I'm old enough to remember the good ol days of PA hunting. Shot my first deer in 1975 in the corner of Elk County not far from Lolita. She was in a herd of ~ 40 at 9 AM. I saw ~ 20 I couldn't get a good shot at before I shot mine. Before we got out of the woods that day, I know we saw 100+ deer.
Those days are over. I recall deer numbers dropping significantly in the following years - before the increase in doe licenses. I didn't understand it at the time but do now. The habitat couldn't support those numbers. I moved to east Tennessee 6 years ago. It is lot like the central part of PA - mountainous, laurel, steep, alot of oaks - if you didn't know you were in TN, you'd think it was Renovo or some similar place. The deer density is low; I'd even venture to say identical to the central part of PA. The first year I hunted down here I saw 8 deer on the first day, passed a small 6 pt, and thought it a pretty average day. Compared to my buddies, it was a season's worth of deer sightings in one day. The following years have borne that out. I've hunted ~ 7-8 days and parts of others this year and have seen 1 small buck and 9-10 does. This is a bit less than I've seen in the past couple years but everyone is noting the lack of deer sightings in TN. I think the answer, this year, is the huge crop of acorns. I see lots of deer sign in areas that have oaks and laurel mixed. I believe the deer are staying in the laurel to eat, breed, hide - all without leaving security. I've jumped more than a few deer in that type of cover.
The other mitigating factor is the drop in the number of hunters and the method of hunting has changed. License sales have dropped by ~ 25-30% since the 1970's-80's. We see it in our area of NW PA. So you get a two-fer - fewer guys and more guys sitting. Result less deer moving around. I understand the frustration from those that used to see a gazilion deer but struggle to sympathize. Things have changed and most haven't changed with the times. I know guys that have sat in the same stand for 20+ years. Until this year, my Dad sat in the same tree since 1984. That stand has produced at least one buck every year since 1984 and multiple bucks in numerous years. The landowner logged the woods this past summer. For the first time since 1984, we didn't kill a buck on that piece of land. I did manage to miss one on the first saturday but it wasn't on that piece of land. I've been trying to get my Dad to broaden his horizons for the past 20 years in anticipation of this day. We are in the process of finding new hunting ground in the event things are permanently changed at our favorite spot.
As to doe licenses, I'm a bit miffed but for selfish reasons. Now as a non-resident, I get to apply a couple weeks after residents - all the doe licenses are gone in my home area (1B) before I can even apply. I spent 45 years of my life living in PA and now can't seem to get a doe license. Shooting a doe with a rifle in 1B is remarkably easy although some still seem to have unfilled licenses at the end of the year. I'm starting to believe guys buy all the licenses they can and simply don't use them. I'm ok with that strategy - if thats what is happening. I suspect, and know for certain in at least 2 instances, that an entire family gets a doe license but only one shooter exists in the family but everyone gets a doe. This pisses me off and I'm likely to start turning people in if things don't improve. If you need the meat fine, I'll give you some of mine. In the instances I know of, this isn't the case. Its simply a bragging deal.
