Oh man! That is pretty much all I ever think about...hunting PA mountain deer. There are some giants living there! That's a worthy challenge to try to get one rattled in and killed from the ground in that area. You won't have other hunters bothering you. I haven't seen a hunter in years. Back in the day when deer were plentiful, ground hunting wasn't too hard. Of course most of the deer were younger then, you could see several bucks and get multiple shots in a day. Now we have very few deer, but some really big bucks. Rattling does work to bring a buck to you. But close enough for a shot in a place where you can draw and shoot from the ground is going to be tough. (Though anything can happen which is probably why I try rattling from the ground too.) Doing some quick math just now, I've spent about 495 days mostly in a treestand hunting that area. while there are exceptions, most of the time when calling brings a deer and he looks for you he easily circles and winds you. It's not even hard for them. They come in circling at 40-60 yards through the trees until they hit your wind and trot of silently. Most of those time you would not have seen the deer if you were on the ground. Sometimes I think maybe that same deer could have come by unaware of a hunters presence if he didn't rattle. I have a theory that deer are more wary when they are less of them. Not only are they extremely wary, they have the benefit of constantly swirling winds. The contour of the land creates swirls and thermals even when direction is constant. Deer don't stick to trails predictably, they meander directionally. Combined with steep terrain and long hikes It's all a recipe for some of the most rewarding and demanding deer hunting you can imagine. Sometimes by mid season I hope the village idiot deer comes by me. Shot opportunities are about 1 per season for a traditional bow shooter. Seeing a buck and getting in compound or rifle range is considerably easier. I don't claim to be an expert, just sharing what I see. I'll share that in the last 4 yrs I have been inches or moments from killing nice deer ea year but could not get it done. The worst was last season when a carbon arrow shaft snapped off behind the head on the opposite shoulder it should have punched through. It was a dark rainy day with no exit hole and no blood. This year's shafts are much tougher. I've been tempted to name the shafts I used but figured I get banned from tradgang. They are junk. So easy to snap.
PSU Deer biologist have a blog that is really beneficial for those that hunt the area. Check out the collared deer monitoring. Lots of deer secrets are revealed. And it makes you wonder how you killed one in the past with any weapon!
Tedd
Topic: Stillhunting/rattling (Read 399 times)
