Hunters had a mixed day Monday on the opening day of the
two-week rifle deer season.
“Diverse,” is how John Dzemyan, Conservation Officer and Land
Manager for McKean and Elk counties, described the day.
“In some areas, hunters saw a good number of deer,” he said.
“Others sat all day and hardly saw a thing. There was a lack of
hunter pressure in some areas and that makes for a slow day.”
Dzemyan said he checked some “nice bucks” throughout the
southern and central portion of McKean County.
“It played out that where there were more hunters, there were
more deer harvested and seen,” Dzemyan admitted.
“There are definitely a lot of deer left. It should be good
hunting the rest of the week. Success was a little bit better than
last year.”
Wildlife Conservation Officer Len Groshek said it was “fairly
slow” for opening day.
The highlight of Groshek’s day was an eight-point taken by a
14-year-old boy in the Cyclone area.
“It was his first deer and it was a beauty,” Groshek
emphasized.
Overall, he said, “The hunting pressure was down in some areas
that I patrol. In other areas there were a good number of hunters.
I looked at some very nice buck that were killed.
“The weather was odd for opening day. Hunters are always hoping
for snow. The guys that did get a deer had to think about taking
care of it quickly because of the warm weather.
“Everybody I talked to saw deer. Because of the warm weather
guys were not moving the deer around. I had some complaints from
hunters who were not seeing too many deer. They were in the
minority of the hunters I talked to today.”
WCO Tom Sabolcik said opening day was “real spotty.”
He added, “In some areas there was a lot of shooting. In other
areas almost none. North of Rixford it sounded like a war zone –
there was a lot of shooting. In other areas there were very few
shots.
“The hunting pressure was not great in some areas, but in other
areas it was. Given the conditions, it’s a tough year to hunt. The
guys that did the scouting found the deer. The guys that relied on
luck weren’t so lucky.”
Sabolcik noted he saw two eight-points with 20-inch spreads.
“I saw some nice buck,” he said. “I didn’t see a lot of deer,
but the ones I saw were healthy.”
Feedback from the hunters was positive, according to
Sabolcik.
“I got a lot of positive comments,” he noted. “A lot of guys
said the antler restrictions were working.”
The WCOs reported only a few minor violations. In addition,
hunter behavior was good.
“I had one or two problems with loaded guns in vehicles,”
Sabolcik admitted. “There were eight mistaken kills. If it’s less
than 10, that’s a good number.”
Steve Peterson of the Mount Jewett Sportsman’s Club was
surprised with the number of deer for the Big Buck contest Monday
night.
“We had way more than I thought,” he said. “We have 10 or 11
deer right now and they are all really big. I was expecting six or
seven deer because the weather was bad for hunting.
“We got some nice 8-, 9- and 10-pointers and there are a couple
we haven’t looked at yet.”
Peterson noted he talked to several hunters on opening day.
“Some saw a lot of deer, others saw some deer and others almost
nothing,” Peterson pointed out.
“I saw some real nice buck at the Mount Jewett Sportsman’s buck
contest,” Dzemyan declared. “All of them would have been first
place a few years ago.”
One hunter who had a successful opening day was Smethport
resident Pattie Tanner Abbott.
Abbott shot a 12-point buck from a distance of 150 yards while
the deer was on the run.
“I’ve lived here for 22 years,” she said. “This is the sixth
buck I’ve shot in this area and the biggest one point-wise.”
The concurrent antlered/antlerless rifle deer season ends Dec.
9.
A reminder that hunters who harvest a deer on or near the Kinzua
Quality Deer Cooperative are encouraged to bring their deer to the
official checking stations today.
All deer are weighed and checked for sex, age and health, and
additional data are collected on antlered deer for points, spread
and beam diameter. The data collected provides critical information
used in managing the herd.
The checking stations are located at the: 1) Warehouse Inn and
Restaurant at the junction of State Routes 59 and 321 near
Marshburg, 2) Willows Restaurant at the junction of State Route 346
and Forest Road 173, and 3) Westline Inn three miles west of U.S.
Route 219. The hours of operation for all checking stations will be
10 a.m.-7 p.m.
The official KQDC checking stations at the Warehouse and Willows
Restaurants will also be open Dec. 2 and Dec. 9.
The KQDC checking station at the Westline Inn will also be open
Dec. 2.
