my what a statistician an indepth knowledge of deer management, AR, HR
I'm going to nominate him for the new president of the "PA hunters for bringing back the doe" club.
If I had any hair left I'd tip it to you Chickory. You must have spent years compiling all that stuff.

You know Chickory I think the thing that has these horn hunters whipped up into a frenzy of late is that they have begun to realize the silent majority of hunters are getting pretty fed up with Alt's plan to drop the herd statewide to 12 DSM. Note I didn't say the majority aren't in favor of AR ,cause I do honestly believe they are. It's just that they aren't willing to sacrafice seeing deer to do it. Most every real hunter I know wants to tap the release or trigger at least once a year here in Pa on land they have hunted for sometime. They really don't care if it is what some people think is not a quality buck or not. Spike, 6 pt., button buck fawn doe or mature doe the majority just don't care. It is the minority that feels if it doesn't "score' it is beneath them to consider it a quality deer.
I know a guy that brags each year " I won't even draw on a buck scoreing 140 or less" I always tell him he doesn't get many deer then does he. But hey if he's happy not getting a shot good for him. I just don't want to listen to him berate the next guy for shooting a scrawny buck or a button buck.

See.... now your just making me blush


You absolutley right Ulysses, hunters statewide are rejecting the so called 'scientific management' or QMD that requires extremely low deer densities and private land management that PA is trying its little social experiment on.

A majority of sportsman did think the rhetoric and misleading hype was gonna be great before they had ever seen a glimpse of the smaller herd. Pa officials made it sound great. "more and bigger bucks, hey look at my gymnasium rack waving Dog and Pony show..."

But now that the rubber has hit the road and hunters are getting a look at the smaller herd and what it is like to hunt it they do not think that sending 61000 hunters home with out bucks (since AR was implemented) is worth having a few thousand hunters take a 8 point instead of a seven. Or a six point instead of a five point.....

In pa we have always struck a balance of sacrificing some forest health for our needs to hunt and bike and snowmobile. Our sport does take its toll on the forest to a degree, but now we are being led by zealots in the PGC who want put a much higher priority on timber industry. And we sportsman are paying the price with lower harvests, a smaller herd, lower hunter satisfaction, and more hunters saying "its not worth it".

You may have to lead Pa's more common sense balanced approach to deer managment Ulysses....... because I am becoming more and more fed up with it.

Quality over quantity managment in pa is not providing great hunting. Hunters are rejecting it hands down, and many are dropping out as a result.

If you ask me my feeling about gameland useage I'd be forced to say that those zealots you spoke of are more in tune with the mtn bikers,hikers,birdwatchers,flower sniffers, horse riders,etc. than they are with the hunters whom purchased the land to begin with....but then again you didn't ask!

All those activities are fine I too enjoy some of them but IMHO they should be secondary to hunt on gamelands. Isn't that what the land was purchased for????
The current commissioners are too worried about being politically correct when they should be worried about game & non game animals!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chickory I'm about fed up with those nim rods myself. My posted signs are hung an I will continue to hang them anywhere I can talk a landowner into it in my area.
When there isn't any deer left in 3A or at least huntable numbers I may charge an access fee to enter my place.
what's the going rate in states like Iowa, Ill., KS cause that's where Alt is leading us an these fools don't see it.