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Is PA better hunting after the AR and Doe regulation change
04-03-2008, 11:52 AM
#51
Join Date: May 2005
Location: StL, MO
Posts: 745
RE: Is PA better hunting after the AR and Doe regulation change
I noticed the stats from the most recent record books show a big jump in PA rank for P&Y per square mile for the last 5 years (I think that was the stat). PA cracked the top ten, Ibelieve #7. Was above KS I remember.
04-03-2008, 12:27 PM
#52
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PA
Posts: 9,085
RE: Is PA better hunting after the AR and Doe regulation change
my7ptmonster....have you seen the allocations for 2b!?!?!
its so high they hardly sell out!! the issue down here is land access....those deer you see are almost untouchable...only guys that get at them are treaspassers, and a few lucky guys...lots of huntable land...but hunters just cant get in there to hunt.
im in the rifle hunting portion of 2B...we really seen a major hit...we go across the pike to 1A when we wanna see a couple deer
but we do still have deer and seems like more bucks...just gotta get the guys to slow up on killing the few does they DO see...
not to jump on you, dont take it wrong...but shooting the deer you DO see just fuels the problem...you dont KNOW 100% that if you dont shoot that doe, someone else will...it can live and drop 2 more deer for you next year...but if that one you see is killed by you, theres no way of knowing. too many guys think like that...i cant understand how guys that say that can complain about the deer herd, but then they are the ones still killing the does they DO see...
example...my buddy cried all season "we aint seeing no deer" then one day "well we finally saw some deer...dad shot a doe and i shot the yearling that was with it" but he cried all year they hunted hard and didnt see a deer...so they kill the only ones they DO see....just dont seem like the smart thing to do IMO...ive only had one wildlife management class...but im pretty sure it takes LIVE critters to produce more critters.....
at my buddies camp the land owners all teamed up a couple years back and posted it all NO DOE HUNTING and hunting is with written permission or with people that have written permission...together, they own a VERY nice chunk of land...actually pretty dang large chunk of land...let me tell you, it works...its some of the best hunting ive seen in 2F, 1A, 2D and 2B(i hunt all 4 WMUs) and its in 2F. it just made a world of difference. the locals still take a couple does here and there...but not many...and the guys that are up there follow the rules because they know that its serious. it just works. and the ARs seem to be working more there than in other private land...private land seems to be the worst for ARs IMO...seems on gamelands guys KNOW they better play by the rules...but then game lands are some of the hardest hit by HR..so its tough...
i'll agree alot of our areas had TOO MANY deer...most of the state was over browsed...forest health wasnt too good...like someone else said, theres already a difference in the forest with less deer...but i will also agree, in some areas i KNOW it went a bit farther than it needed to...theres crops and mast for deer to eat as well as browse...
with some work, PA can be a dang great deer hunting state....we need to stabilize the population and get some age structure into the herd and things will be looking great IMO. i still say we should went with ARs and earn a buck....that would thinned the does, AND let ALOT MORE bucks live an extra year and give us the age structure we need
its so high they hardly sell out!! the issue down here is land access....those deer you see are almost untouchable...only guys that get at them are treaspassers, and a few lucky guys...lots of huntable land...but hunters just cant get in there to hunt.
im in the rifle hunting portion of 2B...we really seen a major hit...we go across the pike to 1A when we wanna see a couple deer
but we do still have deer and seems like more bucks...just gotta get the guys to slow up on killing the few does they DO see...not to jump on you, dont take it wrong...but shooting the deer you DO see just fuels the problem...you dont KNOW 100% that if you dont shoot that doe, someone else will...it can live and drop 2 more deer for you next year...but if that one you see is killed by you, theres no way of knowing. too many guys think like that...i cant understand how guys that say that can complain about the deer herd, but then they are the ones still killing the does they DO see...
example...my buddy cried all season "we aint seeing no deer" then one day "well we finally saw some deer...dad shot a doe and i shot the yearling that was with it" but he cried all year they hunted hard and didnt see a deer...so they kill the only ones they DO see....just dont seem like the smart thing to do IMO...ive only had one wildlife management class...but im pretty sure it takes LIVE critters to produce more critters.....
at my buddies camp the land owners all teamed up a couple years back and posted it all NO DOE HUNTING and hunting is with written permission or with people that have written permission...together, they own a VERY nice chunk of land...actually pretty dang large chunk of land...let me tell you, it works...its some of the best hunting ive seen in 2F, 1A, 2D and 2B(i hunt all 4 WMUs) and its in 2F. it just made a world of difference. the locals still take a couple does here and there...but not many...and the guys that are up there follow the rules because they know that its serious. it just works. and the ARs seem to be working more there than in other private land...private land seems to be the worst for ARs IMO...seems on gamelands guys KNOW they better play by the rules...but then game lands are some of the hardest hit by HR..so its tough...
i'll agree alot of our areas had TOO MANY deer...most of the state was over browsed...forest health wasnt too good...like someone else said, theres already a difference in the forest with less deer...but i will also agree, in some areas i KNOW it went a bit farther than it needed to...theres crops and mast for deer to eat as well as browse...
with some work, PA can be a dang great deer hunting state....we need to stabilize the population and get some age structure into the herd and things will be looking great IMO. i still say we should went with ARs and earn a buck....that would thinned the does, AND let ALOT MORE bucks live an extra year and give us the age structure we need
04-03-2008, 04:01 PM
#53
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Hughesville, PA
Posts: 2,590
RE: Is PA better hunting after the AR and Doe regulation change
Depends what you define as better. I don't see the numbers, but I KNOW there are better bucks out there. I know there are alot of guys out there that would like to see the population back up and so do I but not at the expense of the yearlings and 2 year old bucks. I vote for its better and given the choice to go back to ten years ago and see 20 deer a day vs now seeing a decent buck a few times a season. I choose the bucks. I also know that there is still ample opportunity for people to kill doe if they choose so. It's not like it used to be, but if you spend more than just a day or two in the woods, you can get a crack at a doe.
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