ORIGINAL: deerfly
Deer numbers are down in Cameron county but the habitat is terrible up there for the most part.I hunt an area in southern Cameron county right where rt 120 and rt872 meet.It's a long steep hike to get where it was timbered in 2001 but there's plentyof deer up there right now.That won't last long though because the deer concentrate there because the habitat is poor for miles around.Last year I saw about 25 deer by 10:00am on the last day of the season.
Cameron Co. was the one county where the herd has been kept under control for the past 25 years. So can you explain why the habitat hasn't improved? Shouldn't Cameron Co. have the best regeneration of any of the northern tier counties?
deerfly, i had to think back when the deer started to really go down in CAMERON COUNTY,wykoff/montour rd area..
you are right..i think it started to get bad about 1974..before that in 1960/1970, oh my, deer that was there..you could ride that MONTOUR rd at 8am in morning,deer season, and see 50 deer easy..tracks all over rds..
most of deer were on those pipelines,now, if you see deer on pipeline, its something..
you have crews now,that i know, that drove for deer this year..some got 2 deer for 20 in crew..
in 1970, in CAMERON COUNTY,those 20 guys would get 20 doe..this has taken toll on doe in that county..same in other countys..it was not near as bad until all these doe permits started a few years ago..
those crews up there have been replaced by,TREESITTERS,ROADHUNTERS,both deadly on cleaning out doe..
you have lost buck hunters and replaced with doe/fawn hunters..time will tell, i will be dead, i believe and hunting will not be anything of improvement..
as long as hunters kill FAWNS,as i am seeing and small doe,i cant see hunting be anything to get excited over..