Fall 2027 PA OUTDOORS woods and waterways
By Logan Moyer
Tyler Wilbur started hunting like everybody else in Pennsylvania – by going out for a hunt with his dad.
At first, it was just groundhog hunting and some weekend adventures. Eventually, Tyler got his hunting license at the age of 12 and shot his first deer on the first day of rifle season that year.
“I just loved to tag along with him,” he said. “I always just loved being outside; you couldn’t keep me inside at all when I was little growing up.”
Decades later, Tyler still recalls that hunt vividly. He described it as a cold Saturday morning, one where his dad spotted a six-point buck 100 yards out. Tyler hit the shot, and it was at that moment that he saw a side of his father he had never perceived before.
“He got very emotional after we recovered the buck and everything,” he recalled. “That was like a head-tilting moment for me. I knew there was a lot more to this than just shouldering the rifle and pulling the trigger.”
A Mechanicsburg resident who hails from Lebanon County and Annville-Cleona High School, Tyler now sees the full picture, enjoying weekend hunting trips with his three children.
He described his son as being very much like himself, hating being indoors and loving the feeling of the outdoors. He watches his son’s eyes get big as he takes in all of the different sounds and trees.
“It’s wild to me,” he said, “because it seems like not that long ago I was in their shoes, you know? It’s super neat to really see it come full circle as a parent.”
There are not many types of hunting that Tyler isn’t involved in, but he said that whitetail, bear and predator hunting are his favorites. Using a bow is typically his preferred method, saying that he loves the challenge. The most important item in his hunting pack is his grunt call, and Zebra Cakes are his favorite tree stand snack. He also noted that he was “bit by the turkey bug” recently.
Tyler goes all over the place for his hunting but primarily operates out of the family’s cabin up in Tioga County. Unlike his children, Tyler’s wife, Britny, has not taken too much to Tyler’s favorite hobby.
Britny went hunting with Tyler one time up at the family cabin. As he described it, she came equipped with a sleeping bag and a grocery bag full of snacks and coffee to keep her warm.
“It was deer rifle season, and I didn’t think it was terrible,” he said. “We got up in this super short, like 8-foot double-seated ladder stand. ... I look over, and she isn’t saying a word because she is shivering so bad all bundled up in her sleeping bag.”
Shortly after daybreak, Tyler had to take Britny back to the cabin, where it was much warmer and where snacks need not be restricted to a plastic grocery bag. She has not braved the great outdoors with Tyler since that occasion.
Nonetheless, hunting has become a way of life for the Wilbur family. Tyler puts food on the table, and not in the metaphorical financial sense.
“It’s a way to provide for your family,” he said. I think over time people have gotten away from that. It’s much easier to go to the grocery store and pick out a T-bone steak for $40 versus going out and sitting in a tree for eight hours a day.”
He also noted hunting’s ability to teach his children patience and resilience, saying that you can overcome a lot of things in life if you learn those two abilities.
There are not many times that hunting is not on Tyler’s mind. About three years ago, the family purchased their first home, which came with a little bit of huntable land in the area around the property.
During the house showing with his wife and the realtor, Tyler slipped out the back door and saw that some deer had rubbed their antlers off on the surrounding trees. “All right, game on,” he said.
On the day of the settlement, Tyler threw a camera up in the woods. Two days later, he saw a gigantic six-point buck on the feed. What ensued was a years-long cat-and-mouse game that Tyler described as one of his most memorable hunts.
“He was very bossy,” Tyler said. “You could tell that he was kind of the head honcho. ... The next year, he didn’t stick around long. He was very sporadic; he would kind of go in a circuit.”
When Tyler was home, there was no sign of the “head honcho.” But went he went up to the cabin for the weekend, he would be all over the camera feed. There were a few times that he almost made the multi-hour trip in the middle of the night to chase him the next morning, but he knew that the buck would simply disappear if he did so.
Eventually, on a random morning when he was on a doe mission, he heard a twig pop. It was him.
“I look, and 15 yards to my left, he’s just standing there,” he described. “I hit him perfect, right behind the shoulder. ... I went back and I called (Britny), made all my calls and everything. It was a great time, man.”
Another memorable hunt he recalled was his pursuit of a 704-pound bear. Everybody else in the hunting party at the Tioga cabin had gotten a bear the year prior, leading to some good-natured fun being poked in his direction.
He responded by getting the biggest prize of them all. When he called the game warden, he was told that it was the biggest bear the warden had ever processed.
“As we got closer, he grew bigger,” he said. “I thought he was big, but I didn’t think he was truly that big. ... When they pull the tooth, you get a certificate in the mail that tells you pretty much how old they (were). My bear was 23 and a half years old.”
While memories from many hunts live fresh in his mind, Tyler uses social media to catalog the rest. Found at @tywilbur59 on Instagram, he has over 700 posts, most of which deal with his outdoor life.
A large part of that social media presence is with “Legacy Pursuit,” of which he is a team member. Legacy Pursuit focuses on the family, conservation and traditional parts of hunting. Legacy Pursuit can be found by searching “legacypursuit_” on Instagram.
“For me, it is exactly how it sounds,” he said. “It’s pursuit of the legacy that we leave behind, and it’s all about passing on that family tradition and seeing things come full circle in the outdoors.”
Tyler said that he’s made many great friends through the effort and has been sponsored by various different companies as a result.
Sticking with the traditional aspect of hunting, Tyler discussed the vast and endless technological advantages that hunters now have, if they choose to use them.
“I think we’re riding a really fine line as far as fair chase goes,” he said. “How easy is it for a guy to fly a drone up 1,000 feet in the air and see heat signatures. ... You’re kind of getting away from putting boots on the ground and just hiking over the next hill.
“I think it’s degenerative in a little bit of a way from developing your woodsman skills,” he added.
Regardless, Tyler’s trips up to the Tioga cabin still remind him of that first trip out into the woods with his “pap.” Though now much taller and able to hang on his own, he’s still hunting with his dad and uncles, just like he was back in the day.
At first, it was just groundhog hunting and some weekend adventures. Eventually, Tyler got his hunting license at the age of 12 and shot his first deer on the first day of rifle season that year.
“I just loved to tag along with him,” he said. “I always just loved being outside; you couldn’t keep me inside at all when I was little growing up.”
Decades later, Tyler still recalls that hunt vividly. He described it as a cold Saturday morning, one where his dad spotted a six-point buck 100 yards out. Tyler hit the shot, and it was at that moment that he saw a side of his father he had never perceived before.
“He got very emotional after we recovered the buck and everything,” he recalled. “That was like a head-tilting moment for me. I knew there was a lot more to this than just shouldering the rifle and pulling the trigger.”
A Mechanicsburg resident who hails from Lebanon County and Annville-Cleona High School, Tyler now sees the full picture, enjoying weekend hunting trips with his three children.
He described his son as being very much like himself, hating being indoors and loving the feeling of the outdoors. He watches his son’s eyes get big as he takes in all of the different sounds and trees.
“It’s wild to me,” he said, “because it seems like not that long ago I was in their shoes, you know? It’s super neat to really see it come full circle as a parent.”
There are not many types of hunting that Tyler isn’t involved in, but he said that whitetail, bear and predator hunting are his favorites. Using a bow is typically his preferred method, saying that he loves the challenge. The most important item in his hunting pack is his grunt call, and Zebra Cakes are his favorite tree stand snack. He also noted that he was “bit by the turkey bug” recently.
Tyler goes all over the place for his hunting but primarily operates out of the family’s cabin up in Tioga County. Unlike his children, Tyler’s wife, Britny, has not taken too much to Tyler’s favorite hobby.
Britny went hunting with Tyler one time up at the family cabin. As he described it, she came equipped with a sleeping bag and a grocery bag full of snacks and coffee to keep her warm.
“It was deer rifle season, and I didn’t think it was terrible,” he said. “We got up in this super short, like 8-foot double-seated ladder stand. ... I look over, and she isn’t saying a word because she is shivering so bad all bundled up in her sleeping bag.”
Shortly after daybreak, Tyler had to take Britny back to the cabin, where it was much warmer and where snacks need not be restricted to a plastic grocery bag. She has not braved the great outdoors with Tyler since that occasion.
Nonetheless, hunting has become a way of life for the Wilbur family. Tyler puts food on the table, and not in the metaphorical financial sense.
“It’s a way to provide for your family,” he said. I think over time people have gotten away from that. It’s much easier to go to the grocery store and pick out a T-bone steak for $40 versus going out and sitting in a tree for eight hours a day.”
He also noted hunting’s ability to teach his children patience and resilience, saying that you can overcome a lot of things in life if you learn those two abilities.
There are not many times that hunting is not on Tyler’s mind. About three years ago, the family purchased their first home, which came with a little bit of huntable land in the area around the property.
During the house showing with his wife and the realtor, Tyler slipped out the back door and saw that some deer had rubbed their antlers off on the surrounding trees. “All right, game on,” he said.
On the day of the settlement, Tyler threw a camera up in the woods. Two days later, he saw a gigantic six-point buck on the feed. What ensued was a years-long cat-and-mouse game that Tyler described as one of his most memorable hunts.
“He was very bossy,” Tyler said. “You could tell that he was kind of the head honcho. ... The next year, he didn’t stick around long. He was very sporadic; he would kind of go in a circuit.”
When Tyler was home, there was no sign of the “head honcho.” But went he went up to the cabin for the weekend, he would be all over the camera feed. There were a few times that he almost made the multi-hour trip in the middle of the night to chase him the next morning, but he knew that the buck would simply disappear if he did so.
Eventually, on a random morning when he was on a doe mission, he heard a twig pop. It was him.
“I look, and 15 yards to my left, he’s just standing there,” he described. “I hit him perfect, right behind the shoulder. ... I went back and I called (Britny), made all my calls and everything. It was a great time, man.”
Another memorable hunt he recalled was his pursuit of a 704-pound bear. Everybody else in the hunting party at the Tioga cabin had gotten a bear the year prior, leading to some good-natured fun being poked in his direction.
He responded by getting the biggest prize of them all. When he called the game warden, he was told that it was the biggest bear the warden had ever processed.
“As we got closer, he grew bigger,” he said. “I thought he was big, but I didn’t think he was truly that big. ... When they pull the tooth, you get a certificate in the mail that tells you pretty much how old they (were). My bear was 23 and a half years old.”
While memories from many hunts live fresh in his mind, Tyler uses social media to catalog the rest. Found at @tywilbur59 on Instagram, he has over 700 posts, most of which deal with his outdoor life.
A large part of that social media presence is with “Legacy Pursuit,” of which he is a team member. Legacy Pursuit focuses on the family, conservation and traditional parts of hunting. Legacy Pursuit can be found by searching “legacypursuit_” on Instagram.
“For me, it is exactly how it sounds,” he said. “It’s pursuit of the legacy that we leave behind, and it’s all about passing on that family tradition and seeing things come full circle in the outdoors.”
Tyler said that he’s made many great friends through the effort and has been sponsored by various different companies as a result.
Sticking with the traditional aspect of hunting, Tyler discussed the vast and endless technological advantages that hunters now have, if they choose to use them.
“I think we’re riding a really fine line as far as fair chase goes,” he said. “How easy is it for a guy to fly a drone up 1,000 feet in the air and see heat signatures. ... You’re kind of getting away from putting boots on the ground and just hiking over the next hill.
“I think it’s degenerative in a little bit of a way from developing your woodsman skills,” he added.
Regardless, Tyler’s trips up to the Tioga cabin still remind him of that first trip out into the woods with his “pap.” Though now much taller and able to hang on his own, he’s still hunting with his dad and uncles, just like he was back in the day.
