Pennsylvania Game News - December 2018 - 14

DISPOSING OF DEER PARTS
For those processing their own deer, the best practice for
getting rid of unwanted carcass parts including the legs,
hide, head and rib cage is to bag them with trash that's
sent to a lined landfill. Dumping deer parts on public land
is illegal, and even on private land, discarding parts in areas
where other deer might encounter them poses a risk of
spreading chronic wasting disease to healthy deer. While
CWD surveillance occurs statewide and CWD has not been
detected in many counties, it's still possible the disease
exists in areas where it hasn't been found. All hunters can
do their part to help keep CWD from spreading statewide.

opening day stand, regroup and begin
your search for a second.
This location should be as attractive as
the first, the type of stand that'll make you
think twice about whether you shouldn't
use it instead on the opener.

second stand

Regardless of what it takes to set up
a second hunting location, make a commitment to it.
Nothing offers greater opening-day
peace-of-mind than knowing you've done
all you can do to improve your chances
for success.
You could pick either another location
within walking distance or one within
driving distance. I've been successful
using both types. If you can swing it,
maybe add one of each.
Depending on where you hunt, there
should be alternate stands to occupy. But
the idea here is to go somewhere that
fresh sign indicates it's worth your while,
where it doesn't seem like you're trading
your seat in first-class, for something less.
Switching stands locally provides a
chance to still-hunt from one to the other.
So, sneak along slowly, take in your surroundings. It would be a shame to rush
14

past an incoming deer. Remember, on the
opener, anything's possible.
If you're not excited about going to
your walking-distance plan-B location, it
might be better to stay where you started.
Remember, the idea here is to improve
your chances. That's easy enough when
someone cuts you off or beats you to
your spot. But it's not OK if all you want
is a change of scenery, unless, of course,
results don't matter to you.
Just because a drive or still-hunter
came through your area doesn't mean it's
time to go. Deer regularly elude drivers by
sitting tight, and some drivers just aren't
very good at moving deer effectively.
Deer often move no farther than they
must to avoid hunters, and plenty are
willing to sit tight. Two deer immediately
come to mind as I write this. The first was
one that left me walk within 8 feet of it
as it rested beneath some laurel branches.
When I turned back to shoot at it with the
bow, it tore out of there!
Another was encountered in a drive.
The adult doe was unwilling to go east
to the standers, regardless of how much
I repositioned and coaxed it. My every
move was met with a countermove. She
stayed close - within 15 yards, seemingly
Pennsylvania Game News - December 2018

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