Outdoors

Now is the time to scout as often as possible

Up until now most preseason turkey scouting has served more as a cure for cabin fever than knowing where gobblers will be and what they will be doing when the Youth Turkey Hunt sponsored by the Pennsylvania Game Commission is held, Saturday, April 20, and the statewide season begins a week later. Now, however, in a take on the long-running election gag of vote early and vote often, is when those serious about hunting spring gobblers should begin to scout early and scout as often as possible. Pennsylvania native Matt Morrett, who has hunted all four United States turkey subspecies ...

Hunting knowledge, at the press of a button

It’s tough for me to explain to people why I write. Why I feel the need, the calling to share hunting and fishing stories with others. It often comes as a belief that with each story comes a learning experience to gleaned from its depths. Those learning experiences undoubtedly make us better hunters. That is why I do what I do, but somewhere along the line, I found that reading, listening and watching all have their place and time. It’s no secret that some hunters and fishermen are just plain lucky. Some are naturally gifted with killer instincts, while others aren’t so lucky. ...

Great catch

Field schools create conservation ambassadors

MADISONBURG – Most often, attending a Wildlife Leadership Academy Field School is described as a life-changing experience by participants. Designed for participants between the ages of 14-17, the WLA is holding five specialized field schools designed to engage and empower high-school age ...

Hunting heritage in Pa. is unmatched

As I sat and wrote an article a few weeks prior to this one, I pondered why it seems so many more people hunt in Pennsylvania as opposed to other states I’ve visited and have lived in. Then I remembered a photo that hangs in my hallway. I walk past the photo multiple times each day and often stop to admire the men within the frame. The photo itself is a keepsake because the fifth man standing from the left is my great-great-great-grandfather, Stephen Alexander Douglas McLain. One time, when I peered at the photo, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I was missing something. As I ...

State’s deer harvest is largest since 2004-05

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania hunters posted their highest overall deer harvest in 14 years when they took 374,690 deer during the state’s 2018-19 hunting seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported. The 2018-19 deer harvest topped the previous year’s harvest of 367,159 by about 10 percent. The last time the total deer harvest exceeded this season’s total was in 2004-05. After four years of successive annual increases, hunters posted a buck harvest of 147,750, which placed fourth overall since the start of antler restrictions in 2002. The 2018-19 ...