As a taxidermist, I have been watching deer numbers for years. I used to collect sheds too, although lately I havent had the time to. I think the state is really trying to get the deer numbers back down to traditional numbers. Years ago youd be lucky to take a deer, a buck, or to receive a "doe permit". Then through the eighties and nineties EVERYONE shot deer. Most shot many. But the state has a tough task with management. Its as simple as this. WE as hunters want deer managed for QUALITY. The special interest groups want them managed for QUANTITY, as in LESS. The insurance lobbyists are the biggest interest group. You must have seen how many special permits are now issued to farmers. The state cant manage deer state-wide due to so much land locked up as non-hunting. It might be city limits, parks, or private land, but the deer are there, but we cant harvest them. So the state allows us to scour the huntable land, so, in fact, the end number, although lop-sided geographically, is in theory, within capacity. Not exactly herd densities equal to what the land can support, but...

I see great shed antlers every year in spite of this, as well as truly nice trophies coming in too. I just think the heyday and glut of the eighties and nineties is over. I dont like what theyre doing or how theyre doing it, but its what I see, plain and simple. I did get a buck in from western NY that should gross over 180s. All is not lost!