Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 55

Straight from the Bowstring The Naturalist’s Eye The Naturalist’s Eye By Mike Raykovicz By Marcia Bonta By Marcia Bonta With fewer deer, effective scouting can be the single most important preparation a hunter can make to increase the odds of success. Effective Scouting Makes a Difference A BOUT FIVE YEARS AGO, after an evening of bowhunting, I stopped to see the landowner where I hunt. He and his wife were busy with milking chores, but he stopped long enough to ask me if I saw any deer. “Only a few does from my stand, but there were about 35 in the alfalfa field when I was coming out,” I answered. He shook his head and said, “There are too many deer and I’m losing too much of my crop to them.” His words were well received and I remember mentioning that for hunters these are the good old days. Something had to change, of course, because farmers were suffering financially and the forest was being over browsed. As a hunter I could see it, and as a landowner, the farmer could feel it. While other hunters may disagree, I believe Pennsylvania’s approach in reducing the deer herd was a sound decision, and the farmers I know embrace the reduction level as well. Frankly, I’m tired of reading letters from hunters in outdoor journals stating they used to see (pick a number) 30, 40, 50 deer a day and now they see only three or four deer in two, three or four days of hunting. While there’s little reason to doubt these observations, it’s highly unlikely Pennsylvania hunters will ever again see the number of deer they grew accustomed to seeOCTOBER 2008 ing in the mid- to late-1990s. Farmers can’t continue to bear the crop loss and the forest can’t sustain the over browsing. Yet, despite fewer deer in many of the wildlife management units, hunters killed more than 323,000 last year. Last season in WMU 3C, where I hunt, archers took nearly 1,500. Despite the unhappiness among some members of the hunting fraternity regarding deer numbers, the population still allows a reasonable chance of success for the hunter who takes the time to seek and evaluate potential hunting sites. A hunter can no longer drop his or her hat and find deer sign, so effective scouting is a priority. I realize work, family commitments and distance to the hunting site might limit the amount of scouting some hunters can do, but I believe hunters who maximize their scouting efforts will be the ones most likely to report a kill this fall. In my opinion, too many hunters wait until the weekend before, or even a day or two before the season opens, to scout their hunting territory. While this technique may have been effective a few years ago, fewer deer in some areas make it necessary to begin searching for deer and good hunting locations far in advance of the opener. I begin my scouting in late August or 55

Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008

Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008
Life & Times of the Whitetail
Contents
The Essence of Whitetails
Hunting for a Greater Good
What a Story to Tell
Three Birds, Four Shells, One Grouse
The Sandhill Crane Incidents
Nevada Grouse
Field Notes
Conservation News
Off the Wire
Another View
The Naturalist's Eye
Fun Game
Straight from the Bowstring
Lock, Stock & Barrel
Crossings
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Cover2
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Blowin1
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Blowin2
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Life & Times of the Whitetail
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Contents
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - The Essence of Whitetails
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 4
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 5
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 6
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Hunting for a Greater Good
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 8
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 9
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 10
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 11
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 12
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 13
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - What a Story to Tell
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 15
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 16
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 17
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Three Birds, Four Shells, One Grouse
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 19
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 20
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - The Sandhill Crane Incidents
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 22
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 23
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 24
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 25
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 26
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Nevada Grouse
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 28
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Field Notes
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 30
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 31
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 32
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 33
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Conservation News
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 35
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 36
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 37
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 38
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 39
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 40
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 41
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 42
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 43
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 44
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 45
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Off the Wire
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Another View
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 48
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 49
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - The Naturalist's Eye
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 51
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 52
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 53
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Fun Game
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Straight from the Bowstring
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 56
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 57
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 58
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 59
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 60
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Lock, Stock & Barrel
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 62
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - 63
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Crossings
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Cover3
Pennsylvania Game News - October 2008 - Cover4
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