Gary alt said that failure to reduce the herd to "what the habitat can support" would be the greatest sin the hunting world can commit. We have to do our part to reduce the herd where needed. Can't slack off now or we would not be good stewards of our ecosystem.

You can't have your cake and eat it too, it will mean that we will also suffer worse buck hunting as a result of our herd reduction. But it is needed.

We just don't make up excuses for the lower harvests as many alties try to do. Wind, acorns, moon eclipse, cornfields are not the issue. Our herd reduction is. It is, according to professional deer managers needed and overdue and we accept the fact that with additional doe harvests we will take mature antlerless bucks and bb. A 3 point AR will not make PA harvest Saskatchewan bucks, our buck harvests will be lower than pre-ar and the deer harvest will merely shift from 1.5 to 2.5 which are only marginally larger. It will be a long process of many years.

Because we are taking bb, mature antlerless bucks each season and because about 20% fall to other means of mortality after the season like disease and cars we acknowledge that there will not be any "shock and awe" associated with AR/HR. Just mediocre hunting of lesser quality than we had before overall.


BTW, deaddeer I just saw this posted on a Michigan hunters messagebaord this morning. How appropriate.

"Sam is correct.

Every year in Michigan there are "Does" shot with antlers and mature "Bucks" that are shot without antlers. (I Shot a 4.5 yr old antlerless buck a few years ago during the muzzleloader season)"

Thanks for the excellent insight DD.