PA

[mhouck06]

First of all, thank you for putting PA up.
Second, who all on here is from or hunts in PA?
 
My game cameras have been down for the past 2 weeks, keep forgetting to get batteries up there. As of two weeks ago though, things are looking promising. You can tell the deer are starting to grow their winter coats, the fawns have been looking healthy, growing like crazy. Its pretty cool to watch them grow over the summer months. Talk all around western PA is that there are many promising bucks being seen out and about. As far as the location I hunt, there are two nice bucks frequenting the area. One must be near 18 inches of a spread and has 8 points. the other is not quite as wide, but is very tall and is a 7 point. im interested in seeing how the deer react to maybe a few consecutive days of rain that they are calling for from spin off from the hurricanes. Oct. 4th is approaching quickly!

[allthingshunting]

Oct 2 is very close, but sept 15 is a much closer (MD opening day) which is why i love my location right on the border.
 
I have not had much success with my trail cameras this year but have seen plenty of good looking bucks just out in the bean fields.
 
I am in York County, South Central PA right on the MD Border....We have seen a noticable improvement on size and age of the bucks in our area since the implementation of antler restrictions.  How do you feel they have affected your hunting area?

[dtrain56]

Have hunt camp near cook's forest...
 
have had several shooter bucks on film but posted the biggest one on photo corner, a nice Nine point, maybe a P&Y
 
I love the Antler restrictions and wish they would make all of PA a four point restriction, but still hunters are shooting some illegeal bucks and just leaving them in the woods...game commision needs to sell the Apr's better.

[danesdad]

I like the antler restrictions.  Last year I had a shot at the largest buck I've ever seen on the hoof in the area my family and I have hunted basically the last 30 years.  Sadly for me (but happily for the buck), I just shaved some hair off the bottom of his chest.  I believe that AR allows some bucks to get into the older age classes and maybe gives me a shot at a big rack.  Truly, tho I'm happy with a doe as well, and PA has a lot of tags for them too.

[mag30079]

What AR does PA have. If its working for your state it will work here in Michigan. Not to many states as heavaly hunted as our states.

[allthingshunting]

there are two different sets of anlter restrictions depending on what part of the state.  Where i am at, the deer must have 3 points of 1" plus on one side to be legal.  Youth and Seniors may, however, harvest any deer with one antler of 3" plus.
 
Other parts of the state (Pittsburgh area i believe - just not sure because i have not hunted these parts) require 4 points on one side.
 
At first, these restrictions were coupled with heavy doe harvests.  While in our area of South Central PA this worked very well, and sounds like it also worked for danesdad, don't expect the same response from someone who hunts upstate.  POtter for example.  Have family that has hunted up there for 20+ years and knows how to hunt hard (Sometimes this has to be said as some hunters are lazy and will readily admit this)  Prior to the new regs, they would have killed about 5 or 6 buck out of a camp of 10 people.  In the last 5-6 years, they have killed only 3 buck (not each year, total) and have seen so few deer that many have started hunting around home again. (sucks for me because areas that were lightly hunted are now getting hammered.)  Even in the snow in late muzzleloader, over the course of 3 days of hunting (though they called it merely taking the gun for a walk) they only cut something like 10 tracks total.  Again, these boys know how to cover ground and know what they are doing.
 
Just goes to show that regulations and restrictions may work wonderfully well in one area but even within the same state, they can reak havoc as well.

[danesdad]

Allthings summed it up pretty well.  I hunt mostly in the southwestern part of the state, where the deer must have 4 points to a side, but I have a camp in Forest county, where it is three to a side.  In Forest county, the herd is pretty beat down from when I started going up.  Since Antler restrictions, I've seen fewer deer in general, but more bucks and nicer bucks.  Years ago when doe season was three days long and occurred after buck season (now doe and buck season are concurrent), you would see 50 deer on opening day.  49 does and a spike or forkhorn.  It was enjoyable to see deer, but something was obviously wrong.

[allthingshunting]

Danesdad just brought up a good point...With restrictions here in PA, they wanted to have fewer deer with higher quality.  Some people are upset they see fewer deer, but they didn't realize that before they were seeing too many for what the habitat could support.
 
I can't tell you how many times i hear people gripe about this point.  "we only see 8 deer a day when before i would see 20+"  Dig further and findout that before they would see all doe and now they see 2 or 3  buck of the 8.
 
Wouldn't we all rather see fewer more quality deer than high numbers of an unbalanced herd?  I know i would.
 
Also, they don't realize that to kill a buck now adays, they have to hunt smarter and harder.  Before, when the herd was comprised almost entirely of yearling buck, it was much easier to kill one.  Now, with the herd containing many more upper age class buck, yes, it is harder to kill a buck.  But when you do connect, it is worth it.
 
Some people, unfortunately aren't true hunters.  They only want to be killers.  They measure success by meat on the truck only, not through experiences in the woods, hard work, and patience.

[NWPAHunter]

I am in favor of the AR. I used to sit on opening day and count 20 -30 deer by lunch hoping one would be a spike or 4 pointer, so I could pull the trigger. . Guys here in PA were used to seeing all those deer and sometimes the first deer you saw was a buck and you filled your tag early and went home. They hate having to pass on that spike they could have shot 6 years ago.
The last 5 seasons have been more than good to me. I have seen the best deer ever and killed my best deer since AR was implemented. No doubt some of my 8's were nothing more than those "scrubs" that had one more year to live, but I am much happier knowing that all of those spikers and 4's have a chance to have a rack even if it isn't P&Y. I personally have had MUCH better success with scents, grunts,bleats and rattles in the last few years now that the herd is in balance. Archery season has been a blast in my neck of the woods. I cant wait for Oct. 4 !!!!!!

[NWPAHunter]

Oh, bumper crops of apples have been spotted everywhere. Finding good amounts of acorns. I have even found some good batches of beech. Deer sign is plentiful. Last years bad weather on opening 2 days of rifle season kept the kill low and helped carry a few more deer to this season. There was extreme amounts of mast crop in my area last fall and the deer I am seeing are proof of that. Most reports I am hearing are very optomistic. I hope to make it "4 in a row with my bow"!!!