80% private with a greater portion becoming posted and off limits with every year that passes with the PAGC attempts at "stabilizing the herd". Our land had always been open to public hunting....until this herd reduction/ slaughter was implemented,now it is posted and Off-Limits. If the PAGC can't manage the herd responsibly the landowner who hunts will and that's what is happening. People claim the Game Commission provide us hunters with so many hunting opportunities on "state" land, but it has come with a cost. The nonhunting landowner doesn't like seeing fawns and more specifically button bucks (which make up the largest portion of antlerless killsgetting shot off their land in order for the PAGC to meet their quotas.No one likes seeing fawns getting shot including most hunters I know. The lands we once had access to are no longer available and the policies of the Game Commission are as much a cause of this if not more.I am also seeing many more wounded deer these past few years than I ever had during the buck only seasons of yesteryear. It shows more people are shooting first and checking points and sex later. These things I mention have increased in occurance since the Buck/Doe concurrent season has been started. The nonhunting public also see's this and because of this (and other reasons) those privately owned lands are now off limits.

You have no proof to back any of rant rant up.The bb kill does not make up the majority of the antlerless harvest.

Rich,The parking lots on SGL 93 aren't filledon opening day of spring gobbler season and that place is loaded with turkeys.Two years ago on opening day,I was back at my truck with a gobbler by 7:30am and there were two other trucks parked there.I saw a total of 6 trucks parked on the whole road.I'm not calling your son a liar but It's rare to see those parking lots filled,even on the first day of rifle season.

Turkey hunters numbers areVERY small compared to total deer hunters.

I agree but we're not talking about total deer hunters,we're talking about archery.I'd say the number of spring gobbler hunters on the first day of the seasonwould exceed the number of archery hunters later onin the season.I live a few miles from SGL93 and spend alot of time there all year long.It has some of the best turkey hunting around.It also has some good deer hunting but it doesn't recieve much pressure during archery season.Fifteen years ago,you were constantly bumping into other turkeys hunters.Today,it's pretty easy to get away from any crowd.

wasn't talking about turkey doug just rifle.It's easy acess I have no doubt the place gets hit hard.

I may have mistunderstood this post Rich but it sounded to me like your son was saying the parking lotson SGL 93 were full in archery season.I live nearby and drive through there all the time and have never once seen themanywhere near full in archery season.

Let me clarify... the point I was attempting make was in relation to the amount of nonhunting landowners who are now denying access to their lands due to the mentality of those who kill a deer no matter how young or small orlacking in meat it is. Non hunters and most hunters I know do not see any sport in shooting fawns that have very little worth in terms of feeding a family. Seeing fawns running around with legs dragging or blown off islooked atnegatively by the those whose land we hunt.

Quiz TimeDougE... 3 deer standing in the perceived security of the bushline, 1 adult Doe, 1 fawn Doe and 1 fawn Buck. Which deer is going to come out in the open first 9 out of 10 times? Which deer will be second 9 out of 10 times? And which one will wait until the other two are in open before coming out last? Now, please tell me fawns (doe and button buck) don't make up the highest percentage of antlerless kills. This is the point I was trying to make. But rather than reading the post and taking it for it's entirety you just wanted to argue one statement, and with nothing of benefit to add.

The butcher I took some meat to this year showed me his order invoice. On each deer brought in for skinning/ butchering he notates what sex the deer is. Atthe time thecountof antlerless was65, 39 of which were button buck, more than half of the remaining antlerless were fawn doe. So Please, DougE continue to tell meI am wrong about what I have seen in the woods personally as well as what the butcher's invoice has shown. You are probably one of those whotarget the yearlings I speak of,if so...good job champ! If not I can't see why you would even respond to my post. I guess you are going to tell me I am wrong about seeing more wounded deer as well.

39 out of 65 is surprising even for one shop but the results from one butcher shop and 65 total deer don't mean much in the big picture.

Without looking up exact numbers, fawnsof both sexes historically tend to make up somewhere near 40% of the antlerless kill. Mother nature produces slightly more buck fawns at birth than does so BB's are normally a bit more than half the fawn harvest. That makes the statewide BB harvest somewhere near 20% of the antlerless harvest.

Anything can happen in small numbers but the numbers from your butcherare not very likelyrepresentative of the statewide kill