ORIGINAL: nys-buckstalker
Well AR's might work in some areas of the state,less woodedareas of the state say western NY or around st lawrence river.Mostly open areas and lot of farms with fields and crop land.BUT in areas of heavy timber and low farm areas no it wouldn't work.20 years ago most of my area (Delaware county) was farming and had alot open field area.Alot of them cashed itin cause of milk prices not going up or cause just of cost of operation was to much.Now the area is going over or is grown over to woods.Not so much feed and browse so deer to grow into 6 or 8 points so quickly now.It takes about5 years to make it into a 6 point now.Before you could get a 6 after his 2nd year of antler growth.The way I see it any deer you shot should be a trophy. Doesn't matter if it was a spike buck with 4 in spikes or a wide rack 10 point, or a piebald doe.This isn't why I hunt ,for trophy deer.I hunt for meat period.Don't matter if its a doe or buck.I shoot it and it goes into my freezer to feed my family. I buy my 3 tags(bow,muzzleloader and reg firearm)and hope for a dmp so I have 4 and go into the woods.
Now the state wants to put AR's on top of limited or no dmp's in my area.I say NO way.Thats like sending into gun fight with no bullets in the gun.A no win solution.
when we had a lot of deer, i had no problem killing a doe, old one, never young one..never a button buck..i have not shot a doe in 10 years do to lack of doe in wmu 2g here in pa..
personelly,under conditions we are seeing here now, it should be 1 deer and your done in wmu2g..i like AR restriction and yes, i am horn hunter so i feel that way..
you are meat hunter, 2 different hunters,heck i like venision too but i am not going to kill doe off so future is bad here hunting..
i have friends that are now going as far as philadelphia to get doe..they also go to ny so they can get more doe..these hunters were always meat hunters, not out for a nice buck,only for meat..
sadly, we that want to see deer last for kids future and ours too here in wmu 2g are losing battle..hunters that were always after meat are now complaining that there are no deer..isnt that something, i wonder why??
they are even now turning in poachers even tho some of them ARE poachers or were POACHERS..local paper had article about all calls that wco are getting now from hunters reporting poachers..they even said that poachers are turning in poachers,they are right on that..
MEAT is driving some crazy now.. i had hunter on sgl252 come up thru field yelling at me that i was getting in his hunting area during pheasant hunt last week..he looked nuts in his eyes and wanted all the pheasant MEAT for himself..this is publicland and some think its theirs..
its all about getting that bird/deer meat and some are getting real nutty now..when there was lots of deer/pheasants, you never heard this,now its regular occurence..
somehow we have got to look at ourselves and see what we are doing to future hunting and understand that deer just dont grow in great numbers when they are overharvested like is being done in wmu2g..
when i was at sgl252 last week i got to talk to hunters at parking locations..most askled WHY i was hunting in their area and not up north for pheasants..i said, we dont have pheasants you folks have and we have to go other places to hunt..
1 even said people like me are SLOB HUNTERS..can you believe that..i guess he did not want me to return to sgl252..
well, i got news for him, i will be there again this week,its publicland and i am no SLOB.. ..