Marckworth state forest

[DJ_Mack]

Has anyone hunted the Marckworth state forest?  How much modern rifle pressure can I expect there?  Thanks guys. 

[jackelope]

I've not seen much pressure there...nor have I seen many deer there.
My trail cams have all pretty much flopped. Almost no results.

[DJ_Mack]

I've been up there a couple times in the last month scouting around.  I thought it would be fun to predator hunt up there, but as I was walking around I saw some droppings.  This fall will be my first year modern firearm hunting and all I have heard is that it is a sea of orange in October.
 

[jackelope]

It is definitely not a see of orange from what I've seen. Lots of gates, not a lot of "easy" access. Tough to navigate with all the nasty thick brush, blackberries, etc. Don't wear your good hunting clothes in there...they'll get ripped up. Be careful where you walk, there's some crummy footing in those clearcuts. There's deer, they're just tough to come by. I had a camera up for about 3 weeks, dumped a bunch of apples and a couple estrus drip things....during the rut, I had pictures of 3 deer on it.

[DJ_Mack]

How deep in was your trail camera?  Do you think closer by the gates would be busy?  I'm a high school football coach and I can't get away for that long, so I am looking at something closer.

[jackelope]

How deep in was your trail camera?  Do you think closer by the gates would be busy?  I'm a high school football coach and I can't get away for that long, so I am looking at something closer.

Not close to gates.

[tjthebest]

Probably averages about 3 Trucks per gate during modern rifle season on the weekends. End gate usually has around 5 or 6 trucks.

[jackelope]

Probably averages about 3 Trucks per gate during modern rifle season on the weekends. End gate usually has around 5 or 6 trucks.

Wow. That's pretty heavy. More than I've seen in there.

[TriggerMike]

Probably averages about 3 Trucks per gate during modern rifle season on the weekends. End gate usually has around 5 or 6 trucks.

Wow. That's pretty heavy. More than I've seen in there.

Not even counting the guys that come in from the Ben Howard Rd/Cedar Ponds side. At least 1 person glassing in every clear cut on the weekends for Mod Firearm. If you want to get away from people, you have to hike away from the main gate a couple miles.