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

[Tioga]

I finialy killed one but i think he was blind and def he was so old,lol.

Heck I'm so hard up for deer meat that I'd settle for one of those.  :D

[RedShaft]

during archery i seen 5 deer all season till last day, then i seen my first buck of year and 4 doe. since rifle i have 6 full days to hunt and the 1hr and 15 miin. i got after work i seen 2 doe first day, that all deer i seen. to say this is gettin old is an understatment. now i am hunting pulic land here in south central Pa. some of those dya i sat dark till dark and some i sat in the morning evening and walked midday. the other day, 2 days after a snow i walked all over the place and seen 4 sets of tracks. than yeserday miday i walked from just after 12 till about 2:30 and never seen a deer track! it just gets to ya, ya know... id like to just see doe.. i did'nt have one opertunity all year at a deer. and i hunted all of archery but like 4 days. so im out there alot. im sorry to go on guys but im just so frustrated with hunting around here. And tryin to put my wife on deer, its so hard to just find some, no wonder people are so upset. this is first time i have not ever taken a deer and never had a chance to even draw. its been gettin worse year after year im dreading next season, just thinking how bad its goin to be hunting public land.

[Tioga]

It's a tough row to hoe for sure. 30 days of bowhunting, 5 days of cruising the ridgetops turkey hunting, 3 days of driving bears and 10 days of rifle hunting netted 17 total deer sightings for me.      

What really burns my butt is that unless a guy gets into an area that has been cut and allows the sun to get in, there's no new oak regeneration that I can see. 100 year old hardwood ridges that haven't been thinned or cut are same ol' same ol'.

I don't subscribe to any of the conspiracy theories, but I have to believe that if we don't get a handle on this madness, our hunting heritage here in Pa is going to be in big trouble.  :(

[Tioga]

I just read the quoted post on another board. The poster is a DCNR cheerleader. This is the kind of attitude that truly scares me. I think it's dispicable. SHED HUNTERS?   :rolleyes:  

   

My thoughts: Public land hunters must now be flexible to find the pockets of deer. I know some good spots and do not share them. You should do the same.
Also, there really is only enough deer habitat in this state for 700,000 deer hunters. WE MUST SHED HUNTERS. It will be painfull in $$$ terms(short term). But, the quicker the better. The big racks being taken will keep us stable at 750,000 or so hunters. Big bucks sell licenses!!! It won't be quanity now. It will be quality. Also, rack hunters will pay more $$$ for licenses and not complain about it. Once the complainers are gone, we can get the much needed license hike and it will offset the loss in #'s.
 

[RedShaft]

I Just threw up in my mouth!!!!  

[danseitz]

Sounds like your typical Democrat/Commie that knows what's good for us.

[Izzy]

My pa in law hunts the Pond Eddy off of the Delaware area and I remember when I first met mey wife he showed me crazy buck pole pics full of deer.Now he comes way north to the foothills of the Adirondacks with very low deer densities to hunt with me and sees more deer than down in PA.I hope it gets better for you fellas soon.

[ErikT]

Why are there now so many more 2.5 year old and 3.5 year old bucks being taken in PA?  There used to be the odd trophy buck here and there but now it seems there are significantly more "older" bucks running around.  Before, all I saw was 18 month old bucks and there were a lot more of them!  I also used to see "herds" of deer pass through my stand in rifle season.  There would be lines of up to 20 does run buy with maybe a spike or forkhorn at the rear.  Now, I usually see a singles or small groups.

[Tioga]

Why are there now so many more 2.5 year old and 3.5 year old bucks being taken in PA?

It stands to reason, that with an AR program, more bucks will be moved into older age classes provided they don't get shot as 7 month old button bucks due to higher doe tag allocations. No science there. How many more bucks are being pushed into this age class is anybodies guess this year. But I'm willing to wager that the buck harvest in 2G will be down by at least 20% this year as compared to last year(which was way down to begin with) and that the total statewide buck harvest "PGC estimate" with be below 110K. Nothing to write home about really.

But......riddle me this. If in fact, our herd health has improved, and the breeding window has gone from 5 months to 2 months, and our fawns are being dropped in a shorter time span, and our fawns are born healthier.....then using your words "many more 2.5 year old and 3.5 year old bucks being taken in PA", why are so many sublegal bucks being born and making it to the next age class. One would think that bucks born to healthier does would have a great chance of becoming AR legal 18 month old deer. Not?

     

Before, all I saw was 18 month old bucks and there were a lot more of them!

Yup. That's was before so many button bucks were getting harvested as does thanks to higher doe tag allocations and longer doe seasons. BTW...I made great enjoyment out of seeing those 18 month old deer. Sure beat the heck out of staring at the trillium growing like I do now.

     

I also used to see "herds" of deer pass through my stand in rifle season.  There would be lines of up to 20 does run buy with maybe a spike or forkhorn at the rear.  

I can't relate to that because I've never seen a herd of deer that size on any single day that I've hunted Tioga County over the last 30 years. But one thing I can relate to is that we've been hunting and killing 2.5 and older year old deer in Tioga County for many many moons partner. Mature deer ain't nothin' new in these parts.

     

Now, I usually see a singles or small groups.

Count your blessings. I've seen one "group" this year. A doe and her fawn. And they both went over the hill and fell victim to a pair of 30/06s.

[danseitz]

These anecdotal opinions/reports we trade are often of the apple/oranges variety.  There is a big difference between hunting on public land and private.  Sure, there is some public land that still holds deer.  I understand that by faith, because I don't know of any myself.  I believe those who say that the public land they are familiar with still has some deer.  But I also believe those who have reported from many areas of the state that the deer population is so low that it is really unhuntable.  We are no longer hunting but taking an armed hike.

Do not expect anything from the game commission.  Most likely their figures won't show a decline.  They'll talk about the success they've had in providing hunting "opportunities."  Try eating an "opportunity."  I expect the usual bs laden harvest report that has been a specialty the last dozen years.  Crossgun sales are on the rise, so the "archery???" season will be filled with rifle hunters taking advantage of a "hunting opportunity."  Yippee!

[Earl Jeff]

Why are there now so many more 2.5 year old and 3.5 year old bucks being taken in PA?
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I love the antler restriction, it slaughtering the rest of the herd I'm against

[danseitz]

Earl jeff,

how do you know that there are?

[Earl Jeff]

Dan that was a copy and paste from another post. the point I'm trying to get acrossed is that there are some really large bucks being taken in my area but a lot fewer deer and the buck to doe ratio has filped floped at the butcher he had less than a third of the deer he used to get and a lot more bucks than doe?? Check out the trail cam pic from the back yard of one of my neighbors and also the buck that another neighbor son shot this year. the trail camera buck is still on the loose.

[ErikT]

Originally posted by danseitz:
Earl jeff,

how do you know that there are?

Dan,  That was my quote.  It is what I see and experience through personal observation. It only stands to reason that more deer in this age class will be killed because a/r allow them to carry over.

Tioga has a point in that we are not seeing a greater number of 18 month old deer that are a/r legal.  You would think that we would with a genetically superior and healthier deer herd but I think I saw more a/r legal 18 month old's prior to the antler restrictions.  Then again, there were a lot more of them to look at then!

[danseitz]

Depending where you are in this state, there are some big rack bucks, especially in the Pittsburgh and Phila suburbs.  Also private land that has been thoughtfully managed will sport some nice bucks.

The problem is that the herd is so low in many public areas that it isn't worth hunting there anymore.  That is the big change.  Public land--where we are allowed to hunt--has been devistated.  It's a vicious cycle.  The PGC issues tons of doe tags for whatever reason and the public lands get pounded...BECAUSE that is where we are allowed to hunt.

So does the existance of big bucks in the state get me excited?  The answer is a resounding NO.  Why?  Because it doesn't apply to me. I don't have access to private ground that has big bucks or deer period for that matter.  All that I got from the Alt fiasco is public land with very few deer and the stated committment from the PGC herd elimination program people to keeps things that way.

[Earl Jeff]

I AGREE WITH YA DAN THE DEER POPULATION IS TO LOW I'M JUST TRYING TO SAY THAT I LIKE THE ANTER RESTRICTION. THEY NEED TO CUT OUT THE DOE TAGS

[Jim Keller]

Ask the taxidermists how they like the antler restrictions. We've always had nice bucks. Now there are less of them. Less does make less bucks. As a taxidermist, I'm just glad my clients are hunting out of state. If I had to rely on Pa. deer it would be bad. What am I saying. It is bad. I'm a bitter bowhunter and taxidermist.

[danseitz]

Personally, I am not convinced that antler restrictions has brought us more big bucks. And the reason is that the declining herd has upped the percentage but not the number.  And also the use of trail cameras has really taken off which now shows us what prows around when we're tucked in at night in our pjs.

[Jim Keller]

I think antler restrictions will work, but not with our current program of low deer numbers. I remember when Gary Alt was selling it, I said to a buddy that it would really help our taxidermy businesses. He didn't agree. He was really worried about the doe kill. He was right, I was wrong. When all deer numbers go down, so do the big buck numbers. Where I hunt in Clearfield Co. the scrubs are breeding, that's mostly what we have. The finny thing is ,it's not just Pa.. I'm reading it on here about Wis. hunters are upset and N.Y. hunters too.

[danseitz]

TTT