Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

I come to this forum because I am curious how your state is faring to the regulations. I only wish MN would do something similiar. Our state ranked high in harvesting big bucks but that is slowly fading.

Do you think this is too much? 27 hunters taking 77 deer in 6 days. This happened last year north of my nephews hunting area. This year those 27 only took 13 deer due to corn still in the feilds.

I do not believe in the brown down like so many rural locals.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

how could 77 deer be harvested from one hunting area an it not effect the overall deer numbers? Common sense says it will.
last two years here in Pa on the public land that borders mine guys were pulling deer out of the woods at an alarming rate. Most everyone had at least 2 doe tag along with their buck tag . That's 3 deer of the hoof not to mention lost future fawns for the successful hunters. Now this year I only see 3 or 4 deer in my hay fields in the evening and they look like the same doe with 2 fawns every night. Before this free for all Wackum 'n Stackum that our game dept. has in place I would see20-30 in those fields. An this year the doe tags are at the same level....You asked what I thought well I'll tell you, The PGC wanted to lower numbers and the only way they could do it was to sell the greedy hunters on killing more doe to grow bigger bucks...the bucks ain't no bigger now than they were before this slaughter.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

It is amazing how 10 miles can make a difference on deer numbers. I rode with my nephew shining feilds and I was shocked at the number of deer I saw. I consider my dads land excellent for deer cover but I never saw that many deer together.

My nephew said a local farmer estimated 80 deer on the edge of the corn feilds this year

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

yes it can but the PGC doesn't micro manage the state that is why so many either love it or hate it. i'm one of the property owners that hates it. And this year for the 1st time ever this land is posted against any hunting because of it.
Now what did the PGC accomplish by that/ all they did was force me to take 600 acres of good hunting land out of public use by allowing so many deer to be killed. Some of my friends did the same thing. We feel we must save what deer there is left in our area.
funny thing is not once did any biologist from the PGC ever set foot onto any of this land to even do any research as to deer density.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

You allowed people to hunt your land without permission in the past?

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

in Pa if it is not posted with NO Trespassing signs hunters just think they are allowed to use it. I always appriciate it when they ask first but they seldom did.
so far this fall I've had to get nasty with a few that just simply defied me when I told them they were not allowed on anymore.
All I want to do is save some deer and some of these great white hunters that zip up state here for a few days of deer hunting then go home again till next deer season couldn't care about the next year as far as having some for hunting. I got grandkids that like to hunt. What happens when the public land is shot out an what is left on my place is over run with hunters? I doubt Dr. Alt will have a plan for that!!!!

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

you could always ask Arkansas hunters what they think, they went to AR and HR 5 years before Pa did. So they are much farther along than Pa......

Not many hunters ask for lowered buck harvests, shorter seasons, and a smaller herd.... but hey, different strokes for different folks. Ark and Pa both have AR/HR and both have dropped in thier buck harvests and overall deer harvest #. Ark even shortened thier season.

I do feel bad for you though if Minn. has gotten to the point they have to cut thier herd in half like Pa. Thats pretty bad news for you guys.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

I believe AR in and of itself is a good thing. When incorporated with severe herd reductions, the benefits are minimized. As far as those guys shooting that many deer it all depends on the area size, habitat and deer population.

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I know alot of guys who bought doe tags and don't intend to use them to try to save some does. I don't think I totally agree with them on it , but those are some of the things going on. I do feel the AR's are good. I'll give it another year or two and then decide on the doe kill issue.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

If your WMU is still over density goal by two or three times, you might be able to have the luxury of waiting to get off the fence.

But not everyones area does have a surplus...

who is looking out for those guys.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

no body that's who
But whom do we blame when they are shot out of an area??? It is the hunters themselves that killed the deer. You'll always find a greedy bunch that just doen't think ahead . The type of guy that would kill six does a year just cause he got six tags and his kids each got a handful of tags too. when the area is shot down low they just go some place else and do it again cause they don't have any stake in keeping some around.
Every year for the last few I know there were 50-70 deer killed around my place and the public land that borders it last year it was hard to reach that number but they did anyway because it got hunted so hard. But this year I know they won't kill more than a few doe off my land! I'd rather if they shot spike bucks than the doe.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

Welcome to Pa's "overharvest where there is access, and we'll get them eventually" plan.

If you think its goofy now, think about this. According to the PGC we are at 25dpm, today. And they want 12dpm in pa as thier DD goal. So take what you are seeing today and cut that in half and you have a good view of what your hunting will look like. It was what they promised you after all, less deer.

its on the PGC web site, go take a gander for yourself.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

and to think these dullards are the powers to be! Like I said in another thread: There will always be an element of IMHO slobs that just got to fill EVERY doe tag they can get and usually they have a kid or two that has a pocket full of them too. Then when faced with a freezer full of ice burned meat in June it goes out the door into the trash.
It is the hunters themselves pulling the trigger on those deer. The PGC just made it legal to do so.
i see nothing wrong with putting a deer or two in the freezer for meat,and the herd in most areas support that type of harvest under normal conditions. But once the herd is reduced it is time to go back to 1 deer a year regardless of buck or doe.
The PGC and all these " I want Pa to have trophy bucks like Ill. types" are always harping that in some areas of the state there are just too many deer and the doe must be reduced...to this I agree..BUT you NEVER hear them say anything about those sections of the state where deer numbers are well below carrying capacity...do you??????
Well Mr. Alt I pay into the GC fund with my $ as well and I want a deer program that addresses that...till then my property and my neighbors ( 2300 acres total) in Potter/Tioga counties will remain off limits to public land hunters!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The Pa Game Commission, has Placed a Trojan Horse into the Future of Hunting in the Keystone State.Everyone that is Hunting in my Area, has seen very Little Deer Activity, and the Corn is Down. Add to the Fact, that the PGC in their Infinate Wisdom, wants to Cull over a MILLION More Anterless Deer this Year, It does not take a Rocket Scientist, to Figure Out where this is Headed, and not to the Hunters Benifit. In the Future, the Only way one will be able to see a Deer, is at your Local Zoo. If you Truely Love the Sport of Deer Hunting, ya all better wake Up Fast, and Decide if Deer Hunting,is something you can stand to do without in your Lives. Burn those Tags! JMO

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what I can't figure is why the PGC/Alt resists dropping the number of tags by a serious amount in the WMUs that have lowered the numbers already. This would force those guys that want to "stack them like cordwood" to apply in problem areas.
HMMMMMM could it be the $$$$$$ from the tags...or the bending to the timber companies ...insurance companies....Pa Farmers Assoc.???????????

I see more and more of my neighbors each year either posting their property or going to a lease with a few members of a hunting club.......... we come from farming families so it isn't that we don't know what damage deer can do to crops....it is because there is just few deer anymore in our area and ALT will not address that.

KEEP OUT NO HUNTING is what the PGC/Alt has accomplished in this area of Pa.
BTW the bucks aren't any larger now than 3 yrs ago.

RE: Directed to PA hunters from MN
 

I hear your frustration, but I don't think the only place will be able to see them is in the Zoo. The state will probably move to close all Zoo's :D because they harm the environment.

I think you will still be able to see deer in suburbia where everything is posted, and on private farms where landowners protect thier deer for relatives to hunt or for non-relatives to pay to lease.

But the days of hunting on large state forests, or leasing a camp in a state forest to build family traditions is a thing of the past. With DCNR saying they would like 4-6 deer per mile in state forests you can pretty much say hunting there is limited. And farms which were once open to anyone who asked are feeling the pinch too. The farm we hunt has never been posted, but he is telling all the guys this season that next year it is and only family stays because there are not enough to go around anymore. He had a large influx of hunters coming to ask permission this year, and he is tired of the disruptions, which are now growing because hunters cannot go to more traditional public areas which are down in numbers.

So take that back to Minnesota and emplement it. Minn manages at about 28-29 dpm (correct me if I am wrong) and Pa's DCNR is asking for 4-6 dpsm in Public state forests. The PGC has set our goal at 12dpm across the whole state. So yea, I'd love to hear the reaction of Minn. hunters as that plan comes rolling up the highway to thier state!