Far more NRs should get a doe tag this year, with only a one week wait. But it looks like 2F, 2G and 2H will be iffy by Monday?
As far as license sales, they began a period of slight increases about five or six years ago. Not by much, but it turned around from what had been years' worth of declines. Same declines have been going on in most other states with large numbers of hunters.
Sales are nothing like they were 20+ years ago. Youth recruitment is a problem in almost all states. We lost tens of thousands of WWII and Korean War vets over that same 20+ year period. For many of us, these were the guys that taught us to hunt when we were kids in the 50s and 60s. Most of them are gone now.
Leading edge age groups of the baby boomer generation are now in their late 60s/early 70s. Which statistically, is about when people begin to lose interest in hunting due to age, infirmities, etc.
Blaming the decline in PA hunting license sales solely on a perceived (by some) lack of deer, isn't particularly accurate in my opinion.
Some areas have seen deer numbers rebound better than others. Some areas are still short on deer numbers. My area in particular, is pretty much back where things were before HR began in 2000.
BTW, PA doe tag allocations continue to be smaller. 2011: 902,000. 2016: 748,000.
Couple that with the increased number of WMUs that are now bucks-only the first five days and we're bound to kill fewer baldies?
