We actually started this last season on the farm we rifle hunt. Adults couldn't shot anything under 6 points, youth hunters were allowed to follow letter of the law and could take a "legal" buck. Meaning the old PA Standard 3 inch spike. If any hunter in group had a doe tag they had to try to take a doe second week of the season. The farmer whose land we use hates all deer(crop damage) He has no problems with waiting for the big one for the first week he just wants to make sure that some of us use our doe tags.

So far during archery we have noticed a few larger bucks then normal but nothing that could be artributed to "Let him go to let him grow".

All I think that will happen with the AR is that a lot of folks won't report their kills. Private land owners that follow the AR will have a great time in a few years but it will take some time and patience.

I saw only 4 bucks under AR this year. I took a doe but havent seen a big buck yet. Its my only hope that these smaller buck will make it past the youth hunters this year. I too have a son but have no problem letting him take a doe if he wants to and follow the same AR rule of the rest of us. Just my opinion....

I wouldnt expect too much too soon its gonna take alot more than three years to see full effects.Probably 6+ years.The reason I say this is you gotta wait untill those mature bucks that have been smart enough to survive are able to breed and pass on there genetics.
Alot of problem is changing attitudes.
I hunt Ohio and NY and have family hunts and lives in PA. I see big deer both places. Im looking forward to adding PA to it in about 10 years.
good luck

TrestandEd

"Hard work ... conviction ... pride ... responsibility ... class ... character ... success...BOWHUNTING

I saw six illegal bucks today! All were acting like horny goats! Three were within twenty yards of my stand. In the past I would have loved to have shot them. Now they were just a pain in the butt, winding and snorting at me after watching them for several minutes. Next year is going to be great!!!

Gar

Just Say No to Crossbows!

I was in Somerset Co this past week and saw 20+ buck-most were legal deer.There were a couple that I'd have liked to shoot but didn't get the shot I was waiting for.I think in 2-3 seasons,you'll be able to see the results.

JimPic,
I'm from Bedford County, Where exactly did you see these bucks???? I've got a few days to hunt this week and was just wondering....

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Pinmaster - At Home In The 11 Ring!
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Drove from Shippenville into Lehigh co. yesterday on route 80, averaged seeing a splattered deer every mile or so. at LEAST half were bucks, of that only 1 that we saw was bigger than a Y.
looks like were saving those smaller bucks from the arrows an bullets to just be taken by Ford an Kenworth.

I know the antler restrictions are going to change the way we hunt in our group a bit. We usually sit for the first few hours of the day then we usually do a few drives to push the deer through the woods. A lot of the initial concerns among the group are negative about the restrictions. Excuses range from no sense shooting anything unless a huge rack or a doe - not being able to count points on a moving target. My initial thoughts are that when driving the deer we won't push them as hard and keep it more quiet to get them moving slower through the woods to the shooters so there is a better chance to look at them. But my guess is going slower will be futile and we will have more deer break back on us. I think the AR is going to help in the long run but old attitudes and habits are hard to break. I hope it helps all hunters in that the Public Game Lands last year were not safe lots of hunters taking lots of shots with old restrictions and concurrent buck and doe season created a brown and down kind of atmosphere. Larger bucks and hopefully more safety is something I don't think anyone can argue with

First off, I don't live or hunt in a big buck area. Warren county is known for lots of deer...not big ones. I took vacation on thursday and friday to hunt.

Thursday I saw 6 bucks. One "unicorn", a 6pt, a 7pt, 2 8pts and a 10pt. I also saw a whopping 4 doe. I missed one of the 8s at 40 yards(miss judged yardage for 30).

Firday morning I saw an 8pt at 7am...he needed to take two steps, but alas he winded me and was gone. One spike fed in a few minutes later and hung out feeding for a while. At 7:15am I shot a LEGAL 4pt(I'll explain in a minute).

He came in behind me in some thick laurel. I saw 4 pts on one beam, drew and picked a spot. Positive he was legal....I released. Hit a little forward and broke both shoulders on a pass thru. He went 20 yards and expired. I climbed down a little while later and found a half rack! I was a little upset that I didn't identify that, but happy that the shot was clean and quickly dispatching. If the other side wasn't broken off he would have probably been an 8 with about 13-15" inside....that's a little above average around here, but not all the area is capable of producing.

SO, in two days I saw 9 bucks and 4 doe. Of the nine bucks two were not legal for me and 7 were. Of the legal deer all were respectable for this area and one(10pt) was an absolute monster. Thursday and Friday were the last two days of the season I'll have to hunt, so I needed to fill the freezer. A doe would have been fine, but the half rack I shot(thought 8pt) would have been better.

My theory on the AR's....
It'll work in time. Don't expect results immediately. We may see some results next year. In a few years we my have some real big bucks running around the mountains. If there is any area that the AR's will help....the ANF and Gamelands will most benefit. It's these public access areas that have way out-of-whack ratios. There is a lot of food in alot of these areas, just not the corn and soybeans and wheat that farm country offers. Acorns, beechnuts, hickory nuts, walnuts, wild blueberries and strawberries, grasses & general browse. The bodies on the woods deer are smaller than that of the farm deer, but the genetics still allow quality animals and lots of them.

I have to say again that I dont agree with the AR. I like to see lots of deer during a hunt and cant see the icresaed doe kill and AR helping this . I used to hunt the Adirondacks (big country with relatively few deer but large buck if you can find them). I dont want PA turning into that scenario. If Dr. Alt et.al. want to increase our number of trophy buck then why not just have an AR and keep the doe pop. the same. The major projected increase in doe harvest is sure to lower the size of the deer heard dramatically! Im sorry to say that I think the best hunting days of my career are behind me. My son will never enjoy seeing 20 to 30 deer in one day as I have in the past. Yes, I would love to get a wallhanger every year but also enjoy the taste of venison so a doe in the second week would not be a problem. Remember the days of one deer per year? I'd bet my hotseat on a wet day that you saw more deer back then too.