germain

Interesting thoughts and opinions in your posts.I pretty much agree with everything written here.
Turkeyhunter,I have a good bit of experience under my belt but not quite 50 years like yourself.I also remember the days of seeing 20-50 deer a day and sometimes more in Potter and Perry county.The buck to doe ratio back then seemed to be alot better up north.These were the times when I got my kids started and I have to say it was a thrill for them to scope deer throughout the day.They could hunt from sun up until sun down and see deer throughout the day.They loved it and are avid hunters to this day.Now it's hard pressed to see a few deer in a days hunt in most places in the NC.I spend my fair share of days lately with seeing no deer at all.Oh there's a few there and like this year a big buck I was after.But man I just couldn't imagine trying to keep a young kid's interest in that type of hunting.Back in the day bringing my kids up as deer were seen I could explain why they were doing such behavior and it was a good way for them to learn.
Now I do understand the habitat vs deer populations and will say there needed to be some reductions but that's a whole other issue
When we have somewhere around a 10% drop in license sales compared to a increase nationwide something is wrong.Well actually there's alot wrong.The PGC wants a license increase yet most game numbers are down.The audabon and some of these other groups need to start paying the tab also because the PGC is involved in all wildlife not just game animals.As I drank my coffee I noticed there weren't any birds outside then I saw the hawk and knew why.Predators while being protected are another reason for the lack of animals we have including birds.
OK I've started to shoot off here and get away from the subject.
I feel we have lost our voice here in PA as hunters.There's obviously a problem with deer management and I'm still hoping we can find middle ground between the game/habitat.I also worry that the hunter is being put aside for the extreme environmentalist agenda.And that's ashame knowing how much money we put into habitat improvements,conservation,and the economy in general.

germain

Howdy BT,"No plan for lost revenue in license sales"

Man I agree with that one BT.Unfortunately I think they're going to make them up with additional tags like turkey and even spear chucking tags.
I don't want to get into the extra turkey tag here but before anybody gets too excited about this wait until they start allowing extra fall tags.Then you'll see a drop in the populations in heavily hunted areas of the state.But honestly BT I think that's how they're going to deal with loss revenue.The original plan which is in writing for the extra turkey tag was to only issue in certain WMU's using winters,springs,and hunting pressure as a guage.They get a 10% drop in hunting licenses and bam!The extra tag go statewide unlimited.
From what I'm hearing from other hunters especially the older ones next year will see an even bigger drop in license revenue.The kicker here is that they also lose money from archery and ML stamps also.
The only plan I see for lost revenue is Eddy and the DCNR licking their chops for a take over.
Then we'll have a bunch of hippies running the show.

Sieg3006

PGC must do away with the concurrent seasons.
2 weeks to shoot a doe is way too much time.

RUMOR
Legislators are getting so much heat from hunters that they will not give the PGC their license increase untill they stop the overharvesting of doe.
Heard concurrent seasons will be done away with in 2007-2008, then they will get their increase for license.
It will then be too late for some areas.

Four Sox

You know how I like when hippies run the show, well said!!!!

G-Daddy

Many things change over time - including hunting and the animals we hunt. When I started hunting in Fulton County in 1964, you could hunt all season and see only ahandfull of deer. I shot my first deer - a spike buck - in 1965. I shot my next deer -a doe - in 1969. In 1967 and 1968 there were 11 of us hunting three farms and we shot no buck deer. In 1969 the same group shot 2 buck deer. I saw and shot my second buck deer in 1972. By the mid 1970s the group had swelled to around 17 hunters and our take was typically around 8 buck deer. By the late 1980s we numbered from 20 - 24 hunters and nearly everyone had an opportunity at a buck deer through the late 1990s. The deer numbers are down somewhat as we have been concentrating on herd management (HR) on the 600 acres we control. We now have 16 hunters on 5 properties that we are managing as a club. I will admit that our sightings and taking of legal buck deer had dropped in the first three seasons of AR, but this year we had our best season ever with 13 of 16 hunters taking legal buck and only one hunter - my 86 year old father in law - that did not have a legal buck sighting. Admittedly we are hunting private land and we post and limit access to our members. But for us, it appears that the good old days is now.

Four Sox

Glad its working on your property may you always have success!!!!


I wish we could get the same cooperation around the grounds I hunt.

Ought Six

Pennsylvania is indeed in dire straits. We have tons of squirrels, some turkeys, some bears, a few groundhogs, a few deer, some rabbits, a few grouse and no pheasnats. Clearcuts are such a jumbled mess you cant hunt them. The rest of the forest is too mature for anything but squirrels. We take two cuttings of hay, which ensures death to any pheasant nests. We have coyotes to assist in removing game animals.

usajag

Some PA game are definately in bad shape. Deer numbers and harvests are way down, pheasant are all basically put and take, and bear will be in trouble if people keep killing off all the cubs. If license fees increase like they predict I see less hunters in the upcoming years and even less that will take up the sport. The only real game that is abundant are turkey. I have seen more turkey over the last few years that the previous 20. I don't know if that is good or bad but I hear a lot of people complain because a flock will eat a good number of acorns (at least that is what the biologists are telling me). I am forseparate antler and anterless seasons and smaller WMUs.

patrkyhntr

Awe gosh. I was having so much fun hunting that I didn't realize things were so bad. Maybe I oughta give it up?

Windwalker7

Being a Pennsylvanian myself, I too am disgusted with the PGC. It seems that all they are really interested in is money. Several years ago they were telling hunters that they weren't going far enough away from the roads, that's why hunters weren't seeing deer. The PGC said they would do fly-overs with the FLIR ( Foward Looking Infra Red) system to get accurate counts on deer in some test areas. They collected this data and presented it to the public, sighting that the deer were there. Well guess what! They used the FLIR in areas of known deer problem areas " DMAP Areas" Of coarse they will see deer in areas that farmers are having problems. They only did this to sell the public on killing more does. Because doe license = $$$ Now, today the admit that maybe their system of estimating deer populations was off. The only reason they admit it is because PA sportsmen are outraged. They only wanted to make money.

I also heard that the Pennsylvania Taxidermy Assoc. is upset with the PGC too. It seems that the PGC can't account for where all the money went from the sell of taxidermist license, and the fees for all thepeople taking the taxidermy exams to get the license.

Something is wrong with the PGC. To be honest, I'd ALMOST like to see the PGC go bankrupt. We, the sportsmen of PA, have been seriously let down. They deserve what happens. I know some of you might not agree with wanting them to go bankrupt. But seriously, how much worse can it get here in PA?