THE 2013 PENNSYLVANIA DEER SEASON

Depending on your management unit, the Pennsylvania whitetail season opens September 2nd 2013 and runs through January 25th 2014. So depending on your mode of hunting and whether you want to take a buck or a doe, you will be able to find whitetail hunting throughout the State during these dates. Here's a link to the DCNR for Pennsylvania hunting season details. That's plenty of time to find a few days and get into the woods. But is the extended season good for the herd?

Is The Deer Season Too Long?

A quick trip to the comment section of PennLive.com's web site will quickly tell you that there are many points of contention about the length, and harvest numbers in Pennsylvania's deer hunt. Biologist have come up with management numbers that sit better with with a lot of seasoned hunters than they do the legislators in Harrisburg. And some are saying that the legislators in Harrisburg seem to be out of touch with the reality of the herd and may be acting in the interest of the insurance companies. Ultimately, the questions are being asked if the herd is being jeopardized because of the long season and plentiful harvest numbers.

But realistically, keeping the deer season longer allows access to a lot more hunters. Comments on the site include some that say a working man doesn't have access to a heck of a lot of free time, and plenty of Pennsylvania hunters are lucky if they can get into the woods for two or three days even with the extended seasons.

Other veterans respond to these calls by saying that the herd has been thinned to the point that where when once thirty to forty deer would be seen in a day, there are now barely ten. This has alarmed some.

PennLive points out that plenty of biologists want the season to return to the traditional two week rifle season running concurrent for antlered and anterless. And while some hunters may enjoy the benefits of having a longer season, the two week season seems to be preferred by hunters 30 and younger. The veteran hunters, those over 60, seem to line up in opposition to shortening the season.

Is The Herd Too Thin Too early

PennLive adds that some in power think shortening the season, and restricting the harvest would be beneficial to the overall hunting community. Quoting Commissioner Ronald Weaner, PennLive states "There are a whole lot of our population that are rifle-only hunters, who hunt one day a year or three days a year. I don't want to disenfranchise them by killing off half the deer before they get a chance to hunt."

Split Seasons Splitting Pennsylvania Hunters

Pennsylvania deer hunters remain split on the benefits or drawbacks of extending the season. Some see that giving more time to the season gives more access to hunters that otherwise would miss out. But others see it as too much hunting too fast and those who can only get into the woods late in the season would be missing out on plenty of the good whitetail action.

Regardless of the your position, it seems that it's increasingly important for you to truly understand the herd, and how to hunt in Pennsylvania.

We've been hunting Pennsylvania white tail since 1959. If you want more information about hunting white tail contact us here. And don't forget to stop by our store to check out the great deals on Game Trail Cameras and other high tech hunting gear. www.mountaintrailcams.com

The Pennsylvania White Tail Hunt Team