Sherk's Guide Service

01/24/2025

Some of my best big buck encounters started with a lone doe passing by me during the rut. If it’s the rut, any time I see a doe I grab my bow. There’s always that chance that a good buck is on her trail! 🇺🇸🦌

01/23/2025

After the first two days of gun season, I saw a significant decrease of buck daytime activity on my cameras. Then as soon as gun season ended, daytime activity came back to life. It’s as if bucks have an immediate sense of when the pressure starts and when it ends. They can quickly tell if they are being hunted or not! 🇺🇸🦌

01/22/2025

We’re now booking archery clients for 2025. Our hunts will start Oct. 22 and end Nov. 8. We do 3-day and 6-day hunts. If you’re interested in hunting with us this fall, please PM me. Thank you! 🇺🇸🦌

01/21/2025

We didn’t have much on this camera until mid-November. It always seems like bucks extend their search for does the deeper you get into the rut. They start to put more miles on when most of the does have been bred. You can tell by the look on this guy’s face, he’s been rutting hard! 🇺🇸🦌

01/20/2025

We’ve been hunting this buck for a few years now. Personally, I’ve had some close encounters with him. We’ve never been able to find where he spends the summer and early fall months until this past year we got one random trail cam photo of him about 7 miles away from where his rut area is. That’s just as the crow flies. Ironically, in less than 24 hours, we got him on camera in his early fall area and then his rut area, where he stayed the entire rut. The night series of pictures are actually 6:48 am. I never reset the clock the the year before. The old buck crossed over many mountains as well as several rivers and streams (potentially a reservoir) to get to his rut area in less than 20 hours. This is what I call the “rut shift” when bucks leave their core areas and head to rutting grounds. Sometimes these shifts are minimal and sometimes extreme. What I am learning the most about some of these more extreme shifters is that the shift is happening is less than 24 hours. When they make their mind up to go, they don’t stop for days in different areas. They head right to their main destination. It is also very common to see these bucks shifting to the same areas year after year, which really helps when trying to hone in on them during the different parts of the season. 🇺🇸🦌

01/19/2025

Treestand Testimony - Randy Moulton from Massachusetts

I think I can speak for most when I say that I absolutely love hunting. But it’s much more than that. God has truly blessed me with a passion for the outdoors and archery. Through these outlets, it draws me closer to God‘s beautiful creation and the love he has for us as his children. Hunting is so much more than the harvest it’s the pursuit and the time spent in the woods that you truly remember.

“so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.””
‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1‬:‭31‬ ‭

If you would like to share your testimony as to how God has touched your life through hunting, please PM me. Thanks and God bless! 🇺🇸🦌

01/17/2025

I believe some bucks are bigger bullies than others.
I watched this buck throughout the summer as he grew into a beautiful 10-point with split G2’s on each side. Once he shed his velvet, he immediately started to break tines and throughout the rut it seemed as if he was busting up his rack a little more every week. By December, he didn’t have much left for head gear. All in all, over the years, I’ve learned that all bucks have their own individual personalities! To me, this is the kind of stuff that fascinates me as a whitetail hunter! 🇺🇸🦌

01/16/2025

I always love digging into trail cam data and sharing some of my research. Give this one a listen if you get a chance!

Kix Nelson and Pat McFadden interview Steve Sherk Jr., who shares insights from his extensive trail camera study covering over 100,000 acres in Pennsylvania....

01/16/2025

It takes a lot of faith and patience to successfully hunt big woods travel corridors during the rut. I had a client sit here all day on Nov. 1 and never saw a deer. The next day, multiple bucks passed by, with no client on stand. A “no deer” day on stand can be discouraging, but that doesn’t mean you’re always in the wrong spot, especially if it’s a known travel route! 🇺🇸🦌

01/15/2025

In the late-season, the two best times to catch a mature buck on his feet are right before and after a snowstorm, if there’s a good food source in the area. My cameras light up every time a good storm rolls in or after it ends!
🇺🇸🦌

01/14/2025

Big Woods 100% In The Field Scouting Classes (March 14, 21,28)

Learn:
Mountain Buck Bedding
Mock Scrapes
Stand Placement
Trail Camera Placement
Boots On The Ground Scouting
Browse Sources
Wind and Thermals
Seasonal Areas

Price is $125 per person. Classes are most likely from 10am-2pm. PM me for scheduling.

01/14/2025

Sounds like a truck door getting shut, sticks breaking or distant gunshots are enough to send a mature buck on the run. On this day, at exactly 2:31pm, I shot my buck about 500 yards from where this camera took a picture of this big buck running. There’s no doubt in my mind that the sound of my gun shot spooked this buck out of the area. Mature deer know the sounds of potential danger and they rarely take any risks when they sense trouble! 🇺🇸🦌

01/13/2025

A lot of bucks have summer, fall and wintering areas. Many of them will shift before each season begins. These shifts can be small or sometimes many miles. Locating a new buck in the winter doesn’t mean he will be in that area next fall. Nevertheless, it’s always a good thing when you get a good buck on camera after gun season! 🇺🇸🦌

01/12/2025

Treestand Testimonies-
I thank God for the abundance of opportunities that He gives to me as a hunter, but most importantly I thank God that He indeed died on the cross for my wretched sins. Some of my most cherished and appreciated time is while I am sitting in my treestand witnessing God’s handiwork and His prevailing grace on my life. “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” Psalm 19:1 Damien R. From NY

If you feel inspired to share your testimony as to how God has touched your life through hunting, please PM me. Thank you!

01/10/2025

I always see a flurry of scrape activity just as the rut starts to wind down. When bucks have a hard time locating hot does, they seek out scrapes. A buck places his scent on a scrape as if he’s leaving his calling card for all the ladies in the area. This is also another reason why scrape activity peaks right before breeding in mid to late October. 🇺🇸🦌

01/09/2025

With all the trail cameras I have ran over the years during the rut, 11 am seems to be a special hour for big bucks to be on their feet. I wouldn’t say this is the best time for overall deer movement, but I believe 10 am to noon is the best time for mature buck movement during November.
🇺🇸🦌

01/08/2025

Locating hot does with trail cameras in the rut is probably the deadliest tactic a hunter can take advantage of. Anytime I see a buck trailing a doe within 24 hours I put a client in that location. Sometimes it’s just a false alarm, but most of the time it isn’t. When you see multiple bucks show up on a trail that a doe has recently walked, you are almost always in the money. The 24-hour period is key though. They don’t stay in heat very long. Cell cams are huge in this situation. Intel that is more than 48 hours old is usually not worth hunting. 🇺🇸🦌

01/07/2025

Even though I didn’t arrow a buck this past season, I had a tremendous amount of action from Nov. 10-18. I saw over 20 different bucks out of the stand in about a week of hunting. Mid-November is often overlooked by deer hunters. As soon as lockdown ends, the action typically gets hot immediately! 🇺🇸🦌