jhalfhill

http://www.huntingnet.com/forum/tm.aspx?m=1322255

hoyt3

check out the article I believe in Deer and Deer Hunting this month about the plan of attack in PA. basically stated, they feel that with the amount of doe tags given out, the amount of deer in the state at the time (1.6 million) that the total deer herd could be as low as 160k. this is all a numerical guess off the number of deer taken, tags filled, and number of hunters.

davidmil

NY did the same thing for years. In fact, they got to relying so much on the extra zillion dollars they collect from doe permits they kept increasing them. We(the hunters) who have been hunting there for 40 years have been saying stop the doe permits, but they kept on. This year they finally stopped them because kill numbers were so low. We used to see 20 or 30 deer a day. This year 4 of us saw a total of 9 does on our annual trip. An especially hard winter and we might see NONE next year. I agree, a bunch of non hunting college grads trying to develope a plan that makes them famous. They really don't listen to the people in the woods. Oh sure, there are still some deer there, but Chenango County is hurting.

longbowman2

I live in PA and have been hunting since 1966.THERE'S SO MANY MORE DEER NOW THAN WHENI STARTED THAT IT'S AMAZING TO HEAR ALL THE RUKUS GOING ON ABOUT THE POOR HUNTING. I'm 100% convinced that if people actually "hunted" deer instead of trying to gang push them and set in the exact same stands as they have forever that people would start seeing and getting deer again. Take away the walkie talkies, ATV's and heated tree houses and maybe people would actually learn how to hunt again.

Legacy357

the deer herd is no where near 160k.......its low in some parts but others still have way to many

Mikey S.

I've been wondering the same thing myself. Of all the people complaining, how many of them are actually good hunters, that consistently take deer....with a gun or a bow? Sitting at my buddies powerline on the first day of pa's gun season, and 2 evenings last week, I was amazed at the number of road hunters cruising by me at 2 mph. Saturday with the snow down, it was a really disgusting site to see nobody in the woods, but instead cruising around in the trucks.

I couldn't be happier with the bowhunting personally. I killed a buck every year since 1993, and usually a doe or 2. I can honestly say I haven't had a bad year. I've had slow years, but usually because I was lazy with the scouting, or work or school slowed me down. But a little leg work found the deer sooner or later..........whether it was private or public land.

longbowman2

Mikey, I'm sure glad you posted. I have been listening (reading) about this stuff for so long that I just had to voice my opinion. Like you, I haven't had a "bad" season in more than 40 yrs. of hunting. I've shot deer every year I've hunted except for two. Back in "the day" it was thrilling to just get a shot at a deer, period. Years before they came up with the antler restrictions I had set my own standard and now it really doesn't make any difference. I know a bunch of people that hunt by ganging up on the thick stuff and driving every deer in there out to a stander who suddenly aren't getting any deer. I hunt those same areas and the deer are no longer bedding where they are pushing! It all boils down to knowing how to hunt deer or your not going to see and get deer.
All the land I hunt is open to the public. I don't and wont pay to hunt private property. I spend some time everyday of the year in the woods scouting and keeping tabs on the deer I hunt. Except for rifle season, I'm alone 100% of the time and guess who complains about the deer hunting?

Mikey S.

Longbowman2 - I agree with all that you have said. But I will say that I do have some buddies that hunt around the mountain areas of PA, and they are having a hard time finding themselves some deer to hunt. But to me, the mountains were always slow, primarily the reason why I don't hunt there. Some of the game lands are slow in my area too; but I can guarantee if I hunted my favorite game land spots for a week, I'd see enough deer to fill some tags. I'll also guarantee it'll take about 30 minutes to walk to these spots....which is fine by me. But you're right, you gotta spend time to find them. I've taken 20 bucks with a bow since 1993 in PA, MD, and WV combined, and I know I've never shot more than one buck from a single, particular tree. I change every year. You almost have to. Gun hunting is the same. You have to adapt to pressure, food and security cover.

I heard a saying when I was 13 from an older fella that I knew when I first started hunting: "10% of the hunters take 90% of the deer."Sound famalier?

jhalfhill

i don't know if you guys are trying to imply that i'm a bad hunter or what, but i can assure you i know what i'm doing. i have a bunch of trophys from both PA and WV. both rifle and bow kills. i've seen deer this year, passed some up hence why i don't have a buck yet this year. a 13" wide 8 point will make a great buck next year.

if i wanted to kill a deer i would, but im just telling you what i've noticed the past few seasons. it's getting harder and harder just to SEE a deer let alone pass some up. i'm just wondering what its going to be like 5-10 years in the future if this keeps up. i'll be working and won't have every single day of the week all season long to sit on stand just to see a few doe and possibly a buck. a small handful of deer all season is ridiculous.

mikey, i hunt the carmicheals area a good bit and there are still a good bit of deer left there. some spots around masontown and greene county still have a good number of deer, but everywhere else doesn't. this is probably why you think the deer herd is no danger. i own a farm in central fayette and theres hardly any left. also, saturday evening the woods were PACKED with hunters. they might have all been road hunting where you are, but in connellsville the woods were so crowded you always had blaze orange in sight no matter where you went.

just because there were no deer back in the day doesn't mean we should go back to that. that doesn't mean it was right. if we can avoid going back to the days where "just getting a shot off" during a rifle season was common i think we should do so. i promise you, at the rate we are going, you won't have to worry about buying more than one box of shells every four to five seasons. as far as bow, a half dozen of arrows will probably do in that time.

rybohunter

I know there is a lot of complaining from many PA guys. Some of it I'm sure is guys being whiny cause its not "easy" to get a deer anymore. BUT some I believe some is from honest, hard hunting guys who are still finding it very difficult and have seen the herds be decimated in some areas. It's a tough solution becuse the areas are so unequal. We can't just say go back to how it was, just as we can't say to continue as is in all areas.