MikeE51848

I saw deer on a few occasions while hunting last week. Somedays I would see 2-3 deer, other days none. Saw signs of earlier than usual buck activity (scrapes, on Oct 18th?). Much less hunter activity also. I agree, the rifle season will show us herd status. By then, we can blame Alt/DNCR and Alt/DNCR can blame us.

lonewolf5347

I hope PA does't end up like NYS deer herds,when I use to hunt back in the late 60's and early 70's you would always see deer in the woods .I did see a reduce heard getting into the late8o's were doe tags were being issued on a one per hunter,as time went on the deer heards were now getting thinner.Iwould say the fist heavy winter that took a large part of winter kill was around 95 and 96,and still the doe tags no# were one on one per person. I did hunt last year up in deposit ny with 14 guys that covered a mountain side ,how many deer were taken O on opening day.
I also owned property in PA up near honesdale any on any given day you would see aleast 20 does in the woods ,I still keep intoich with some fellow hunter up in that area and they said the same deer heard are down,all in all too many anterless tages are being issued and I could never understand why some guys get so many tags ,sooner or later the deer will be gone in certain area.

rybohunter

My hunting hasn't been that great, but the deer are there. My summer scouting showed TONS of deer in my area, and I am sometimes seeing lots while hunting, but it is hit and miss. One night I'll see 12, the next none. I have several nice bucks in my area, so after the 1st week, I've laid off my best stands till the rut starts kicking in next week and have been hunting some secondary properties. If my bow season isn't as productive this year as it normally is, it sure isn't for a lack of deer.

PABowhntr

Bob,

I have seen significantly fewer deer overall this year than in previous years. I know I said that last year and the year before but this year is much worse. What should one expect though with the overlap of buck and doe season for a full two weeks and increases in doe tag allocations? This is the direction that Gary Alt was headed into with his deer management plan and it seems that in some places he has now achieved that goal...if hunter response is any indication that is.

On a somewhat positive note, I have actually seen more bucks than does this season with an almost two to one ratio. This was also part of Gary's plan I would think. So, when I head out into the woods I can typically expect to see either no deer whatsoever or at least one legal buck.

I have only seen 4 doe so far this season and one of them fell to one of my arrows.

BarnesX.308

I'm not an Alt supporter or detractor. I actually don't want to hurt my brain thinking about the whole fiasco. However, I will make this observation. Deer sightings in a lot of areas were down before Alt took over. I believe things change. The land changes. Areas that once had plenty of browse become mature and hold less deer. The beech or oak trees that once produced a lot of mast no longer produce and deer move on. Maybe a farmer sold out on a neighboring farm and stopped planting. The biggest one might be the way we hunt. In the 1970s and 1980s, people hunted in groups more. Deer drives were the norm and the deer were always moving in large groups. Now, hunters are more solitary. They get the best in scent control and camo and sit in a tree. I think the deer numbers may be down but the change in sightings is probably due more to the patterns of the deer changing.

Newtown

Well spoken. It is good to see that you considered science, land use changes and hunter behavior in your rebuttal. All too often, we fall into the trap of using our personal experiences (or expectations) to draw conclusions. I often find myself fighting the emotion of frustrating outings for fish and deer. If you fished Lake Erie for walleye this year you know what I mean. Last year in NY, deer hunting in most of our higher elevations was simply awful with few sightings. I am sure this was partly due to multiple years of record kills and a couple of tough winters, but it was also a rare year with no mast crop (acorn or beechnut), poor apple production and low hunter participation due to frustration and bad weather. However, in the valleys and flat lands, the hunting was the exact opposite and we saw winter yarding in many areas, which is not common in WNY. I videotaped a yard of 100+ deer in the vineyards between the Allegany Mts. and Lake Erie basin last March. I bet the wineries were not pleased. No deer for me yet this year. I will be in the Allegheny National Forest tomorrow.

deaddeer

There is a very simple explanation for why hunters are seeing fewer deer and one of the primary reasons is the high adult doe harvests of 2002 and 2003 . In 2002 we harvested 190 K adult doe compared to a total anterless harvest of only 186K in 1999. Then in 2003 we harvested another 197K adult doe, since we harvested fewer fawns. Since a very low percentage of the fawns that were saved would produce even a single fawn , there obviously was a major decrease in the number of fawns produced. Add the effects of a hard winter in some areas and the effects of herd reduction in 6 WMU's and it is obvious why hunters are seeing fewer deer.

T_in_PA2

Heck, got a buck & doe the first week. Must be pretty good!

Buck Magnet

It has been absolutely awsome for me here in Indiana county! I have seen more bucks this year than my total of deer last year. Actuallly, I have been seeing more bucks than does this past week and for the season it is about equal.

One thing I have noticed is that there aren't many rub lines or scrapes around, but the bucks are cruising big time. Last Thursday, yesterday, and today I sat in my favorite stand in my honey hole and it was un-real. Last Thursday I saw 2 button bucks, a 3 pt, a 5 pt, and a very nice old 8 point that my best-friend shot that evening. Yesterday I saw a button buck, a 6 pt, and a 8 pt. Today I saw a 7 pt! No does in this spot!

One thing I have noticed is that the deer are spending most of their time in corn fields.

WVBowhunter10

It has been exceptionally slow in South Central PA where I have been hunting. It seem to me that they have changed their patterns and are not moving like they have in the past.