"SGL 118 is typical for this part of the state,'' said Don Garner, the Game Commission's information and education director for the South-central Region. "You have a long mountain ridge that's surrounded at the base by farmland. SGL 118 is on top of the mountain and the farms are down below. The deer go to the farms to feed, but they live on the mountain.''

Garner said SGL 118 is a good bet for deer hunters because the tract has a lot of deer and it sees little hunting pressure, even during the firearms season.

"The reason it is lightly pressured is because of accessibility,'' he said. "This is tough, up-and-down hunting, and you have to be prepared to do a lot of walking. If you do, you will find a lot of deer that haven't had much interaction with hunters.''

The northern section of SGL 118 is the least accessible. No roads cut through it and the only parking lot is along Route 22 east of Water Street, at the extreme northern tip of the tract. From there, hunters must hike up a steep ridge to get to the heart of the tract. This piece of SGL 118 is only about a quarter the size of the southern section, which is also more accessible. There are parking lots along state Route 2013 east of Covedale and next to a Game Commission storage building off township Route 397 east of the village of Larke.

For more information on SGL 118, contact the Game Commission's Southcentral Region office at (814) 643-1831.

OHIOPYLE STATE PARK
Located in Fayette and Somerset counties, Ohiopyle State Park encompasses 19,052 acres surrounding the Youghiogheny River. Just over 18,000 acres of the park are open to hunting. The Youghiogheny River Gorge stretches for 14 miles through the heart of Ohiopyle and is generally characterized by extremely rugged terrain. Flintlockers looking to beat the crowds should check out the gorge area. It's steep and it's deep, but there are flat sanctuaries where deer like to go to escape hunting pressure.

Other good bets are the undeveloped southwest corner of the park between Greenbriar and Dunbar roads, and the undeveloped northeast corner between Fire Tower Road and the Youghiogheny River.

To get to Ohiopyle State Park, take Route 40 east from Uniontown, and then turn north on Route 381, which bisects the park. For a map of Ohiopyle State Park, call the park office at (724) 329-8591.

FURNACE HILLS
Travel east of Harrisburg on the Pennsylvania Turnpike for about 30 minutes and you'll drive through a line of mountains known locally as the Furnace Hills on the Lancaster-Lebanon county line. The Game Commission owns 13,300 acres of land here in three tracts -- SGLs 145, 156 and 46.

Covering some 2,815 acres off Route 117 in southern Lebanon County, SGL 145 is the westernmost tract of public land in the Furnace Hills. Game Commission foresters say SGL 145 is dominated by trees that do not bear mast, which is why the agency has created a number of food plots on the tract. These one- and two-acre food plots attract deer like magnets and hunters can expect to find them in the thickets nearby.

About two miles east of SGL 145 on Route 322 is the 4,957-acre SGL 156 in Lancaster and Lebanon counties. A good bet for late-season flintlockers is the area south of Route 322 and west of Pumping Station Road.

Three miles east of SGL 156 is SGL 46, which surrounds the Middle Creek Wildlife Management Area off Route 897. SGL 46 covers 6,254 acres in Lebanon and Lancaster counties. Deer hunting on a good chunk of the Middle Creek property is permitted only two days per year, so it becomes a sanctuary that deer seek out from miles around as the hunting season wears on.

Look for deer on the hardwood ridges east and west of Hopeland Road south of Middle Creek. Also, check out the agricultural fields along Sunnyside Drive. For information and maps on the Furnace Hills game lands, call the Game Commission's southeast region office at (610) 926-3136.

Pennsylvania's winter flintlock season is the last deer hunt of the year. Don't miss this last chance to fill your tags!