Deer Season Post-Mortem
Well, rifle season for deer here in PA. is over for another year. Flintlock muzzleloader is in, and runs thru the 14th of the month, but the "Big Hurrah" is over. The antler restrictions put in place around 3 yrs. ago seem to be paying off from what I've seen, with larger racks being taken than in the past. That has and is working well. What doesn't seem to be working well, at least for the deer hunters, has been the massive slaughter of antlerless deer that has been permitted in recent years.
The Northcentral part of the state has historically been "deer country" here. No longer. Deer are in jeopardy there. It seems that timber has become the protected crop in this part of the country, and the deer are the enemies. Massive tracts of timbered forest are being fenced to keep the deer out until regeneration takes over. Someone needs to explain to me just where the few remaining deer are going to feed? I feel some short-sightedness has been used.
Other parts of the state seem to have adequate deer levels, and these are primarily agricultural/suburban areas with small woodslots and posted properties and safety zones. Hard to hunt in rifle season. Guess I'll just have to adjust. Thanks for letting me vent-----hope things are better with the rest of you out there------