Bigger is better for deer hunters
12/15/2006

The following report is provided by Pennsylvania Game Commission Wildlife
Conservation Officer Darin Clark of Erie County:


"On the third day of deer season, I came across three hunters peering into the
back of a pickup," he wrote. "I stopped, figuring there had to be a deer. The
one hunter had harvested a nice 9-point with a 17-inch spread.

"After we talked for a while, I asked him if he knew what the bad thing about
his deer was. He looked at me with a puzzled look, so I told him that five years
ago his deer would have won almost any buck pool around, but this year he
probably did not stand a chance. I have seen several deer that are far bigger
than his this year."

That pretty well sums up the state of the buck population in Pennsylvania's deer
herd.

Never before in the memory of today's hunters have so many big bucks been taken
by hunters in the two-week deer season. The days of spikes and forkhorns being
the norm are over.

With antler restrictions and a reduction of the deer population over the last several years,
the deer population in the state has benefited. Not only are the bucks killed
during the season sporting larger racks, but the body size of both bucks and
does has increased.

"I've got some of the nicest deer you'd ever want to see," said George Sullivan
of Sullivan's Taxidermy in Rochester. "The largest was a 17-piont taken in
Hanover Township. It had an inside spread just shy of 20 inches.

"The mass on this thing is just amazing," said Sullivan. "I have seen more big
deer at the processors than ever before. The body size has really increased.
Most of the deer brought into my shop this year were 3 ½, 4 ½ and 5 ½ years
old."

Most every hunter I have talked with has repeated the same story. The racks are
bigger and the deer are bigger. Deer hunting has never been better in
Pennsylvania. Yes, some are still complaining there are not enough deer. This is
mostly heard from the folks hunting the traditional deer woods of the northern counties.

The buck that won the Potter County Big Buck Contest this year was an 11-point
with a 24¾-inch spread. It had an 8-point frame with three stickers coming off
the base of the antlers. The deer weighed 170 pounds.

When was the last time a buck of that caliber was taken in Potter County?

Entries were way up compared to last year. They had about 80 bucks brought in
the first day this year compared to a total of 90 for the entire two-week season
last year. Average weight of the bucks was over 140 pounds, average number of
points was over 8 and the average inside spread was 17 inches.

Of the five Big Buck Contests I checked into, the winning bucks were all better
than 8 points with more than 20-inch spreads.

There were eight in our party on opening day in Mercer County. Everyone saw deer
and just about everyone saw a buck. Of the eight hunters, we took three bucks
and one doe. The nicest buck was an 8-point with a 17-inch spread.

I have heard the same thing from other counties.

Bob Orie of Orie's Taxidermy in Moon Township agreed.

"The biggest deer I had brought in weighed 265 pounds field-dressed," Orie said.
"It was taken in Allegheny County. The racks are bigger this year. I have
received the same number of buck racks this year as I have last year. They're
just bigger."

Interestingly, as the buck numbers increase in relation to the doe numbers, the
bucks are becoming more "buck-like."

"The thing I noticed most this year more than any other year was the amount of
fighting injuries on the bucks brought into my shop," Orie said. "The first day
when I was out I saw a herd of six bucks and nine does come through."

I hunted in Allegheny, Beaver and Mercer counties this year and I also noticed
the more even buck-to-doe ratio. I saw deer ever day out and bucks most days. On
the second Tuesday of the season I saw three bucks and four does.

The new direction in deer management plotted by the Game Commission several
years ago has really changed deer hunting in Pennsylvania. Some would say for the better and some would say for the worse.

In my opinion the "good old days of deer hunting" are right now.

Mike Barcaskey is The Times Outdoors Coordinator.
©Beaver County Times Allegheny Times 2006