Lack of deer

After 48 years of Bow and Gun hunting I can truly say that this has been the worst ever. I've killed my fair share of deer in Somerset, Adams, and some in Maryland also. But our hunting group felt the same as me after spending the first day and most went home after the second. Very few deer seen in an area that use to be prime; (Glencoe) So. Somerset Co. If this is what I have to look forward to for my remaining years, I might as well stick to New York fishing in the fall.Traveled approx. 200 miles; south to north at the end of Oct.on rt. 219 in the early morming and saw 1 live deer and 2 road kills on our way to New York. Good indicator of the deer numbers I would say. And the Pa.Game Comm. is trying to figure out why we are losing hunters?

Hello henhouse...I used to hunt that area years ago also. Close friend had a cabin just outside of Wellersburg, just south of Glencoe. I remember spotting on Sunday night before first day and counting 200-250 deer in the fields. Then seeing 30 -50 deer the first day. I remember the one time my dad pushed out a patch of laurel and had 38 deer run across the logging road in front of me. Dad yelled at me for counting them and not shooting one---- tried to explain that none had a rack.....LOL....I was 15 and that was 1975......
         I hunted 2C this year, as I have for the past +20 years, saw 13 for the day and only one shooter.....and I missed him....
         I have two sons and neither of them caught the itch to be a hunter. My youngest got his license and got a turkey the first time out. I thought I got him hooked.....BUT he went out for the first day of buck....it rained, it was cold, we only saw 6 deer all day and none within range....He never went back. 
        Heck 20 years ago we had 20-25 guys for bear season....this year just two of us....Looks like I will grow old hunting with just a few of my buddies.

TIMES HAVE CHANGED................

Even though I wasn't hunting, I sat in a stand with my cousin till 4:30 Monday afternoon.  We saw zero deer.  Our crew of six saw 4 deer total for the day. 

Second day, 5 guys saw about 40 deer. 
 
 

ORIGINAL: pole_doc

The PGC just isn't stocking as many as they used to.  I think they should stock more trophy bucks and adult does, rather than those little fawns that just get eaten right away.  Drift stocking them in the forest would have a higher survival rate than just dumping them in the field from the road.

I thought they dropped them from helicopters?

And ticks !

it's been rough this year. i usually hunt on my own property but this year was just different all around. the big hollow behind my house got logged off. the mountain on the other end got logged off. the deer were in my yard pre-rutt, which never happens, then, they all disappeared. i hunted here the first day and saw 1 squirrel. only heard maybe 7 shots within hearing distance. nothing close at all.

i'm hopeful for tomorrow as i am on a short list of lucky folk that get to hunt some of melons property in ligonier. i hunted it this morning. saw 15 deer. 3 of them bucks. 2 that were not legal and one that vanished before i got it in the scope. but my uncle and cousin both shot monsters on the first day. only a 6 and an 8, but the size on the animals was unbelievable.
sadly i can't archery hunt there.

When you make 60K at your job and they cut your wages to 30K so they can build a plant elsewhere would you count your lucky stars.
They cut the deer herd to support a political change to Eco-System Management not because the deer were starving.
I don't hunt states like yours because of lack of deer numbers just as the non-residents are staying away from ours.

I was pumped up for todays hunt,but back at 2:00,sat from daylight till 2:00 and saw 7 flatheadss. I hunted every day this week,1/2 on tuesday. total deer count 27 does 1 6pt. Not to great a year but things can change in a second. I'm not looking for numbers "JUST THE ONE" Last year I hunted 5 days bow,2 days Ohio gun and first Sat. of Pa. gun total 8 hunts and killed 2 bucks and 2 does.What a diffference a year makes. They shot alot of does around me today. I have 2 tags for does but may not shoot any.3 or 4 years ago I saw 29 does and a small 8pt on the last day of Pa. gun from the same stand.Thing are changing and not for the good,PLEASE PGC GO BACK TO TWO DAYS OF DOE HUNTING.THIS BROWN IT"S DOWN BULLS GOT TO STOP.

I went to clear creek for an hour before work this morning had 8 does under my climber at 7:30am .. had my pick and took the biggest one... easiest hunt EVER !!!!!

My next day off is Tuesday so I'll hunt my ladder stand behind the house all day and try for #2.....

Anyone ever find/seen a deer that has starved to death?  They claim that the habitat was so bad that deer starved to death?

I've seen deer that were killed from major ice storms but never seen deer that starved to death because of lack of food.

If there was deer that starved to death in Pa., it was remote.  Probably in RSB's area, which is a bunch of bull chit.

The whole 3-up to me is another way to get you to settle for a doe/BB.
 
 
By making more legal bucks illegal, hunters will whack the first doe or button buck to walk by. Lot's of button bucks arent living long enough to make it 3-up legal status. Cutting the season to only a week may help, but I truly believe that the PGC could care less about antler size. AR was the bait and switch for HR
 
 
 

When push comes to shove it's still a matter of one's opinion versus another...

The hunter that hunts an area where he/she sees few deer complains and wants the PGC to put limits on the doe harvest to increase the herd... they think the entire WMU is the way it is where they hunt.. NOT TRUE... while harvests are down from years past, they show there are still deer to hunt...

Why should the PGC listen to the ones hunting poor areas and cause the thousands who hunt better ares and do not complain and harvest a deer ever year.. Many of us have no problem seeing and harvesting deer each year.. Yesterday sounded like a war zone around here... I saw more cars on the road to work thru SGL#54 than I can remember in years...

As I mentioned I only hunted for an hour at an area I had scouted and knew there was LOTS of beechnuts and the deer were feeding on them ,... just after first light 8 feeding and I had my pick...


So why limit MY CHANCES by not getting a doe tag so someone else can possibly see more deer... silly IMHO...

If they are hunting a poor area - what is me not getting a doe tag going to do to improve it therewhere he has decided to hunt ... ??? and some one in that same area whos sees and does harvest a deer.. why should he suffer by not getting a tag... he's having no trouble getting deer..

2G is a perfect example for me.. guys complaining "NO DEER' -- others I know and on post on the Internet about getting multiple deer EVERY year in 2G... how mad will they be if told they can not do that now because some one hunting some where else is not happy ???


First day around here was terrible... NO HARVEST AT ALL.... only one legal buck was seen and it was wounded in the front shoulder, a small 5 point..... and I talked to 16 hunters Monday night... all hunted within 5 miles of here.. we all know there are legal ones here, they are spot-lighted in the fields at night... but 16 guys could not find one on Monday... that's why it's called hunting... and not seeing or shooting... the avergae sightings was 8 deer.. BUT 4 guys in the same basic area saw ZERO... so again - are there deer in the area or are the ones who saw zero right and there are no deer because they did not see any ...


I'm dying to see what happens to the 2F harvest because of no doe 1st week.. with the shots heard yesterday I'm guessing it will be back to normal for the season. And talking with hunters late in the day at the hardware.. many harvestd bucks that they did not see on Monday.. so the 12% increase in buck harvest that happen in other WMU when they tried the 1st week no does idea in the past may hold true for 2F this year.. we shall see

Butcher said he was about "normal" for bucks and naturally no deer til yeserday. I was there at 4:45pm with mine and he already had 25 does droped off and there were 2 behind me waitng and many (I am sure) were still in the woods or on their way there. with harvests..


and BTW .. I still get a "kick" out of those wanting more restrictions on does but then post they will be hunting them in the same area they say have few deer ..

just don't get that one at all... and they say it's the PGC's fault for giving them a tag they then feel they must fill... goodness.. if the herd is low.. set an example and don't fill a tag...

    Here in Ct  ( the deer state) we get 4 archery tags-3 rifle tags- 3 muzzel loader tags and another tag or two  on State lands with a gun - oh yea in coastal areas with high DPSM you just keep gettin new replacement tags as you take does.
    The singular issue to me is simply -how many deer can you eat ????- Dont know the cumulative harvest possibilities  in PA but IMHO anyone taking more than a gross of 2 to 3 Deer a season oughta call it quits for the year.
   Have always hoped my State would come up with a 3 tag system--one buck-  one any deer and one doe tag  and simply say - fillem with any weapon ya want . Give out the various season dates and thats IT.
   Just cant see how guys keep shootin and shootin then wonder where the Deer went. Personally I get about 10 to 11 tags a year when buying all the various lisences and wouldnt even THINK bout fillin more than one or two.

RT - good thing you get to shoot them CT deer.


it is quite a contrast to upstate NY

as you probably know - the local boyz up near your Pulaski camp don't require any stinkin tags to keep their freezers packed

guess they gots ta eat something- since all the Lako O feesches have mercury warnings


later

I would like to see the WMU's go away and go back to county by county allotment.
 
 
Venango is cut into 1A, 1B, 2D and 2F that is crazy