New Jersey Hunters banner
21 - 32 of 32 Posts
I took my nephews, Zachary(17 yrs) & Ethan(14 yrs) out in Zone 3B.

My nephews live in OH; they are passionate about hunting and fishing. However, sadly, their father does not hunt or fish; so I try to get them out every chance I get.

When both boys got straight A's in school last year, I rewarded them with their 2012 PA non-resident hunting licenses. I also told them I would take them deer hunting as their Christmas gifts. Both boys were chomping at the bit for 11 months waiting for this year's season opener to come around.

During the Summer, my Dad took both boys to Grice's gun shop in Clearfield where they used their hard-earned savings to buy a pair of used 30-06 rifles ^ some shells.

My Dad and I then spent some time on the lead sled with both boys getting them and their guns dialed in. After a few target shoot outings, it was evident the boys were ready to hunt deer.
----

On Monday morning I took the older boy to my "Old Faithful" treestand that is on top of a mountain near Huntersville, PA. At 08:15, 2 does and a 7-pointer walked right up to my oldest nephew, Stephen who was in another stand about 100 yards to Zach's right.

Being the consumate sportsman he is, Stephen allowed the buck to pass him at under 40 yards since it was heading right toward Zach. Stephen wanted to see Zach get his 1st buck as much as I did; it was really cool of him to let the deer go to the 1st-time hunter.

When the buck finally walked over to Zach's position, I got to watch him shoot; immediately, he yelled out "I GOT HIM UNCLE JIMMY!" in the most excited and happy voice you could ever imagine. From my stand, I watched his buck ctrash down the mountain and collapse only ~50 yards from where he shot it.

----

Once we got Zach's buck pictured, cleaned and dragged back out of the woods, I ran back to my parents' farm in Linden to see if I could find a buck for the younger boy in the afternoon. I knew my parents had a couple good bucks running around on their farm, but I was worried that our hunt might be tough as we don't normally hunt the property, but there have been a number of tresspassers and poachers hunting on my parents' property for the last few years. I was praying they hadn't killed or spooked the deer my Mom and Dad had been seeing all Summer & Fall.

The majority of our sit in the afternoon was slow, so I told Ethan for the last 2 hours of shooting time, we would sit in a stand that would allow us to watch my Mom's horse pasture where deer will often cross late in the day.

With only about 45 minutes of shooting time left, 8 does came right out into the horse pasture like they were in a race. As Ethan was glassing the does, I kept my eyes trained on the woods from where they came. Sure enough, I saw a big, dark body slinking through the trees & I knew from his appearance and behavior that he was a good buck.

The buck stepped into the pasture; even without my binocs, I could see that it was decent 8-pointer. I coached Ethan to make sure he calmed down, collected himself, and readied for the shot.

The buck walked into the field and stopped broadside at 85 yards. I told Ethan: "put the crosshairs on his boiler room & let him have it." Once again, it was another perfect shot; I found the deer lying in the woods only 60-70 yards away from the pasture where he shot it.

Both boys harvested nice PA bucks: Zachary's on public land & Ethan's on my parents' private farm. It couldn't have worked out any cooler!

----

Today, my oldest nephew and I still hunted a vast tract of public land in Sullivan County near the little town of Hillsgrove. I saw about 15 does, 3 small bucks, and 3 bears(a sow with 2 cubs) while my nephew saw about 6 does & the same 3 bears.

The bears I saw were actually only 15' from my nephew, Stephen, and he spooked them after watching them potter around in front of him for over 20 minutes. When they finally spooked, they came crashing down the side of the mountain; they almost ran me over at the bottom. They were doing Mach 1 when they went by me; the sow's back legs were only touching the ground about every 10 feet.

I think I'm gonna take a break from hunting for the next couple of days, and I may try again on Friday or Saturday. Truthfully, I could care less if I get a deer in PA this year or not as this year has already been a HUGE success for me even though I never fired a shot. I am quite certain that seeing the smiles on those kids faces was much more fun than shooting a deer.

Pics to follow. Enjoy!

- Gr8ful
 
Bumped a few more doe this morning still hunting to my partner on a ridge. Couldn't get a shot. We cut a lot of tracks tons of rubs bu no bucks. I think the full moon had them Moving heavy last night. Tons of tracks coming through where we hunted yesterday morning and evening. I will be back in the big woods once again on Saturday.
 
Keep at it njhunter87.

If you have a ton of does & small bucks, the area likely has some big bucks that just haven't shown themselves yet. This Saturday guys will start driving & wailing away at the does. That always gets some of those bigger boys bumped out of their hiding spots, and one of those could easily end up in front of your scope. Good Luck!

Glad to see so many NJ guys on here taking advantage of the PA season and sharing pics & stories of their efforts. Good Luck to any of you that will be trying the rest of this week and next.

- Gr8ful
 
21 - 32 of 32 Posts