Click here to subscribe today or Login.
Deer season forecasts from Wildlife Conservation Officers throughout the northeast region:
Luzerne County
WCO Gerald Kapral: “Overall, I have to say this should be an excellent season. Acorns have been very heavy in most of my area, as have the apples. The number of deer seen on night patrols is the highest I’ve ever seen, and many of them have been bucks, and a lot of them have been 8-points, with a few even larger. Also, the body size of the road kills that I have been picking up – both bucks and does, is the largest that I’ve ever dealt with.”
Bradford County
WCO Blake Barth: “The weather has been the biggest story of Deer Season ’16 so far. With more warm days than most hunters can remember from the October archery opener into the November rut the majority of deer were seen and taken in the early hours and last hour of the hunting day. Hunters focused most effort on doe patterns in anticipation of pursuing bucks – a technique that paid off well for plenty of archery hunters.
As the rut fades, bucks will need to regain body mass they may have lost while chasing does. Fortunately, the red and white oaks have produced a sufficient crop on the forest floor to help the deer into winter, along with other favorable vegetation. If the odd weather pattern persists, it may affect the “normal” landscape of deer activity in your hunting area. But it’s always important to remember, deer need to eat, sleep and have access to water. Hunt these necessities of deer in any combination and it may just be a matter of time before the right one steps out for you.”
WCO Eric Kelly (southeastern Bradford County): “There have been a few very large bucks taken during the archery season. There are a good amount of acorns in the forests, but other native food sources are slim. The usual locations with large deer numbers are once again producing this year, with agricultural areas having the highest populations. There are still a good number of large buck being seen in the district.”
Sullivan County
WCO Rick Finnegan: “Several big bucks have been seen throughout the county and a few lucky hunters have harvested some nice ones too. As far as mast production goes – there are lots of acorns where the oaks are but there aren’t too many in Sullivan County. Beech nuts seem to be scarce this year as well as apples, but cherries seem to be abundant.”
Lackawanna County (northern half from Dunmore, Newton and Jefferson townships to the county line)
WCO Jared M. Turner: “I have high expectations for this year’s rifle deer season in northern Lackawanna County. Last year we had a huge number of sub-legal bucks reported and this year that has translated into a plethora of small six and eight point bucks around. Apple trees and white oaks did not produce in many areas and corn has been cut across the county, so those traditionally good areas may not work out this season. If looking for a place to find deer, I would lean towards mast producing red oaks for the 2016-2017 firearms and late bow/flintlock seasons.”
WCO Aaron Morrow (southern half of the county): “Acorn crop in and around State Game Lands 135 in Thornhurst and Clifton Townships was well above normal this year. Multiple hunters have been relaying to myself that the size of antlered deer both seen and taken in the archery season have been the largest hunters have witnessed in recent memory. Hunters should focus on areas with a sizable acorn crop since the apple crop was below average this year in many areas of southern Lackawanna County.”
Susquehanna County (southern)
WCO Benjamin Rebuck: “Sparse mast crops, but areas with good production have high deer traffic. Numerous mature bucks taken in archery. Still seeing signs of rut activity from mature bucks as of this last week. Expect an exceptional deer harvest.”
Carbon County
WCO Cory Bentzoni: “Mast production was down this year in Carbon County as gypsy moths did a lot of damage to the oaks trees. The dry weather also effected the apple production this year. The deer population is stable. While working several areas at night last week deer were seen in nearly every field. Corn and soybean fields had large populations of deer near them. Several large bucks were taken this year in the Mahoning Valley and East Penn Township. More were seen during night patrol.”
