PA DEER HUNTERS???????????

[mooseman76]

I had a much better season than most, it sounds.  I seen more deer this year than in the past few years.  Not the large groups of deer that I saw when I started hunting 21 years ago, but a decent amount.  The deer I've been seeing are much larger (does included), and I even took the largest buck of my life on Friday.  

I do hear many of the same comments posted here from local hunters.  I'm hunting private land so maybe that helps out.  No doubt that the kill has gone down in the past few years, the number of deer at the processor prove that, but overall I can't complain.  I wish you guys luck the remainder of this season and in seasons to come...Mike

[Tioga]

Two 15 passenger vans,and a pickup full of Amish
put on a big drive in the north mountain yesterday 18 does and 4 bucks killed..

That's more people than can legally hunt in one group. They should be reported.

[Littlejake]

Just what Big Ed said.Gettig a game warden to show up around here is hard to do,not even sure there is one in this area anymore.

[RedShaft]

LOL big ed i agree, them and the Menonite too.

[Big Ed]

Like I stated before,they are not all bad people. I have grown up in close proximities of the both the Amish and Menonite comunites.I have had some of them even complaining of lack of deer.
 As far as the Game Wardens go I have a ton of repect for them. They are spread way to thin. It is not there fault it is the Game Commissions.
 I am very lucky to have larger tracts of private land to hunt or I probably would travel out of state to hunt.

[Earl Jeff]

TTT

[Tioga]

Looks like the Wisconsin DNR has heard quite a bit.

  Story  

 

On the TrailJournal Sentinel outdoors editor Paul A. Smith offers news, notes and perspective on the great outdoors.

Decker: Fire DNR's big game managers
By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 3, 2009  


On the heels of the 2009 gun deer season in which hunters registered the fewest deer in 27 years, State Senator Russ Decker (D–Weston) is calling on the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources to replace the department’s big game wildlife management team.

“I’ve talked with a lot of hunters and business people and everyone has said that this was the worst deer hunting season they have ever had," said Decker in a statement released Thursday. "The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team needs to be brought in that can do the job.”

Decker said if DNR secretary Matt Frank doesn't take action then the Natural Resources Board should.

Hunters registered 195,647 deer in the nine-day gun season that ended Sunday, a 29% drop from 2008 and the lowest total since 1982.

Decker said "Horse hockey" in response to the DNR's explanations for poor harvests the last two years.

“The DNR has become a master of excuses and hunters are sick of them," said Decker, who said he hunted in Lincoln County. "We need a management team who knows what they are doing and one that listens to hunters. The DNR’s earn-a-buck policy, early hunts and wolves are the reason the deer population in Central and Northern Wisconsin is decimated.  Hunters have had the DNR’s overzealous deer management plans crammed down our throats the past few years and what we got was what we knew was going to happen, hunting seasons without many deer in the woods."

Decker said the only good thing to come out of the season was the new mentored hunting program.

The Natural Resources Board is scheduled to hear a report on the 2009 gun deer season and make a decision on the 2010 season format at its meeting next week in Madison.
 

Deckers Letter.....

 Letter  

 

For Immediate Release December 3, 2009
Contact: Senator Russ Decker, (608) 266-2502 or (715) 359-8739
Decker: Fire the DNR’s Big Game Management Team
Madison - After a second consecutive terrible deer hunting season and the worst since 1982, State
Senator Russ Decker (D–Weston) is calling on the Secretary of the Department of Natural Resources
(DNR), Matt Frank, to replace the Department’s big game wildlife management team and if he does
not then the DNR Board should.
“I’ve talked with a lot of hunters and business people and everyone has said that this was the worst
deer hunting season they have ever had. The DNR has mismanaged the deer herd and a new team
needs to be brought in that can do the job,” said Decker.
Last season the DNR’s excuse for the lousy season was that they underestimated the impact of the
harsh 2007-08 winter and that hunters were only in the woods for three or four hours at a time and
might have only hunted a few days out of the nine day season.
“Horse hockey,” said Decker.
This year according to DNR conservation warden Michael Young, warm weather, corn and wet
conditions were responsible for the abysmal harvest. He was quoted in the Green Bay Press Gazette
as saying “We’ve got the warm weather. We’ve got a whole lot of corn up. We’ve got a lot of water …
and a lot of hunters don’t want to go into a lot of areas because they’re going to get wet. …And those
areas are accessible to deer. So they’ll find a nice wet area to hide in and unless somebody steps on
them, they’re not going to move.”
In its state bulletin, the Wisconsin State Climatology office notes that it was very dry in late summer
and September with slightly above-normal rains in late September and October.
“The swamps were pretty dry where our crew was hunting in Lincoln County,” said Decker, who
added, “we don’t let a little water stop us from going after deer.”
Decker went on to say “Our hunting group makes drives and there were simply not many deer. The
DNR has become a master of excuses and hunters are sick of them. We need a management team who
knows what they are doing and one that listens to hunters. The DNR’s earn-a-buck policy, early hunts
and wolves are the reason the deer population in Central and Northern Wisconsin is decimated.
Hunters have had the DNR’s overzealous deer management plans crammed down our throats the past
few years and what we got was what we knew was going to happen, hunting seasons without many
deer in the woods.
“The only good thing to come out this deer season was the mentored hunting program that the
Legislature passed, allowing 10 and 11 year olds to hunt with an adult as long as there is only one
weapon between the two hunters and they are always within arm’s reach of one another,” concluded
Decker.

[Tioga]

The results.....

  Story  

   

DNR backs off proposal for longer gun deer season
By Paul A. Smith of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Dec. 4, 2009

On the Trail Blog
Journal Sentinel outdoors editor Paul A. Smith offers news, notes and perspective on the great outdoors.


The Department of Natural Resources has tabled its proposal for a 16-day gun deer hunt in 2010.

The announcement came Friday in a letter from DNR secretary Matt Frank to the Natural Resources Board.

"Given the preliminary harvest numbers for the 2009 nine-day hunt, we believe it is appropriate to postpone consideration of alternative herd control measures," Frank says in the letter.

Hunters registered 195,647 deer during the 2009 gun hunt that ended Sunday, the fewest in 27 years and 29% less than 2008.

The DNR had planned to present a proposal for a 16-day gun hunt at Tuesday's board meeting in Madison. The proposal resulted from an Earn-A-Buck Alternative Committee, consisting of representatives of conservation, hunting, forestry and agricultural interests.

But the recent low harvest has increased calls from hunters and politicians to do away with any additional deer control strategies.

"I think it's a good move at this point," said George Meyer of Madison, former DNR secretary and current executive director of the Wisconsin Wildlife Federation. "There is a high level of frustration around the state, and this will allow people to more carefully consider the next step."

DNR officials have come under increasing pressure this week as dissatisfaction spread from the ranks of the 638,040 gun deer hunters.

State Sen. Russ Decker (D-Schofield) on Thursday called on the DNR to replace its deer management team, and 22 legislators on Friday requested that the department cancel an antlerless-only hunt planned for Dec. 10-13.

The deer hunting season format is typically finalized each year in April.

"The department will continue to strive for the best deer hunting in the nation with a healthy, sustainable deer herd in balance with its habitat, including keeping crop and forest damage at tolerable levels," Frank said. "We look forward to working with the board, the Legislature, hunters, farmers, forest owners and the public over the months to come."

 

[Earl Jeff]

[Tioga]

What we need is more pressure on the HGFC.

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[monkeyball]

Thank goodness gun season is over.....

[Big Ed]

WOOO HOOOOO!!!

[Earl Jeff]

December 26th let the games begin. nothing like starting the late season the day after the best day of the year. Jesus Birthday, I can't wait.  

[hawkeye n pa]

Yes, it ended around 5:30PM here.  Must have been extended hours I missed in the manual.

[Tioga]

Man am I looking forward to getting out while wearing my snow camo minus the blaze orange.  :D    

[Red Beastmaster]

Snow storm last Saturday, solid ice today. I never heard a shot either day. I don't think anyone was hunting.

Or maybe there was nothing to shoot at.

[wollelybugger]

Deer season over and only saw one deer. The good news is deer season is over. To be fair I didn't see any hunters moving deer where I hunted. I think the PGC will get a ear full from a lot of hunters. The only thing they care about is lack of revenue and they will lose lots of hunters in the upcoming years.

[danseitz]

Since the harvest feature is the product of a mathmatical equation, the pgc can manipulate the data to produce whatever total they desire. I always appreciate the artistry with which they present the factors that contributed to the decline in the harvest. Watch for mention of the last Saturday ice storm and how that kept hunters home in front of their fireplaces. Oh, another good one was the abundant mast crop which kept deer scattered and the hunters confused.

Hey, this is fun! See how many fairy tales you can come up with.

[Dave Bulla]

If it's so bad... Might have to start a class action lawsuit with a couple 100K hunters asking for a refund on their licenses eh?

Kinda like a quote I read from I think Slim Pickens who walked up to a counter in one of the western states and asked for an elephant hunting license.  The clerk asks him to repeat himself and he says "I'd like to buy an elephant license."  The clerk says, "Sir we don't sell elephant licenses.  There are no elephants to hunt in this state."  And Slim answers back, "Well, I've hunted hard for two whole weeks and near as I can tell, you don't have any elk either but you sold me a license to hunt them!"

[customcrester]

Not my best yea,but i did manage to get a doe in archery season and a old buck with a broken up rack the first saturday of gun season.i gust got married and am learning the deer movment patterns on the new property i have to hunt that my wife has owned for the last 5 years.Since the end of september i have gotten 1041 trailcam pics and have pics of 18 differnt bucks,but do you think i see any legal bucks when i hunt,NO!I finialy killed one but i think he was blind and def he was so old,lol.