Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Question For PA Deer Hunters???

Neither you nor anyone else is gonna ruffle my feathers.

Never questioned anyone's ability as a hunter, although we all know that some people can hunt and some can't. And yes, there are still plenty of deer in PA.

Not as many as in the era of 1990-2000 when our herd numbers probably peaked, still enough around to kill over 300,000 per year. Are there areas with very few deer now?

Yep, just like there were areas with few deer when herd numbers had peaked. There are now just more areas with fewer deer, according to what I hear in person, read on the internet and in outdoors rags.

As for the private vs public land debate, there is far more private huntable land in PA, than there is public huntable land in PA. So it's no surprise that perhaps more deer are killed on private land, than on public land?

Many of the public lands get hit pretty hard, especially the ones closer to large population centers. Over the past 50+ years I've hunted on private lands where deer were scarce and on public land where deer were scarce.

I primarily hunt on private land where deer are still fairly plentiful. It was not always so there during my lifetime, nor do I demand that it stay that way, nor anticipate complaining if it ever goes downhill again there.

If you're (not you personally, unless it fits) one of the people that mostly moan about the high deer numbers we had fifteen years ago in many places, don't have them now and demand a return to those days, too bad.

There actually were too many deer in PA by 2000, which is why HR came about. Not too many everywhere, but too many in enough places that it was time to address it.

Sorry if that ruffles your feathers.