livbucks

I have seen some people right here on this forum equate PA deer hunting to the war in Iraq.
I bet that most of the complainers here voted for Rendell, are in a labor union and think we should sit down with the terrorists and listen to their concerns and sympathize with their "plight"
The sky is definitely falling and soon.
You aint seen nothing yet.
The quality of deer hunting in PA will be the least of your concerns.

PABuck_HNTR

Good Post! That just about sums up the whole Pa problem. We've seen it in other posts. "I had a tag and I had to use it". I think another problem with the new program and the old one is that a button buck is considered a Doe. Well everyone who buys a general hunting license in Pa has an oppourtunity at a buck no matter what. And if the hunter has a doe tag the they are allowed to kill a button buck. So why don't we say if you accidentally shoot a button buck it has to be tagged with your general or buck tag. You've removed a buck from the herd so it should be tagged as such. I would think this would make sense. The PGC wanted a better buck to doe ratio for the betterment of the herd so why not? This would eliminate people with DMAP tags from killing more than one button buck a year(legally anyway) and would still allow for a doe. Then limit doe tags again to one each hunter or a lottery. Heck even raise the doe tag to 12 dollars to recover any lost revenue. I don't think most hunters would mind. Some would yes, but everyone needs to do their part to save this herd. Twelve bucks isn't alot of money compared to what we spend for lunches everyday at work. It might even eliminate some or the riff raff. Ok let me have it

chr103yod

I want to see license prices raised to around $100 so most of the half hearted hunters quit and I can have more deer for myself.

livbucks

I'm disappointed that you said that. I have never chose to take an animal I didn't really wantbecause of frustration.
One should have purpose and act deliberate.

livbucks

How about $100, and two tags for bucks 8 points or better.
Does are 25 cents a pound hanging weight.

muzzyman88

livbucks, I guess I didn't mean it come off like that. I will never shoot an animal I didn't want. I'll take a doe for the same reasons most do, I like the venison. But, I'm a trophy hunter at heart and live for the challenge of hunting trophy bucks.

I think most people just plainly forget that its a recreational sport, not a grocery shopping trip.

jf5

Less kids are getting into hunting because of the change in our lifestyles and the distractions that come with it. Hunting is boring to them because they are used toinstant gratification. I grew up in a hunting family and we never had "allot" of deer in my state, never will. I still grew into a deer fanatic despite years of limited sightings, let alone killings. If a kid can't get into hunting because the deer are not everywhere, then maybe its not for them. They need to learn that patience and hard work are what it takesto suceedat deer hunting. Too many deer as a kidonly creates problems,IMO, because they becomeadult hunters with unrealistic expectations of the forests capacity and the species itself. Because they want it to be as it was "when we where kids"

My father knew that deer hunting could be disocuraging. We started on small game and uplands birds. Much more shooting, walking, and action. Once we had the hutningbug a bit, and had the gun safety experiences, he started us in on big game. I felt this is a much better way to get kids into hunting as it was much more interactive and exciting.

eagle chickie

great post!
that is exactly why I think there should not be an earlyJR anterless hunt or that JRs should be allowed to circumvent the AR regs.
If a kid can't learn to love the sportwithout special privledges then let them sit in front of the PlayStation

lead poisoner

What the majority thinks doesn't matter.The hunters and wildlife doesn't matter to the PGC any more.They are worried about where their money is goanna come from for their saleries,vehicles,fuel and expenses.This is and has not been about hunters for a few years now.

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?A=11&Q=164727

doctariAFC

Give this man a gold star! We have many challenges facing outdoors recreation, not just hunting. No one single factor can be highlighted as the AH HA, Shazaam reason for this. But, I gotta say what ISN'T an issue... The perception of not enough deer, nor is it the perceives "shortage" of trophy bucks. We have plenty of both in every state in the Union, with some very, very few exceptions.

The NSSF did conduct a decent survey on hunter attitudes which showed the lack of time being the biggest reason hunters either leave the sport, or don;t hunt near as much. Understandable, as our lives get increasingly more difficult to time manage with every passing year. But, we should not discount one of the societal issues - the changing family structure - either. We have more single parent household than ever, primarily single moms raising their kids. Although it appears women are the fastest growing demographic segment in hunting in terms of participation, at @ 30%, mom has a ways to go. Access to huting lands, too, is near the top of the list, with cost being another big factor (partially connected to land access).

Some of the "not enough time" may not be applicable to the hunter answering the question. Could be that he or she's timing to get a friend or two to hunt together is more difficult, and it really is ill advised to hunt alone. If time in the woods was such a big deal, and Sunday hunting was the answer, NYS would have reversed their declines when we adopted Sunday hunting during regular season some 10 years ago. It didn't do a darned thing to stop the declines, or even slow them.

Although many reasons exist why folks leave hunting, youth introduction to the sport can be, IMHO, directly tied to the massive declines in small game hunting popularity. As jf5 said so perfectly, it is awfully difficult to introduce a kid to hunting when their first experience is deer hunting. Too demanding in terms of sitting still, seeing nothing for hours (if not days), keeping warm, etc, to capture the interest in hunting in any child. Grouse, pheasants, squirrels, rabbits, woodcock, duck.... THese are the pursuits that produce excitement, no real need to sit still for long periods, in many cases you're moving about so keeping wamr is easier, and you have a lot of action more often. You also don't have to worry as much about being so quiet, and you as a parent get a greater opportunity to teach them about wildlife-habitat relationships, through pointing out sign, food sources, cover, etc.

Sadly, we have this severe tunnel vision on deer. Reflects in the cried for QDM and AR etc. I don't hear too much in the way of habitat improvement, population strategies to assure enough rabbits and squirrels, etc are also healthy in numbers... All we seem to look at is deer, to the detriment of hunting as a sport....