adams

I'm surprised it's stayed civil as long as it has. Everyone is playing nicely today.

Mark99

The light will be seen through the ** soon. I remember 5 years and beyond when shooting an 8 point did not make the news, now it is big news. I was hunting game lands in Westmoreland county for 5 different bucks a 10, three 8 points a 5 and a 4 point. Now I am lucky to see a deer track. Remember you cannot have a 2 1/2 year old buck when you are shooting all of the button bucks.

bullmoose38

Thats why PA should make a bb count as your buck. Then people would finally start looking. Whats the thrill of killing a bb its the dumbest deer out there in the woods anyway.

ddear

The harvest data shows that in 2002 ,before any buck were saved by AR,we harvested 52.6 K 2.5+ buck without any restrictions on harvesting BB. Can you provide a logical explanation why we need to protect BB now that we have AR's?

White-tail-deer

Sounds like Ulysses changed his name to Mark!!

PA GOBBLER

I feel the problem w/ AR in PA is not many bucks make it passed 2 1/2 yrs. that and we are shooting the best bucks in the 1 1/2 age group.

White-tail-deer

Typical!!

BTBowhunter

We all know that you like to shoot BB's but I'll ask you to think beyond your personal preferences for a minute here. Protecting BB's would let a majority of them live to 1 1/2. AR will let many of those live to 2 1/2. No matter how you crunch the numbers, a deer that dies at 6 months has a zero probability of ever being 1 1/2 or 2 1/2 years old. The logic aint that tough here.

PA GOBBLER

i dont shoot BB's but i also dont shoot any antlerless deer where the deer numbers are low. i do agree that AR's work, but in PA it doesnt work as well.. way too many hunters. very few bucks make it past 2 1/2 and very very very few on public land where the deer numbers are so low make it past. in 2003 i saw a lot of legal bucks, and in rifle season i left a 5pt, a 7pt, and two 8's walk.. 3 were 1 1/2 yr olds and 1 was a 2 1/2 yr old.. all 4 were shot..

ddear

Your logic would apply if the choice not to harvest a BB was made in a herd that was increasing , but it does not apply when the choice is made in a herd that is stable or decreasing. In a decreaseing herd .passing on a BB or saving additional 1.5 bucks, means additional adult doe have to be removed from the OW herd. Therefore, for every additional BB saved ,you have one less adult doe producing twins, one of which will be a BB. So by saving BB one year ,you are assuring there will be one fewer BB born the following year, so in the long run ,you gained nothing by saving that BB.

The harvest data I posted clearly showed the both the 1.5 buck harvest and the 2.5+ buck harvest increased as te herd increased ,even though the number of BB harvested also increased. The reverse will happen as we reduce the herd and it will happpen faster if we try to save more BB, because the number of fawns recruited will decrease faster ,due to fewer adult doe in the OW herd.