Obviously been after the rut years...the pressure comes from hunters.... and with many camps not opening, it means Pa hunters are as much to blame as the GC....The Pa Deer rifle hunting tradition has died....Some can write about it and the memories they have, but essentially all that is left is memories...Reason being there are not that many Pa rifle hunters that really want to hunt....I was out for everyday but two....After the second day almost all the shooting occurred after 4pm...Other than that I may have heard a total of 50 shots in two weeks....maybe less. It's died a long time ago..
Bab's singing the opening anthem would be appropriate...."Memories, nothing more than memories"
That and the fact the GC kisses the bowhunters ass.....gives them first crack, the best weather and season and in addition extends it...And the GC prefers the silent killers over the noise makers....Not sure they screwed it up...especially if that is what they prefer....
Not all that adverse to the bow crew...but my way would be to pick your weapon...You either hunt bow or rifle...but not both. Crossbow???? Well it used to be one had to have a Dr's excuse, but the liers on both sides made the GC give in.. Now half the "bow" hunters are really crossbow hunters...What a joke....
The GC has taken on the task of protecting the Eagles, Ows, Hawks, Fishers.....Let the Feds watch over them and spend their money, instead of Pa hunters dollars that could be spent to benefit us and them...What's next the Eastern Red Wolf....I wouldn't bet against it....
Addition:
An out of State hunter told me they never saw a boot track once they got around 500 yards off the road....they never saw another hunter back in...They killed Deer and plan on coming back...Perhaps they are the next generation to carry on the Pa Deer hunting tradition...
Addition: Not only has the Pa Deer hunting tradition died, but so has the Pa traditional Deer hunter...Those old boys would be screaming about what is going on today. Back then, right or wrong ...wrong, but killing mother Doe had yet to be wise management...they bought Doe tags and then publically burnt them in piles....A friend this year killed two Does when there were few in his area, and made himself feel good by donating the meat..
I couldn't agree more. But other than the old guys in our group, we are usually stomping, crawling and fighting our way through the thickets near water to see what kind of mature bucks we kick out. Never much success. Our lack of success definitely isn't because of a lack of effort.
Maybe we need a change of location or private land permission.
I've been hunting for 25 years now and my ambition and dream of a 160+ big buck hasn't dwindled a bit since I first stepped into the woods.
