Battue-thanks for your input. I always appreciate what you have to say on this. It's pretty hard for me to speculate on what's going on. I only get back home to hunt about every third year now. We still own our camp in Clearfield County, but it's just tough to get back out east on a regular basis.
I have to admit when they first went down the QDM path, I was vehemently dead set against it. My opinion over the years has changed dramatically. When they shot off all the does, everyone concluded that this was a failed initiative. The herd is much more balanced now. All those year and a half old spikes we used to shoot get a pass now. The herd is more balanced, and the bucks we see and legally harvest are bigger, and actually carry some antlers.
It is a shame to see so many camps sitting empty on the opener. I'd have to think camp values must have dropped a bit, as there just wasn't the interest post QDM. We have 7 camps our our trail up the mountain. Two of them are regularly hunted out of. So many have been shuttered. Enigmatic names like Camp Bozo, the Hole In the Wall Gang, Camp Misery, and Bears Den sit empty. Many are in disrepair.
While I'm a QDM backer, I fear that this will get worse before it gets better. The Old Guard are dying off. These were the guys who went to camp for a week or two or more and hunted every day. Lots of kids don't even know which end of the gun to put on their shoulder today, which is really sad.
The herd is definitely better. Unfortunately our ranks are not.
Best wishes Battue, to you and all our Pa. brothers in arms for the coming season.
