Farabaugh foresees good turkey, bear and deer seasons
The 2009 hunting seasons are building to a crescendo with more reinforcement each week. Last week grouse and squirrel seasons began to the delight of many small game hunters, and just yesterday the one-week antlerless deer muzzleloader season ended.
Along with the muzzleloaders, junior and senior hunters were able to join in the antlerless deer hunt on the final three days.
Rabbit and squirrel hunting seasons opened yesterday, and fall turkey season gets under way Saturday.
One would think that with so much to hunt that the woods would be ablaze with orange, but, surprisingly, that is not the case.
“So far hunting pressure has been pretty light,” Northern Fayette County Wildlife Conservation Officer Jason Farabaugh said. “I’m not seeing many people out, not even on nice days.”
He went on to say, “I put a lot of miles on Wednesday and found only one hunter. People are not traveling.
“There are plenty of deer. I’m seeing a lot of deer.
“I don’t know why the hunters aren’t out there. Is it because of the economy or are they just out finishing up summer yard work because of the weather?”
I was concerned as to just how many deer are out there until I started seeing them in the backyard after finding tracks and droppings months ago.
Hopefully if the borough has the overrun, the woods around it must be loaded with whitetails.
Farabaugh noted that he has also been seeing a fair number of deer. “The other night I was out in the Jefferson Township area, and in a five-square-mile area, I saw close to 100 deer in a two-hour period just before dark. There were deer everywhere. I saw some really nice bucks.”
His buck sightings are not limited to the lowlands. “The other night, on the mountain, one field had 33 deer in it. Some were real nice bucks.”
In answering my query about legal bucks, he said, “Actually, I’m seeing very few bucks that aren’t legal.
“I haven’t seen any Boone and Crockett bucks, but I have heard stories about some. I did see one 10-pointer that was in the 110 to 120 class.”
Deer hunters aren’t the only animals that are scarce. Farabaugh said that he hasn’t run into many small game hunters either.
“I checked four squirrel hunters, one muzzleloader hunter and a bowhunter on Game Lands 51 Tuesday morning.
“The squirrel hunters I’ve spoken with have been pretty successful, but I haven’t seen a single grouse hunter.
“There are a few muzzleloader hunters out, but not a lot of pressure.”
While solitary hunting is best at times, there are also times when we need some help from our fellow hunters to get the deer moving, especially when there is mast and water available as there is in most areas this year. So far, the deer haven’t been forced to move for survival purposes.
Farabaugh checks with the local processing plants to see how hunters are doing, and he knew of three killed by muzzleloader hunters, plus he did check one kill on opening day.
A lot of bowhunters have been hunting over bait. Farabaugh has made a couple of arrests, but the practice is widespread.
“Baiting has been pretty heavy this year,” he said.
While some arrests have been made, he said that every situation is different. “You have to take all the facts into account before making an arrest,” he said. “Sometimes an innocent person just happens to end up in a baited area, but that is usually an exception.”
Recent rains and frost started to defoliate the forests. Farabaugh noted that the leaves are falling everywhere, but the woods are “starting to open up a lot more on the mountains than in the lowlands.”
Turkey season opens Saturday, and Farabaugh says, “Turkey hunters should have an excellent year. I’m seeing a lot of large flocks in 2A, but the flocks are not as big in 2C. There seems to be turkeys everywhere in the district.”
Farabaugh is also raving about bears. “This should be a big bear season,” he said. “There is a good hard mast crop this year. The bears are staying in the woods, so I’m not having as many complaints on them. As long as the food supply holds, they should be active all through bear season.
“There have been some big bears released on Dunbar Mountain. There are reports of one over 500 pounds in the Hardy Hill area, but I believe there are several bears up there over 500 pounds.”
While many hunters stayed home during the warm spell, some who were out created problems by running their ATVs illegally. “We had several problems with ATVs on the first Saturday of archery deer season. I was getting complaints of quads on Co-Op property and the Game Lands. It was archery hunters mostly.”
Legal spotlighting hasn’t become a problem, but illegal night shooting “has been pretty steady. It is really bad. Any help from the public in curbing some of the illegal activity would be appreciated,” Farabaugh said.
Persons suspecting illegal activity at night are encouraged to call the Game Commission’s Southwest Region office at 724-238-9523, where a dispatcher on duty can contact the nearest wildlife officer by radio.
In other news Farabaugh noted that the rifle range at Dunbar is open and the new 50-yard backstop has been completed.
He noted that only paper targets are permitted – no boxes or cans.
Farabaugh said that he is looking for a couple of qualified deputies. Sportsmen interested in trying their hand at law enforcement while making some extra spending money should contact the Southwest Region office and make their intentions known.
Herald-Standard Outdoor Editor Rod Schoener can be contacted online at rschoener@heraldstandard.com.