Hunting irony and luck in the Northeast

[P7M13]

I have a series of meetings in the Philly area, and so flew in on a redeye and planned on taking the day to hunt. SE PA only allows muzzle loaders or shotguns for hunting.
Can't bring any powder with me, so call ahead to a bunch of shops. Only one out of a dozen called actually carries Goex. I speak with the owner, seems everything is set.
I get there straight from the airport, owner's not in, and wait an hour while they figure out if there are any restrictions on selling it to me. Picked up some 9mm ammo and a holster for my R51 while waiting.... A good day thus far.
Boss calls me while I'm on my way to PA Game Lands 157, "there's a meeting on a new product at 3pm, can you make it?" My company pays me well, so of course the answer is "yes."
Spend four hours in the woods, happy as a clam because I'm in dense forest. See one doe, she's on the move, too fast for me and my flintlock.
Get back to the office, another engineer sees my camo pants, asks and we chat about hunting. He then invites me to spend 3 days hunting with him on his 400+ acres in January. Bonus!

Here's the irony: get to the hotel at 5pm. In the parking lot is a 1x2 buck and 5 does.

[EDIT TO ADD] It puzzles me how some hunters will choose to put their stand within 50 yards from the road. I'm walking up the road and not trying to keep quiet. I imagine, for every hunter like me that passed him by, there was a lag in the potential for any deer to come into his range.

Read More

 

[mrwolfe]

Oh, i can so dig ya brother. Spent a lovely Saturday this year keeping company with 5 mulie bucks... the entire day.
I was holding a doe tag.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I have a series of meetings in the Philly area, and so flew in on a redeye and planned on taking the day to hunt. SE PA only allows muzzle loaders or shotguns for hunting.
Can't bring any powder with me, so call ahead to a bunch of shops. Only one out of a dozen called actually carries Goex. I speak with the owner, seems everything is set.
I get there straight from the airport, owner's not in, and wait an hour while they figure out if there are any restrictions on selling it to me. Picked up some 9mm ammo and a holster for my R51 while waiting.... A good day thus far.
Boss calls me while I'm on my way to PA Game Lands 157, "there's a meeting on a new product at 3pm, can you make it?" My company pays me well, so of course the answer is "yes."
Spend four hours in the woods, happy as a clam because I'm in dense forest. See one doe, she's on the move, too fast for me and my flintlock.
Get back to the office, another engineer sees my camo pants, asks and we chat about hunting. He then invites me to spend 3 days hunting with him on his 400+ acres in January. Bonus!

Here's the irony: get to the hotel at 5pm. In the parking lot is a 1x2 buck and 5 does.

[EDIT TO ADD] It puzzles me how some hunters will choose to put their stand within 50 yards from the road. I'm walking up the road and not trying to keep quiet. I imagine, for every hunter like me that passed him by, there was a lag in the potential for any deer to come into his range.

This thread reminded me of a place in Oregon. The deer get very hungry when it starts to get cold and we had some kind of food in the car (can't remember I think hotdog?) and they could smell it. A small herd one buck and maybe 7 does of various ages wanted a handout. Took this pick of one of the more friendly ones. : )

 

[Andy54Hawken]

@P7id10T ...
Hunting tip with a flintlock...
When walking in the rain / snow / damp...."Cradle" your rifle across your left arm , and with your left hand "cup" the lock of your rifle.
This helps in keeping the weather out of your lock...also you can make a piece of oiled cloth or thin leather and use that as lock cover.
Andy

 

[P7M13]

@P7id10T ...
Hunting tip with a flintlock...
When walking in the rain / snow / damp...."Cradle" your rifle across your left arm , and with your left hand "cup" the lock of your rifle.
This helps in keeping the weather out of your lock...also you can make a piece of oiled cloth or thin leather and use that as lock cover.
Andy

Thanks, though I hope I'll be battling snow when I'm there. It's unseasonably warm in SE PA right now.
I have some thin, oiled leather that should work nicely.
The invite to hunt in MD stands, where I can use a centerfire rifle, but I'm leaning towards flintlock hunting. Problem is, I still haven't figured out the sights. Just need more trigger time (oh darn.).

Here's what I get, with the sights I have:

 

[KKG]

Looking at your sights, I'd say you need to take so meat off the top of the front. Your Zero should look like the bottom picture. It is something of a trial and error type of thing. Good Luck.

 

[wp4]

This thread reminded me of a place in Oregon. The deer get very hungry when it starts to get cold and we had some kind of food in the car (can't remember I think hotdog?) and they could smell it. A small herd one buck and maybe 7 does of various ages wanted a handout. Took this pick of one of the more friendly ones. : )

Not to derail, but that could definitely be at Wallowa lake! There are many deer that "tame" there.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Looking at your sights, I'd say you need to take so meat off the top of the front. Your Zero should look like the bottom picture. It is something of a trial and error type of thing. Good Luck.

This , is good advice.

I'd sight in at 75 yards or so...and practice so you know with the load , where to aim / hold over or under at 25-100 yards....
I Like to use the same load for all my shooting ...less guess work that way.
Andy.

 

[Stomper]

Not to derail, but that could definitely be at Wallowa lake! There are many deer that "tame" there.

And for good reason, it's also illegal to feed wildlife....

 

[wp4]

And for good reason, it's also illegal to feed wildlife....

What about capping them in the head when they walk right up in the campground though??

 

[KKG]

And for good reason, it's also illegal to feed wildlife....

Not in all states. Back in the South East and Texas you are allowed to put out feed and some places even allow the use of salt licks.

 

[wp4]

Not in all states. Back in the South East and Texas you are allowed to put out feed and some places even allow the use of salt licks.

That's allowed in Oregon and Washington too, while hunting. Stomper was talking about hand feeding them at the campground. Which I don't do but was sorely tempted to fill my tag!

Lots of people hand feed them there. I'd be too concerned about getting kicked or hooked with an antler and thrown through the air like somebody on America's Funniest Home Videos! I'm not actually sure if that's 100% illegal, but it is frowned upon since it can upset the animal's migration habits, digestion, etc. Doesn't help that the website has pictures of a big buck up on a picnic table with its face in a cooler munching away!

@P7id10T, good luck on your hunting next month! What does it cost there for a non resident tag and license?

 

[pharmseller]

And for good reason, it's also illegal to feed wildlife....

P

 

[mkwerx]

Those tame deer make an interesting hunting challenge, weaponless hunting. Brute strength, test of manliness. Mano Y... Deero - grab the thing and break its neck like Sasquatch, jump on its back and choke it out like Rickson Gracie, channel your inner Mike Tyson and knock it out (before breaking the neck or choking, or cutting it) - hunt the way our cave dwelling knuckle dragging forefathers did. That hunt would have its own special season, with preference points awarded to those surviving getting kicked, gored, bitten, trampled, or peed on. Imagine the brag board photos

"And there I was, stopped next to the picnic tables. It was 3PM. I was dressed in camo. Buck poop was smeared on my face. The passenger window of my Prius was down and a basket of apples left on the seat. The biggest deer I've ever seen walked past the brick sh!thouse, sniffed at the dumpsters, then made a beeline for my Granny Smiths. As he leaned in for a bite, I sprang into action. Having watched a dozen YouTube videos I executed a perfect One Inch Punch to the beasts nose. Blinded by the impact he swung his head wildly, scratching my arm. I grabbed him by the base of his antlers and he drug me out of the car window. I screamed like a girl, channeling my "chi" before swinging onto his back and executing a rear naked choke. 300 yards later the buck finally succombed to the choke and collapsed. I stood triumphant, staring at the majestic animal before me. Just as I unsheathed my Cold Steel, the buck jumped up, not out of the fight. Reactively I stabbed it through the heart. The buck defiantly gored my left shoulder, missing my heart by a mere ten inches. Feeling like my muscles burned with righteous ancient fury I screamed "There can be only one!" And cut the brute's throat. A loud clap of thunder roared, the children playing at the playground cried. A park ranger came over to see if I was OK. I showed him my hunting license on the barely functional ODFW App on my burner phone. He bandaged my bleeding shoulder and helped me carry the 109lb monster back to the Prius. I drove home a hero..."

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Those tame deer make an interesting hunting challenge, weaponless hunting. Brute strength, test of manliness. Mano Y... Deero - ...

 

[ilikegunspdx]

And for good reason, it's also illegal to feed wildlife....

Not sure if that was directed at me or not but we did not feed any deer. They smelled food in the car and one was so curious/tame she even stuck her head inside to get at the food.

 

[clearconscience]

My parents live on the crooked river ranch in Terrebonne, OR. They have a ton of mangy deer around there people feed.
We had one get in the yard a baby, he just came right up to us and followed us around the yard. Every time we walked away it just trailed us. Then we'd stop and it would stop right next to us.
Like touching us.
It was funny, but it got in the fenced yard and we had to get it out.

My brother n law was there, farm boy from nowhere Ohio. 6'4" 220lbs. He dang near got that guy in a headlock and carried it out of the yard.

It was pretty funny.

 

[P7M13]

@mkwerx -- friggin' hilarious!!

Flew in Thursday night, had a meeting at 08:00, then was supposed to head off hunting. Turned into a full day of meetings.
Headed up to the gamelands by Lake Nockamixon on Saturday, and it friggin' poured all day. By 16:00 I was soaked to the bone. No meat, but I did get to spend a day with God on the mountain there.
On Monday, I asked my colleague from Maryland how his luck was - he said "It was raining hard - I wasn't going to go out in that..."

@AndyinEverson , your idea on a leather cover over the pan made all the difference. When I got back to the parking area, I cleaned out my pan, and the powder was still dry.
There's no hunting in PA on Sunday, so I went to the gun club I joined out here, shooting the flinty, my 30-30, and pistols for several hours.
Shot 20 balls, figured out where my sights are for 50, 75 and 150.
Let one of the kids there shoot the flintlock. He was completely jazzed by it.
Another great day.