A BY-PRODUCT OF GOOD MANAGEMENT
Though not intentionally designed to create a "trophy" state, the Game Commission's management practices have allowed Pennsylvania bucks to grow to what would be considered trophy size in almost anyone's book. Bob D'Angelo, a certified scorer for Pennsylvania's record book, said he has seen three to four times as many bucks being eligible for the record book during the past few seasons as compared to the previous decade.

"Actually, we're measuring more racks in the upper 130s to mid-140s," Bob commented. "The minimum score to make the Pennsylvania records in the typical firearms category is 140 B&C. I suspect there are a lot more racks scoring in the 120s and lower 130s that guys aren't bringing in to score, even though they're still dandy racks, because they realize the racks are below that 140 minimum."

Bob added that the largest deer to come across his table thus far was a road-killed buck from Allegheny County that netted exactly 170 B&C.

"Guys who don't like antler restrictions complain until they take the biggest buck of their life, and then they say it's the greatest thing since sliced bread," he added.

Bob had to work harder than ever after the 2006-2007 season wound up. Just about every newspaper in the state having an outdoors page and every hunting magazine in the state ran photo after photo of big bucks. The Pennsylvania Game Commission Web site received dozens of pictures of big bucks from all across the state. (To see some of these impressive photos, visit www.pgc.state.pa.us and click on the hunter and trapper scrapbook section.) You can literally see the increase in the number of larger bucks harvested from year to year. According to Elk County Wildlife Conservation Officer Dick Bodenhorn, the largest taxidermy operation in that county had a blockbuster year during the 2006-2007 season. The business took in more whitetails to mount that year than in any other of its more than 30 years in operation.

SOME LOVE IT, SOME DON'T
While the opportunity for taking a trophy buck has never been better, the number of hunters in the state continues to decline. In what has been termed the "deer war," many hunters have simply given up hunting because they think the Game Commission is mismanaging the resource. Others hold antlerless-tag burnings, accusing the Pennsylvania Game Commission of attempting to kill off all the deer.

From 1998 to 2005, the number of hunters in the state declined by 107,000. Recruitment levels of youth hunters in Pennsylvania are running at 60 percent. For every 10 hunters who give up hunting, only six are taking up the sport. And, of course, many baby boomers over 60 now are hanging up their guns and bows because of health issues.

In addition, the number of days spent deer hunting per hunter has fallen off. Numerous wildlife conservation officers have commented in their field reports that they now have a hard time locating hunters after the first few days of the season, even though they're still seeing numerous deer during those same patrols.

Some hunters like south-central Pennsylvania hunter and farmer Marshall Whitsel Sr. refuse to allow any doe hunting on their lands. "I only have 100 acres," Marshall says. "So I don't hold a lot of deer on my property. I figure with the amount of shooting that my neighbors do during the gun seasons that they keep the herd thinned down. I know many other farmers, mostly older hunters, who don't allow doe hunting on their properties either."

Another factor contributing to the decline of hunters is access to land on which to hunt. While Pennsylvania does have a substantial amount of public land, private land is rapidly being leased, posted or developed. With every acre of private land lost, public land must support an increase in the number of hunters using it, especially on opening day of deer season. Many hunters have become so fed up with the "pumpkin patch" look of the woods right after daylight in some public areas that they've put away their guns for good.

CHANGING THE OLD MINDSET
Mike Creamer, a representative from the Pennsylvania Deer Association, says that education is the key. "Making hunters understand the need for the recent changes has been a big obstacle in the deer management plan," Mike says. "Hunting and hunting methods are a tradition in Pennsylvania, and when you start messing with tradition, people don't like it."

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