Deer Hunting Game Lands 127/318/221/38
Pennsylvania
Hi, My wife is attending a conference in mid-October near the listed State Game Lands. It looks like I could go with her and maybe get to hunt a few days.
Any guidance about which SGL to try? I noticed that SGL 127 has something called a "Deer Hunter Focus Area." Has anyone hunted there with any success?
Thanks for the help!
Bill
I've hunted sgl 221 for about 25 years. If you can get around the edge in some areas where there are nearby orchards you will find deer but the area is heavily hunted during the rifle season. I've mainly stuck to the area near Rattlesnake Creek cuz I live near there but stopped hunting it 6 yrs ago because I got tired of watching squirrels and tweety birds all day. There's a lot of turkey in there though and some bear too. I spent my last 5 yrs hunting it without even seeing a pile of deer poop. Things might have changed over the years but I doubt it. It's a great place to hunt turkey. jmho
Thanks, Spider. This type of boots on the ground info is really helpful.
You bet. It's kinda sad. This game land was really great once about 10 years or more back. But Alt started the doe reduction and the GC sold way too many tags. It got hunted hard by locals and non-res for a couple years and it really lowered the doe population which wasn't all together a bad thing but then we got hit by the gypsy moths. In the second year of the infestation they tried spraying but the idiots sprayed on a day forecasted for heavy rain. Yep, an hour after they sprayed it rained like heck. I went up to the gameland for a walk about and it looked like winter in July! The deer were forced out because of the lack of mast or browse. The infestation lasted 3 years, it was bad. Half the oaks didn't make it and those that did were very young. the game land is over 4500 acres but I tended to stick to the eastern 1000 or so acres but I did hit a few other areas up there on the south and western side, it was the same thing.
Like I said, I haven't been up there in several years. I know people that live alongside the gamelands and they see deer on their property all the time but there are orchards and private land that the deer stick to. It's been many years so it might be worth it, I just spent too many years up there watching trees. I do know that it doesn't get over pressured during the archery season except during the inline season. There are times during the archery season when you would be pretty much the only person up there. But during the rifle season there's a redcoat behind every tree.
Wow, it sounds like this area got hit with a double whammy.
What's the draw for the rifle hunters if the deer population is down? Just a convenient place to go and "watch the trees?"
The draw is, it's close to Jersey.
That's really close to me if you want I could help put you on land you will see deer
No dog in this hunt, just posting records from data received to PGC by year. This is for 3D as a whole and show progressions.
WMU 3D...Harvest records.
2015....B. 4200....D. 5200.
2014....B. 3400....D. 5000.
2013....B. 4000....D. 6000.
2012....B. 4500....D. 7200.
2011....B. 3900....D. 5500.
2010....B. 3200....D. 6300.
2009....B. 3900....D. 6900.
Well, George, living in the great state of Pennsylvania, I know that all our WMU's have ample deer harvests. We wouldn't live here if that wasn't the case, right?
What I was trying to do was obtain guidance as to what specific area near the intersection of 80 and 380 would give me a reasonable chance of at least seeing a buck. I'll only be there a few days and didn't want to waste time in a poor area.
Fortunately, the Bowsite has proven once again to be a great source of information from good people. I have a good lead on where to go and am looking forward to a good hunt in October.
Thanks to all for the help!
Hunt high, stay late,
Bill
Well, I got to see some good looking hunting areas early this week while my wife was at her conference at the Kalahari resort. Some of it was Delaware Forest land and some was near SGL 38. I was really impressed by how "deery" both areas looked. Of course, the warm sunny weather made everything look extra good.
I did not get to hunt any of these areas, though. As it turned out, I shot a buck on the previous Friday morning, my last hunt before we left for Kalahari. It was a bit of a disappointment, but I didn't cry about it during the four hour drive to and from the Poconos.
Thanks to all again for sharing your knowledge of this area with a bowhunter from Western Pa.
Have a great season,
Bill
