Pennsylvania hunting question, please.

[bigbore442001]

About three weeks ago my wife and I went to the Poconos for a four day vacation of sorts. We had a great time and the focus of the vacation was for my wife and her enjoyment. After all, hunting season is around the corner.
While I was there I did see quite a few deer, when compared to what I have seen in my area of Massachusetts, except there is a lot of posted land in the Pike County area of Pennsylvania.
I had a thought. I know that Pennsylvania has a week long antlerless season for whitetailed deer. You can use a specialty muzzleloading handgun for deer in the Keystone State for that season. I was wondering if it would be worth the time and money to go to the Pocono area for a week long antlerless hunt on the state game lands that are in the region? One night we did take a ride on some back roads including one state game land and spotted some does and a nice buck. All were in shooting range of my Kahnke M82 pistol. Bear in mind, one of my passions is hunting with a handgun and this specialty muzzleloading handgun is quite powerful and accurate.
I also talked to a gunshop owner in the region and he commented that he would not spend the time or money coming from out of state to hunt Pike County. He recalled the hey day of Pennsylvania in the 1980's and how it changed. I didn't like a comment about how it would be hard to find a track after the first snow today vs. two decades ago.
I did chat with another person who told me that few people hunt that special muzzleloading season thus the woods do not have a lot of hunting pressure.
If anyone is from Pennsylvania or hunts the state, I would appreciate any input. I am thinking about doing this next year as this year is too late for vacation time,etc. Thanks for any replies.

[davem270win]

Don't forget that most state forest land is also open to hunting. I've done some hunting in the Pecks Pond area.

[Deerhunter#1]

you know i am from se pa and we open archery doe for the state two weeks earlier than the rest of the state. I  have yet to see anyone in the last two years even in the game lands by me and have had great success. That said i havent deer hunted much in the poconos but know people who do every year during rifle season and have great success. Hickory run state is always a good spot and if correct has even been the top county for bear harvest the last couple years also. I bet if you went that week of muzzeloder you would see few if any people and the deer are not pressured and shot up from rifle season. If you enjoy hunting as it sounds you do why not it is all about getting out and i am sure you will figure it out real quick. you will have to apply for a doe tag for that county you want to hunt. Another option is if you flintlock handgun hunt with a standard license you can hunt the late season from mid dec to mid jan and shoot a doe or buck with your original tag. deer are fewer by then but would lead to good scouting trip while the woods are open also.

[Steelbanger]

bigbore442001Resident PA hunters get first crack at antlerless licenses and a week or two after sales begin they are opened for non-resident purchase. These sales begin in mid-summer and are usually sold out within a few weeks with some WMU's selling out in a few days.

Unsold licenses, known locally as bonus tags, go on sale later in the summer and you can apply for one of these if any are available. Be aware that all antlerless licenses are for use in a specific Wildlife Management Unit and not statewide.