So with deer #'s in question,what effect will this have on hunter #'s? License sales #'s? Will it become unlimited doe tags? How much longer can they make seasons?

We now have legal baiting, four year old hunters & spears have been OKed where will it end?

Just how many deer are some of you willing to kill per year?

License numbers are definately going to drop.Some from the older age of our hunting population and some from deer issues.I haven't seen the numbers yet for this season but in the last couple of years the drop has been steady.One of these years I expect a big decrease and they'll need a way to finance those losses.General funding may be the only method of offsetting those losses.Age,loss of hunting land,economics,and yes the deer numbers are some reasons for license sales decreases.


How many deer will I kill?I hunt buck only and haven't shot a doe for quite awhile now.Others around our area do a good job of killing the does for us.

As our numbers decrease more pressure we be placed on those of us that continue to hunt to kill more and more deer. Do you see [earn a buck] or other programs put in place to force us to kill these unwanted doe?

They ever start {earn a buck program}I'll hunt in another state.

According to many on here there isn't a doe problem anymore on most public land because the habitat is too bad to support them.So hunters really aren't needed on say state forest land because the poor habitat is keeping numbers low already.Am I right?
As for private land there will always be enough family members and such to take out a few does.Most people who hunt deer that own land that I know don't want deer numbers anywhere near as low as public land so they won't use as many tags.
As for SGL's they'll just hand out more tags per person to get the job done.I really don't see that as an issue.I see money {funding}as the problem for the PGC in the future.As the hunter numbers continue to drop I can't see us being able to support the PGC alone.There's plenty of activity within the PGC that's not related to hunting including wildlife complaints so I say let the general public help finance the agency.

As with a poorly run company the PGC will be replaced.Remember how the auto industry ignored customer demands for better cars.Honda came along and built cars people wanted and people bought them.
If reasonable demands keep falling on deaf ears the same will happen or is happening with the PGC.
I own 150 acres here in Crawford county.I own it for the sole reason to hunt deer. My land and much more is in jeopardy of becoming another mall because of the mismanagement of this states greatest resource.

And I also will not be forced to kill at random.

One other point being new management areas were formed to better manage the herd yet the whole state is managed as to be a deer free zone.[:'(]

Well I'll use 5b as an example.Loads of tags and it's a pretty safe bet to get two if you want them.Problem is with the liberal amount of tags the public land is what got hammered.Private landowners can control how many deer they want killed so the number of tags only affects them by choice.This is why I think SGL's and some other public land needs a different management approach.

I think we are seeing the land owners response to the herd management plan by the acres of posted land.The PGC has its say on public land but allot of sportsmen are paying for their stance on public land.

I'm sorry - but you can't replace the government.
No matter how badly it is mismanaged or how much it is debt, you cannot shut it's doors. Who would take it over? The fish commission? I would be all for that - because the fish commission is running in the green and isn't complaining about a lack of funds and also stocks fish through out the commonwealth.

The only reason for the hunting zones in my opinion - was to make it easier for the road hunters to go from woodlot to woodlot cleaning out the deer. When one place is empty - you can drive down the road 20 miles and clean out another spot and your tags are still legal.

Back in the day, if them city hunters from Greensburgh and Latrobe and Pittsburgh wanted to hunt does in let's say Jefferson County, they had to buy a tag for Jefferson County and give up the right to a tag in Westmoreland County.

Now they can go to Jefferson County and if they don't get anything they can still go home and hunt down by Delmont and still be legal.

It made it better for the city hunters and worse for the country folk.

There are good biological reasons for AR and increased doe harvest:

1. It improves the buck / doe ratio.

2. This will concentrate thebreeding season, and reduce the incidence of late fawns.

3. It will reduce stress on the does. If they get bred 1st time in heat, then they can settle in for winter, not have second estrous, have fawn at normal time, have full growing season for fawn to nurse and wean.

4. Only the older, higher quality "survivor" bucks will breed. This will increase the genetic quality of the herd.

5. With the improved buck / doe ratio and breeding competition, the yearling bucks won't breed hardly at all, won't exhaust themselves, and will be more likely to survive healthier.

6. Reduced deer populations will allow damaged habitat to recover.