I'm not sure if you have all read this. I posted this in another thread but thought I would post it here so maybe everyone will read it. It's coming from North American Whitetail magazine, in my opinion, one of the most well respected groups out there.

http://www.northamericanwhitetail.com/huntingtactics/NAW_0907_10/index.html

Guess we may be doing something right.

thats a very interesting article, thanks for sharing!

muzzyman88, I read it and it sounds just like an Alt interview. It does make sense and explains that they are not going to 'monster deer'. w. the program. BUt it is Alt, great bear guy but deer + PAPGC = ?

Oh, man....This is really going to "ruffle the feathers" so-to-speak of some people on here.....The USP whining is about to start....Get your popcorn ready.

Wow!!! this is going to bring the out of state trophy hunters in droves, I hope they don't find out about all the big bucks in Cameron Co.

Thanks for posting the link Muzzyman88

Something tells me this thread will be very active....

here is TRUTH on the AR in wmu2g.

is it causing larger racks, YES.

IS IT CAUSING MORE BUCKS,noooooooooooooooooooo.

WHY?

the junior restriction is being abused by the ADULTS.

most OF THE abuse IS DONE WITH gangs.

its BROWN ITS DOWN WITH KIDS TAG OR KID ALONG.

folks, most are not even looking to see if its doe or buck, let alone does it have 3 points to side.as long as all have doe tag and kids along or tag,its just shoot.


WE AS HUNTERS HAVE GOT TO GET THIS RULE CHANGED.
it must be 3 points for all of us.

let kids ONLY shoot a doe in WMU2G,no adult can kill doe but kids must go by the AR rule.

this could possibly stop the BROWN ITS DOWN WITH KID ALONG OR KIDTAG HUNTERS.

"Something tells me this thread will be very active...."

It doesnt take a geniustofigure outpeople are gonna want to point out inaccuracy and highly biased information.

Only problem I see, most of the statements are made by Pgc...Even Rsb was quoted. Gee. Gotta be unbiased credible article! (LOL)

Not saying anything bad about the magazine, they have very little way of knowing exactly what our situation is. They basically print what they are told, and every writer simply is not gonna study the topic of our deer management IN DEPTH, when they can get "good enough" fodder in a couple of short phone interviews or a 10 minute face to face chat.

Funny about mentioning the 170" buck. Seeing as it was from Allegheny, one of the worst counties accesswise in the state, and an area that HAS NOT BEEN reduced because of it.

Compare to most of the state where such bucks are about as rare as hens teeth, the ow herd has been reduced by 20, 30 40, and in some cases over 50%.

The reason Allegheny is a good county and is number one in big bucks killed, is because the plan CANNOT work there. Its an SRA, have nearly unlimited tags, yet access wont allow the herd devastation that occurred most other places.

Didnt hear much mention that we had a 40-50 yr low buck harvest. Hunters numbers are declining over twice the national average, that we dont and cant have more big buck as predicted due to many areas having such extreme reduction, Didnt mention the reproduction prediction have proven false according to the annual report data. and on an on...

One flowery, PGC statement riddled article designed to simply paint a happy face to the many many hunters who distrust them aint gonna change a thing.

They are being sued, petitioned, have government intervening on part of hunters, are gonna be audited etc... All for very good reasons. Ecofreaks have set our deer management goals in Pa based on their desire for things like more trillium, hobblebush, and a more "pre-settlement" environment, and they are imbedded like ticks.

The southwest region used to be the best area of the state for big bucks. Then areas like 2A got hit with over 50% ow reduction. Funny thing is, pgc hadnt had a buck scoring session in six years and was highly anticipated...

SOme of the biggest bucks in the region measuring session this year...after not having a session in 6 years!? A measly mid 130's buck was top typical archery. Rifle = 150's.

P-A-T-H-E-T-I-C!

But Pgc will shine the spotlight brighter than ever on the oddball two or three really big bucks from far corners of the state, like were always the case, just to try and salvage a miserably failed program.

Baby boomers over sixty hanging up their guns and bows...
Worst line in the whole thing...I hate seeing my grandpa and his brothers declining health. And it justs seems worse every year...They all get out still. And my dad me and some cousins help them all we can, but its sad..such is life I guess...
As for the article, I have mixed feelings. I bow hunt ohio, and in my opinion we have a very healthy herd here. Gun season in PA, I see a big difference. There are way less deer in 2E then when I started hunting in 2000. I have seen a few big bucks, but it is not common to go three or four days before even seening a buck. I remember seeing bucks and does on every drive we did. And we were picky because there were so many deer. Now, if we see ten doe in a day, we are doing good. And the first rack that looks legal is shot, because there are so few deer. Just my opinon from what I have seen.
-Jake

Cornelius....You can go on and on all you want about what you seem to refer to as exaggerations made by the PGC as to the amount of bigger bucks being taken since AR was put into effect. I live in 2D and in the past several years have seen larger bucks being harvested than any time I can remember in the past, and I've been around for awhile. A friend does custom deer butchering just down the road from me, and he concurs also. One of my long-time friends who lives just over the hill from me has killed the biggest bucks he has ever taken in archery season sine AR went into effect. Two years ago he killed a 12 pt. with a 21" spread.
The local newspaper prints pictures of succesful hunters who are willing to take the time to go to the paper and have their pictures taken with their deer. Perhaps you would be interested in looking at all the nice racks that are being taken around here. It doesn't take much to cough up the e-mail address of the Indiana Gazette and watch as they come in. And that's only the hunters who bother to take the time to do it.
You paint everything with the same brush. I know what I see.............