Interesting proposal. No one can ever say that you don’t look at things from all angles that’s for sure.

However, I think Pa’s situation is just a “perfect storm” of reasons that make it so crowded here. We are a very populated state and have a deep hunting tradition. How much of that hunting tradition is due to public land, I don’t know. But I think most can be attributed to the culture of the state. At least back in the day. No one cared who hunted where. The posted areas were the oddballs of the rural communities. Now that has swung the other direction, and at least for me, long before the “new” regulations came into place. I don’t see much of people buying places for themselves (a few) but the majority seems to just be non hunting folk, that want no one on their land period, for any reason. Now open farms are the rarity and that has squeezed hunters to fit on less ground. Further that with it being less productive to “head north” and you have some REALLY crowded lands. Populations rise, popularity of bowhunting and turkey hunting have exploded and you get a lot of hunters with not much space to go. I think the expanses of public land in this case are a saving grace as opposed to a curse.

I honestly came to the thought this weekend of wondering if I am better off (at least mentally) to hunt public land because there, everyone is equal. There are no worries of trespassers as every is allowed. I think it would be much less infuriating to have a hunt interrupted by a lawfully hunting person than a trespassing slob, which is growing ever too common for me.

I REALLY think PA needs to crack down on its trespass laws. But this too is a double edge sword. There are many areas that are privately owned but “open” and it is common practice that anyone and everyone hunts there. However to protect areas and landowners that have posted land, closing off all land, posted or not to written permission only (AND actually enforcing it) would really crack down
on trespassers, but it would also pull a lot of land currently available to spread out the hunter numbers.

It’s a tough situation here in PA and one that I waiver on in regards to buying my own land. Yes it would be awesome to have, but I could never patrol or monitor it enough, and I think it would just cause me much more headache to deal with trespassers.