"When PA deer hunting eventually becomes a pay to play game (and it will)
it is likely that the hunter densities will gradually fall more in line with those states. "

I agree. It will not take long with current pgc policies in place. Those who dont want their deer herd slaughtered just post. That simple. Also won't take long with pgc hunter numbers dropping at over double the national average from 2001 to 2006.... 4% nationally, 10% in Pa.

"To put the whole thing in context, much of the comparisons have been apples to oranges. "

Not so much....Not when kept in proper context.

"PA has lower success rates per hunter while having respectable harvest rates per square mile. "

Those harvests are because of one thing...Too many doe tags harvesting too many deer out of a herd that is smaller than should be. That means the harvest is NOT sustainable and thats why it continues to drop, and will on into the future with no changes made to the slaughter em all policy in place at pgc right now.

"The sheer number of hunters (probably due partly to the still abundant availablity of decent hunting land for free) makes the kind of success rates that those other states enjoy virtually impossible even with much higher deer densities."

Thats debatable, but what is NOT debatable is that they WOULD improve, significantly. Hunting satisfaction would be higher, and with responsible deer management pgc wouldnt be seen as the villain that they are currently.