duckgoosedown

I have hunted in the 2a,2b areas of pa my whole life. this year had to be the worst year yet. i saw mayb a dozen deer in a week worth of hunting. usually i see atleast 20-30 a day. i hunt on private land and still no deer. they need to make the 3day doe season again and get rid of the 2 week season.. anyone else agree

chuckclear2000

I agree. Certainly a decline in 2b where I hunt. I did take my biggest buck ever in 2005. Less deer, but seems to be better quality deer, at least in my area. this will be my sons first year hunting. I'm a little worried about showing him deer. When I started, I would usually see some deer, I even remember my first day, I saw 52 doe. I just hope our young hunters don't become uninterested because of lack of deer. I hunt 2A as well as 2B, and believe me, if you wanted 20 doe tags for 2A you can buy 20 tags for 2A. It seems like they want the deer gone. Less deer for more quality deer, I guess that will forever be the debate. We hunt mostly private and do a good many drives, but turned up empty on most of them this year. I know I liked taking 1st day of buck off of work and also the 1st day of doe too!!

rybohunter

I don't think you are going to get much sympathy complaining about no deer in probably the 2 units with the best deer populations.

duckgoosedown

i just think there are alot of yuppie hunters screwing things up for people that put time in scouting for the deer. I hunt private land and in the past few years i have had to remove many people but never have turned them in because i dont want to cause trouble. this year was my brothers first deer season and we saw mayb a dozen deer none which could offer a shot. I guess it looks like might have to archery hunt seems like that is best chance for deer.

rybohunter

I wouldn't call them yuppies, I'd call them slobs. But it seems if you keep letting people mess things up by trespssing, you are hurting yourself for trying to be "nice". You should bust them if they are trespassing.

findinbone

I hunt exclusively 2a.I spend alot of time in the off season shed antler hunting.I personally believe this is the best form of scouting a person can do.I also hunt exclusively on public land (GAMELANDS).If a person puts the time and effert into it like I do they can get there deer every year.In the 3 years I have hunted Pa I have killed two 12 points and an 8 point.I think if you buy your doe tags you should be able to fill them at any time during the season or dont fill them at all.By the way Pa is the only state I have hunted where you have to buy a doe tag seperately.While Iagree I see less does now than I did when I first hunted here.They do seem to come out of hiding when I'm shed hunting Feb thru Apl.I believe there is so much pressure on them they simply stay hidden and go nocturnal.I also think that with the buck to doe ratio in check tactics like rattling and using scents are more effective.I did'nt live here when yall had the old draconian hunting doe season and I dont really want to experience it so I hope it stays like it is.

rybohunter

what state are you coming from finding bone? its nice to have an outsider say it ain;t so abd here when so many home grown fellas complain about it.

duckgoosedown

the game lands in the western part of the state is basically dead. I went pheasant hunting this past season the first day and didnt see or even hear anythin,no deer no squirrels, nothing what so ever.i walked miles and nothing and its not the first time its just about everytime.i think they need to start making a certain number of permits for each game land, so the wildlife can rebound.

chuckclear2000

findinbone: I would love to see these public land 12 points. Got any pictures? 3 for 3 on public land very impressive. Show me some pictures, I'd love to see them!

findinbone

rybohunter I am origionally from Va.In Va you can legally harvest 1 bear 3 turkeys and atleast 4 deer all on the same license with no extra cost.More importantly the state has enough animals to support such a harvest.Oh and no AR's.

Chuckclear I will have my wife take some photos and then she can figure out how to post them so please be patient.My wife dos'nt allow my to operate her digital camera.The first 12 point and my most recent 8 point came from game lands in Fayette county.The other 12 point from last year came from Washington county off an old abandoned strip mine that anyone can hunt.