Northeast Pennsylvania White Belly Deer Forecast: Thanksgiving Weekend
Rifle season begins Saturday and hunters will be greeted with some great hunting conditions through the weekend. Conditions for the traditional opener, which was always Monday, are also decent. Let’s be honest though, the forecast will mean little in areas with high hunter pressure and shots ringing out left and right.
I always find it funny when I hear hunters complain about hunting pressure. Good ol’ boy Buck Johnson will say, “The deer just don’t get up and move in my area; there just aren’t enough hunters to get them moving.” Ole’ Elmer Fudd is on the other end of the spectrum and he will say, “There are just too many hunters in our area, and the deer just head into thick stuff and hunker down.”
More pressure, less pressure, what the hell do you guys want? You all are like a bunch of women trying to figure out where to eat dinner.
Most of us think we know a little bit about deer hunting. I write a blog now and try to forecast deer movement, and I can tell you honestly there are more times I don’t know shit than times when I know shit. If you listen to any so-called expert, and they think they know everything, stop listening.
At this time of the year, I feel there is never a more important time to be in the right spot at the right time. I love hearing the stories of successful hunters who absolutely knew a buck “they’ve been on” for some time would absolutely show up in an area at a specific time. In the pre-rut, I believe you can time a buck’s movement. But all hell breaks loose during the rut and you can bet your ass that all hell will break loose on Saturday.
The hunting pressure Saturday will change Sunday and Monday, and the pressure will change things even more and on and on and on.
I’ve sat in the woods for approximately 42 years on the rifle opener. I can tell you that on every single one of those 42 years, when the first shot rang out, I said, “F@ck that asshole.” I can guarantee you I’ll be saying it again this year along with, “Probably shot a 45-pound doe.”
I say this about people I don’t know, but what we all have to do is be happy for our buddies and what they harvest. When one of your buddies shoots a gnarly 4-pointer with a 12-inch spread, we need to be as happy for them as we would be when we shoot our own personal best. One of the best parts of hunting for me has always been getting together after the harvest and throwing down some cold ones along with a short one or two. If you know, you know!
For the real lucky hunters, they will be traveling to some remote cabin in a faraway land to make the same trek their dads and grandpas made. Remember the memories you make in the cabin and in your time on the way to the woods and after the hunt are some of the greatest times you will have. Hunting isn’t all about the harvest; the harvest is pretty cool though. Enjoy your time, temper your expectations and prepare yourself now for the fact that the greatest time you will have this weekend will be the experience, not the result of the hunt.
I would be remiss if I didn’t stress the importance of staying safe. Make sure you have that orange on and be safe climbing. I think I have a total now of nine people who read these stupid articles, I can’t afford to lose any. Check out the reports below for conditions for the weekend.
Temperatures will be low and the deer will have to eat at some point, regardless of pressure or gunshots. We are also blessed with high pressure conditions and solar ratings are their highest. Saturday there is a major movement time period between 9:12 am and 11:12 am. Hang in there and believe it will happen. All the signs point to a great weekend, so plop your ass in a seat, stay awake and put something to sleep.
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