No kidding

The much-anticipated Pennsylvania deer harvest report figures are in, and they’re not encouraging.
According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, hunters took an estimated 303,973 total deer or about a 14 percent decrease compared to the 2013-14 seasons which saw 352,920 deer being harvested.
Of this total, 119,260 antlered deer were shot or about an 11 percent decrease compared to last season when 134,280 bucks were taken.
On the antlerless side, 184,713 were killed compared to 2013-14 when 218,640 were harvested for a 16 percent decrease.
Harvest numbers, says the PGC, were based on more than 24,000 deer checked by PGC personnel and more than 100,00 harvest reports submitted by hunters.
The PGC attributes these numbers to a variety of factors, the foremost of which was that the PGC reduced the number of antlerless tags available to the tune of 59,500 fewer licenses. They estimate that it takes about four antlerless licenses to harvest one antlerless deer. As such, a reduced harvest was anticipated.
The other major factor was weather, during the two-week firearms season. Depending upon where you hunted, the PGC explains that the first Saturday may have included steady rain, snow or dense fog, which customarily affects harvest numbers.
The PGC explained that a reduced harvest corresponds also with harvest decreases within neighboring states this past season. They opine that when mast crops like acorns are especially abundant, as was the case in many parts of the state, deer harvests numbers tend to drop because deer don’t have to move far to get food.
Interestingly, the 2014-15 harvest contained the highest percentage of adult bucks in decades. Of the antlered deer taken, 43 percent were 1 1/2-year old bucks, with the remaining 57 percent being 2 1/2 years old or older.
The antlerless harvest included about 61 percent adult females, about 20 percent were button bucks and about 18 percent were doe fawns. The PGC concludes that the antlerless success rate remained about 25 percent for the licenses issued.
The following are totals for antlered and antlerless deer for four local WMUs, with the 2013-14 numbers (for comparison) in parentheses and with “A” for antlered and “AL” for antlerless deer.
FIREARMS SEASON
WMU 3D: 4,200 (3,400) A; 5,200 (5,000) AL
WMU 4C: 4,800 (5,200) A; 5,000 (6,900) AL
WMU 5C: 8,000 (8,100) A; 22,200 (21,700) AL
WMU 5D: 1,300 (1,600) A; 3,800 (4,500) AL
ARCHERY/MUZZLELOADER SEASONS
WMU 3D: Archery, 1,350 (1,170) A; 960 (1,130) AL; Muzzleloader, 50 (30 A; 440 (670) AL
WMU 4C: Archery, 1,840 (2,250) A; 1,240 (1,540) AL; Muzzleloader, 60 (50) A; 660 (860) AL
WMU 5C: Archery, 4,790 (5,110) A; 10,210 (9,840) AL; Muzzleloader, 110 (90) A; 1,490 (1,760) AL
WMU 5D: Archery, 990 (1,300) A; 2,730 (3,140) AL; Muzzleloader, 10 (0) A; 70 (160) AL
The PGC also includes unknown WMUs as: Archery, 40 (80) A; 0 (10) AL; Muzzleloader, 0 (0) A; 0 (0) AL.
Pennsylvania is not alone in seeing harvest numbers drop. According to a recent report in Grand View Outdoors, some states like MN, MI, WI, wolf and bear are taking a toll and low fur prices have kept trapping activity at a low level. And in some states like PA, coyote populations are high and can affect fawn mortality.