Deer Season 07

[PA Highlander]

I was lucky enough to get a deer Monday afternoon ... however ... I only saw 5 deer total in two days of hunting ... add in 2 days in early muzzleloader and make it 6 deer. Of those deer only 1 was a buck (6 pt in Muzzleloader when I needed a doe) and 1 unidentified, the rest were does. There are much fewer total deer than just 5 years ago here in WMU 2C. I haven't got a buck in 6 years now ... and I thought the antler restrictions were to make more and bigger bucks? Not that I care about antler anyways, I hunt to fill the freezer. Something needs changed with deer management. I'll agree that suburban areas have too many deer for the terrain but unless access is granted to hunt them not much can be done. Most of the rural parts could probably go back to the 3 day doe season in my opinion.

[CoyoteJack]

I have to believe that the restrictions and greater doe harvest affects the various management areas differently. Here in 1B there hasn't been a noticable reduction in overall deer. In fact in much of Erie county there are more deer than ever. The biggest difference I've have noticed is that the mature bucks and does are more savy than ever. It means taking hunting to the next level. I've seen a 6 point buck twice a day each time I've been in my brothers old stand this year. He comes wandering in and back out usually within 30 minutes of the start and end of the shooting hours. He is also dumb as a stump, but even he has wised up in the last couple of days.

Personally I enjoy hunting itself far more than just filling both tags. I've filled my anterless tag now and that leaves me till next Saturday to hunt nearly every day for a worthy set of horns. There out there for sure. I've seen their marks. I'm hoping for an inch or two of snow tonight for a early morning stalk. There will be so few hunters in the wood on Friday that following a large set of tracks is probably going to be my best bet. I'm guessing they'll lead me deep into the swamp.

[JDC]

I feel sorry for all the fathers trying to introduce their kids to hunting when you don't see any deer it's hard to keep kids interested in hunting. The hell with the bigger bucks I just want to see deer.We need to goe back to the way things were
for the sake of are sport and future generations.

[mike1894]

I feel sorry for all the fathers trying to introduce their kids to hunting when you don't see any deer it's hard to keep kids interested in hunting. The hell with the bigger bucks I just want to see deer.We need to goe back to the way things were for the sake of are sport and future generations.

"AMEN TO THAT" 1 deer a year; 3 day doe season.

[Lycanthrope]

My father and I were just discussing.....that if I have kids.....we'll have to pay for them to shoot deer off of some ranch. It'll cost 10K, we'll have to shoot them in front of a camera (for publicity) in a deer blind with sliding windows......and we'll ahve to use a T/C inline muzzleloader.

Lycanbecausepeoplehuntliketheyseeontvthrope

[CoyoteJack]

I feel sorry for all the fathers trying to introduce their kids to hunting when you don't see any deer it's hard to keep kids interested in hunting. The hell with the bigger bucks I just want to see deer.We need to goe back to the way things were
for the sake of are sport and future generations.

I've been taking my 7 year old son scouting pretty much every time I go. We are seeing alot of deer. He isn't hunting yet but perhaps next year he will. Had he been with me this year either Monday or Tuesday that 6 point would have been his.

Erie County couldn't generate enough doe tag application prior to the antler restrictions. I use to apply for extra tags and had 3 antlerless tags every year for a number of seasons. I'd fill them all too. So I'm actually taking less deer per year now.

[FordDieselSteve]

Deer numbers are down in wmu 4 D,aso I have noticed the number of hunters are also down.I never saw another hunter in the woods on Monday.

The pgc will need to do something to try to get hunter numbers back up,but it may be too late

Also I think they should go back to the county system to allot doe licences,the wmu's are too large to manage the deer numbers.IMO

[JDC]

I've been taking my 7 year old son scouting pretty much every time I go. We are seeing alot of deer. He isn't hunting yet but perhaps next year he will. Had he been with me this year either Monday or Tuesday that 6 point would have been his.

Erie County couldn't generate enough doe tag application prior to the antler restrictions. I use to apply for extra tags and had 3 antlerless tags every year for a number of seasons. I'd fill them all too. So I'm actually taking less deer per year now.

Your area is definitely an exception than. My parents live in Bradford and I've hunted there for 18 yrs and it has never been this bad. Gamelands near them are vacant pretty much everybody has given up. You can't say that the extended doe season doesn't affect deer populations that's just crazy. I have no doubts that this style of game managemant will ruin deer hunting for future generations.

[WMG]

It was never a secret that the game comm wanted to reduce the herd to almost half , they told us that and put it in print. However everyone was too busy argueing about the antlers to take up with the reduction like that , esp all at once , anyhow now the game comm has distanced themselves from alt , claiming they think his numbers were high and not really sure where he got them
He was the hired gun , he got in ,did what he was to do , and got out , now the game comm pretends like it "wasn't us" ??????????????
We took the bone because no one at the time really cared , the facts were not looked at and all anyone wanted to do was join hands and sing "give alt a chance" around the campfire, well they do what you allow them to do
by the way , there used to be a game comm propaganda machine here posting awhile back , aint seen him in awhile , I imagine they like to lay low until the memorys once again get fuzzy

[JDC]

I talked to a game commission officer this year and he told me the decline in deer populations had alot to do with coyotes and poachers what a bunch of BS.