The more I read this long 57 page proposal the more I get upset on some things. Alot of it makes no sense to me.
Objective 1.3 , 1.3.2: Initiate a process to discontinue use of either sex and antlerless only bow and muzzleloader tags for antlerless harvest and transition to a system based on Deer mgmt permits.
So basically if I harvest a buck with my bow say during the Northern archery season ( which I do hunt yearly). Then I don't successfully draw a doe permit. My season is OVER. Plus if I do draw a doe permit, that limits me to hunting just that mgmt area only. I live in Northern Tier, and own a camp in Southern Tier. This system would limit my hunting time considerably regardless. DEC even shows a % choice by hunters on proposed tags, and antler restrictions. The 1 buck tag only, wasn't even the top 2 choices!!!
Now the youth hunt. Dec is proposing for 12-15 yr olds, and writes how the age is now at 14. I don't get why pushing for 12 & 13 yrs olds, when they know what it took for this dam state to lower it to 14. It took how many yrs.?!!!! Plus the youth hunt is for both North & South on Columbus day wknd. In 2012 Columbus wknd is also the 1st wknd of Northern archery on the new license. I myself like many others is basically a wknd hunter. So if bowhunters can't begin 9/27, and must wait until 10/1. The first wknd will be shared with rifles in the woods! Not sure I like that. Also we know how law breakers will poach that wknd, and not enough law enforcement to stop it. Its happened on the youth turkey hunt! I'm not against a youth hunt, I just don't agree on that Northern wknd.
Then of course DEC writes how they are pro use of crossbows in all seasons, including archery. Well as many know I'm not for crossbows in archery seasons. I'm not opposed to use of crossbows say in their own season, or a separate muzzleloader/crossbow season. Northern tier shares a combined archery/muzzleloader season now. Its just my opinion on crossbows, and noone can change that.
What really gets me on this whole proposal is DEC writes this was based in part on 20 meetings in 2009 with approx. 1,000 hunters in attendance. Then shows 599,690 hunters in 2010. How biased is that. I couldn't attend those meetings. I had other obligations, and a night I could closest meeting was over 100miles away. 20 meetings hardly was enough, and 1,000 out of 566,690 hunters is a dam low percentage to base part of this on.
Basically we all need to comment, we have until end of July. e-mail to:
[email protected] Place Deerplan in title heading.