Author Topic: Pennsylvania Deer Hunting (Read 2401 times)

JPSaxMan · « **on:** December 28, 2004, 11:41:46 AM »

I'm in central Susquehanna County, and I find the deer hunting to be so-so. But even in the county, I hear stories of more successful deer hunting. What is it like elsewhere in the state?

The deerslayer · « **Reply #1 on:** December 28, 2004, 06:55:01 PM »

Around here in Westmoreland, Fayette, Green its about the same (so-so)

MarlinMan · « **Reply #2 on:** January 05, 2005, 03:21:36 AM »

Beleive me,It's no better in Lycoming county either!

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #3 on:** January 05, 2005, 05:53:17 AM »

Ah MarlinMan, not that far away now are we? :-D

MarlinMan · « **Reply #4 on:** January 05, 2005, 12:11:20 PM »

You doing the black powder thing?
We put on a bunch of drives last week and got no shots at deer.We concentrated on the more urban areas along the sesquahanna.I actually saw more deer that day than I did all the gun season,but got no shooting.
Oh, and I did have a bear come out to me on a drive.

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #5 on:** January 05, 2005, 12:15:34 PM »

Yep yep, but I didn't go out today b/c of this freakin storm. Did some small game this evening tho with no luck. Oh well.

ratgunner · « **Reply #6 on:** January 29, 2005, 03:42:20 AM »

Really poor in Schuylkill county

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #7 on:** January 29, 2005, 04:17:52 AM »

Huh, so it looks down over most of the NE part of the state. Then again they have been talking about a new project for next year. :?

Steelbanger · « **Reply #8 on:** January 29, 2005, 04:36:44 AM »

This excerpt is from the PGC web site, dated 1-25-05. We're in for more of the same.

"GAME COMMISSIONERS GIVE PRELIMINARY APPROVAL TO 2005-2006 SEASONS AND BAG LIMITS

HARRISBURG -- The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2005-2006, including expanded hunter opportunities through the Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP); more bear hunting; increased elk hunting; and new and expanded youth-only hunting seasons.

The public may offer comment on these proposals between now and the next meeting of the Board of Game Commissioners, April 25-26, at which time the Board will finalize seasons and bag limits for 2005-2006.
Following are several articles on meeting highlights.Â

DEER SEASONS TO REMAIN LARGELY UNCHANGED FOR 2005-2006

The Board of Game Commissioners today gave preliminary approval to the 2005-2006 deer seasons.Â The framework nearly mirrors that of the previous three years, with the exception of expanded antlerless deer hunting in Wildlife Management Unit 5C in the southeast portion of the state.Â The late antlerless deer season for WMU 5C and 5D will be Dec. 12-23 and Dec. 26-Jan. 28.

Â "At this time, the Board has determined that we must stay the course in our efforts to balance the deer herd with its habitat," said Game Commissioner John J. Riley, who was elected as the new Board president today.Â "Antlerless deer license allocations will be set by the Board in April, after the staff has had an opportunity to review the results of the 2004-2005 deer season.Â Those results won't be available until mid-March since hunters still are submitting harvest report cards -- which must be sent out for data entry -- and the agency's Deer Management Section is compiling the data collected at the deer processors by the deer teams to cross-reference with the harvest report cards."

while99 · « **Reply #9 on:** January 29, 2005, 09:12:34 AM »

I hunted the first week of PA. rifle season on Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday and for a few hours on Tuesday afternoon. I hunted mostly in Clinton County but did hunt a day in Centre County. I saw only two deer the entire week, a doe and her fawn on Friday in Clinton County. I support the Game Commission's antler point restrictions but I think that they are allocating entirely too many doe tags and that doe season should not run concurrently with buck season. PA. should go back to a separate 2- or 3-day doe season.

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #10 on:** January 29, 2005, 12:10:43 PM »

For population control?

Heck, if anything they should worry about the ever-increasing coyote/coydog population. Get the federal hunters in here or start paying private groups to exterminate them. :eek:

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #11 on:** January 30, 2005, 04:55:01 AM »

At -20F uphere the last two days, I'm happy to just read about you guys hunting! Guess I'm getting old. 'Course the season is closed too.

while99 · « **Reply #12 on:** January 30, 2005, 06:11:48 AM »

John Y. Cannuck. If I wanted to go deer hunting in Ontario, what is the correct way to go about it? Is there reasonable public hunting that I can do myself or do I need to hire an outfitter, stay at a lodge and hunt private ground? How much of a pain is it to bring a firearm to Canada? .

John Y Cannuck · « **Reply #13 on:** February 03, 2005, 03:14:10 PM »

Rather than steer you down the wrong path, I'd recomend you check out the MNR website for hunting info, and read the various sections of the guide (PDF).
http://www.mnr.gov.on.ca/MNR/pubs/pubmenu.html#hunting

Rick Teal, is I understand a former Customs official, and may be better able to answer questions regarding import of firearms.
http://www.graybeardoutdoors.com/phpbb2/viewforum.php?f=151&sid=59d44de5b9e9f050bc124006e0a0b06b
I understand that it's easier for you to import and use a gun, than it is for a Canadian to aquire one.
More information can be had at the website of
The Canadian Firearms Center
http://www.canadianfirearms.com/

PS I hate their guts

while99 · « **Reply #14 on:** February 03, 2005, 04:54:01 PM »

John Y. Cannuck, thanks for the links. I'll take a look at them this weekend. And, if you don't like your government, move south to the U.S. I'm sure there are many Bush-hating, gun-grabbing democrats who would love to trade places with you.

jimmygun · « **Reply #15 on:** February 24, 2005, 11:27:58 AM »

just wanted to say that there are no deer here in luzerne county, either. jim

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #16 on:** February 24, 2005, 12:10:17 PM »

I'm surprised at how many people are on GBO and are within driving distance. That's surprising!

Ron T. · « **Reply #17 on:** March 23, 2005, 09:06:46 PM »

While IÂ’m in favor of Dr Gary OltÂ’s Â“3-points-on-one-side-minimumÂ” for bucks, like While99Â’s post on this thread, I think the Pennsylvania State Game Commission had better start limiting the available doe deer tags and make a separate doe deer season which doesnÂ’t run concurrently with buck season.

Too many guys are buying a buck license and one or more doe tags at the same time, so if they donÂ’t see a buck, they shoot one or more doe deer. My buddy, who is our deer camp host & lives near Valencia, Pennsylvania (just north of Pittsburgh) was able to buy 3 doe tags in addition to his buck license. He didnÂ’t take all the doe he could have, but many guys do.

IÂ’ve hunted in the Moshannon State Forest in Clearfield County just north of DuBois/Clearfield area since 1998 out of my buddyÂ’s cozy cabinÂ… and in the past two years, I havenÂ’t seen a live deer (doe, fawn or buck) in the woods in 9 days of hunting.

Last year, I had a really great location with my ground blind set up next to a swamp in a heavily-wooded area that was criss-crossed with deer trailsÂ… and in 4 days of dawn-to-dusk hunting, no deer passed by in what can only be termed Â“perfect deer habitatÂ”. There are 6 of us who hunt out of our deer campÂ… and except for 2 good bucks that were shot by two of our members (one in each of the last two years), no one else has seen any live deer in the past 2 years either.

I was totally in favor of Dr. OltÂ’s programÂ…the over-population of doe deer were eating up all the food & the deer herd was completely unbalanced, but there have been over 14,000 doe deer killed in Clearfield County in the past two yearsÂ… and if each doe had the normal twin fawns, that would account for a total of 42,000 deer (28,000 fawns) that arenÂ’t in the woods in ONE COUNTY!

Small wonder I havenÂ’t seen a live deer in two yearsÂ…

Strength & HonorÂ…

Ron T.

SLAVAGE · « **Reply #18 on:** April 01, 2005, 05:17:18 PM »

well i spent the first week of rifle in crawford an it sucked badly up ther first time in many years no one at camp got even a shot off just total seen about 4 does an a small 6'er

while99 · « **Reply #19 on:** April 28, 2005, 04:50:51 PM »

Well it looks like the PA. Game Commission has reduced the number of doe tags for this year. Not as much as many would have liked, but some. Here's the blurb I found:
Pennsylvania hunters will see fewer doe licenses this year. The board of
game commissioners met for the annual meeting in Harrisburg on Tuesday to set hunting rules and regulations for 2005. An agency official tells 10 News they have dropped the number of doe licenses that will be distributed this year to 879-thousand state-wide. That's down from one million, 39-thousand last year.

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #20 on:** April 28, 2005, 05:02:25 PM »

Yea, I was kinda wondering if they're doing the right thing. They were also talking about the habitat. Why are they reducing tags when they need to worry more about habitat management? How is the deer herd supposed to boost when their habitat can't sustain it? Then again, how do you do something like that? Get game biologists onto every single acre of land in the state and tell the land owners, "All right you need to do this that and the other thing." Yea I don't think so :? . So I guess that's the only thing they can do. Oh well.

slayer · « **Reply #21 on:** May 01, 2005, 04:01:57 AM »

Wow, this is some dis-hartning news. I haven`t hunted Deer for a few years, but the last time I did, I saw lots of deer in Warren County near Tidiute, but I imagine things have changed. I do know I see alot of Bears in Warren County. I use to hunt a ton in Washington County and there were Deer behond every tree it seamed, and that was on state game lands. I imagine it has changed as well. I do know the Deer were eating there home out in Mckean county as well. It was great hunting up there as well in the 80`s and 90`s. Jack.

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #22 on:** May 01, 2005, 12:05:16 PM »

Let's hope the GC is making the right move in trying to get the deer population back up...that's all I have to say :roll:

Steelbanger · « **Reply #23 on:** May 01, 2005, 12:19:26 PM »

I guess the hunters in my WMU, 4E, didn't complain enough because the doe license numbers are the same as last year.

dogngun · « **Reply #24 on:** July 15, 2005, 02:04:01 AM »

I saw 1 doe last yesr (04) running across a road in Berks county on the mountain in Reading.
In 05, I have seen 1 doe in june on the SGL near Bernville. She was staring at my dog who was rolling on his back in a cut cornfield. I watched her for about 2 1/2 minutes, then she had enough.
(my dog never noticed.)

Haven't seen any deer here in a hunting season for some time.

Mark

JPSaxMan · « **Reply #25 on:** July 15, 2005, 04:26:49 AM »

:shock: