Rob/PA Bowyer

Not sure how you'll take this unofficial statistics but, my local taxidermist who has been in business full time for alot of years says he's never in his life seen the quality of bucks that he's seeing since are started AND in higher numbers. That means they are getting bigger and more of them are doing it.

I personally have never seen the quality of deer I'm seeing as well as well as that's all I'm hearing from the hubbub around town, this monster there, this monster here...and the numbers are increasing.

I hope they never go away.

davidmil

Read my whole post... I said I don't worry about such things. Duhhhhhhhhhh I'llkill the deer I want. I said, it allows genetically inferior deer to live and pass on their genes. I said I didn't worry about such things. I was simply answering the guys question with legitimate input, not throwing stones like some.

bigtim6656

what do you mean ar

davidmil

Took me a few minutes too bigtim6656.... I think it means Antler Restrictions. LOL

bigtim6656

i see ya i would say it works

Planter

I don't have an article Germ but I wish I did. It seems the consensus of hunters is that it works but I wonder if that is backed up by the game depts.
Rob I do put a lot of stock in what the taxi's and check staion guys say.My meat cutter is amzingly good at looking at a deer and figuring out what town it came from.He knew where the funny faced deer I shot this year came from within a couple of miles. Said he had seen them before.

Germ

The Legitimacy of the "passing on inferior genes" speech is about as good as "I shot a cull buck" in a wild herd.

It's about impossible to manage a free ranging herd, unless everyone buys in. The inferior genes speech is just a bunch of BS IMO. No different than me saying I shot a cull buck.

TrophyHunter32

Ever after 3 years, you can start to notice that the deer with gene of no brow tines is starting to be more common because they are the ones making it through to breed.

Jimimac

I live in PA andalso don't buy into the inferior genes argument.In the past (pre AR) the vast majority of antlered bucks running around in the woods were 1.5 year olds.With the large number of hunters here,bucks didn'tnormallylive very long in these parts. Also, those same 1.5 year olds were breeding anywayregardless of genetics since the mating season here occurs before general firearms season.

I'm no biologist, but I've personally seen more big bucks here in western Pennsylvania the last few years than ever before and it seems to only be getting better. I'm 44 years old and have been hunting since I was twelve, so I find it hard to believe that this is just a coincidence. I live and hunt in a 4 point zone and with the implementation ofAR's, we have by default bumped up the age class of bucks in this area. There is no doubt in my mind.

I'm not the only one seeing this either as evidenced by the testimonials in this very thread as well as reports from meat processors, taxidermists, wildlife conservation officers and the very hunters who are on the ground here day in and day out. Stories? Do Ireally need a scientific study when the data is already staring me right in the face?

nodog

Math is the universal language. Look at the stats Germ posted lately and decide. Of course it depends on your definition of sucsess and even then numbers can be used to spin things. I do believe the PA AR was put in place to reduce herd size. If Germs numbers are correct, and the motive truley to reduce the herd, AR was a HUGE failure. The harvest from it's begining adds up to a reduction of harvested deer of over 500,000 deer to the 2005 stats.

That's Five Hundred Thousand Plus less deer taken and those were to 2005 figures. Maybe things are changing. In the figures harvested deer older than 2.5 years increased from 20% to 50%. Sounds great doesn't it until youlook at the actual numbers. They only increased slightly since the harvest dropped by some where around 75,000 lessbucks taken in 2005 as opposed to 2001. 2005 showed a reduction of harvested deer by 150,000 +/-.

Is it working in PA, all depends on your definition of sucsess. One things for sure, those that dislike the killing of deer have a lot to smile about in PA.

Let the numbers speak. I personally don't care one way or the other. If it works let somone prove it, but from what I've read it isn't as intended. I also think Pa's government is going to reward huntersin the only way they know how. They've always been archerswho know how to send out a shaft. I have to cross the stateon their turnpike and feel it every time.It's all they know how to do, andthey don't care who it is. If they're looking at you, your it.