A Point of Contention in Western Pennsylvania

The Monday after Thanksgiving is an unofficial holiday in the state of Pennsylvania, as nearly one million hunters mobilize for the start of the state’s two-week firearm deer season.

An unmistakable change sweeps over the commonwealth for the start of deer season, as hunter orange dominates the landscape, roadsides fill with cars and trucks left by hunters and rifle cracks reverberate nearly non-stop throughout Penn’s Woods. It’s a season steeped in tradition in one of the country’s great hunting states.

As a lifelong Pennsylvania hunter, I’ve been fortunate to experience my share of memorable rifle openers, but I have to admit that the season has lost a bit of its luster in recent years.

You see, 2009 marked the eighth season since Pennsylvania instituted antler restrictions, meaning that the spike and six-point I saw on opening morning in Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 2A were not legal deer, thanks to the four-points-to-one-side rule that governs all or part of 17 western Pennsylvania counties. Hunters in the rest of the state can shoot bucks with at least three points on one antler. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, a point is defined as any antler projection, including the brow tine, at least one inch in length.

The four-points-to-a-side restriction currently exists in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D.

We’ve received a lot of calls and e-mails from hunters in the Pittsburgh region voicing opposition to this rule. Having hunted that area my entire life, I have to agree with their complaints. The main point of contention is this: If Pennsylvania is going to have antler restrictions, they should be uniform statewide.

In 2002, the game commission decided to implement antler restrictions. They wanted to enhance the state’s breeding stock by improving the buck-to-doe ratio and increasing the number and size of bucks in the herd. While the success of those goals to date is debatable, the game commission essentially wanted more bucks to live beyond their first year, and the restrictions were designed to protect about one-half of the state’s yearling bucks. 

Commission biologists decided that a three-point-to-one-side restriction would accomplish that goal in the majority of the state. However, according to the commission, a three-point restriction would protect less than one-third of yearling bucks in western Pennsylvania, while a four-point restriction would protect half. Simply stated, the suburban woodlots and farmland of western Pennsylvania produce larger bucks more quickly than the mountains of northern and central Pennsylvania.

“There’s no denying that it will take some hunters time to adjust to the new restrictions,” said Dr. Gary Alt, former Game Commission deer management section supervisor, just before the 2002 deer season. “Shooting at an antlered buck won’t be as automatic a decision as it used to be.”

No kidding. In fact, the statewide buck harvest has declined from 203,247 during the 2001-2002 season (the last before antler restrictions went into effect) to 122,410 in 2008-2009. A 40 percent decline in the buck harvest over that time period indicates that not only are hunters waiting before they shoot, many aren’t shooting all season.

With the amount of hunting pressure that deer receive in Pennsylvania, it’s not unusual to shoot a buck while he’s on the move. When you factor in trees and brush, a hunter has just a second or two to decide if he or she is going to shoot a buck or let him walk. The more time a hunter spends deciding if a buck is legal, the less time he or she has to focus on making a safe, ethical shot. Indecision is not a good quality in the deer woods.

 

Five years ago I was hunting on a friend’s property in WMU 2B the first morning of gun season when three deer came slipping through above me. The last deer was a buck, and I could tell that he had at least three points on the side closest to me, but I could not see brow tines. The deer had obviously been pushed my way, and the tangled mass of grapevines between the buck and me, combined with his speed, presented one of those split-second decisions. I was going to shoot, figuring the buck had brow tines, but then second-guessed myself. The buck veered up the hollow about 75 yards to where my dad was standing; he had a clear shot, recognized that the buck was legal and closed the deal.

 

I heard him shoot and my heart sank. Not because he had killed the deer, but because I had second-guessed myself. The buck was a respectable eight-point with one-inch brow tines, which I had been unable to see. That’s the last buck I saw that season, and my tag went unfilled.

Two years ago on the Wednesday before the opener, my dad and I were out doing some scouting when we spotted a buck feeding in a bottom. Even with binoculars and the deer standing still, neither of us were certain if he was legal. He definitely had three points on both sides, but we could not tell for certain if a fourth point existed. My dad thought he could see a brow tine on one side; I thought it was just a six-point. We never found out for sure, and we both questioned what we would do if we met up with this buck again during the season.

The bottom line is that it’s extremely difficult to determine if a buck has three points or four when you consider the hunting conditions that exist in Pennsylvania. There’s no question that it’s easier to differentiate between a fork horn and a six-point, and that should be the standard statewide. As the rules currently exist, too many hunters are second-guessing themselves, and the fun of the hunt has diminished.

Penalizing hunters in western Pennsylvania for a perceived larger, more robust deer herd is no way to keep hunters interested in the sport, especially when the state’s hunting base is already shrinking—license sales are down 14 percent over the last decade. Perhaps there is a correlation between declining buck harvests and declining license sales.

“I grew up in a family who hunted hard, pushing out patches of woods between farm fields or organizing drives through larger woods,” said Rob Dlugos of Level Green, Pa. “The season was a thrill. No longer. Now many [people] no longer hunt and this is exactly coincidental with antler restrictions. I’ve found those who are for them are bowhunters who have the time to sit in a tree day after day waiting for the perfect shot where they can count points beforehand. Well there’s only so many bowhunters, and [Pennsylvania is] a state where a large portion of deer hunters buy a license for the two weeks or even the first day of rifle season.”

It is true that some hunters in western Pennsylvania do support the antler restrictions as they currently exist, but many hunters have quietly been grumbling since 2002 for the antler rules to go back to the way they were. When a legal buck consisted of an antler with two or more points to one side, or a spike three inches or longer, the deer herd did just fine and hunters were happy. There were always a few large bucks in most areas and, eight years into antler restrictions, it seems as if little has changed.

“While antler restrictions may result in more deer with more points, I’ve seen more shabby-looking eight-points than ever before,” said Dlugos. “Think about it, the only deer that can never be shot in Pennsylvania are inferior bucks. Do away with antler restrictions entirely and the fittest, strongest, smartest bucks with the largest racks will survive and remain the trophies we all would love to bag. In the meantime, don’t take away the trophy of the hunt from every rifle hunter who used to love busting brush.”

Having personally seen eight bucks over the past two rifle seasons, only one of which sported a legal rack, one has to wonder if antler restrictions are indeed working.

William Lewis, who lived in western Pennsylvania for 17 years and now resides in Seneca Falls, N.Y., perhaps summed up the problems with antler restrictions best: “What is the point of hunting? Is it to get big racks or put meat on the table? If the promoters of the food plots and antler restrictions want to do it on their own land that is one thing, but to force that ideology on everyone should not be.

“I have harvested a couple of trophy-class bucks, and I am proud of that. I got them in areas where there was no antler restriction. If every time I went into the woods I shot a trophy buck it would become quite normal. I haven’t eaten any horns lately, but I have eaten some very delicious venison from bucks and does that a ‘trophy’ hunter would scorn. One man’s trophy is just that, and he should define it and not someone else.”

Lewis is certainly not alone in his estimation of antler restrictions. In a recent poll on www.NRAhuntersrights.org, 55 percent of more than 2,200 respondents indicated that they did not support antler restrictions.

I argue that if antler restrictions are seen as a necessity for the overall health of Pennsylvania’s deer herd and they must stay, then a sensible concession would be to make the rules uniform statewide. Three points to a side across the board seems fair.

Maybe then the magic of the first day of buck season would be restored. After all, some hunters measure a trophy by the thrill of the hunt and not by counting points.

 

Comments

Male African Elephants used to be killed for their tusks. Only the males with very large tusks were killed. Over the years the males with smaller less impressive tusks were left behind to do all the breeding. Now you do not see large tusks on male elephants in Africa. The tusk size on these elephants has been forever altered as a result of selectively killing the males with large tusks. The male African Elephant with large tusks simply does not exist any longer. The same will happen to bucks in Western PA if the point restriction is not ammended. I am seeing more and more bucks without brow tines. Brow tines are considered to be a genetic trait. Each and every year these bucks that lack brow tines are not being harvested because of the point restriction. Only the nice 8-10 pointers are being harvested and this leaves the scraggly less geneticly superior bucks behind to do the breeding. Bucks without brow tines were a rarity on our farm 10 years ago now they are all we see. We used to regularly harvest nice 8-10 pointers - I haven't seen one in the last 5-6 seasons. I agree that the overall number of bucks has increased but the rack size overall has sufferred. The only way to reduce the number of bucks without brow tines is to put hunting pressure on them. The point restriction has inadvertantly taken all of the hunting pressure off of the bucks lacking brow tines. Since this is a highly genetic trait the trend will only continue. From ECM on Tuesday, November 30, 2010 11:40 AM I think that all of PA should be four on one side. I'm 25 years old and like the author come from a hard hunting family. This antler restriction law has produced more bigger bucks in our area than my father--a hunter for well over 40 years--has ever seen. We hunt archery through muzzleloader and I love getting to finally see some big bucks in PA. Last year my dad bagged a 135-class buck and I was fortunate enough to bag a 140 class. These were not even the biggest bucks we saw in the past year, either. I recently found a shed and just one side had 6-inch bases and scored 70 1/8, as well as some other very respectable sheds as well. If people think that antler restrictions aren't working that should be proof that they are. And if hunters are hunting for meat and meat only get out there and hunt other game as well as deer--there are plenty of ways to fill the freezer in our state. The antler restrictions are also keeping the one-day-a-year hunters and the non-PA residents from coming in and hunting one or two days a year and killing off our deer herd. I don't mean to be rude to anyone but being an avid hunter, it should mean more to you than just going out and seeing antlers and pulling the trigger. Its way more enjoyable to wait for that big buck that makes your heart race again like the first time you ever killed a buck. From deer on Friday, April 16, 2010 12:21 PM This article is B.S. AR's are about protecting yearlings, this is why some areas need differnt AR requirements. Boils down to better wildlife management. One sided, misgiuded article, and again does't tell the truth, it is B.S. From buck on Saturday, February 27, 2010 10:48 AM Thank you Justin McDaniel for the article in March Hunter mag. about the stupid 4 point rule in western PA. I am 68 years old and have hunted deer all my life until now. By the time I put 4 points on one side, he is out of shooting range. Now in bow season I have no problem with the 4 point rule. The PGC just took all the fun out of deer hunting. From David A. Lohr on Monday, February 22, 2010 9:24 AM This article seems to be written without the ability to think logically. Yes, it's true, we're not going to bag a buck every single year like maybe we use to be able to do. But for many of us (and I mean MANY of us), we would rather shoot a trophy buck once every few years than tag out each of those years on a spike and two six-pointers. And for those of you that claim to “not eat the antlers,” I muzzleloader hunt regularly in Western PA and I not only find a ton of enjoyment in the challenge, but also more often than not come home with some freezer fillings by the end of the season. Now those are doe of course, but if you “don’t eat the antlers” that shouldn’t be a problem. Another argument is that the article tells about numerous bucks that the author had to pass up because he wasn't sure if they were legal, yet the only bucks that are surviving are the ones that are inferior. Let's consider the situation logically. Let’s just say you let two bucks pass that you weren't confident had that fourth point on either side. Okay, so now there's a chance that you might have a trophy or two to not only pursue next year, but to keep you up at night throughout the following hunting season. I know that sounds good to me! Now many will argue that just because you passed it up does not necessarily imply that the buck will survive to see next season. True, but the only way to be SURE that it won't see next season is to shoot it yourself this season. In my area of Western PA, we have been very successful with this way of thinking. I have a 9-point rack that was shot in 1996 which all of my friends and family members thought was a nice trophy at that time. That rack almost matches the size of the brow tines on bucks that we’ve seen over the past few years. To consider the argument that you use to be able to drive out a particular patch of woods and down a buck every drive, well, that’s probably not going to happen anymore. Did you ever consider that the buck that was driven to you last year and busted you hiding in that brush pile because he was lacking that fourth point might avoid that area this season? As bucks get older, they get much, much smarter and therefore much less likely to be driven from one hunter to another. One more point to make is that I have hunted in Western Pennsylvania for the past 14 years, and if there were one thing that wouldn’t bother me a bit, it would be to see a few less hunters in the woods. All public hunting grounds have sported a hunter behind every other tree for the past 12 years and to free up a couple of those trees wouldn’t be the worst thing that ever happened to Pennsylvania’s deer herd. Now, just to clarify, I am not claiming that PA’s hunting laws are flawless. There are a few changes here and there that I believe could increase PA’s hunting experience. (Such as allowing deer hunting on Sundays and then shortening the rifle season to one full week) If your main complaint about the antler restriction is that there aren’t enough deer anymore, I’m pretty sure you’re being illogical. The antler restriction is SAVING deer, not killing off the population. If that’s your complaint you might want to consider linking your argument to the number of doe licenses that are being handed out each season. From TAM on Saturday, February 20, 2010 9:10 AM I just read the articlen "A point of contention in Western Pennsylvania," and I would like to say it is a very interesting subject. I am 22 years old, so only started hunting in 2000. Ten years of hunting might not show the experience needed to evaluate this situation, but I must say the first 2 years of my hunting career and the 6 years before that I went with my dad were the best years of hunting I ever had. With the antler restrictions in place and the long and many doe seasons added, the population in my hunting territory and many others has diminished extremely. I remember going out and seeing 6 to 10 deer a day, maybe no bucks or nothing really to shoot at, but that sure beat today's hunting where I see maybe 3 to 6 deer a season. I work road construction, which means winter lay-off. For the 2 weeks of buck season, I'm in the woods from sun up to sun down. I sit in spots for hours, and we have our family crew that covers many miles of driving. The drives that used to produce 6 deer each, now we are lucky if we push that piece and get 1 deer out a season. Last season I shot a 5 point in WMU 2G that had an inside spread of 18 and 3/4 inches. The deer was 3 and a half. If the genetics aren't there, the restriction does nothing but leave the smaller bucks continue to live and breed, only hurting the antler size in Pennsylvania. Another thing--most people get a hunting license for the meat, and when you have to go out and try to find a buck worthy of the 3 points on one side, most guys who never would have shot a doe before, go out and the first doe they see boom, they are done. My understanding of the Game Commission was that they are there to protect the law-abiding hunters and the animals that we take. The antler restriction goes against both. People shoot does because they can't kill a legal buck, and when someone makes a mistake kill, how many people actually turn it in? I have found many 4 points laying wasted in the woods because a guy doesn't want to get punished for an honest mistake. Like the article says, if you take the time to make sure it's a legal buck, good luck shooting it because you just wasted valuable time that you could already have that animal down. I have to say I disagree strongly with the wanting to make all of Pennsylvania a 4 or more on one side. The bucks in Clearfield county I know are not as big as the ones in the western state. I myself along with many other dissatisfied participants would like to see the program leave and let hunting get back to being hunting. I understand that a big reason to control the population is the "over-browsing problem." What about the elk that were brought back? One elk causes more damage then any 10 deer combined could do. We had apple trees in our yard, but when a 6x6 bull elk claimed our 7 acres of field and woods as his home, those apple trees were eaten off to the main tree and some were even busted off flush with the ground. Those trees busted off were 8 inches in diameter. I feel as if I am going off on a whole other topic, but it all ties into one another when it comes down to the topic of over-browsing and damages done by the animals. As I stated before, I am not happy with the restriction and the majority of true Pennsylvania hunters feel the same way. It's time that the Game Commission does something for us besides raise the cost of our licenses to compensate for the lost hunters. They will only lose more. When I'm done getting my license, I pay close to $100. I can buy beef a lot cheaper then what venison costs now days. From Christopher Luzier on Friday, February 19, 2010 7:37 AM This seems to be more of a puff piece than an unbiased article. Sure, the author is entitled to his opinion, but don't try and pass it off as the norm. Since their inception antler restrictions have had overwhelming support and still do. It's not really even debatable. The area that has some upset is herd reduction. And that's understandable because the overabundance of deer spoiled many of us and now that it requires more than just walking in the woods and setting down, some are upset. The higher restrictions are about repairing the breeding ecology that we had out of whack for so long because of shooting a much higher percentage of buck than we did doe. It's funny that those who claim a spike is a fine trophy for them because they only want meat and not big racks, gaff at the idea of shooting a doe instead. If it's not about antlers then why must they have some sort of headgear? They contradict themselves. Doe taste just like buck. From Denny on Thursday, February 18, 2010 7:39 AM I see so many false assumptions in your article, I'm not sure where to start. I've seen at least 10 plus local (Pa.) polls on antler restriction and they all have run 2-3 to 1 in favor of them. Of course there are less deer harvested, there's fewer deer and the young'uns are off limits. But even with a smaller herd the number of 2.5+ buck harvested has doubled. The states taxidermy assoc. has even said they are seeing more nice buck brought in. But you promote having a one size fits all restriction and if you should have learned anything about deer management in PA, it's that blanket regs don't work and hunters don't want that. Those units with a higher AR were done so because yearly harvests consistently showed more yearlings were growing larger racks. Therefore to protect 50-75% of the yearlings you have to raise the restriction. With our old restriction we were basically high grading the herd by shooting most of those with great potential when they were young. We don't have a genetic deficiency in PA, we had an age deficiency. As for license sales, last year and this past year license sales were up. Prior to that, according to a F&W nationwide report we were loosing hunters at a slower rate than the national average. However we've seen a decline in license sales since the 1980's, so it's not due to anything recent. From Danny Reda on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 9:59 PM Born and raised in Pennsylvania, I loved hunting the whitetail deer and did so for nearly 35 years. Even after moving to NY and Ohio for work reasons, I would buy out-of-state licenses, paying up to $172.00 per year in license fees, which included doe tags and a muzzleloader stamp. Sadly, I stopped hunting in PA after the second year of the antler restrictions. Being out of state, it is difficult to get time off work to scout and hunt deer. The cost of license fees, combined with fewer deer, and the antler restrictions makes buying a PA license a poor value. We hunt by putting on short drives. The last time I hunted in PA, we put on a drive and a nice buck ran through the woods, 'carrying the mail.' Do you think I could count the number of points? No way. And being raised to be an ethical hunter, I did not shoot. Reflecting on that experience that day, I decided paying for an out-of-state PA license was not a good value anymore. While I truly miss PA deer hunting each year, I will not pay to hunt for a 'trophy' buck - cause you can't eat the antlers. From cant eat antlers on Monday, December 28, 2009 7:57 AM The antler restrictions do work. Take a look at buck harvest records for 2F. I used to be opposed but I've been seeing more large bucks in that area these past few years than ever before. I can't say that it's the antler restrictions for sure, but I don't see anything else that has changed. I hunt like this: If the rack looks decent I shoot immediately. I don't count points until I get to the dead deer. The penalities are not harsh if you turn yourself in and that is my plan if I shoot one that's too small. I still hunt (stalk)....try to count points when a deer is running up a cliff of mountain laurel at full speed and all you see are flashes of brown. You recognize antlers, find an opening, pull the trigger. Get the deer down and turn yourself in if you mess up. It's $25 dollars. Don't change your hunting technique. From Luke Glaser on Monday, December 21, 2009 2:37 PM Right on the money as far as I'm concerned as well. I grew up in a family who hunted hard, pushing out patches of woods between farm fields, or organizing drives through larger woods. The season was a thrill. No longer. It's nearly impossible to hunt the way an entire family (20+) of license-buying deer hunters have grown up to enjoy all their lives. Now many no longer hunt and this is exactly coincidental with antler restrictions. I've found those who are for them are bow hunters who have the time to sit in a tree day after day waiting for the perfect shot where they can count points before hand. Well there's only so many bow hunters and in a state where a LARGE portion of deer hunters buy a license just like everyone else for the two weeks or even first day of rifle season, I just can't see the wisdom in watching the resources of license sales dwindle just so we have a few more 6 to 8 points running around. My final point is this, again, while antler restrictions may result in more deer with more points, I've seen more shabby looking 8 or more points than ever before. Think about it, the ONLY deer that can never be shot in Pennsylvaia are inferior bucks. Do away with antler restrictions entirely and the fittest, strongest, smartest bucks with the largest racks will survive and remain the trophies we all would love to bag. In the meantime, don't take away the trophy of the HUNT from every rifle hunter who used to love busting brush. Anyone seeing less deer these days? Harvest too many does and give no incentive for hunters to organize deer drives to get them moving and that's what you get. From Rob D. on Thursday, December 10, 2009 11:20 PM As far as I'm concerned, you are right on the money. Over the many years that I have hunted, I've bagged a number of bucks. My most memorable, however, is a spike I bagged in 1977, on the last hunting trip i would ever take with my dad. Personally, I'm vehemently opposed to any antler restrictions at all. If they insist on having them, it should be the same statewide. After all, we all pay the same substantial amount for our hunting licenses. Now, here in WMU 2D, we also have a reduced doe season, although we once again pay the same amount for the licenses. Why don't we get our doe licenses for half-price? From Chris Henderson on Monday, November 30, 2009 2:30 PM I HUNT IN NEW MEXICO, AND THE YEAR THEY TRIED TO USE ANTLER RESTICTIONS I FOUND MORE BUCKS SHOT AND LEFT BEHIND THAN I HAD EVER SEEN IN MY LIFE. SO MUCH FOR INCREASING THE HERD. From AL POHL on Monday, November 16, 2009 7:46 AM

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