I love how most PA hunters wanna blame the Game Commission and seasons but never look in the mirror at the person that ultimately controls whether or not tags get filled.
The days of sitting on any ole stump and having pressured deer come by are gone. We simply don't have the hunter numbers we used to. Add in more guys tagging out in archery season, there just aren't many guys out there in rifle season to move deer around.
Change tactics. Scout harder. You have a group of guys? Try some small pushes. Try still hunting or snow tracking. If something doesn't work, try something else.
I had 3 sits in PA on public ground. I killed the 4th buck I saw in mid October.
Decided I wasn't done. Went to Ohio. On public. Never been there in my entire life. 3 sits produced 6 doe sightings and 6 buck sightings. Killed the 6th buck. I spent far more time scouting than hunting. It paid off.
Rifle season i hunted a couple days and saw legal buck every time.
First day of flintlock season, I wasn't in the woods an hour and had to let a great buck walk by.
Pennsylvania hunting, specifically buck hunting, has never been better. But rifle season has changed in most areas and hunters have to learn to adapt.
