Oct 22, 2016 3 min read

If you haven’t checked out the Big-Bick Trail Cam Contest the Pennsylvania Game Commission is currently holding, you’re missing out on a great opportunity to see some of the biggest deer in the state in their natural evironment.

The commission began the contest Aug. 1 and it runs through Nov. 30 and “contending” photos from each month are placed on the commission’s Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/PennsylvaniaGameCommission.

If you have a photo of a big buck you captured on a trail cam and want to submit it for the contest, you can send it to PGCtrailcam@pa.gov. Winners are selected monthly.

All submissions must include the photographer’s first and last name, hometown, and the county where the deer image was recorded. Don’t worry, you don’t have to give up the exact location of your big buck.

Name and hometown will not be shared if the image is selected for a Facebook post.

• All antlerless deer licenses are sold out in Wildlife Management Unit 2A, which includes all of Greene, most of Washington and portions of Fayette and Westmoreland counties.

The commission slashed its antlerless license permit totals from 46,000 to 43,000 in 2015 but didn’t sell out until right before the start of the season. Tags have been unavailable now for nearly two weeks in 2A this year.

Hunters hoping to acquire a tag to hunt locally still have some opportunities. WMU 2B, which includes the northeast edge of Washington County and the western edge of Westmoreland County in addition to all of Allegheny, still has 15,709 licenses still available as of Friday afternoon.

All other antlerless licenses are sold out across the state.

• The Pittsburgh and Suburban Rifle League kicked off competition with a match between defending champion Frazier-Simplex and NRA national champion Dormont-Mt. Lebanon. It didn’t disappoint.

Dormont-Mt. Lebanon, which lost the PSRL championship last season on a shoot-off, avenged that loss with a 1,484-1,473 victory.

Dean Trew, Amy Smith and Matt Piatt all shot 298s – high scores for the league week – for the winners, who also got a 297 from Jason Piatt and a 293 from Tom Benedict.

Haley Wilkerson, Cyril Walther and John Husk all fired 296 for Frazier. Tom Morley had a 293 and Wade Richards a 292.

Dormont-Mt. Lebanon improved to 2-0 with a 1,482-1,373 win over Irwin Post 228.

Smith was again in fine form with a 299 to take high individual week honors, while Curtis Turner and Trew turned in 297s. Benedict shot a 295, while Jason Allshouse fired a 294.

Frazier-Simplex rebounded from its loss with a 1,471-1,429 win over Allegheny behind Husk and Walther, who both shot 298. Morley had a 293, while Cailey Dahlquist and Sylvia Driestadt chipped in scores of 291.

Both Washington County-based teams look strong again this season.

• With archery season now in full swing, the Observer-Reporter will begin running the results of successful deer hunters on this page.

To report your kill, clip the Deer Kill coupon at the bottom of this page and mail it to the listed address.

If you’d like to report you harvest via email, send it to dlolley@observer-reporter.com. Please list Deer Kill in the subject line.

Outdoors Editor Dale Lolley can be reached at dlolley@observer-reporter.com.