PA elk hunt results

[pamtnman]

An self guided elk hunt without a kill beats a guided hunt any day. You were indeed successful. Sproul is a tough place to hunt.

Thank you, fellow PA hunter

 

[3Setters]

I had a friend draw an archery cow tag last year. He also hunted without a guide. I gave him as much info as I knew. He came close a couple times but in the end went home with his tag. He thoroughly enjoyed the hunt and if drawn again would go without a guide.

 

[pamtnman]

I had a friend draw an archery cow tag last year. He also hunted without a guide. I gave him as much info as I knew. He came close a couple times but in the end went home with his tag. He thoroughly enjoyed the hunt and if drawn again would go without a guide.

If I drew a bull tag, I’d get a guide. They have cameras up all over the place and are updated daily about elk locations

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Thanks for posting your hunt, really miss those woods! I'm a PA boy and being in the woods and hunting is just part of life, whether or not you shoot something. As a matter of fact, the last time I had a shot I fired into a tree after that big doe flashed her eye lids at me, she knew I was a wuz!

 

[hanshi]

Wow! An enjoyable hunt/camp in beautiful country is hard to beat. But I can understand how bringing the tag home might be something of a downer.

 

[pamtnman]

I had a friend draw an archery cow tag last year. He also hunted without a guide. I gave him as much info as I knew. He came close a couple times but in the end went home with his tag. He thoroughly enjoyed the hunt and if drawn again would go without a guide.

And yes, I think your friend and I are on the same wavelength on this in terms of outcome and measuring success and happiness here

 

[pamtnman]

Thanks for posting your hunt, really miss those woods! I'm a PA boy and being in the woods and hunting is just part of life, whether or not you shoot something. As a matter of fact, the last time I had a shot I fired into a tree after that big doe flashed her eye lids at me, she knew I was a wuz!

The amount of carefully considered habitat management taking place there is astounding. Definitely worth exploring again for deer

 

[pamtnman]

Wow! An enjoyable hunt/camp in beautiful country is hard to beat. But I can understand how bringing the tag home might be something of a downer.

You are right and you also get the prize for understatement of the day. This afternoon while working about an hour north of the area we elk hunted, me and another guy sat on the side of the road and watched an elk herd loafing in a farmer’s field. Twinges of regret were pulling at my shirt sleeves

 

[Patocazador]

You are right and you also get the prize for understatement of the day. This afternoon while working about an hour north of the area we elk hunted, me and another guy sat on the side of the road and watched an elk herd loafing in a farmer’s field. Twinges of regret were pulling at my shirt sleeves

I think that "It's not about the kill that matters, it's being in tune with Mother Nature" is not why I go hunting. Getting skunked is not my idea of a good time. We can sugar-coat it all we want but it still means no delicious elk steaks on the grill.

I feel for you after waiting all that time for a tag and then having tag soup. I put in for a Sambar hunt here for 12 years. We had a group of 3. One called me while I was in the hospital with a serious illness and said, "Get well real soon, we drew a tag each."
The day the 3-day hunt started I was getting my gall bladder removed.

BTW, your 1st photo of the camp fire with the setting sun is gorgeous.

 

[pamtnman]

I think that "It's not about the kill that matters, it's being in tune with Mother Nature" is not why I go hunting. Getting skunked is not my idea of a good time. We can sugar-coat it all we want but it still means no delicious elk steaks on the grill.

I feel for you after waiting all that time for a tag and then having tag soup. I put in for a Sambar hunt here for 12 years. We had a group of 3. One called me while I was in the hospital with a serious illness and said, "Get well real soon, we drew a tag each."
The day the 3-day hunt started I was getting my gall bladder removed.

BTW, your 1st photo of the camp fire with the setting sun is gorgeous.

Well said. I was passing two kidney stones on the first day of my elk hunt, one on each side, which is incredibly painful. And I was not going to miss my PA elk hunt for any reason. And if anyone is wondering how I hunted while passing kidney stones, I walked slowly for miles, often hunched over, and sat hunched over, and chased after running elk hobbling and cursing like a pirate. And I called one in almost to where I could see its full head before the wind changed and the elk ran away, while in agony and with my rifle up, shouldered, and pointing at the elk. I drank about a gallon of strong home made lemonade each day, which definitely helped. A couple of oxycontins would have helped, too, but hunting under the influence is illegal in Pennsylvania. I know it’s almost required in some venues, like Kentucky and Alabama

 

[Patocazador]

I know it’s almost required in some venues, like Kentucky and Alabama

We had a hunt club in Alabama for 26 years. We had a list of rules 3 pages long. The third rule was: "If you take a drink even just one beer, you are done hunting for the day. If you disregard this rule, you will be expelled from the club."

 

[pamtnman]

We had a hunt club in Alabama for 26 years. We had a list of rules 3 pages long. The third rule was: "If you take a drink even just one beer, you are done hunting for the day. If you disregard this rule, you will be expelled from the club."

I live in the part of Pennsylvania called Pennsyltucky. We have the same persistent rumors and supposed traditions that have given a bad name to hunting for a long time. We do have some alcohol during bear season and deer season, but not much and certainly not enough to result in someone being under the influence the next morning.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Memories of this will bring you smiles for all your life. That’s what it’s all about. Nice hunt with many more to come.
Cheers

 

[Magungo1066]

For someone that lives on the East Coast it has given me a real sense of pleasure knowing there are Elk in PA. Part of the allure of visiting out West is that you see animals we otherwise associate with an "older time". Elk in PA make me feel that way. Glad you got to enjoy it! I am glad to see that other states are re-introducing Elk as well. Seeing an Elk in PA would make my rifle truly feel right in my hands, just like the Colt does when I visit my little brother in Colorado.

 

[pamtnman]

For someone that lives on the East Coast it has given me a real sense of pleasure knowing there are Elk in PA. Part of the allure of visiting out West is that you see animals we otherwise associate with an "older time". Elk in PA make me feel that way. Glad you got to enjoy it! I am glad to see that other states are re-introducing Elk as well. Seeing an Elk in PA would make my rifle truly feel right in my hands, just like the Colt does when I visit my little brother in Colorado.

Well said. Kentucky has a boatload of elk, and I have been putting in there for a bunch of years. I don’t think their lottery takes as long as PA’s , but a lot of their elk are spread out across private land. You can pull a KY elk tag and have very few places to hunt them.

 

[Magungo1066]

Well said. Kentucky has a boatload of elk, and I have been putting in there for a bunch of years. I don’t think their lottery takes as long as PA’s , but a lot of their elk are spread out across private land. You can pull a KY elk tag and have very few places to hunt them.

I saw Steven Rinella of Meat Eater hunting Kentucky Elk. Like a bunch of us I idolize ole Danny, so being able to hunt Elk, where he did, as he did, with a flintlock rifle is a supreme dream of mine. I am glad it is becoming more attainable every year! Are there any estimates/numbers for what size PA would like the elk herd to eventually reach? I assume they have a max number considered.

 

[zerosprk]

There is absolutely nothing like hunting elk! It gets in your blood - at least it has gotten into mine...

 

[brazosland]

Thank you, gents. Overall I concur with your sentiments, and I appreciate them here. But I will admit there’s a tinge of sadness. Twenty years I put in for the lottery elk tag, finally got one, worked hard on planning and then implementing this hunt from the day the tag was announced until the day I went home, and didn’t come home with the critter. Then I think about the guys who spent $3,000 or more with a guide etc and who also went home empty handed, and I feel better.

All the other hunters who didnt hunt with a muzzleloader know exactly who the real man in the woods was!

You should be proud to have accepted the more difficult path, there is much honor in that.

Now…among us all here…well…we all know the difference between non-birthing persons that use percussion caps…and real men who hunt with a flintlock…

 

[pamtnman]

I saw Steven Rinella of Meat Eater hunting Kentucky Elk. Like a bunch of us I idolize ole Danny, so being able to hunt Elk, where he did, as he did, with a flintlock rifle is a supreme dream of mine. I am glad it is becoming more attainable every year! Are there any estimates/numbers for what size PA would like the elk herd to eventually reach? I assume they have a max number considered.

Sorry for delayed response here. Bear season, Thanksgiving, and two weeks of deer rifle season intervened. I’ve been out every day. Now that it’s all over, I am back to paying bills (I’m still confused why my wife is paying $100 a month for a pool boy, because we don’t even have a pool), answering emails, returning calls, responding to questions here.
To answer your question about the Pennsylvania elk herd’s eventual size, no one really knows. Not really. The PGC will probably know the number when they reach it. Only about 2/3 of the designated elk range currently has any elk in it. There’s a lot of room for more elk in the eastern side of the elk range; in both areas currently with elk and areas that presently have none. If we are currently at 2,000 elk with a lot more room for the herd to grow, then probably another 1,500-2,500 would be socially sustainable. So 3,500-4,500 total is probably the end goal. Beyond that number and there’s lots of elk-vehicle collisions, lots of crop destruction, lots of human-elk conflicts. Just an educated guess.

 

[pamtnman]

All the other hunters who didnt hunt with a muzzleloader know exactly who the real man in the woods was!

You should be proud to have accepted the more difficult path, there is much honor in that.

Now…among us all here…well…we all know the difference between non-birthing persons that use percussion caps…and real men who hunt with a flintlock…

Sunday, Monday and Tuesday it rained lightly but nonstop and stayed about 55-60 degrees Fahrenheit with endless fog and mist. Wednesday it poured rain until noon, at which point the air began to clear enough where in a day a flintlock could be reasonably expected to spark. By Thursday the sun was out in full, the temperature was up to 70 degrees, and while a flintlock will work in those conditions, the elk will not. All things considered, the percussion rifle was the right gun for the awful conditions in a once in a lifetime hunt. Having devoted five days to this elk hunt, I departed Thursday night and wished everyone else there good luck, which they did not have. I wish PGC would extend an elk season for bad weather.