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Old 02-16-2008 | 07:06 AM
  #66  
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Pawildman
Nontypical Buck
 
Joined: Aug 2005
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From: S.W. Pa.-- Heart in North Central Pa. mountains-
Default RE: deer numbers in PA

ORIGINAL: rem700man

I see a couple of you guys like to belt out a few reasons for lack of hunters,,the usual ,,gas prices,,,lazy,dont know how to hunt ,,not walkin far enough back in,etc...(which really does read like a buncha PGC BS propoganda). But after the last 6yrs of hunter dissatisfactory typed on this website alone,,ya'll just refuse to add it to your lists! If you really wanna be politically correct,fair and balanced,etc....you should really try to hide somewhere in your posts,"alot of hunters are just plain,,down right pissed off! You will feel alot better about yourself and your posts if you just be honest.
Well, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, but just because you feel that way does not necessarily mean that any of my or some other's posts on here don't convey honest feelings. There certainly is no doubt that the number of deer in 2G and other WMU's has been reduced. Never argued with that. I've been a hunter in 2G for nearly 20 yrs., and a camp owner for 14 yrs. I've seen the changes. I was a camp owner or attendee at a camp in the Tionesta area for about 30 yrs. before that. I've seen the ebb and flow of it. Been there, done that. Gone through the huge numbers of deer that were seen on opening day. Listened to the unending gunfire from daylight until mid-morning. Loved it!! But you know what? When the situation started to change, and I learned to understand why. I also learned to adjust the way I hunted, and the locations. I didn't sit back and whine about the lack of deer, I went and scouted and found where the better areas were at that time. Too many hunters got spoiled back in the 60's, 70's and 80's by a herd that was too big for the carrying capacity of the ground. Theywill not accept the fact that scientific evidence and research are the tools to be used to adjust herd numbers, not the panicked screaming of those who continue to sit on the same log they did years ago and can't see or kill a deer anymore simply because they won't adjust.
I don't work for the Game Commission, but I DO try to understand and support their initiatives. I just simply don't undertand how some can think the PGC is out to ruin the deer herd. Times and further understanding and knowledge have moved ahead, and the return to the 100-deer per day sightings is probably done for good. It probably should be. I do feel that when the forests are permitted to regenerate, the deer numbers will increase again, but this will take a little time. Not a huge amount, but I certainly feel you will probably be around long enough to see some rise in numbers. I hope so, anyway!!
In the meantime, if you want to continue to harvest deer, I say you need to adjust. Since I killed my first deer in 1959, I've only missed harvesting a deer in two years since. A person needs to learn to adjust to a situation and learn from it to be a HUNTER!!
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