Photo by Kenny Bahr

Pennsylvania's late muzzleloader season is crunch time for hunters, the last chance to put some venison in the freezer for the winter. Sure, firearms and archery hunters have thinned the herd over the past three months. Sure, the weather's cold and the woods are bare. However, the late flintlock season is a super time to fill that remaining buck or doe tag.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission's harvest data, muzzleloader hunters last year bagged 1,090 bucks and 30,180 antlerless deer. The agency doesn't separate deer shot during the October muzzleloader season from deer shot in the late flintlock season, so there's no way of telling how many total deer were shot in the late season. However, only antlerless deer are legal game during the early season, so every one of those bucks registered was taken during the late season.

When you head out for a winter flintlock hunt, keep in mind the fact that deer have been chased around by hunters for quite some time. This means you need to look for deer in places other hunters aren't going to go -- thick brush, nasty swamps and up over steep ridges, to name a few. Rest assured, the deer are out there. It's up to you to find them.

If you're looking for a good place to carry your smokepole into the woods this season, the following five great flintlock hunts should get you started.

ALLEGHENY NATIONAL FOREST
The largest tract of public land in Pennsylvania, Allegheny National Forest covers 513,257 acres in Warren, McKean, Elk and Forest counties.

One area worth checking out is the Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative in northwestern McKean County. This area covers 73,250 acres, including 36,600 acres of Allegheny National Forest land. The Bradford Municipal Water Authority, Collins Companies, Ram Forest Products Inc., and Commonwealth Forestry Improvements own the remaining acreage.

The Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative is managed under the Quality Hunting Ecology program, which strives to improve deer quality, hunter satisfaction, forest ecosystem health and deer habitat. The Kinzua tract is west of Bradford and east of Route 321 from Westline north to the New York border. Access is off routes 346, 770 and 321, among other roads.

For information on the Kinzua Quality Deer Cooperative and the Allegheny National Forest and maps of the area, call the forest's headquarters at (814) 723-5150, or contact the Allegheny National Forest Vacation Bureau at (814) 368-9370.

FRENCH CREEK STATE PARK
In southern Berks County, French Creek State Park covers 7,475 acres. About 10 percent of the park spills over into neighboring Chester County. To get to French Creek, head south from Birdsboro on Route 345, which runs through the middle of the park.

Of French Creek's total area, about 6,000 acres are open to hunting. The park is a popular haunt among the locals, but visiting hunters willing to invest some time scouting should be able to find deer.

Compared with the northern end of Berks County, the terrain in and around French Creek State Park is flat. The land in the park is best characterized as gently rolling forest.

To hunt deer, try the woods around Hopewell Furnace National Historic Site, which is bordered on three sides by French Creek. Hunting is not permitted in the Hopewell Furnace area, which serves as a sanctuary that always holds deer. Hopewell straddles both sides of Route 345 in the southern end of French Creek.

Another good bet is to park at the trailhead at Shed Road and Route 345. Take Mill Creek Trail east into a huge section of unbroken forest. Mill Creek Trail makes a six-mile loop through this roadless area.

The Pine Swamp Natural Area in the southwest corner of the park is another good place to find deer. The cover here is thick and the ground swampy. The conditions tend to keep hunters at bay, which means deer are going to pile in. Pine Swamp Natural Area is off Park Road.

For a map of French Creek, contact the park office at (610) 582-9680.

STATE GAME LANDS 118
Stretching across the top of Tussey Mountain along the county line separating Blair and Huntingdon counties is the 5,932-acre SGL 118, which is divided into two tracts south of the town of Water Street west of Route 26 outside Huntingdon Borough.