deer census

[Dskiper]

Please tell me its my age. I hunted 2 days in Pike County P.A and saw 1 deer and 1 big bear. Whats happened.Few shots on openingday! Deer sign was not there either. Acorns on the ground,no droppings,howling in the dark sounds like coyotes are in control.Game law book says 30,000 premits out. Hunters YOU are in trouble!! Iv'e not hunted P.A in 2 yrs. but my buddy says this I the way it is for quite a while. SAD,SAD,SAD !!!!!

 

[Pa pap]

It is your age if you can remember what it was like to see a herd of deer going through the woods!
I fall into that category.
I haven't heard a coyote call for the first 30 years of my hunting life or seen a tick either, but now both are plentiful.
Guess I am lucky to have been hunting in the golden years of the sport.

As for the quantity of deer, I think it depends on the area you pick to hunt.
Some areas around my hunting spots are posted because they don't want hunters on their property for whatever reason. Their neighboring farmers, on the other hand issue red tags to get the deer off their crops.

So you can still see small herds of deer depending on location, but overall the herd really seems to be thinning out. The area I was hunting on Monday I saw about 20 deer. Three deer together was the most for group size. One was an 8 point I had gotten on my trail camera but he never gave me a clean shot and walked down by me in the safety of the underbrush.

I wish you better luck on your next hunting excursion!
Let us know how you fare.
Pap

 

[speedmaster97]

I hunted Bradford and Tioga for the past 8 Yrs., Saw a total of 5 deer in rifle and archery. I remember seeing 60 deer one day in Franklin Co. years ago, but that area shot out. Pa. needs to get back the way they used to do deer hunting, 1 buck or 1 doe per season. I've been hunting for 48 yrs. and I think it's just getting worst. Just my 2 cents.

 

[SidecarFlip]

I hear Pa is nuturing their Elk herds and saying **** on the whitetails.

 

[RogerPA]

Personally I'm all for the "one deer per license year" rule, like it use to be in PA. I do like the 3 point on one side rule (4 pts. in some areas), as this has indeed increased the number of big bucks we now see. But based on my talks with other hunters, and limited number of shots we now don't hear, the deer heard in Nort-East PA has been decreased to numbers far less than most people are happy with. If their goal was to totally eliminate deer/auto collisions, I think they are getting close! When I see more black bears than bucks during archery season, I have to wonder what's up?

 

[speedmaster97]

Probably why licenses dropped from 1 million+ to 775,000 give or take according to the paper. Pennsylvania Game commission is all worried about getting kids into hunting, How do you keep kids interested when you see a couple of deer here and there ??

 

[jwall3d11]

You can't have a 1 deer per license year and expect to have a quality deer herd. You have to kill at least as many does as you do bucks or it will end up just like it used to be. I used to see close to 100 deer the first day, and 98 of them were does. That's also how you end up with a deer herd full of 1 1/2 year old bucks. There are a few decent bucks now from the 4 on one side rule but that rule doesn't make BIG deer. The only way Pa. will ever have big deer is if guys start letting younger bucks walk. That's never gonna happen. The only reason I buy a hunting license in Pa is to take my kids, nieces and nephews and to hunt coyotes and bears. I don't think there's a deer around here worth hunting. So every other year I go to Iowa to hunt good bucks. And as I write this I'm a little excited, tomorrow is Iowa's gun opener. Dads supposed to send me some pictures.

 

[Dskiper]

My thoughts are that the 3or 4 pt. rules suck!In astate that has that many hunters(was 1mil.) how can you say to a kid you can.t shoot cause its not big enough! Know wonder hunting is falling off its following. A spike is a trophy to an y newcomer or longtime hunter if you consume it. Waiting for a multi point deer may never come. Why did hunters go to P.A.?High deer numbers to start with. Theirs always the ones that made a few seasons to hope for.Its the northeastern U.S and the coyote &habitat are eating them up. If you want a sizable rack YOU pass but loss of herd seems to be at stake and interest in the hunting!Its not TEXAS!!

 

[SidecarFlip]

Did my part yesterday evening to reduce the population a bit. Was driving one of our Michigan Specials (big truck with an even bigger.stouter bumper) and in NW Ohio on Route 6, I had 10 or so cross right in front of me, all nice does. I nailed 6 right away and one got up under the trailer. I missed the rest (left some for the hunters...lol

Had to take the unit to the Blue Beacon, was hair and guts and blood all over. Didn't hurt the truck at all.

I had another truck behind me. I bet the driver thought I was running a deer blender.

 

[walkinhorseman]

Please tell me its my age. I hunted 2 days in Pike County P.A and saw 1 deer and 1 big bear. Whats happened.Few shots on openingday! Deer sign was not there either. Acorns on the ground,no droppings,howling in the dark sounds like coyotes are in control.Game law book says 30,000 premits out. Hunters YOU are in trouble!! Iv'e not hunted P.A in 2 yrs. but my buddy says this I the way it is for quite a while. SAD,SAD,SAD !!!!!

I am originally from PA. Spent most of my deer seasons in the Hammersley Wilderness Area of Kettle Creek. Used to love still hunting in the big woods after the first three days. That was until the PGC put their point restrictions in place. There was no need for Gary Alt's divine intervention in the management of the Northern Tier deer herd. Mother Nature was regulating the population just fine. You Pennsylvanians owe it to yourselves to visit the Allegheny Co. Sportsmans League website and read about John Eveland.
Is the Deer Audit a Con
Attached Files

PA_3-DeerMismanagementAnalysis[1].pdf (128.8 KB, 0 views)

 

[jwall3d11]

My thoughts are that the 3or 4 pt. rules suck!In astate that has that many hunters(was 1mil.) how can you say to a kid you can.t shoot cause its not big enough! Know wonder hunting is falling off its following. A spike is a trophy to an y newcomer or longtime hunter if you consume it. Waiting for a multi point deer may never come. Why did hunters go to P.A.?High deer numbers to start with. Theirs always the ones that made a few seasons to hope for.Its the northeastern U.S and the coyote &habitat are eating them up. If you want a sizable rack YOU pass but loss of herd seems to be at stake and interest in the hunting!Its not TEXAS!!

Kids Are Allowed To Shoot Any Buck And If Your Story Is To Be A Meat Hunter, Shoot A Doe. They Taste Better anyhow. I Don't Agree With Point Restrictions Either But I Do Like To Hunt Big Deer.

 

[walkinhorseman]

Kids Are Allowed To Shoot Any Buck And If Your Story Is To Be A Meat Hunter, Shoot A Doe. They Taste Better anyhow. I Don't Agree With Point Restrictions Either But I Do Like To Hunt Big Deer.

jwall, you are either missing the point or ignoring it. There are and always have been trophy class deer in PA for hunters with the skills to bring them to bag. I don't remember the PA deer hunters complaining about the quality of the herd when the PGC decided to put their agenda into play. That agenda was never about the deer herd or the hunters. If you'll take the time to read the information my previous post, you'll realize that the PA deer hunters AND the herd are just victims of the PGC and people with commercial agendas.
It was amazing to me, that several years into the PGC's deer management program they announce that black bear cause a significant attrition in the fawn crop. HELLO! Our world class biologist, GARY ALT, was the lead biologist for the black bear study. He is also the architect of the destruction of deer herd.

What am I missing here? .or. do you work for the PGC?

 

[yobuck]

it would be difficult to please everybody for sure.
this was my 66th year hunting the north central region.
untill the mid fiftys we had a camp in what is now the quehanna wilderness area. our present camp adjoins that area.
hunters here have been complaining about deer herd reduction for at least
25 years. there is no doubt the pgc has had a long range plan for this area
for decades. that plan revolves around the elk herd. there are far more elk here than the pgc will admitt to. they have produced large food plots thru
out the region here for the elk. something they refused to do years back.
part of the problem also is the legnth of the seasons or the ammount of them.
archery hunters have about a 6 week season which for the most part takes place before the rut. now theres cross bows which have increased the number
of archery hunters considerably. lets be perfectly honest here. how many hunters fill a tag with a bow and put it back on a rifle killed buck? i can tell you there are lots of them. could the pgc control that? you bet they could but they choose not to. and hunters choose not to also. one deer and your done was
the rule when i started and there were lots of deer.
as for the antler restrictions i personaly like them as there seems little doubt
rack sizes have improved. you want meat shoot a doe and go home.

 

[jwall3d11]

jwall, you are either missing the point or ignoring it. There are and always have been trophy class deer in PA for hunters with the skills to bring them to bag. I don't remember the PA deer hunters complaining about the quality of the herd when the PGC decided to put their agenda into play. That agenda was never about the deer herd or the hunters. If you'll take the time to read the information my previous post, you'll realize that the PA deer hunters AND the herd are just victims of the PGC and people with commercial agendas.
It was amazing to me, that several years into the PGC's deer management program they announce that black bear cause a significant attrition in the fawn crop. HELLO! Our world class biologist, GARY ALT, was the lead biologist for the black bear study. He is also the architect of the destruction of deer herd.

What am I missing here? .or. do you work for the PGC?

Your right, I was missing the point. I'm on target now. gun)