What do you think?

[danesdad]

How do the PA hunters feel about the split seasons for antlerelss deer being expanded into new WMUs? I, erpsonally think it is a trick to allow hunters to see more deer on opening day and the first saturday and the effect on the harvest will be negligable.

[bmstaaf]

In my opinion I liked the split season 3 days for Doe and buck by itself. Now I do prefer my bow and rarely take out the rifle other then opening day but I know for a fact its a solid two week slaughter season with the rules and regulations right now. My experience with rifle hunting is get very lucky opening day or get skunked.

[mhouck06]

I used to be totally against what PA was doing with the deer heard.. Until I started to do some research. I think they are doing just fine, for the most part. They took it a little to far in some places, with the doe herd, but for the most part I think they are doing just fine. Check out the studies done at Raystown Lake by the Army Corp of Engineers. Its a big eye opener. Jeff Krause is the Wildlife Biologist in charge of the studies. After talking with Mr. Krause, PGC, DCNR, DEP and the University of Pittsburgh, I got approved for a Whitetail population and habitat destruction study on the Pitt Johnstown Campus Wildlife Preserve. Ill keep my findings posted on here, because I know many people are still against what the PGC is doing and right now I believe they are taking the right approach to management not only of the deer heard but every aspect of our forests and wildlife.

[dtrain56]

Well, i don't think the split season is to help with the actual deer kill numbers....but it will help get hunters out there for more of the season...right now not many hunt on the weekend after opening day...they just hunt monday and maybe tuesday.....if weather is good.

i think it will generate more revenue for the small huting towns in Pa and maybe keep people in the woods.

and yes hunters will get to see the doe run by in good numbers....hope you can count fast for those three points ..but i think they should go to four.....but i also do most of my "enjoyable" hunting with a stick and string

[danesdad]

The split season will not increase participation, IMO. It may change the days guys choose to take vacation. In some WMUs, the first saturday may become more popular than the first day. I think it will just tend to make people hunt on different days.

[aaronw1977]

My opinion is the same, buck the first week and 3 days of doe the following week. Seems like the doe population woud start to progress better than it has in the last few years.Give them a chance to survive repopulate but that goes against the pgc and insurance angencies requests that they want the majority of the deer herd asasinated.

[danesdad]

The proper way to control doe harvest is NOT by changing season length, it is by changing the number of doe permits that are issued.

[doit]

It doesn't matter how many doe tags are issued, only how many deer are killed, if the numbers dont lie than this changes very little from year to year.
90% of the deer in 10% of the woods and 10% of the hunters kill 30% of the deer, the other 70% are killed by autos or something like that,
just like fishing. all the guys bitchin are the guys who suck at hunting.

[danesdad]

ORIGINAL: doit

It doesn't matter how many doe tags are issued, only how many deer are killed, if the numbers dont lie than this changes very little from year to year.
90% of the deer in 10% of the woods and 10% of the hunters kill 30% of the deer, the other 70% are killed by autos or something like that,
just like fishing. all the guys bitchin are the guys who suck at hunting.

OK, If they give out one hundred thousand tags for your WMU this year and five hundred next year, which year are more does gonna get killed? It DOES matter how many are issued. And I personally dont have a problem with how the PGC runs the doe program. But a lot of guys do.

[bmt4413]

danesdad-studies have found that season length plays a greater role than tag allocations. If you go to extreems and throw out crazy numbers like you just did then no, tag limits would be more effective. But when is there a 100,000 tags and then only 500. If you have an antlerless season of 3 days-m,w,f of the second week there will be far less hunters in the woods to use the tags they bought. Poor weather conditions also play a larger role with shorter seasons. Season length plays a greater role then tag allocations when the numbers of tags are reasonably represented.