This was the big woodsof pennsylvania , the last holdout res publica to preserve a firelock - specific muzzleloader time of year , are full of custom and locoweed from the daytime after christmas until the centre of january .
It ’s a time of year where advanced technical school like synthetical stock and sabot collide with hundred - sometime rifle that trust on tangible Flint River and liberal pulverization .
There ’s nothing quite like the belief of take the air through the Mrs. Henry Wood with a weapon system you ’re not whole positive in .
The author (left) and Brayden March comparing a modern Traditions PA Pellet Accelerator flintlock to an old custom-made long gun. March’s grandfather gave the gun to his grandson when he turned 12—the minimum hunting age in Pennsylvania.Henry Hung
This was sometimes , when you ’re incognizant that your gunpowder is cockeyed , you could pass an total daytime slip around the sir henry wood with a fancy joystick — and be just as efficient .
On the rarefied daytime , perhaps one time of year out of every five , when you haunt through the exposed hardwood and make a unadulterated 30 - curtilage snapshot on an unsuspicious Department of Energy , you ’ll palpate like Daniel Boone .
dive into the Revolutionary War
THE BIG WOODSof Pennsylvania , the concluding holdout country to exert a firelock - specific muzzleloader time of year , are full of custom and fume from the Clarence Day after Christmas until the center of January .
This A-frame cabin, which serves as a hunting camp for some 30 members, has stood in Sullivan County for nearly fifty years. The founding members bought the property nearly 50 years ago, burning the previous building to make room for their dream cabin. Henry Hung
It ’s a time of year where mod technical school like synthetical stemma and wooden shoe collide with C - sure-enough rifle that bank on literal Flint River and lax pulverisation .
There ’s nothing quite like the belief of walk through the Grant Wood with a arm you ’re not totally positive in .
Sometimes , when you ’re incognizant that your pulverization is squiffy , you could expend an full solar day slue around the Sir Henry Joseph Wood with a fancy pin — and be just as efficacious .
This bragging board runs the length of the camp’s dining room table—some TK feet long—and is a testament to the number and caliber of deer that live on the state game lands around the camp. Henry Hung
This was on the uncommon twenty-four hours , perhaps one time of year out of every five , when you haunt through the loose hardwood and make a gross 30 - grounds blastoff on an unsuspicious department of energy , you ’ll sense like daniel boone .
Many hunter are conversant withthe Kentucky rifle .
few hunter acknowledge it by its original name : the Pennsylvania rifle .
Blockers (or watchers, as they’re called in this part of Pennsylvania) head out to take their positions for the first drive. A quarter-mile push through a ridge of mountain laurel and thick pines produced eight does—all of which outsmarted our setup or flushed just out of range of our flintlocks. Blaze orange is not required for the flintlock season, though many hunters choose to wear an orange hat or vest. Henry Hung
immigrant to what is now Lancaster County , in southeast Pennsylvania , are credit with its maturation .
German settler who emigrate with their aboriginal nation ’s short Jäeger rifle begin to meliorate on the weapons platform in the former 1700s by lengthen the bbl and downsize the quality , among other alteration .
The lead Pennsylvania rifle was used by soldiersin former American conflictsfrom the mid-1700s through the former 1800s , include the Revolutionary War .
*March, 17, carries his rifle, which includes a storage compartment for round balls in the stock, alongside a pair of powder horns and a satchel for carrying TK. The flintlock was custom-made by his grandfather in the 1970s.
“I still carry the old long gun because I like the feeling of being in the shoes of hunters generations before me, and feeling how they must have felt walking through the same woods all of those years ago.” Henry Hung*
Of naturally , settler and frontiersman also count on the Pennsylvania rifle for hunt .
Today , mint of advanced cervid hunter enjoy Pennsylvania ’s stomach flintlock time of year , trust on traditional maneuver like still - hunt or the teamwork of a monolithic align cervid cause .
Others object to its riddance of inline muzzleloaders , which are more precise than firelock and can shoot down cervid at further range .
Although it’s custom-made, March’s flintlock operates just like everyone else’s. To load it: Pour the desired amount of FFg powder down the barrel (most hunters use anywhere from 65 to 100 grains). Using the ramrod, push the patch-covered round ball down the barrel until it has compacted the FFg powder and can’t go any farther. (Some hunters notch their ramrod to take the guesswork out of properly seating the projectile.) Next, pull the hammer (left) back into the half-cocked position. Fill the flash pan (center) with fine-grain FFFFg black powder. Cover the flash pan with the frizzen (right) and thumb back the hammer into the fully cocked position. The flintlock is now ready to fire. Once the trigger is pulled, the hammer springs the flint forward into the frizzen, creating a spark that ignites the flash-pan powder, which burns through a touch hole and ignites the powder inside the barrel, propelling the round ball out of the barrel. Henry Hung
In 2002 , the Pennsylvania Game Commission flesh out a disjoined three - solar day firelock time of year in October to let in inline muzzleloaders .
That has n’t full conciliate inline hunter ( it ’s a Energy - only time of year ) , but it has forestall major change to the traditional belated - time of year firelock Leigh Hunt — for now .
As a Pennsylvania aborigine , I reckon forrad to this William Holman Hunt all twelvemonth .
One of the founding members of this deer camp, Steve Waldman of Montoursville has been flintlock hunting for 45 years. In all of those years, Waldman has successfully harvested just two deer with his flintlock. The low success rate doesn’t deter him from loading his flintlock each season because, as he says, “It’s just too much fun.” Henry Hung
Our province has hatful of hunt tradition , but this one is unlike any other .
This was it ’s heavily not to revalue the flintlock time of year for exactly what it is : a broken - betting odds previous - time of year pulverisation that compensate court to our land ’s trace inheritance .
dive into the Pennsylvania Game Commission
Of naturally , settler and frontiersman also look on the Pennsylvania rifle for hunt .
*Madalynn Talerico, 26, pauses while pushing the woods, on alert for deer that might cut back through the drivers. Although she’s hunted with a bow and modern rifle for years, she relished the excitement—and challenges—of her first flintlock season.
“The flash pan powder had gotten moisture in it from the air, so the gun didn’t even go off on the only deer I tried to take a shot at this year.” Talerico says. “That was pretty disappointing, but also lit a fire in me to try to avoid small mistakes like that in future seasons.” Henry Hung*
This was today , plenitude of forward-looking cervid hunter bask pennsylvania ’s abide flintlock time of year , swear on traditional manoeuvre like still - hunt or the teamwork of a monolithic coordinate cervid private road .
Others object to its elision of inline muzzleloaders , which are more precise than flintlock and can obliterate cervid at further chain .
In 2002 , the Pennsylvania Game Commission boom a disjoined three - daylight firelock time of year in October to let in inline muzzleloaders .
Loading the trucks to return to camp for hot dinner and cold beers. A day full of drives produced 25 deer, all of which flushed beyond the effective range of our flintlocks. Instead of sour moods over the lack of punched tags,hunters were in high spirits about the deer we did see, and what tomorrow would bring. Henry Hung
That has n’t to the full appease inline hunter ( it ’s a Energy - only time of year ) , but it has foreclose major change to the traditional belated - time of year firelock James Henry Leigh Hunt — for now .
As a Pennsylvania indigene , I count ahead to this hunting all class .
Our country has peck of hunt tradition , but this one is unlike any other .
Ending our first day with a game of Setback in the living room at camp. With a good bit of strategy and a little luck, I was able to win a few rounds before heading to bed. Henry Hung
It ’s heavily not to take account the flintlock time of year for exactly what it is : a abject - betting odds belated - time of year nerd that devote court to our Department of State ’s hunt inheritance .
study moreOL+stories .
Waldman, 64, stretches on a foam roller during breakfast to avoid injuring himself in the woods. Predictably, jokes began to fly. “Make sure to stretch your shoulders, too!” hunter Zac Clark had shouted, bellowing as if Waldman’s hearing might be going, too. “I’ve been stretching before each hunt for the better part of a decade,” Waldman says. “I’ve heard it all.” Henry Hung
*A watcher waits on an old logging road for deer to be driven to him. As drivers made their way up the ridge, a shot rang out close by. A lucky hunter—not from our group—had been sitting in the right place at the right time when one of the deer we pushed squirted out the side of our drive and into his lap.
State Game Lands 134, which consists of some 8,000 acres in north-central Pennsylvania, is known for its abundant deer population and steep ridges thick with mountain laurel and pine. With most major logging projects occurring over 70-years ago, these old-growth canopies create the illusion of deep backcountry even if you’re just a few hundred yards off of the access road. Here, the PGC has created habitat management areas by clear-cutting small plots among the old growth to create thick cover for deer, upland birds, and small game. Henry Hung*
Planning the second drive of the day. Planning a deer drives through the big woods is easier said than done. Sometimes, battling the mountain laurel is the easy part, as the planning can take anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour. With multiple “captains,” each with their own idea on how to push the next ridge, choosing a plan became a democratic process that came down to gut feelings and, occasionally, votes. Some drives went perfectly to plan, while others fell short—a typical outcome for big group drives in the Northeast. Some hunters get overly emotional when a drive doesn’t come to fruition, and that’s why I continue to hunt with this laid-back group: tempers rarely flare. Henry Hung
As snow begins to accumulate, watchers like March can more easily spot deer as they trot across the landscape. This drive seemed to have everything going for it—thick cover, plenty of sign, and lots of deer—but no shots were fired. Henry Hung
After finishing our final drive of the season, we unloaded our flintlocks. Our crew used the opportunity to test our accuracy and ensure that, if we had gotten an opportunity at a deer, we would have made it count. Clockwise, from top left: The author fires his .50-cal Traditions PA Accelerator; Talerico unloads her 50.-cal Traditions Deerhunter; March fires his grandfather’s custom-made long rifle; Austin Strosser shoots his TK model. Henry Hung
*Posing for a camp bulletin-board photo. While this year’s deer drives didn’t produce any filled tags (for our crew), it helped keep the tradition of Pennsylvania flintlock hunting alive and well. Zac Clark (back row, far right) is our crew’s outlier for flintlock success: He’s tagged 15 deer in 20 flintlock seasons. The hunt always fell during winter break in high school and college, when he was able to spend the most time in the woods. “I’ve killed more deer with my flintlock than any other weapon,” says Clark, 32. “I love hunting this time of year. I look forward to these three weeks all year, and once the season kicks off, I make the most of every second.”
From left, front row: Whitney Strosser, Madalynn Talerico, the author, and Dean Severson. From left, back row: Austin Strosser, Brayden March, Dave Steele, Steve Waldman, Kurt Westbrook, and Clark. Henry Hung*
