germain

Our wardens probably spend more time on calls about nuisance critters then actual law inforcement in many parts of the state.A general fund in that aspect would be fair.But then there's the state land our hunting licenses paid for.While hikers,bike riders and such can use this land hunting is the main focus.If this were funded by the general public demands from them would increase.ATV trails seems to be the hot topic right now.That wouldn't be a good thing for hunters.

Vermont_hunter

same here in vermont

Mocha Java

One thing is certain: if and when Pa. ever institutes check stations, the same people who defend the present system that results in only an alleged 40% return rate will step all over themselves defending check stations as if they were God's gift to man.

Windwalker7

I hunted West Virginia for many years until 2002.

They had mandatory check stations. Back then WV allowed a hunter to take about 7 deer a year, if you bought every tag. Many years I'd take 5 deer. Check stations were small stores and gas stations. They were manned by the store's/station's employees.

The idea that PA can't do it is BS. PA may be bigger, have more hunters, have more deer BUT with all the gas stations, small stores, sporting goods stores, gun shops, archery shops, fire stations, etc...here in Good ole PA, it could be done. Small states such as Maine may have fewer hunters and places to check deer but PA, being bigger, has MORE places for check stations. We are bigger, we have more places for check stations to ease the burden. Even allowing the place of the checking station to charge a small fee, maybe $1


Even without check stations there could be mandatory reporting before you purchase the following year's liceness. If you don't report by a certain date, you don't get a license.

Change the license year to run from January to January would be a good start. Check in by the end of Febuary to get the following year's license.

The PGC says they aren't geared up to do that but I think they can somehow tweek the system they already have in place that watches how many elk license applications an individual sends in, If you recieved a bobcat permit the previous year, if you sent in to several different counties for a bonus antlerless license.

How does the PGC know if a person didn't send in several bonus applications during the first round drawing? How do they know if a person didn't purchase two regular licenses to be able to take two bucks? How do they know if a guy sends in two elk applications hoping to get an elk license? How do they know if a guy , that had his license suspended, if he doesn't just go ahead and buy a license the next year anyway?

How do they track all of this?

I think they could tweek itto makeharvest reports mandatory before buying the next year's license. If you don't report, you don't get a license.


By the way, I send in every report card but I know many guys that don't. I try to explain the importance of it but they don't care. It is guys like this that make me want a mandatory reporting system.

3 gobblers

Nice moose you got there windwalker. On the check stations thats the way they do it down in Tennesee I was there. Why we cant do it here is simply amazing. You set up a system and work it dont matter if you got 900,000 hunters or 124,000 hunters it will work and state size has nothing to do with it at all as some would beleive[8D]

JimPic

People don't take the time to fill out a card and mail it--which is postage-paid-let alone drive out of their way to a check station

btw,I send mine in every year

R.S.B.

I once took a look at the feasibly of check stations here in Elk County.

If you forced every sporting goods store and Ma/Pa gas station in the county to act as a check station (which I don’t think we have the authority to do) and then required them to hire enough people to perform extra work like checking deer, we would have a grand total of about eight places in the entire county. Most of those places don’t have very big parking lots either since they typically only deal with a few cars at a time so people would have to park along the highways with traffic flowing past in both directions.

I figured out the typical single day deer kill, on the opening day of the season, for just Elk County, which sometimes ranges between about 2000 and 3000 deer. That would mean each place would have to process between 250 and 375 deer on that day if they all got an equal number of deer brought to their check point. Let’s assume that each place hired two extra employees, for that day, and it took no more then five minutes to process a deer. But, since the deer aren’t going to start coming into the check stations until at least mid day with a major influx during the evening when hunters are on their way home the deer would not all arrive at an even and steady flow.

Let’s then assume that even the low percentage of only 60 % of the opening day harvest came in after 5:00 pm on that opening day. That would leave about 150 to 225 deer for each station to process after 5:00 pm and before closing time. With two people working steady, no potty or meal breaks and no time to visit or hear hunter stories, they could maybe process a total of 24 deer per hour if it only took five minutes per deer (which is really stretching it). At that rate they should have all of the deer through the check station sometime between 11:15 pm and 1:30 am. Of course that is provided each station had about an equal deer flow and everything went perfectly and as planned.

Now we have to ask, how long are you willing to sit in line to have your deer checked? What about the guy that gets one out behind the house, drags it home and has to put it in the car and drive fifteen minutes to the check point; is he going to do that and then sit and wait for hours? How about the fact that the every news media and anti-hunter in the state are going to be at the check points to take pictures and provide Nationals News casts of all of the kills and the behaviors of the hunters? How are hunters going to react when some anti is standing there heckling them in front of a news camera after they have been sitting in a line for hours just to get their deer checked? How many hunters do you really think are going to go to a check point once you take the time to really think things through fro a couple of minutes?

I seriously doubt the reporting rate would be any better then it is right now and might not even be as high as it is now. What could possibly be any easier then taking five minutes to fill out a card and drop it in a mailbox? Place that have check stations are typically dealing in a few dozen deer, or less, being brought to the check stations in a day not a few hundred.

I have asked local hunters if they would take a deer to a check station if we had check stations. Most of them don’t even answer; they just kind of shake their head and walk away laughing. I guess that pretty much answers that question though doesn’t it.

R.S. Bodenhorn

Phil from Maine

This has been going on here! The tags to tag your deer costs you $1 and then why they are there they brouse around the store and usually buy while others come in to see the deer that is being tagged. The othersnormally buy something as well. So it is a win, win situation for those small stores. It is also good for them to here wow, I didn't think you had this item, as it is being bought. So it is good all the way around for those small places that registrate your deer.

R.S.B.

Oh, but I have asked the merchants of the area what they thought of the idea of being a deer check station. After they gave it a bit of thought about having to hire extra people for one or two days a year and staying open late into the night they said no thank you.

After they thought about it for a little while they figured all they would end up with would be a lot of extra people standing around watching the deer coming in. They thought they would have so many spectators over taxing the very limited restroom facilities they have that they would have to have port-a-johns brought in. They figured they would have litter left all over their parking lot and that most of the people wouldn’t buy much of anything from them anyway. A couple of them thought about it from the perspective of setting up food tables until they thought about the fact that much of it was going to be late evening stuff when everyone wanted to just go home.

The simple fact is they didn’t want anything to do with it unless the Game Commission was willing to pay all of the employee costs and still paying them so much per deer just to be set up checking deer on their property.

Once again you go off talking about something of which you have done no research yet think you have it all figured out.

R.S.Bodenhorn

BTBowhunter

I dont disgree that we need a better reporting system but the gas station, mom n pop store, etc check staions arent the answer either


I used those convenience store check stations in West Virginia several times and I can tell you that the quality of the checking process left a bit to be desired. How accurate can you expect the information to be when it's taken by a minimum wage employee who's running gas pumps, making coffee and checking out a parade of customers.

Illinois just gave up the local check stations for an automated call in system that works very well. Your deer becomes illegal if you dont call it in by 10PM on the day you recover it. You get a confirmation number by phone and you'd better not transport that deer without it. I'm told thats the general direction we're likely to be headed.