PA Deer Harvest Up 4%. Why? Open Discussion
March 19, 2009
Participate in an open discussion about whether the harvest numbers of deer in Pennsylvania reflect the attitude that there are no deer left in the state and that the new management techniques aren’t working.



After a little internet searching, reading, and checking up on this stuff I found it’s a pretty well established product in Canada and hails from Quebec where they have this funny habit of speaking a lot of French. Thus the name, Jig-A-Loo, and the company’s claim it derives from a saying they have up north, “I’ve got it!” 
pa deer hunting is terrible since these new rules reduce the herd yus wiped the deer out If the game commision had any brains theyd sop doe hunting for a year or to and wen ya could hunt doe again one deer a year not 8 9 bonous tags They should have let the sportsman decide because soon its not gonna matter any way the game commision wont have a job the way hunters are quiting cause dont forget we the sportsman pay there salaries ya could see it now everyone ya talk to is quiting hunting and around were i live areas were people always hunted aint there anymore the bottom line is PA deer hunting sucks oh and lets not forget there gonna end up doin a number on the bear if they keep extenendin the season on them to but ya might as well talk to a wall because they dont seem to care
I have been reading alot on the issue of less and less deer. I realy dont think it takes alot of brain power to figure this one out. It is realy simple to do and doesent take much money. I have been laid off this season like many other pa hunters were and had plenty of time to do what i love to do which is hunt. And hunt I did. Hunting the full archery season and hard the week of the rut # of deer seen 5 and 1 buck not a shooter.Hunting the full 2 week of rifle season # of deer 1 buck not a shooter .That is it I do not drink and i do stay out all day either in my tree stand or on the ground. I am not complaining because i love the sport. To find out how many deer are around spend the time I have and count the # of shoots. Not very good and then take doe hunting out of it yet and i could probley count them with one hand.Say what you want but it does not get any more truth to this matter than that. How do you keep the intrest of a young person with days on end of seeing no deer. I have been doing this since 12 years old i am now 55 and never seen it this bad.
Sounds like these guys need to start hunting where the deer are and not where they use to be. I have seen tons of deer this year and harvest one of my best bucks. The number of larger bucks taken in my hunting area is also on the rise. PA has lots of deer. Some places may have more than others but the state is on the right track and I thank the PAGC for their hard work with limited reasources.
The truth of the matter is this. Here in the big woods the habitat sucks.
Many areas have mature timber with little or no undergrowth. Unless we have a bumper mast crop there is little or nothing for the deer to eat.
When I hunt overgrown clearcuts and brushy areas I see deer sign, but the deer are no longer in the marginal habitat like they used to be because their numbers are down and they aren’t forced to be because of overpopulation.
We are not seeing a lot of regeneration of the forest here because of the forest canopy that does not allow sunlight to reach the forest floor.
Until lumber demands increase the logging activity will remain low.
In addition we now have the tree huggers bascially shutting down the timber industry in the Allegheny National Forest. Also the oil companies are destroying the ANF with there roads and the increased activity that they create.
We have many more predators today that compete with hunters for the deer.
Coyotes, Back Bears, Bobcats and Cougars if they are indeed here take many deer, especially fawns.
Just take a ride around in May and June and see how many fawns you see with the does. Not many.
If we want more deer that are healthy and within the carrying capacity of the land we will need to improve the habitat.
I have given this much thought over the years and feel that I am right about this.
Just having more deer is not the answer.