PAHUNTER21

Hey guys, wanted to start a thread to get some conversations going with all you Pennsylvania bow hunters about some of the issues arising about PA' s Archery season.

First, I' d like to get an idea how many of you live and/or hunt regularly in PA as well as the general location/area that you live and/or hunt. I don' t need specifics.

Secondly, what do you think of the rifle and muzzle loader seasons that are slapped right at the beginning of the rutt?!

Thirdly, Has anybody heard about the proposed flo orange regulations for next years archery season?! (Last month' s issue of the PA Game News I think)

It seems that PA is working on snuffing out the archery hunters. The deer have spooked for the rutt for a couple years now, and it looks like it' s only going to get worse!

I' m sure more topics will spawn off of this post, but i' m just interested in getting some opinions.

fastflight1

I don' t get it???? We pay to join these bowhunting organizations so we have a voice and what do we get? They get in bed with the Game Commission and things just get worse and worse for archery hunters in PA.

davidmil

Whine whine whine. Someone always looking to blame someone else for their failures. A competent bowhunter should have his buck long before the rut arrives.[:-]

Jason N

Sure, but with small game starting up and a week long muzzleloader hunt and a 3 day rifle hunt right before the rut it gets pretty crazy in the woods.

I don' t think I' ve seen the pressure form those seasons as many others have. I live in the middle of the Allegeny National Forest, so very little pressure until rifle season.

As far as the orange goes.....there' s a thread in the NE forum about it. I think it' s rediculous, but if you take a look at that thread you' ll see that nobody is going to abide by it! I for one can tell you right now that I will not where 250 sq. in. of orange in the stand....

PA Hardwoods

I currently live and Hunt in the Area around State College, PA and was born and raised Just north of Harrisburg in the Halifax area. Your right, us bowhunters really do get the shaft when it comes to the seasons. It seems like every year we have to share our season with other types of hunters and i' m sick of it. And as for the new orange requirements, this is the most ridiculus thing I have ever heard of, there is no need for us to be wearing orange on stand. If they think that then during turkey season you should also have to wear orange all of the time. I don' t know who came up with this idea but they have to be the biggest idiots in the world.

Martin Cougar

I live in Johnstown and hunt here, pittsburgh, and altoona. I also disagree w/ the proposed changes to flo orange. I have emailed my thoughts to game commission as well as wrote them a letter.

If you are unhappy and then you MUST do something about it. Let you voice be heard. It' s not enough to belong to an organization and sit back hoping that they do something.

wimp

The bow hunters and turkey hunters are getting screwed on the orange reg, The bowhunters just get screwed all around other ways with seasons all through the archery season.

ijimmy

Washington county , The deer have been spooky sence they implamented that muzelload hunt right before the rut , for the last couple years . Jason I got my new regs in the mail and I think they are the same as last year you have to wear an orange hat and shirt while you are moveing , when you are in the stand you just tie your orange shirt around the tree and have no orange on yourself . I HOPE!!!!!!! they dont change that next year . The gun hunt you speak of I guess is for the kids , never realy had a problem with that , but the muzzelloaders are another story , I like to do it myself but the flintlock open sights rule has alot of pepole in the woods blasting away and lower success harvesting . Its like a war zone around where I hunt . Definatly spooks the he!! out of the deer and next day is archery .

cableguy119

I agree this early muzzleloading thing has got to go. Just another way the PGC can make a quick $$$. Small-game, pheasent season, it all needs to disappear from overlapping with archery. At least give everyone their fair amount of time. It seems as though archers really keep getting the shaft.

bigdog02

Huntingdon County here, hunting around Lake Raystown.

I don' t necessarily like the early muzzleloader season, but it happened last year as well (I believe) and I still saw some nice bucks after it, and would have gotten shots at them if I hadn' t been on the ground.

As far as orange goes, i don' t like that either, I didn' t wear more than a hat last year when i was moving and when i was sitting at a stand and whatnot, i took it off.

The land I hunt is private and i can count on one hand how many guys hunt it, and that number is maybe 1-2 in archery season, and we have all talked and have general ideas of where the others are when we are on the mt. together and we avoid each others areas.