Photo by Ron Sinfelt

By Kristine Latham

December deer hunting in Pennsylvania is some of the best in the East. Here's a look at where to find some great late-season whitetail hunting near you this month!

Doug Dunkerley, the PGC's land manager for SGL 232, is excited about the potential for the new land.

Sharecrop farmers have already planted soybeans, corn, hay, oats and alfalfa in addition to several acres of sunflowers. The land contains a mixture of hardwoods and softwoods, with wetlands scattered among the flats, including Buffalo Creek.

If you're planning to check out SGL 232, take Interstate Route 70 west from Washington to state Route 231.

According to Seth, these game lands are the most under-hunted in the region. Both areas are good late-season choices for December hunters.

Scott Bills, a Dauphin County land manager, thinks SGL 211 west of Philadelphia and Swatara State Park in Dauphin County off I-81 north of Lickdale should offer great December deer hunting this season.

"This is a great late-season hunting spot, with especially good hunting in the lowlands and creek bottoms," Bills said, noting that there are with approximately 79,000 acres of land available to December deer hunters. This game lands is most popular with first-day hunters, but by December you'll have the woods to yourself.

At 44,343 acres (the second-largest game lands in the state), SGL 211 offers great late-season hunting off state Route 322 in Dauphin County and Route 325 in Schuylkill County. Clarke's Valley Road cuts lengthwise through the game lands.

Bills said that SGLs 80, 110, 106, 211, 217 and 168 are called the "Wall of Game Lands" in the Blue Ridge Mountains. All boast great hunting northwest of Philadelphia, and hunters will also find good opportunities at Swatara State Park in SGL 211, and the famed Hawk Mountain in SGL 106.

The Pennsylvania National Guard and the Harrisburg Water Authority are involved in a proposed land swap with the Pennsylvania Game Commission. A proposed three-way deal would involve the National Guard buying 1,800 acres of the DeHart Reservoir watershed from the Harrisburg Water Authority, which would then turn the property over to the Pennsylvania Game Commission. In turn, the PGC would give up a six-mile strip of land along the north side of Second Mountain between Cold Spring Road and the Middle Paxton Township line.

National Guard officials say they need the land as a safety buffer for firing ranges on the south side of Second Mountain. A buffer zone the National Guard is asking for would extend down the north slope of Second Mountain to Stony Creek.

A National Guard spokesman said they would allow hunters and others access in the same way they allow access to other National Guard lands. However, some hunters pointed out that, as with other National Guard lands, it could be closed to the public to accommodate training activities.

In the other part of the three-way deal, the land the PGC would receive could link SGLs 211 and 210, thereby creating the largest game lands area in the state.

National Guard officials say the proposal is still in its early stages, and none of the three entities has yet approved the deal.