rickpa

I have learned to accept the changes but it is very hard for me where I hunt it is very thick with alot of brush and it is a young woods. I can see the deer as they move and am able to tell if they are a buck or not but I have to do this before they reach a natural shooting lane I have cause that's the only place to shoot a good clean shot. now this lane is my counting spot and shooting spot. Not good! Every buck I have ever seen in my 17 yrs of hunting rifle season has always been either running full speed or gettin through the woods pretty quick from pressure. They just aren't standing there like buckmasters! As far as in a couple years there will be bigger bucks and you'll be able to tell in an instant whether it's a shooter or not. My cousin's buck which I will try to get a picture of, shot a beautiful 6 pointer four years ago that had a 21" spread, 12" main beams,is very thick massed but no brow tines. Looking at it at several angles looks to be atleast a 8 or 10. I think it's just to darn hard to count points!

Big Country

TURD, I definately agree, it can be tough to count points on a fast moving buck. Even in an open field!
But, with high quality optics it is far from impossible.
Sounds like you have an excellant piece of ground for hunting!

I may be available this spring to come on over and get you set up on the QDM path, in exchange for some archery time!<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>

NRA,UBP,BASS Member
New Stanton,PA

Robb92

I'm all for the point restrictions. They have the in Washington, in areas where the deer population is down, they started it a couple of years ago with the mule deer, and then started this year or last year with the whitetail, and the number of bucks has increased

&quot;ATTITUDE REFLECTS LEADERSHIP, CAPTAIN!&quot;

Deleted User

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Thundergut

My sentiments exactly DG. If not sure, don't shoot. PA has way too many does anyways. Why not take a doe or two if you have the tags? Spikes and Forkhorn racks are pretty damn hard to make tender enough to eat. Why not hold off for a wall hanger? I think the law is great and puts an end to the &quot;I got my buck every opening day&quot;( even though none was bigger than a 4 pt)mentality.

stealthycat

In Arkansas its working ... resulting in bigger bucks and more bucks seen. However, AG&F made a huge mistake in not limiting the doe tags and they've killed off a big portion of the deer in northern Arkansas. instead of people bagging say a buck and a doe, now everbody is taking 2 and 3 does and its hurt our deer herds terribly.


Stealthycat's Photo's

Turd Fergusen

Exactly stealthycat! Unlimeted doe shooting will over time hurt the population.Thundergut I am one of those hunters &quot;that gets a buck every opening day&quot;,smallest one was a seven point.This year I got an 8 point with a 20&quot; spread.My 14 year old boy shot a large 6 point with an 18&quot; spread.On the second day my 12 year old also got a 6 point his first.The big 6 point my oldest shot is huge,real thick,long-tined,he could have easily been mistaken for an 8 point.I new he was a 6 because I watched him all summer & had a spotting scope on him the first morning.All I'm saying is that mistakes do happen!Have any of you guys thought about hunting with a slug gun? Thats one way to get bigger bucks.Hey I'm a rifleman,ballistic nut if you will.I shoot all year long & love long range deer hunting.But I've been out in the midwest quite a few times with a slug gun,different tactics but I seen some huge bucks.Just my .02 cents worth.

Thundergut

Turd, congrats on your opening day successes, perhaps I should have elaborated. I am talking about the guys, and they are in every bar in PA the afternoon of the opener, who brag about shooting their buck every opener, and invaribly they are yearling bucks that could have grown into something super at some point. These are the same guys who heard that there was a $25 fine for shooting a buck not meeting the AR requirements, and have decided that they will just whack a forkhorn or spike and continue their streak, only to find out that they were seriously mistaken to the tune of $500. I see no need in killing small deer just for the bragging rights.


Edited by - Thundergut on 12/12/2002 12:40:18

Turd Fergusen

Your right Thundergut,I know the type your talking about.Guys like that deserve to get fined.If you read my earlier post I spoke of a 70 year old man who got the sh@t fined out of him for talking a spike & tagging it as a doe.I really believe his story,he lives down the road from me & is one helluva great guy,I've known him all my life.He lets people hunt his farm,NEVER even thought about taking a deer for crop damage & believe me they hammer his crops! Now he's so pissed he said he'll start killling deer for crop damage.I think this man has a legitamate bitch,7/16 of an inch is pretty petty in my book.Just my opinion.I've shot some real good bucks in my time & I'm all for bigger & better deer.Hell I feed them year round,& I'm not even a farmer,my dad still likes to plant the fields & all that other stuff,I'm nothing more than a mill worker who likes to shoot deer.I just think the PGC & Alt are going about this wrong.I HOPE I'm wrong,maybe I am. I guess we'll just have to wait & see.If I knew how to post a picture I'ds put my 8 point on here.

vc1111

Pennsylvania has buck kill rates that run as high as 90% in some counties.

If you think about that, it is a counterproductive method of producing more and larger bucks.

What is probably not commonly known outside of Pennsylvania is that the doe tags sold out very quickly in almost all of the counties. Hunters knew that they might have to take a doe, since they might not get a clean shot at a buck that meets the antler restrictions.

They will balance the buck to doe ratio, by encouraging the taking of does, while at the same time, more young bucks get to be bigger bucks next year.

Makes perfect sense to me. I know of guys that have hunted for several days in a row without seeing a buck in PA...nothing but does.

Give it a chance. The old way didn't do much for the herd, that's for sure.