What Rosenberry doesn't tell you is that the herd in the NC counties crashed and those counties were at or close to their DD goal in 1982. While the PGC did there best to prevent the herd from increasing, harvests increased due to increasing herds in the southern tier counties. In 1989 the implemented bonus tags and the herd remained stable from 1987 to 1997. So there were a lot of unhappy in the NC counties back then , but the difference is now there are alot of unhappy hunters statewide.

"Is it just me or has the PA game commission been almost eerily silent about this years dismally successful firearms season?"

Do we really wanna hear an excuse? I think Pgc realizes hunters are tired of hearing the usual. They are more than aware of hunter opinion currently.

I really do believe this year the harvest numbers will so alarmingly low that even those on the side lines will be forced to concede that the endless slaughter of does needs revisited.

It willl be blamed on rain the first day and I wouldnt be surprised if a higher "reporting noncompliance" percentage is added to soften the blow a bit. But I agree from everything Ive seen thusfar, the take should definately be down, at least here.

"And if not and this trend continues I see hunter numbers falling beyond the point where hunters can continue to be the sole supporters of the PGC. And once we are replaced by the true hunter haters as the cash cows there will never be a return to responsible management of our states wildlife."

And Im not so sure its not all by design.

I believe we have reached the turning point, once guys quit hunting they will not be back and they will teach their kids to play golf, soccer or some other shameless European sport that requires gay apparel and little athleticism. The English gun ban comes to mind.

You can have soccer moms in minivans voting for the liberals or we can start making our voices heard.

Hell I don't know if anyone really cares enough ........

Not scientific but it's a fact.This is the worst year our group has experienced.The shots fiired in our area on the two first days can be counted on my two hands.I've heard the same from a boatload of other people.Looks like we finally hit rock bottom on public land.Some places might be damned close to wiped out.
You take a deer herd down to a certain level with yotes and bears those predators are going to keep those low numbers down.
On our drive home from Clearfield we counted one doe on a vehicle.And that's a 3 hour drive on highway.Talked to a guy from Tioga who also saw only one deer in/on a vehicle driving home.
Thing that bothers me the most?I have grandchildren coming up in age to hunt.
If the economy improves I'll be looking into a lease in Maryland.It would suck not going to camp but it's just a waste.
We were holding on for a few years not shooting does but as I expected that two week snow cover took it's toll on our few doe remaining last year.They stuck out like sore thumbs.

Don't blame me, I haven't taken a doe since 1965. I was a young teen then, and found out how easy it is. Now I find myself trying hard to convince the young hunters in our camp to hang in there, but their patience is running out, and I fear we will lose an entire generation and/or the future of hunting in PA. But I keep trying.

2G, northern Clinton, southern Potter. We scout now within a 30 mile radius of our cabin.

Still no word from the men on the street, heck we used to about record kills by noon the second day.

I really think heads will roll if they don't take the high road and admit that changes need made, and made soon.

I'm Not seeing the support need to stay the course, and if we don't look into options soon hunters are going to call for another major over haul, and thats not the answer.
Even this plan was supposed to be fine tunned to avoid the deer less areas and hateful hunters that we now have.

My starting suggestions would be a 30% decrease across the board in antler less tags, and a freeze on dmap and other back room ways of killing doe.
And the first week of gun season be buck only state wide with AR's staying as they are or even raised to 4 points state wide.

I'd LOVE to see buck only again atleast the first week...if for no other reason than being able to know what folks are shooting at opening day. Then we would REALLY be shocked how silent the woods are on the opener!!! Doe allocations need cut WAY back I'm guessing for MOST of the state at this point. Will it happen?I'm bettng on NOT. Look for a repeat next year. This agency has shown by now that they are unwilling to budge. As soon as their buddies and inside men at WMI stamp their shining approval rating on them, it will only get worse. I'm really worrying now how much lower these deer numbers can/ will get in some areas. What was needed long before now was a united stand by the sportsmen to stand up and say FU to the PGC , but it took too many far too long to wake up and smell the stink. I'm not sure at this point we CAN still fix it. My optimism is waning fast.

I started hunting in 86 at age 11, it took me until I was 33 to give up the gun, and hunt archery near the swingsets. The situation is dire a mile back in WMU3D public land....you can go 5 years and not see a tail.

I often wonder about all these educated biologists and their plans. About 5 years ago Vt decided to follow others including your state in AR for deer.They held public hearings and they were often contentious. The end result was that they outlawed the taking of spike bucks since our overall take was up to 80% yearling. They said the AR would result in much bigger racked bucks in just a couple of years. That worked and even though the kill was off the bucks at the weigh station were better and more 2 1/2 and up deer are being taken. The end of the study on results is soon up and the state is looking at what to do next. Keep the AR as it is, change to go 3 point on a side or eliminate it and allow spikes to be taken again. The latest thing out of the head biologist is that AR as it is now with the no spike rule will actually lower the average size in the future. His theory is that even though all or most of the spikes make it through, the more healthy, better fed and genetically better fork horns which are yearlings are being taken. In a nutshell all the big yearling are being killed and the smaller yearling spikes are left to procreate. I have noticed that they have quietly increased the anterless lottery in many areas under the guise of needing to reduce numbers for better herd health. Of course all the applications are coupled with $10 app fee for res and $25 for non res. It looks to me like they are trying to sell our herd right out from under us. Couple brown is down with AR and you have a state without many deer in short order.

Just way to many people out there not willing to make the sacrifice of not harvesting a deer to buck the current deer management program. I think true sportsmen only make up a small precentage hunters out there.