Big Country, no I do not belong to that organization. I have read that they to are opposed to Alt & his AR. I would back them up though because I feel the same way they do. All I'm saying is that Alt is lying about numbers & bigger bucks.This guy caved in to pressure from farmers,insurance co.'s & tree growers. I have friends who hunt the mountain counties of Pa. They have for years,used to see 50-60 deer a day now they see hardly any & these guys are skilled,hardcore hunters. For years Pa. has had one of the largest herds & harvests in the country,that is fact! Now all of the sudden the state can't support the herd? B.S. the herd has been the about the same according to PGC numbers for at least the past 10-15 years or so. Now let me cover my but, I'm not against doe hunting,they need harvested,but some areas don't hold the #'s of deer as others I think I'm correct in stating that. He is treating each area the same which is wrong.I work with a guy who applies for every doe tag possible,he usually shoots 3-4 deer a year, no one can eat that much meat.I have a family of 4, we donated 1 deer to the Share the Harvest Program,1 was given to a janitor at the mill I work for his family(which I do every year)& 2 were put in the freezer. I bring alot of burger in the mill for our crew cookouts,give some to my brothers,have a teenager who I think is a human garbage can(step on his foot & his mouth opens!)& we still have some meat left overe. The guy I mentioned above eats what he can & feeds the rest to his dogs! This makes me cringe why shoot an animal if you're not going to eat it? Simple-in his retarded mind (remember I work with this simpleton),if the tags are available & he's legal he'll shoot as many as he can! This is the kind of "hunter" Alt wants to attract. Legal yes,ethical,questionable in my mind! Another question that I have stated in earlier posts-what happened to the saying any deer is a trophy? My oldest son's first deer was a doe on Monday 2 years ago,I let him decide what to do-wait for a buck or shoot the first deer that presented a good shot.He wanted the first deer good shot scenerio.A doe stepped out at 80 yards & he got her talk about a proud dad I think I was more excited than he was! On the first Saturday that year I was at work & at 10:00a.m. I received acall from my youngest son,my boy shot a very large 8 pointer & my wife needed me to come home & dress it & drag it out.Proud yes but I was just as proud of the doe which is mounted over our T.V. next to his buck which I guess would score in the 130 class. Alt has hunters believing that with AR in place you'll get a chance at the biggest buck in your life.WRONG!!! Some guys will indeed shoot bigger bucks(here's where genetics,nutrition,habitat,&area come in to play,some guys will shoot 14-16 inch basket racked 8 pointers.Why? Because that is all the area is able to produce,except the occasional large buck that shows up.Nutrition in my mind is the key. Alt never talks about this,the deer here hit our fields hard some are planted just for the deer,& it shows.As stated before with AR in place as soon as the buck is legal he's dead! A 2 1/2 year old 8 point is not mature but he'll be just as dead as a 22" 4 1/2 year old 8 point!You will indeed see an increase in bigger bucks,but what happens the following year,watching bucks walk waiting for next season when it's legal ro shoot them.In the long run the herd will shrink. Nobody here wants to talk about the use of slug guns,why is that? I'm a harcore rifle man myself but I think a slug gun season WILL produce bigger racks. I don't want to give up my rifle but if you want bigger bucks,slug gun only states seem to have them.What do you guys think about that?

Edited by - Turd Fergusen on 01/11/2003 08:02:19