First time hunting out of state

[treeroot]

I have an opportunity to go hit public in pa for a few Saturdays. With that said, I've never hunted out of my own state. Since I appear to be the only crazy one out of my hunting friends I'll probably be alone.

Those of you that have gone to other states what do I need to know?

Any must bring gear?

Any and all info or recommendations needed. I've been aerial scouting and have a few places in mind within the time frame I have. I don't expect to set any records hitting brand new ground, an opportunity on any buck is an award at this point whether I shoot or not.

[seazofcheeze]

Cover ground the first 2 days... a lot...as much as possible. I dont mean sit a few different spots, I mean drive, hike, scout, glass, etc. Find the deer first, then hunt.

[backstraps]

Cover ground the first 2 days... a lot...as much as possible. I dont mean sit a few different spots, I mean drive, hike, scout, glass, etc. Find the deer first, then hunt.

Couldn’t agree more. Maybe settle and find a spot to hunt last couple hours of daylight unless you stumble onto some hot fresh big buck sign.

[Tufrthnails]

Know the states game laws and carry a copy in your vehicle that you can reference. Can't tell you how many times something has come up that I either knew but wasn't certain of or just never thought to check.

[treeroot]

Anything out of the normal gear wise?

[treeroot]

I printed the book and I'll read it this weekend.

I called my local officer to find out the ins and outs of bringing meat back if I got lucky. 0 bone can cross the state line. Said I could bring a cap and anters back no brain, skull or skin. Other option is to get it European mounted there and bring it back that way. I'm not confident enough to believe that will happen but I wanted to know.

I've been going nuts this week trying to figure out how to feed the beast so to speak. I do not want to wait until the 16th to go after another buck. I wanted to go to Ohio so I could hunt two days a weekend but reality isn't going to allow it. So looks like maybe a few Saturdays in pa will have to do. I found a few pieces of public within a 1 hr 1/2 drive from my house.

[PK_]

If it was me, I would bring game bags and a good pack. If you have to debone the meat, you may as well be do it in the field. Use that to your advantage to hunt spots where it would be nearly impossible to drag a deer out whole.

Be ready to drive and walk a lot and don’t get attached to hunting a certain piece. If things don’t feel right, cut bait and move to the next. When you find the area and the spot, you will know.

Very important. Bring a flathead screwdriver for the face, because you’re going to kill a stud. Don’t think about it any other way.

Be safe, have fun.

[treeroot]

Deboning I'm fine with. I guess mentally I'm trying to figure out on a weekend what I would do with the head. Granted that's getting really ahead of myself but I like to have a solid plan.

So far I'm looking around at 2 places roughly 4,000 acres. I figure I'll have time to see part of one of them in a day of scouting/ hunting. Unless I land on "the spot" and decide to hang and hunt.

I'm going to try and get away from my normal woods/ swamp/ farm lands. Where I'm looking is all river bottom/ hills and valleys. On river bottom terrain where is the best places to start?

[Tufrthnails]

Deboning I'm fine with. I guess mentally I'm trying to figure out on a weekend what I would do with the head. Granted that's getting really ahead of myself but I like to have a solid plan.

So far I'm looking around at 2 places roughly 4,000 acres. I figure I'll have time to see part of one of them in a day of scouting/ hunting. Unless I land on "the spot" and decide to hang and hunt.

I'm going to try and get away from my normal woods/ swamp/ farm lands. Where I'm looking is all river bottom/ hills and valleys. On river bottom terrain where is the best places to start?

If you have the space just bring a turkey frier setup. It’s what we do in KY now that I can’t bring the head back and euro it at home. Cape the head, trim all the accessible tissue and get to simmering. Coat hanger in a cordless drill works good for breaking up the brain cavity tissues. Add dawn to first simmer and just pick tissue as you go. I always wrap the antlers in tin foil to protect them from heat.

[treeroot]

How long is it taking you to get the skull clean? Any time I've boiled it turns into a 4 hour ordeal.