantime here is a couple scouting pics from the other morning. Again it rained so I cancelled concrete and headed for the woods.

heading down over

I use trail systems as much as possible, our DCNR maintains trails, I use them to cover ground quickly. I had headed up the and out the top via a trail, then bushwacked down over, and picked up another trail.

I was snooping around a small clearing and noticed a trail of matted down weeds where something had walked, I followed it and could clearly see where the back pad and front pad of a bear had matted down the weeds, I was able to follow it into the woods and the trail continued through thick fern. I could see the pad imprints and the width of it kinda gave me the impression it was a good sized bear.

I followed it to where it dropped into a small steep hollow where I could not see the bottom. I stopped and was studying the trail when one of the ferns popped back up, then another, then Another! I knew I was close, I krept forward fully expecting to see him down in the hollow. Then rocks began rattling and brush cracking going up over the other side, never saw him. Bear are harder to sneak up on than you think.

Waiting for a deer to come in for a drink. But nothing came in. :^(

These 2 pics are from a small Pond/big puddle on Shade Mountain.

I like shooting and scouting all year, those stumps are everywhere

Bushytail....that pond wouldn't happen to be on the shade mt off of the spectacle gap rd would it? Shade mt runs along 35 from Selinsgrove to shade gap I know, but that pond sure looks familiar. The one I'm referring to you can get to by going back licking creek, then up spectacle turn up nook run to the powerline then hike out the top.

Cool pond never seen one on Shade.

That’s some gorgeous scenery!

The pond is about a couple of miles give or take a little from rt.104. Behind the one tower. I always see deer tracks in the mud. Sometimes bear tracks. Sometimes turkey sign too. That area is where I seen a fisher while turkey hunting. One day while hunting by the pond I had a chipmunk under my stool by my feet. That was pretty cool. And also had a guy with a child and his dog come to the pond. He stood there looking around for awhile and finally seen me after I waved my hand. The dog never did see me. They walked back down the hiking trail then.

Cool some of you hunt Shade. I hunt around the Tar, big spruce and little Spruce gaps. The Troxel trail.

I was working in the area of a few trail cams I had out yesterday,in north central PA, so despite the heat (90) and humidity I decided to hike in and check two of them.

Wow, I think I sweated more hiking in and out than I did busting up concrete sidewalk all day!. When I got back out to the truck I could have literally wringed the sweat out of my clothes I was totally soaked, even my leather belt was soaked.

took a pic as I was hiking in the powerline.

pulled two cams, I'm moving them to different locations. One cam must have quit working, said it was "full" no storage left on card however when I plugged it in the computer NO PICS! ugh.

Other cam had pretty many though.

Decent buck

had the usual small buck and doe a few bear but nothing to get to excited about, no really big bear yet.

I have been seeing a lot of bear while in the woods though, just no big ones. I have seen 5 in the last few weeks, 3 in Clinton county, 1 in union and 1 in Juniata county.

I have a few more cams out I haven't checked in Mifflin and centre county's hopefully i'll have some bear on them.

So far I've been seeing more bear and game while scouting by putting down some shoe leather.

My number # 1 way of scouting is still by foot. And it ALWAYS determines my final decision on an area to hunt.

I should note that when I scout on foot my main goal is to cover as much ground as possible, I hike at a fast pace. Unfortunately that doesn't make for getting good pics of game while on foot. However I'm not there to actually see game, rather to collect as much info as possible. Most of the time all I see is the tail end of game.

Once I gather the info needed, I start to micro analyze. Then i'll slow down, hang a few cams. And eventually stay out of the area prior to hunting.

I don't think most people cover enough ground in bigwoods mountainous area's with lower deer density's. Things constantly change from year to year and during the changing seasons. Knowing the area intimately enables you to anticipate changing food sources ect... Bigwoods deer also have a much larger range than most realize. And Bear? lol....you'll need a good pair of boots to keep up with them once they pack their bags and start looking elsewhere for food.

Deer in many parts of North central PA will be in pockets. Boot leather is the best way to find them and lots of it.

I like your photos and your stories Shade. Good luck.

Great photos, shade! Looks alot like the hills up toward Renovo where I've done some hunting. Man, it seems like those hills get a bit taller every year. I want to know exactly where you're finding all those rattlers so I can stay outta there!

Thanks Shade, good pictures, Where did the planted Corn come from in Sproul State Forest (Swamp) ? Snakes get milkey eyed when they start shedding their skins, a growing thing. Keep the pictures coming. more Bucks.

Always enjoy your threads!!!!

Great pics !!! Thanx,...Lloyd

Great stuff shade those bucks are going to be nice!

I had a camera back a forest rd along a state game land food plot. I wanted to get back and pull it, or at least check it. Cameras along field edges can be effected by weeds growing up and tripping the trigger every time the wind blows. Finally had the chance to get up there after work and pull it. sure enough 1289 pics and a lot of pics with nothing there. PA game commission had mowed the perimeter, had a few pics of them, our men in green in action. People like to talk down our PGC, but I'm glad we have them.

here is a few pics.

plenty of coyotes

I assume this blob is a pretty big bear

another bear

turkeys use openings created by the PGC...had a number of hens and poults pics...and this one...guess she spied the camera...lol

something else I been seeing around the food plots and clearcuts is rabbits. Very unusual to see rabbits (cottontails) back in the mts. There is no agriculture there close by. These clearcuts and food plots are surrounded by state forest, and state game lands in north central PA.

Its amazing how wildlife can travel, and how they just show up once habitat is created.

Great photo essay, PA. has some beautiful country down there! Unique in its own right, and loaded with game. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks Shade, it’s ALL their to Enjoy, I think you are doing a good job at it.

I agree. The deer patterns in the big woods areas change every year based on food. Around your area Shade where there are fields in the valleys the rotations of crops can drastically affect deer movement from one year to the next. As well as acorns in areas where there are no crops. Many of these deer can travel miles in a night for a preferred food source. The other thing is your scouting I think needs to continue into early fall after summer pattered change. And yes covering lots of ground is a must. If I only knew some of this stuff growing up. We were taught to go to the same spot every year.

Smoked, exactly! Deer can vacate overnight. Usually about September. It is instantly noticeable. In our area it is all about acorns. A few times when we have had a complete acorn failure in the area the deer move off. Sometimes a long way. Agriculture and private land of any size is 10 miles + and the deer go there. Last year was one of those years when they left the area. The year prior I was ankle deep in acorns and had all the deer to myself! I like to winter scout and to hang cameras all year. But sometimes it does not pay off with a good hunting spot. It's good time in the woods.

I remember watching a vhs video back in the 80s about bowhunting big whitetails in Saskatchewan and some of the huge bucks would travel 10 miles or more from the deep woods to feed on oats growing in the fields at nighttime. Even living in the vast wilderness most big buck movement was nocturnal and the distances they traveled to eat planted crops was quite impressive.

Love this post! Keep the pictures rolling!

well headed out this morning to check a cam at a remote crossing. Was a bit disappointed lots of doe and fawns and small buck. This crossing seems better in fall and especially when hunting pressure during firearms drive them to higher and more remote areas.

I was taught by my father as a young boy...never step over a log in rattler country, step up on and look before you step.

tried to find babysaph his rattler pics...but didn't find any this morning, despite searching some pretty snaky spots

this stuff will get ya lathered up with sweat, both during the summer, and dragging a deer through it in the fall. But its good cover for deer and bear despite being worthless as food.

I was parked on the top of the mt in the distance, lots of territory to cover here.

Nice scenery & pictures of some fine Pa hunting grounds. Thanks for this thread !

Thanks for taking us along on the walk.

Good stuff as always!

A couple from Bald Eagle State Forest

A freak of a PA public land buck

Another nice one.

Nice stuff Shade. I bet you walk by a lot of em (snakes) and don't know it. Do you ever see any other hunters while bowhunting those remote areas?

Craig could be. He does have some bone showing on the hip.

Nice pics mike! hope you can get an arrow in one of those!

Babysaph....I rarely ever see another hunter in the woods during archery. I might see a vehicle at the parking lot, but usually don't ever see anyone while I'm hunting.

Steve your hunting more around licking creek? I scouted and hunted Hower Gap some last year. I usually hunt where Bushytail said. The cc road halfway across between 104 and 235.

I am excited to be hunting the Shade Mountain again this year. Last year I missed the drawing for a 4D WMU. This year I got one and a dmap for licking Creek as well as the Tuscarora Mountain. 9 doe tags total. I think I should be good. I love shooting doze!

https://youtu.be/fub2-PyZICs here is a video with a lot of clips from hunting public shade mountain in 2017

Got my doe tag to hunt Shade this year as well.

ShadeHaven- like the video.

shade mt and Homey88, Nice pictures, nice woods.

I had a first the last time I checked my camera I had a guy and his son on horseback!

Hey Brian, nice to hear from you again, was wondering how you been? As far as hunting licking creek, I do hunt back in there some, as well as Blacklog, lots of room to hunt back in there, plus I can walk right out my back door and literally go for miles back across the Tuscarora SF. We usually pull a few deer out of there. I got both DMAP tags for the area.

But last year and this year, I mostly hunted north farther. Bald Eagle SF in Mifflin and centre, some in the rothrock, and up in Lycoming near my parents.

lol...problem here in PA is we got to much public land, and I can't even begin to scratch the surface hunting it, but I sure give it my best!

Thanks for the photo journey through your neck of the woods. It is great to see the areas others hunt as I will never see it in real life.

It is truly beautiful country.. I had no idea...

Thanks!!!

CHRIS

Got back in the Rothrock a bit today, and pulled 2 cams. Had a meeting at 12:30 with a builder so hit the mts for the morning just to kill a little time.

Rothrock can be tough, only had a few doe on film had them up for about a week and a half

Bear meadows in the rothrock

DCNR erects deer fences to keep out deer and promote seedling regeneration. Not a bad idea, but some areas it is a total waste of time and money, simply because the forest habitat isn't good for re-growth to begin with.

Prime example here....A pic outside the fence

and turning around and a pic inside the fence...The overstory prevented re-generation and the fence was a waste of money.

I have also found that if the forest does in fact re-generate inside the fence its like a magnet to deer and they often find a way in.

Last winter I found a fenced area that had more deer sign inside it than outside!

The one I scouted today was just the opposite, lots of oak regeneration outside the fenced area, and virtually none inside. The side of the mt they fenced had to much pine, and understory was slim, mostly just fern.

Rothrock SF

Finally got a chance to put some real boot leather down today. Work has been busy, so most of my scouting has been quick hikes in between and around my work schedule.

I have been way overdue for a "for real" hike, the kind that soak up hrs and miles.

I parked my truck on top at a gated pipeline and headed out. The pipeline runs out the top then drops into a deep drainage. Deep long hollows cut up the sides of the drainage each large enough to spend a day hunting. This creates a rolling series of points jutting out into the main drainage. I stood on one of those points in bear season one year and noticed a orange clad hunter walk out on a distant point far away, I looked at him through my bino's and realized it was my oldest son.

There was a number of points between him and I, and I remember being awestruck at the vastness, and the fact that we had both walked out on a steep point at the same time. I learned later that he too stood and gazed in awe.

It felt good to be back today, my plan was to exchange cards on two cams that monitored two well used trails I had found, and then scout some new areas.

It was breezy on top and the heavy mist made it cool, and I was wishing for a jacket. I couldn't help but notice the hint of the coming fall in the air. The wet misty rainy weather made the smell of the mts come alive, and I wished I had a bow in my hand instead of a hickory walking stick.

I followed the pipeline down over the first couple benches to where it drops sharply and steeply into the drainage. I stood on the rim and looked into a sea of dense fog below, I stood there looking and marveling at the fact that the fog line stopped right below the rim and that from that line down everything was totally obscured by fog.

I dropped down over and hiked out the side, exploring the main hollows jutting up the sides, as well as a few smaller hollows that I found. The earlier chill gave way to sweat as I dug my feet in to get traction going up over. I jumped a few deer, found a fair amount of bear sign and enjoyed the croak of those large ravens that seem to prefer the remote mts as much as I do.

As I got lower I could hear the roar of the creek below and I just had to drop down and prowl along it looking for trout in some deep pools. I had decided to let my phone in the truck, but was wishing I had brought it to take a pic of a HUGE! hemlock I found . I peered straight up and noticed how it dwarfed the trees around it.

I climbed up the side once again and stopped to sit on a large rock that was probably 30' across and 10' or 12' high. Sitting there I wondered who had also sat there in ages past. I leaned back for a spell closed my eyes and just let the rain, and the smell of the mts flood and cleanse my soul. That stuffs good for ya, better than anything man has to offer. It soaks in and stay's with you in memory, and is available anytime you want to pull it back up.

I hiked out, climbed back in the truck tired and satisfied. I sat there for awhile and gazed down the pipeline to where it disappeared on the horizon and eventually plummeted down into a sea of fog. Thankful? you bet.

Sounds like you found a good area back in. I've been well Steve, sorry I'm not on here much anymore. Today I glued up my 55th bow since June of 2017. Its been going good. This bow is for me for this season. I just finished my wife's bow we were shooting some this evening. I scouted a little on the shade mountain Sunday and wasn't happy with anything really. First scouting trip in a long time that produced nothing to write home about Haha.

Those are pics of my wife's bow. Pecan riser maple cores etimoe veneers. 56" 41 @ 28. Steve I still need to come visit sometime and shoot together.

Typical scouting on the shade mountain. Hot, spider webs and lots of laurel.

My wife and I pick blue berries in Bear Meadows, with hip boots on. A lot of great pictures.

Nice thread.

Nice pictures Shade.

Here is a PA WMU2A buck I am hoping to rendezvous with come Oct. This is the 4th year in a row had him on trailcam. I call him Scabbers, he has a big scar behind his right shoulder.

SA

Seneca, that's a really nice buck. Hope you get a chance at him come October.

Nice buck Seneca! Hope you get a crack at him this fall.

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