Cardeer,

I happen to be one of those Pennsylvania Dutchmen. I did hunt out of the state because I lived outside the state.

I went to school in Virginia and lived there for three years. I hunted west of the Blue Ridge on the Jefferson National Forest. That was truly God's country. Probably more so than Potter County. I could bow hunt for most of the fall and winter and I had thousands of acres to myself for most of the archery season. I killed several buck with my bow down there. They had check stations and I could kill two bucks or two does or combinations there of a year there. Virginia had lots of turkeys and fox squirrels to chase around and even a few mountain rabbits.

Next I moved to Tennessee near the Land Between the Lakes and Fort Campbell in Kentucky. The deer hunting was even better than Virginia. You could bow hunt from mid September to January and could kill many deer on the various tags you got. I killed my biggest buck in Tennessee. I spent five years in Tennessee and bought a "sportsman's" license for three of those years. That was the best deal I ever had. I could get all the hunting and fishing licenses all on one plastic card that I could carry in my wallet. That is a concept that PA would never consider. We have to wear our license plates in plain view. You could hunt on Sundays and this was a state in the middle of the "Bible Belt".

Next, I moved to Ohio where the "wonderful" crippling crossbow was legal. I lived in the heart of Amish country and they had most of the deer killed off in one fashion or another. I hunted there three years on the Muskingum watershed grounds and saw three yearling bucks. Not too impressive. I got permission to hunt private ground and there were even less deer there than on the watershed grounds. Ohio did not impress me but they did open hunting on Sundays and if you had access to the right private ground you could kill gigantic bucks. What I also liked about Ohio was that you could hunt on your primary hunting license without buying special tags and you had an archery season that lasted until Mid-January. While I was there they got rid of the back tag and allowed hunters to carry their licenses in their wallets. What a novel idea!

I moved back to PA three years ago and it was the same old krap. Too many hunters on public ground and the same old limited access on private ground. If you are not kin or a friend you can not get access. Same old Pennsylvania Dutch mentality of "what's mine is mine and what's yours is mine!" We still did not have Sunday hunting, still had a short bow season (threatening to make it even shorter), and still had the same old stodgy laws. I have seen more squabbling in Pennsylvania over game related issues than in any of the other states I lived in.

Now if you have bothered to keep reading this you probably are asking why I moved back to PA. My family is here and I would rather put up with the BS than not have the chance to let my kids grow up with their grandparents. If I were an orphan I would live in Tennessee.

Now for the good points of PA. Pennsylvania has wonderful public access to hunting grounds. Better than in the other states I lived in. I think that Alt's ideas are great. The only issue I had a problem with is the October rifle hunt because I in my Pennsylvania Dutch fashion am greedy about this time of year and how it would affect the bow hunting.

I have also hunted Wyoming for mule deer where you have to get drawn to hunt (That Sucks!). I have hunted Kentucky and West Virginia. I have also spent some time in Delaware. I think that Delaware is the best deal for nonresident hunters. It’s a shame that they do not have more public ground. I would like to hunt Maryland and New York but it looks like they have more squirrely laws than dear old PA and less public ground. In true Pennsylvania Dutch form I refuse to kiss rears to have hunting access. In years past, I lost too much private ground access to houses and pissed off landowners that I did not help to create.

I hunt public ground because I hope I can show my son and daughter good places to hunt when they come to age that will not have a posted sign placed on it in their lifetimes.

Just One Dutchman's Opinion,

Gar-Shooter

My family has been in Pennsylvania for over three hundred years.