I killed a doe in Parker Dam on opening day of archery season.Then I killed a nice 7 point on the fourth weekend in archery.I had a dmap tag for an area in Sinnemahoning and killed a doe there with a rifle on the last day.I had no problems finding huntable numbers of deer this year

I agree that deer numbers are down in 2G but they aren't as bad as many percieve.I live in this area and spend every available bit of free time in the woods.During archery season,Ihad 9 different bucks,4 adult doe and about 5fawns within range.That's a slow year but I still saw deer most times.I went out on the first saturday of rifle season and drove for one of my buddies.We saw well over 50 deer in about 2 hours on private but un-postedland .On the last dayI filled a dmap tag in Sinnemahoning,Cameron county.I saw at least 20 deer that day by 10:00am.I have firends that own camps in that area and they told me not to waste my time.Since the last day,I've been out every weekend and I'm seeing deer and lots of sign in every place,including public land.I can tell you for a fact that SGL's 93 and 77 both still have alot of deer.

I feel you're pain about Moshannon state forest but the habitat is absolutely terrible in that area.The deer herd exploded in that area after the tornado in 1985 and now the habitat is in the pole stage.There's very little for the deer to eat in that area and as a result,there's fewer deer.Even the stuff growing in the tornado area is mainly non-preferred browse species like beech.When the winters are tough or the mast crop is sparce,deer need browse to sustain them.They simply don't have enough in that area to sustain a large herd anymore.

I'm not going to sit here and tell you there's lot's of deer everywhere.That simply wouldn't be true but there's still more than enough in southern 2g to have a decent hunt.This year we had so much mast that the deer were scattered all over and didn't have to move much.On top of that,pressure was the lowest I've ever seen.Less people moving well fed deer will always mean less sightings.Whether you want to believe it or not,we used to have way too many deer in this area.As the forests matured,they cleaned out almost every bit of browse.At this point when the forest is in such a sad state,it takes very few deer to have a negative impact.

Also,yes there's lot's of coyotes but there's been alot for as long as I can remember.I'm sure they do a number on the fawns and the adultsduring periods of deep snow with a crust on top.That still goes back to the habitat.Healthier does will give birth to healthier fawns that can escape the predators.

I'm in the same boat you are.I remember the days of huge herds but I also recognize the need to balance the herd with the habitat.The habitat is terrible around here and it needed to be fixed.there's still good hunting and will only get better as the habitat changes.I'm seeing positive changes all over this area and in time we'll be able to support more deer and more healthier ones.It won't happen overnight but I'm willing to suck it up and wait.I wish more hunters would do the same.