PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Hey guys, I heard that they will be resetting the old antler restrictions for next year possibly due to the # of hunting licenses that dropped . It was something like PA went down 300,000 sales this year , and WV went up 200,000. I personally think they should keep them around , i have already seen more big bucks the last 2 years its been in effect. If they want to go hunt other states for the fear of not getting a buck , LET THEM , that only means more deer for me. One thing i do think we should try to pass though is gettin an antlerless tag with our buck license , then being able to purchase others from there. What are your thoughts on these matters?>

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Where did you hear this? My guess is that is just another rumor floating around the mill.

The only talk of next season that I have heard is starting doe season the Monday prior to Thanksgiving. It would be a week of doe w/ buck starting on the traditional Monday. That would create a 3-week doe season. There has also been talk on other sites that the PGC would like to increase doe tags to further implement HR.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

i heard about the three week does season too. i like the current antler restrictions as well. i didn't at first because i thought i had a hard enouph time finding horns when it was legal to shoot a spike, but believe it or not, i think that the law forced me to pay more attention and can almost immediately find antlers on a deer. as for making a three week doe season, starting doe a week earlier, i think that will improve the quality of bucks in my area just because the bucks are pretty smart...... after the first couple hours of the "new" first day, the buck will sense that it's the beginning of yet another gun season in PA and will head to the thickets and swamps to "hole" up for the season. then you'll see them popping up shortly after it all comes to an end!!

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Big whoopdy doo if they make a "Doe Season" starting the first Monday before Thanksgiving. That will just be 5 more days that I and 95% of the working class guys here can't hunt.
You want to do it right.........Start a concurrent Buck/Doe season on the SATURDAY after Thanksgiving and give us SUNDAYS as well. More antlerless deer will be killed on that extra Saturday and the 2 Sundays than any week long DOE season ever will. WHY? Because us guys who actually have to work will have an extra day to actually be in the woods hunting.
Want to sell more licenses? Give us Sundays. It's not worth it to a lot of guys anymore to only be able to hunt one day a weekend. I know I have a beautiful camp in the mountains of Northern PA and I just don't want to make that drive for one day a weekend.
And leave antler restrictions alone.......they work.

I am always amazed at the PGC's shortsighted and complicated solutions to a simple problem with a simple solution.
:eek:

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

I hope the AR's don't leave. PA has a lot of potential. I hope they don't put in another week of gun season. 3 weeks seems crazy. I'm with Matt on the Sunday hunting.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

definitely with you guys on the sunday hunt, the Saturday opener and keeping the AR's. I personally think the Sunday hunting would be the best move the PGC copuld make to get license sales up. Unfortunately, I also think that it will be the last thing the PGC would do. They seem to have an irrational aversion to the Sunday hunting idea.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Yea thanks for the input guys, I also would like to see sunday hunting come to PA.... We need to get the ratio back in line. Last day of rifle i saw 36 deer , 2 had horns . That is rediculous, give me an Antlerless tag with my buck tag, if u must charge me the 6 more dollars to make ur money , then leave some open for WMU sales. IMO

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Let me start off by saying that I would like to see the AR continued. However, I would like to see more micromanagment of seasons and bag limits based on the different WMUs. In some areas I believe the current 2 week rifle for buck or doe season to be overkill and would like to see it removed for the next few seasons. A doe season starting the Saturday before Thanksgiving through the Saturday after Thanksgiving followed by a two week buck season would be my preferred suggestion for my neck of the woods...though I do ofcourse agree with Matt's comments about Sunday hunting.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

One thing i do think we should try to pass though is gettin an antlerless tag with our buck license , then being able to purchase others from there[quote]

Just how would you regulate where that doe tag could be used? Anywhere??

My friends, we are divided on this between those who see lots of deer and those who don't. I have hunted deer for almost 30 years in Lehigh, Carbon, and Schuykill counties, on state forests or sgl's, and I've never had to hunt this long and hard to even see a deer. I suspect that those who are clammoring for more tags and more days to hunt are probably hunting either an isolated spot or on a private land, or on a lease. I believe we are becoming a two-tierd hunting fraternity. Those who have, and those who do not. And those that do not, like me, would rather see a reduced season and bag limit. Over-browsing by deer is a poor and unproved reason to have slaughtered our herd. Take a look at your public forests, in summer, and tell me how much sunlight reaches the floor. The deer haven't over-browsed because there's nothing to browse.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Sunday hunting, absolutely! We are living in a state( Oh! Sorry I meant commonwealth) that still lives in the historic blue law days. Enough said , please contact the Pa. Game commission and let your voice be heard. The only way there going to change is if we pressure them. It also wouldn't hurt to contact your state senators office and voice your opinion.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

my 2 cents worth is keep AR
Give us the Saturday after thanksgiving and Sundays to hunt. heck maybe overlap bear season into those 3 days sat, sun, monday

Benefits of that would include:
More Hunters a field, causing a better managed herd. = more license sales = more $
Productivity increased - More people at work Monday rather than out in woods for a day. Numerous people using normal weekends rather than vacation time. Plus that would remove the school holiday of that Monday that affects a large part of the state. (Philly area doesn't get that Monday off) one more day of class so the snow days don't pile up as much. seems like they cancel almost before a snowflake hits the ground. seems like kids are in school till all but July 4th.

Hey there are stores that do sell liquor on sundays so the blue laws are slowly changing. but still a very puritan area.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

i gotta agree with double lung ! the only thing i would change is longer archery season and sunday hunting , hey how about sunday hunting during archery season that would add about 5 more days , that works for me!

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

I too would like to see Sunday hunting. As far as doe seasons i believe there are a number of people in our area at least, that do not believe in doe hunitng (the old head adage that you are killing the breeders)

Its to bad. I border 3000+ acres that does not allow doe hunting??????????
Guess what ....3/4 of the members are 65+ years old. I am over run with doe. This year we killed 10 mature doe and and 1 nice buck. THe buck to doe ratio is still very whacked where we hunt and probably will be until people wake up and see the light.

The more huntin time the better. (How about an extra week of archery..the huntin starts to get good and they close the season!!!)

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Let's not blame the PGC for a lack of Sunday Hunting. Only the Legislature can change that law so the only way to get it changed is to take a couple minutes and contact your legislator.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Leave AR alone, if anything make it 4 points per side, Sunday hunting a must,
run bow season till the saturday before rifle, have rifle season run till 12-31,
make the buck tag good for 2 deer buck or doe, and for bow season make it so we can legally hunt till dark, and for the ones not buying tags because of the
AR good go somewhere else.
One more thing maybe since we have so many peaple out there that wont shoot does, make it you must shoot a doe to be able to shoot a buck

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Just my opinion, but I don't think doe season should be longer. I think it should be concurrent with buck season only for the first week. And if they start it a week earlier the big bucks will already be on high alert and almost inaccessable.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

WV license sales went up 200,000...not a chance
Snort

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

matts got it right about the working man and the his suggestion for the season makes too much sense. NOW LETS GET WORKING ON THE SUNDAY HUNTING CHANGE!!!!!!!

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

fellow NJ neighbor, I didn't get up to pa to hunt this year but you can bet I will be there next year. I would like to see sunday hunting no question about it. I don't or wouldn't mind seeing doe season come the monday before thanksgiving but it will put the bucks on red alert and hole up till the season is over. But that isn't that bad either because we will then have more and more bigger bucks out there. You will just have to learn how to hunt more;).

But please keep AR's.

Brian

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

IMO they dont need another week of doe season or whatever before rifle. If its that big of a deal , give us sundays to get more itme in the woods , if that doesnt work , give us inlines or whatever for extended season. I just dont understand why PA is so far behind in game management and laws and all this. I am only 16 years old , and i dont know how some older people are so blind to the obvious. We pay these guys nice money to benifit our herd so lets do it.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Sunday hunting won't happen the reason is the farmers who gave the land to the state to allow us to hunt ask for no hunting on sunday we have 1000's of acres of private land open to us as long as there is no sunday hunting if we get it we lose alot of hunting ground we have 4 farms here with a total of about 1000 acres alone that would close and be taken over by a club who wont let us hunt anyway. think hard about the land that you have local check the commision web site for deer damage areas those are only a few. i would like to hunt sunday to but not if it is going to take land from other hunters who have no place to hunt except that farm the only guys we would hurt are the guys like us that work 40 to 60 hours a week and only get 1/10th of the time they want to hunt. what we need to do is push to get more state land then we would be able to hunt sunday. when we have enough land to hunt. the ar is in place for another 3 years they wont change it to many guys like it. i love it look at the bucks in my yard. i haven't seen deer like this in years here i had 11 buck all but 4 where legal to shoot 1 was a small legal 6 here is a pic.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Interesting thoughts CallMan because it seems like the only reason those who oppose Sunday hunting in the State Legislature have been able to come up with.

Let me see if I have this right. Some landowners are running what essentially amounts to a public welfare program and allowing others to hunt on their property. If the state allows landowners to make their own choice of hunting on Sundays or not, just like they can on any other day of the week, some of those running that public welfare program are threatening to quit donating.

Are you really saying that the rights of those welfare recipients that might lose a free place to hunt, outweigh the rights of property owners to make their own decision on what they can do on their own property?

Isn't that somewhat contradictory to the principles of Freedom?

Is the end result any different than if a group of property owners that allow public fishing or hiking or ATV riding threatened to close their property if the State didn't shut those activities down for everyone in the state one day a week?

If that wouldn't be fair for anglers and hikers and ATV riders, how is it fair for hunters?

Would you consider a fellow angler or hiker or ATV rider that supported such restrictions for those reasons to be pro or anti?

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Sunday hunting is much needed the state must get in the game on this. If the need one day a week for no hunting make it a wed. or tues. which would affect a few but not nearly the thousands that only have sundays off. I also like a Sat. start to the buck season and in the WMU's that can handle it a over the counter anterless permit bought with you're regular lic. They do need alot of timber management on the stateland's and parks for more deer and deer food. Most people I talk to that don't see alot of deer are gun hunters who hunt a couple of days a year and that's it they go to the same stand they killed a buck in 1980 and never try a different stand or area they just complain about no deer IMO that's their lack of scouting and prep work and some people don't have time but don't complain about no deer in the area I hunt cause they're there. The ANTLER RES. should stay everyone has seen and improvement. Dr. Alt went to a big deer processing house that does alot (750-1,000 a year) of deer and he said in years past 2.5 year old deer made up 15% of the bucks. This year 56% of the bucks at this processor were 2.5 year old deer with nice racks mostly 8pt. with 13" to 17" spreads wait till next year. This is just my opinion on the subject and if you do hunt hard and don't see deer in Pa. find another hunting area.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

COWBOYSFAN- what do you mean "let us hunt till dark"? do you guys have a quitting hour down there?. in NY it's sunset...
just curios,
moose

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

moose, its 1/2 before dark. sun set

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Your going to see Sunday hunting implemented in a very slow procedure.....trust me.....it comes down to....the hell with farmers who are against it...they don't govern the Game Commission and a they don't support or finance the game lands and state forests which will be open to Sunday hunting. Why penalize hunters who hunt public land because some farmer is against it on his property....he'll simply not allow hunting on his property on Sunday.....


It's all about the $$$$$...to generate revenue...

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

I'm on the PA GAme CCommission bulletin board and the list of things to be covered at the Jan. meetings did "not" include the Thanksgiving week hunting season and there won't be any changes to the antler restriction. Actually this will probably be the least amount of changes they have went for in years.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

Rob said it all . If they want to be tight @$$es about it , then let them govern their personal property how they want, but public land should be able to be hunted 7 days a week in season.

RE: PA AR going BYE_BYE??????
 

One more thing I thought of about changes with licenses. Why doesn't the Game Commission get with hoe the other states sell their licenses. I bow hunt so sell an Archery lic. with a buck tag and have an extra fee for a doe tag. Then sell a Reg. hunting license, or call it a rifle license in which it would have a buck tag and you would also be able to purchase a doe tag over the counter. Sell a seperate small game lic., a seperate turkey lic. and so on. This way a fellow would be able to hunt in gun season even if he got a buck or doe in bow season they would sell more lic. and make more money and I know alot of guys don't bow hunt cause they want to hunt with everyone in gun season. Most of the other states do it this way to sell more lic. and give more hunting opportunities to the working men and women. What do you guys think of doing it this way?