ORIGINAL: livbucks
Kevin,
You are right to a point that biologists know better, BUT..
Does the fact that the Game Commission issues excess tags in an area that has few deer to begin with, obligate every hunter to buy those tags and be obligated to fill them all regardless of ability or want? We have butchered this whole issue to death in PA. There are areas in PA that make no sense at all as far as deer management. All I was proposing is, those folks who complain of seeing ZERO deer on most outings in an area that they enjoy hunting, should be very thoughtful and deliberate in the amount of deer they kill there.....just makes COMMON sense.
You're presuming that the area in question has a low deer population based on personal observation by yourself and other hunters , the PGC's estimates are based on well researched data by folks whose very jobs depend on being accurate . Who's more likely to be correct ? .
It isn't unusual for me to go out all day and see only a few deer , even though my region averages 30-45 deer per square mile and I live in a reduction zone for does . Some of the state land here has 50-100 per square mile , yet our hunters also claim that herd numbers are down based solely on personal sightings and heresay from others . I have yet to meet a fellow hunter who has done aerial counts or game cam surveys on a statewide basis , much less crunched the massive numbers that even a decent herd estimate requires .
I won't contest that your timber and agricultural industries have big impact on the game commission , they do here too , but healthy farms and forests normally translate to a healthy and more balanced deer herd . The hardest thing that we as hunters have to do is trust our F&G departments , even when our respective goals differ . Their decisions have to take into account far more than just hunters , they have to think of what
everybody else needs or wants . It's a very fine balancing act , and one of the toughest jobs I can think of .