Northeast Pennsylvania Deer Forecast: November 20
After seven weeks of spending as much time as I could in the woods, the Pennsylvania Game Commission told me my season was over on Friday, Nov. 17.
I have come to learn since hunting ended, that I am married and we have three dogs. Just kidding, but the wife does miss me terribly, and let’s be honest, why wouldn’t she? Check out this legendary video.
It was awfully nice to sleep in a bit. The 4:15 am alarm wake-up and insomnia caused by deer dreams have worn me out. Oh and by the way, in this week’s edition of, “Here’s what pisses me off,” it’s daylight savings time. Most idiotic thing ever created, who the hell would want it light at 6 a.m., but would rather have it dark when you get home from work? This way you have no time to do anything outside in the evenings.
Enough of the rant, I needed a day to sleep in and it doesn’t get much better than coffee without a lid on, just the old man and the old lady. Johnny Cash was once asked for his definition of paradise: “This morning, with her, having coffee,” was his response. I also felt obligated to drink some adult beverages and watch some college football. Not a bad day at all.
On to hunting, based on my personal experiences, the rut definitely kicked back into gear this past week. Multiple bucks were caught in daylight by trail cameras and I also witnessed first-hand buck chasing and searching for that hot doe. This week we transition from archery season to our rifle opener on Saturday. But, before you turn your focus to the gun, it is definitely worth a sit Monday and Tuesday morning.
Barometer readings will be off the chart through Tuesday, but a low-pressure system carrying some rain will arrive Tuesday afternoon through Wednesday morning. Conditions will be horrendous throughout the day on Wednesday. Thanksgiving day, the forecast improves and it will stay in the 3.5 to 3.7 range through Sunday.
The rifle season opener begins on Saturday. I honestly believe in my forecast, even though it is obviously not foolproof. When that first shot rings out on Saturday morning you can take this forecast as your toilet paper in the woods. In reality, it may not be the first shot that nullifies the forecast. Hunters trouncing into the woods with flashlights twirling around like a grand opening for a store and the spread of hunter scent will also heavily contribute to the demise of the validity of this forecast.
Rifle season always makes me think of my uncle who helped contribute to my passion for hunting. He will be heading out to the big woods of Potter County and will sit from before daylight until after sunset every day for a week. When I was younger, he climbed some treacherous terrain on the Blue Mountain every day for a week and sat sun up to sundown. I must be soft because I haven’t sat an entire day in many years. His advice to me about rifle season was always the same, “You never move between 10:30 and 1:30.” The reasoning is simple: groups of hunters plan on getting together and shooting the shit over a Lebanon bologna sandwich and a few TastyKakes.
When hunters move, the deer take steps to avoid them. This technique seemed to work well on game lands when hunting pressure was high. Put the tip in your pocket and when you don’t see much in the morning, the tip may just be the motivational quote you need to get you through. Most of the best buck my uncle has shot have been in the middle of the day during rifle season. He also regularly smoked some form of tobacco, so when in doubt, fire up one of the cowboy killers.
Don’t forget to check out the White Belly Cartel store for some cool gear and tune into Vendetta Sports Media for some entertaining reading. Good luck this week and stay safe.
