bingsbaits
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Read this on another site and thought it was kinda cool...
Deer Laws, then and now
Historical perspective of deer management in Pennsylvania
Wes Bower
Pennsylvania’s first deer law was enacted in 1771 when the governor of the province signed a rule protecting deer between January 1 and July 1. That initial mandate dictated that killing a deer out of season was punishable by a fine of 20 shillings. After that initial decree, it was another 79 years until any additional laws protecting deer were passed.
Deer hunting has always been the Keystone State’s favorite sport, and in the ensuing 288 years since that first law, the laws, rules, and regulations concerning our state animal have undergone constant revisions. While today’s sportsmen might find some of these deer laws perplexing, perhaps even amusing, it should be remembered that these edicts were made based on the best available research and thinking of that era.
As the 1800s unfolded, loss of habitat, increased human population, and demands for venison began taking its toll on the deer population. Hunters of that era wrote of shooting three deer with one shot, seven in a day, and 100 in a season. Jacklighting, which involved hunting at night by use of a torch smeared with jack pine pitch, was an effective method as was killing deer over salt licks and other bait.
With deer becoming increasingly less
abundant, sportsmen became concerned and, in many instances, agitated. In 1828, a petition from Potter County residents was circulated decreeing that only residents of that county or holders of land or homes within Potter County could hunt for and kill deer. While that petition was denied by the state judiciary committee, it did underscore the increasing concern of Pennsylvania sportsmen.
Wildlife legislation, particularly pertaining to deer, began surfacing at the state capital. In 1840, a law permitting only Pennsylvanians to hunt in Monroe, Pike, and Wayne counties was passed. In 1845, deer hunting was banned in Warren County. In 1851, deer hunting was banned for five years in Cumberland and Franklin counties. The deer season was closed for five years beginning in 1856 in Adams County.
In 1850, the offering of venison and other game on free lunch counters in the better saloons in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and other municipalities was forbidden. In 1869, the legislators shortened the deer season to the period from September 1 to December 31. However, 15 counties either set their own season or closed the season completely.
In 1873, it became illegal to kill a deer with a spotted coat. That same year, dogs were barred from running deer and elk. Five years later in 1878, it became unlawful to hunt deer and other game on Sunday. In recent years, this early-day law has received much criticism, and there has been some movement to allow sportsmen to hunt deer on Sundays. In 1883, hunting deer in Pike County was banned for three years.
By 1895, the year the Pennsylvania Game Commission was established, deer had become so scarce that many hunters had already given up the sport. The goal of the newly formed wildlife agency was to reverse the decline in not only the deer population but also the number of hunters going afield. One of the first acts of the agency was to reduce the deer season to two months. The first game commissioners pleaded with legislators and had many new deer laws enacted.
In 1897, salt licks for attracting deer were outlawed, and buckshot was banned for deer hunting in 1905. While those two laws basically remain in effect, there is currently some exceptions. It is now lawful to hunt or take deer on private lands in Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties through the use of bait. Buckshot for deer is also permitted in special regulations areas in certain western and southeastern Pennsylvania counties.
One of the newly formed Game Commission's most notable changes occurred in 1905 with the establishment of the first wildlife refuge. The Keystone State quickly became the leading state in the nation in promoting such refuges.
In 1906, it was estimated that 550 does and 350 bucks were killed. It was 1907 when the first Pennsylvania buck law was passed, providing for does to have total protection. That year about 200 bucks and 30 illegal does were killed. It was further noteworthy that 1907 was also the state’s first accident-free hunting season. These regulatory changes, along with the forest habitat undergoing major improvement, were responsible for the return of the whitetail deer to Pennsylvania.
In 1909, only bucks, with “horns visible above the hair” were deemed to be legal. The first camp limit for deer was established in 1917 and remained in effect until 1950. That same year legislation determined that deer could no longer be hunted from an automobile.
In 1913, the year of the first hunting license, legal bucks were required to have at least two inches of antler above the hair. In 1921, bucks had to have antlers four inches long to be legal game. That year deer hunters were required to keep a camp roster. Then in 1923, legal bucks had to have two or more points on an antler or a spike at least 6 inches long. In 1925, legal bucks were required to have two or more points to one antler. In 1953, bucks were required to have two or more points to a side or at least one antler six inches long. It’s probable at that time no one ever envisioned that beginning in 2002 a legal buck would have to have at least three points on one antler and in some areas four points on an antler.
With deer population now rapidly expanding, the first antlerless deer season was established in 1923. This restricted season occurred in Washington and Quincy townships in Franklin County and 100 licenses were allotted. All 100 licenses were sold at $5 each and eight legal and one illegal deer were killed. Be reminded that in 1923 a $5 doe permit was a major investment. In 1925, the doe permit sold for $2 and in 1939 for $1.
While isolated doe seasons in specific areas were held during the next five years, doe season was closed in only 16 counties in 1928. The requirement then was that a legal doe must weigh more than 50 pounds when field dressed, and 25,097 legal deer and 1,593 illegal deer were killed.
With the ongoing doe seasons, some unusual regulations went into effect. In 1930, a doe could not weigh less than 60 pounds field dressed. In 1931, the first combined season for bucks and does was held, with only spike bucks protected and a legal doe could not weigh less than 40 pounds field dressed. In 1933, the weight limits were eliminated and never used again.
In 1935, it became unlawful to cast artificial lights upon a deer while possessing sporting arms or bow and arrow. In 1968, spotlighting was prohibited between midnight and sunrise. Presently the quitting time is 11 p.m., and spotlighting is further restricted during the regular deer season. In 1947, the Game Commission enacted a law requiring that all firearms in vehicles at night had to be cased or taken apart and securely wrapped. This law was repealed in 1951. By 1961, no group hunting deer together, could consist of more than 25 hunters. This law was also later repealed.
It was 1938 when the first statewide season for antlerless deer only was held, as the buck season was closed. That year 171,662 does were bagged. In 1939, .22- and .25-caliber rimfire rifles were banned for deer hunting. While previous to 1945 a sportsman had four hours in which to tag his deer, that year deer were required to be tagged immediately.
At one time, a particular county could circulate a petition, and if enough signatures were collected, the doe season was curtailed. This practice, known as abrogation, was eliminated in 1951.
The bow and arrow first became legal for deer hunting in Pennsylvania in 1929, but it was 1951 when the first archery season for deer was authorized. The compound bow was made legal in 1973. And earlier this year the Board of Game Commissioners approved the use of crossbows in all archery seasons.
A big happening occurred in 1974 when a three-day black-powder season for deer was established on 37 specially designated state game lands. That first year, 65 deer were taken by flintlock hunters. In 1979, the muzzleloader season went statewide.
Many veteran hunters can still recall the 1988 controversy when 250 inches of square orange were mandated for hunting deer. Many sportsmen were sure that killing a deer while garbed in this fashion would be a difficult endeavor. Wearing of fluorescent orange is now generally accepted by Pennsylvania deer hunters.
The twenty-first century ushered in major changes in deer management in Pennsylvania, and deer hunting laws and regulations have undergone major revisions in recent years. Liberal seasons and concurrent doe-buck hunting, coupled with the opportunity to kill multiple deer, is now the order of the day. And more changes are certain to follow.
Hopefully present and future wildlife managers will continue to make decisions about deer and deer hunting based not only on scientific research but also by taking into consideration the interests and emotions sportsmen whenever possible, so as to further ensure the continuation of one of Pennsylvania’s most popular pastimes.
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......"D@mnant quod non intelligunt !"....
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