How is the turkey hunting in PA? I am from central NY and a friend of mine and I are going to get PA licences this year so we can hunt more birds. I was just wondering what hunting the state game lands is like. Is there a bunch of hunters all over the place like the stories I have heard? We hunt state land and private property here in NY and are used to finding birds where people aren't hunting or getting there early. We usually tag out then start taking people hunting but this year we decided to go after more birds ourselves too. Anybody with PA hunting experience please let me know what to expect. Also, what's the residents feelings towards out of state hunters? Any info is appreciated.
The spring gobbler hunting here in Pa. can be difficult. The hunting pressure is high. I used to hunt the southern tier of NY years ago and noticed right away that NY birds seem to be more vocal. Also alot of the hunting at least in my part of the state is big woods. The birds may be really spread out. I do ALOT of "running and gunning". Good luck and have fun.
When I hunted there, it was a race between a dozen guys to get to a gobbling bird. Needless to say I let them have at it. After the first few days things seemed to slow down a little. Like most places, weekdays will probably be your best bet. Had quite a bit of room to myself during the week.
I am biased but beleive that we have excellent hunting. I never turkey hunted northern pa near you but know that if you hear a bird there is a good chance you can get to it without property line issues, etc. Stay in shape and be willing to hunt 1000-1200 in the early season. Imo stay away from the easily accessible areas like fields near roads. A good thing about some public land in pa is that the gates for most roads are closed in spring gobbler season. If willing to hike or bike back deep you may run into birds that hear very few hunter calls.
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Since you're coming from the north, I would hunt allegheny national Forrest . It's big enough that you could not run into other hunters if you hiked far enough. Its loaded with turkey also. And remember its only hunt until noon the first half of the season and most guys are working then. If you wait until the second part of the season , you are going to run into a lot of hunters and the birds will probably be silent. Good luck. If I wasn't hunting private land as a guest, i would hook up with you. But if you're coming down into southern pa, I could point you to a few nice public spots that are pretty remote and full of mountain birds.
There is a lot public hunting available here in PA. I live in center part of the state and there are a lot of hunters and a lot of birds. The birds wise up pretty quick. Like others said if your willing to put on the miles you can get away from most hunters. If you run into any hunters back in a good ways more than likely they are a dedicated hunter. Not as much pressure during the week but you will more than likely run into a few hunters. Best of luck!
Thanks guys. I have no problem working for birds, that's what I attribute some of my success to. We do some business with Hanson in Lake Ariel so we are looking at state game lands 300, 310, & 307. Also state game lands 035 & 175 are right on our way down. We live 30 miles south of Syracuse so we will just hop on Rt 81 and go.
Hope you get your pa birds , let us know how it goes.
I hunted PA last year the last week of the season. I wouldn't try that. . . . :z-dizzy:
I live in southeastern PA, we have turkeys and a lot of them in certain parts of the state. What we don't lack anywhere is Hunters. While I do hunt here and kill some birds I spend 90% of my spring hunts in NY state for the simple fact I have far more private access in that state then here. While public is always an option I just don't find the enjoyment in fighting 10 other guys for a birds attention when I have private one state north.
It can be fun to plan out a hunt with a buddy, study the maps and have a sucessful out of state venture so come on down and give it a shot i bet you guys whack a few
The birds here in bradford county have been very quite the last 2-3 years after the first 2 weeks and henned up terrible through the entire season.
Quote from: timb on March 19, 2013, 06:12:34 PM
The birds here in bradford county have been very quite the last 2-3 years after the first 2 weeks and henned up terrible through the entire season.
honestly i believe its cause way more hens than gobblers ever since they did the bonus tag for spring not near as many gobblers. gobblers dont have to gobble near as much cause hen numbers are up so much some states you can do that but lets face it pa is not that state money thing for pgc
We definitely have some good hunting but it can be tough! And we have no shortage of hunters!
I live in PA, but probably spend more time turkey hunting in NY than in my home state.
As many have mentioned, lots of pressure, especially on public land, and landowners are notoriously stingy about giving permission to hunt private. Saturdays are especially tough, and no Sunday hunting.
I'd probably look at hunting on weekdays if you can swing it, or try hunting the last 2 weeks of the season when all day hunting is allowed.
Good luck.
Quote from: Uncle Nicky on March 20, 2013, 08:17:06 AM
I live in PA, but probably spend more time turkey hunting in NY than in my home state.
As many have mentioned, lots of pressure, especially on public land, and landowners are notoriously stingy about giving permission to hunt private. Saturdays are especially tough, and no Sunday hunting.
I'd probably look at hunting on weekdays if you can swing it, or try hunting the last 2 weeks of the season when all day hunting is allowed.
Good luck.
No Sunday hunting has driven me clean out of the state, I work a lot so weekdays just dont happen for me. with only half a weekend to hunt it just doesn't cut it, I drive out of state most fridays so i can hunt the entire weekend and return for work monday morning.
It all depends on the land you can find to hunt. Private land can be fantastic but expect alot of hunting pressure on most public land. :OGturkeyhead:
I'm from luzerne county in pa and just like the others said, public land is pretty difficult here. But private land is a totally different ball game. With all my extra tags and fall hunting, I've been lucky enough to harvest 9 toms in the last 3 years alone.