As much as I hate to do it.

I hunt 4C. Over the past 4 years I have shot 3 * 2/1 yr old bucks that all had very nice racks and were a lot bigger than any deer I have shot for the previous 25 years. This years was a 16 inch 7 pointer. You should see the wall in my shop, The last 4 years is a new world. I am with many that I go many days afield and never see a deer, but wow I am going to drink the PGC Kool-aid and say, this management style is working.

Took a walk tonight on game lands and saw 6 deer standing in a bean field bordering blue marsh lake in berks county at 5:55pm. I did see 1 hunter about .25 mile from there and there was 1 other car in the lot. No one hunting, just lots of complaining.

Looks like things in 5c are doing OK.

Didn't you have any big 2.5+ buck in 4C prior to ARs or did you just choose to harvest a smaller buck instead of waiting for a 2.5+ buck? How many non-legal buck did you see over the past 4 years before you shot your 2.5+ buck?

Wow! You are on a roll WillCz!

I dont hear many records like that here in 2B 2D and 2F but I do hear quite a few "My biggest buck ever" stories since AR. I also hear a lot of "biggest I ever saw up here stories"on public ground in 2F

I havent shot at a 1.5 since 1996 so things havent changed much for me. I wind up eating tag soup (not for lack of shot opportunities) when it comes to bucksevery other year or sobut last year I shot a 5.5 on Jan 11. My oldest Pa buck to date.

I cant help but wonder if he'd have been around without AR or if he'd have died as a "teenager" wearing the first bone he ever grew on his head

I think prior to AR and HR I saw maybe 2 or 3 two and 1/2 year old bucks in 15 years. My area was the brown it is down theory. I am sure you have lived through the pumpkin patch. AR has really made a difference. We still have too few does. Guys at work in my area just shot 3 small 5-6 pointers and none were 2 1/2 yr olds.

We see bigger deer, just still a lot of pressure. I still feel that based upon pressure that a nice wide 2 1/2 yr old at 20yds is a great deer. PA has the best land in the US but we still have 850,000 brown it goes down guys.

I also shot quick this year because of my schedule and I am going to S. Illinois for a hunt from Oct 31-Nov 7th. Probably would have had 4-5 days of hunting this season.

IMHO we could even be more strict on AR and make it 4 on a side. I also think the seniors should not be given a preference. In my WMU I have seen a lot of spikes and fork horns being pulled out by the old guys. We have to changethe culture of PA from meat hunters to real hunters. It is happening, but not in rifle season. JMHO

Good luck this year and have a good time. I went out tonight on a game lands near home and sat near a field where 6 does came out before 6:00pm and no one was there with their smoke pole. Saw one hunter a 1/2 mile away. Counting the days until illinois.

Sitting here having a nice piece of Deer Bologna, enjoying it watching the Phils but is it that important to kill a deer. So much goes to waste by so many hunters. My kids have been raised to appreciate the hunt versus the kill. No Doubt, we always make a bigger deal about the day in the woods vs killing a deer.

WillCz, next time you see an old guy pulling a spike or a fork horn out tell him he just broke the law.
Senior hunting license holders are required to follow the new antler restriction criteria; they are not exempted.

Yes the AR;s are working and hunting in 5c is AOK! 5c is where I do %90 of my Bowhunting. The acorns are on the down side this year in SE- PA! I stayed out of the woods this week with the In-Line gun Hunters Doe hunting in the special Regs 5c,5d[:@] That I don't like, The PGC letting gun hunting for deer in the Archery season[:@] CONGRATS ON YOUR DEER WillCz! Your Hot!!!


Hatchet Jack

"Real hunters"????????????[:'(][:'(]

Oh - those who don't agree with you are not real hunters.
Don't know if that is sad or funny - but hey, keep the division alive.

Steve

Many experts suggest a spread retsriction rather than a point count and I agree with that but I also understand why we started with a point count. Trying to get almost a million hunters to change was hard enough, couning points was more specific than asking guys to measure a spread on a live deer.

Personally, I feel we're about right on doe numbers in 2D and 2B but I look forward to the day when 2F can sustain more deer over the winter. I beleive it's very possible down the road but there ae still some overbrowsed areas. Smaller WMU's and more specific regional doe management would fix that situation very quickly.

Will, where are you headed in Illinois? I'm headed for Brown County next week and I'll be for there three weeks WOO HOO !!

I agree SteveBNy,

He shouldn't have implied those who kill dumber littleyearling bucks are not real hunters. He should have saidPa needs to go from having hunters with little skill capable of shooting barely legal bucks to having skilledhunters with a higher standard for themselves who are willing to pass up scrub bucks so they might harvest a "mature" buck.

If you are upset with not being referred to as a real hunter b/c you killimmature deer, it's not too late to set the bar higher for yourself.