Pennsylvania Game News - June 2024 - 37

him grunting, following a doe, at 7:45
a.m. before I could even see him. He
just kept making these long, low, deep
grunts. "
The doe ultimately bedded 70 yards
from Spaid's stand, 20 yards off a
cleared right of way in downed treetops.
The buck likewise bedded, behind a tree.
" I couldn't even see his face, " Spaid
said. " All I could see was his rack sticking
out on both sides. "
When the buck stood up, he nudged
the doe to get her moving. With no signs
that they were going to come closer and
feeling desperate, Spaid " grunted and
grunted and grunted. "
That wasn't enough to make the buck
leave the doe. But when she got up to
move, the buck looped around to cut her
off from what seemed a possible rival.
That put him within 22 yards of Spaid's
stand.
" And that's when I let him have it, "
he said of the buck that turned out to
be his largest yet, an 8-point with a 20
1/8-inch inside spread scoring 138-4/8.
" I'd never experienced anything like it.
It was a real thrill. "
He's far from alone in enjoying such
things. Spaid added that his brotherin-law,
who began bowhunting in the
1970s, has enjoyed frequent success, as
the multitude of antlers on his garage
walls attest.
" You can look up there and see the
spikes and the 4 points and the 6 points
from pre-antler restrictions, and then the
deer after antler restrictions, " Spaid said.
" He's still getting the same amount of
bucks, but now they have four on a side,
you know? That's proof in the pudding. "
Treichler knows what he means.
" I have a box of antlers from years
ago and it has probably over 20 sets in
it, " he said. " And now I have a sameJUNE
2024
sized box that only fits maybe four sets
in it. That's the difference.
" Now, when you're in the woods,
you think, oh my gosh, what could possibly
show up? "
We'll all have chances to find out.
" Antler point restrictions provided
important benefits to Pennsylvania's
deer program, " Stainbrook said. " Pennsylvania
deer hunters benefited by harvesting
more older males with larger
antlers than in the past when yearling
males dominated the antlered harvest.
And, this was accomplished at a time
when deer populations were reduced to
meet deer management goals.
" As Pennsylvania's deer management
program faces the challenges of
the future, antler point restrictions, as
currently implemented, are likely to
remain an important part of the overall
deer management program. "
THE RUT
If there's one thing antler point restrictions
haven't done, it's change
whitetail breeding behavior.
Prior to their implementation, there
was little evidence of any " dominancebased
breeding hierarchy " among
Pennsylvania deer. Meaning, with so
few bucks living beyond 1.5 years old,
yearlings did most of the breeding,
largely absent competition from bigger,
older, more-physically-imposing bucks.
Would antler point restrictions - and
more adult bucks - lead to changes in
breeding behavior, in particular conception
dates? Some wondered.
The answer is no.
" We collected deer conception data
for four years prior to antler point restrictions
and four years after antler
point restrictions, " said now-retired
Game Commission deer biologist Bret
Wallingford. " There was no difference
in the breeding season. The peak of the
rut is November 14-17, despite the lunar
cycle. "
37
Pennsylvania Game News - June 2024

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