Special Regulation areas

[JIMMYC308]

For the guys who have hunted in special regs and out of special regs areas, which do you prefer and why? Just curious on everone's opinions.

[27hand]

I like the rifle areas. I guess I can't really give a specific reason.

I have shot 40-45 deer in the last 30 yr. About a third in Special regs areas and have a Ithaca deerslayer with a 20 " rifled bbl and a 3X9 simmons on it. I shoot remington copper solid sabots and feel comfortable shooting out to about 125 yds.

It's just something about the rifle (I shoot a Rem 760 pumpgun in 30.06 with 57.5 gr of IMR 4350 pushing a 150gr Nosler ballistic tip). I guess it just feels better in my hands.

The longest shot I have made on a deer was 95 paces and that shot was with the slug gun.

I have dicked up a few shots in the past 30 yr or so of deer hunting but usualy if It is in range, I can put it down.

All you have to do in Pa to be a successful deer hunter is to be lucky enough(or actually do some scouting) to be in a place that deer are available and be a reasonable shot. They just fall down then and you drag them back to the cartruck.

When you get better with age and experience, you shoot them, they run at least most of the way back to the cartruck to minimize the drag.

I am hoping to eventually get it down to where i shoot them and they run back toward the cartruck,try to jump over a fence after being shot, they slice their own belly's open thereby gutting themselves and just barely making it back to my rear bumper.

Seriously, I no longer shoot at running deer regardless of rack size nor do I take a shot in archery over 25 yds. I don't practice enough to be consistant over 25 so I put out tissue at 25 in my shooting lanes and have never taken a shot beyond. I have gut shot(rifle) a couple running doe and tracked them for way too long. A hunting life lesson.


27

[Karys]

I prefer hunting at my place in Bradford county because I have the place to myself. I've got 53 acres up there.

I've hunted public land in the special regs areas on the opening day of buck season and I always saw way more orange guys than deer.

I do hang a stand in WMU 5C during archery season occasionally, but I won't hunt special regs areas during the buck or muzzleloader seasons.

I also prefer hunting with a rifle over a slug gun. I have an old Mossberg 835 that weighs a ton with the slug barrel on it. My rifle is a lot easier to carry.

[Rule10b5]

I prefer rifle hunting...

But to be honest, it's so much easier just to walk out in my back pasture, hop up in the stand, wait till the deer show up for their evening stroll, pop one with a muzzleloader, gut it, and then walk the 100 yards back to the house to get a cup of coffee and to call the butcher. In a perfect world, though, handgun hunting would be legal in the special reg areas.

If I want to hunt rifle, though, I have to go to the trouble of packing up the truck, taking off from work, driving 3-4 hrs to the hunt property (where I don't know the deer trails and times), setting up a stand, getting a place to sleep, etc., etc. It just doesn't seem worth the trouble for white tail. And I still might not get one. At least if I have a "miss" day on my own property, I haven't wasted a day of work or hours of driving.

[JIMMYC308]

I have to be honest I have been spoiled with the longer seasons and unlimited doe tags in special regs. Also I see a lot of deer down here in 5C and 5D, The big issue here is you have to find private property the state game lands are just way to packed with orange. I also have an issue with the available weapons choices of special regs, we can hunt with muzzleloaders that can shoot out to 200yds but we can't use a revolver or beak open pistol for deer say a .44mag or .454 casull, why not? But a .410 slug is legal for deer? I mean has anyone ever shot a deer with a 410 slug, that can't be good in my opinion.

[st.marys]

While I like both, I prefer to hunt in rifle areas, mostly because you have alot more area to hunt. If I am stand hunting, I prefer special reg areas because of more deer population. If I am walking or stalking, I like the rifle country. The only thing I don't like about special reg areas is it's hard to find places to hunt and you have to be willing to tolerate being in the woods and hearing car noises and such.

[roland]

What I really like about 2b besides the extended doe season, you can use a semi-auto shotgun. I have a bennelli M-1 practical and it loves to shoot deer . I also hunt other parts of the state with a rifle and enjoy just as much. I must say I've been known to be called a serial animal killer-Haaaaa!

[sureshot43]

I hunted special reg areas and other non-regulated land also. didnt have any luck either place. I just enjoyed being out there. I would like to see revolvers allowed in special reg areas. I understand the break-open handguns are way too close in performance to carrying a rifle, but in a revolver, even the 460 S&W's range is only equal to a good in-line muzzleloader. Why cant I carry my 44? I would love to have a chance to carry just a pistol in these areas.