But don’t expect to find one of those bucks — or any type of deer, for that matter — behind every tree this year, says the Pennsylvania Game Commission.

“Although hunters may not see a lot of deer in drives or on stand in many areas, the potential to shoot a large-bodied, rack buck is better than it has been for some time in Pennsylvania,” said Cal DuBrock, director of the Game Commission’s bureau of wildlife management. “But that doesn’t mean you will, or that you’ll even see one. It just means those bucks, which tend to be craftier than yearlings, are out there somewhere. They represent a considerable challenge and taking one is quite an accomplishment.”

The buck harvest historically has been a barometer for Pennsylvania’s deer population trends.

During the 2005-06 license year, hunters took 354,390 deer — including 120,500 antlered bucks. In 2004-05, the buck harvest was 124,410.

The similarities in the buck harvest over the past two years are indicative of a stable deer population, because the season structure for hunting bucks didn’t change and hunter effort for bucks is relatively consistent through the seasons.

Over the past few years, increased antlerless license allocations and antlerless harvests have helped decrease the size of deer populations in many areas.

“Antlerless deer license allocations over the past two years have been designed to keep deer populations in most wildlife management units (WMU) stable as we evaluate the effect of recent deer population reductions on deer health, habitat health, and deer-human conflicts,” said Christopher Rosenberry, supervisor of the agency’s deer management section. “Over the past year, we have implemented deer management measures with which we can evaluate and manage each WMU individually.

“Our objective is to manage a healthy and productive deer herd that provides recreational opportunities and acceptable ecological impacts and human conflicts.”

Hunters shouldn’t expect to see a dramatic change in deer numbers when they head afield, largely because whitetail populations aren’t prone to big annual population swings, either from hunting pressure or as a result of increased recruitment.

The deer populations many hunters are seeing afield are the result of successive years of increased antlerless allocations and antlerless harvests.

The larger proportion of 2.5-year-old bucks in the deer population is the direct result of antler restrictions, which were started in Pennsylvania in 2002.

Designed to increase the percentage of older bucks in the deer population by protecting yearlings, antler restrictions again will limit the taking of bucks in all WMUs in the upcoming season.

The best hunting day of the firearms deer season historically has been the first day, because of the large number of hunters participating on the opening day.

Last year, 33 percent of the overall firearms harvest (45 percent of antlered bucks) was taken on the opener.

The second best day was the first Saturday, followed by the second Saturday and the second day (first Tuesday). Combined, these four days accounted for about 70 percent of the two-week firearms season harvest in 2005.

“Deer season isn’t over after the first two days,” emphasized Rosenberry. “Last year, only about 40 percent of all hunters who harvested a deer in the firearms season got theirs on the first or second day. There’s plenty of opportunity for those who stay with it.”


P.J. Reilly’s e-mail address is preilly@lnpnews.com. blog comments powered by Disqus