Pennsylvania ranks low for deer hunting
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Despite tentative estimates of a good opening day harvest, based mostly on favorable weather statewide, Pennsylvania has been ranked among the worst states for deer hunting.
In a feature published last week in Wide Open Spaces, a Texas-based hunting and fishing website, the Keystone State was rated the fifth worst in the country for deer-hunting favorability.
“We’ve compiled a list of 10 of the worst states in America for deer hunting,” stated the story, written under an anonymous byline and relying on statistics it said were compiled from Quality Deer Management Association’s 2013Whitetail Report. “While there is no one category that makes a state ‘bad’ for whitetail hunting, the following states exhibit low harvest numbers, large numbers of yearling bucks harvested, low numbers of mature bucks, heavy hunter density, consistently adverse weather orall of the above.”
New York was rated the worst state in America for deer hunting based on high hunter density (15.1 hunters per square mile) and high yearlingharvest (54 percent).
While conceding that “impressive” numbers of deer are harvested in Penn’s Woods, Wide Open Spaces noted that a high percentage of young antlered deer are taken by a high number of hunters.
“In 2013 Keystone State hunters harvested an impressive 127,540 bucks, along with 208,660 anterless deer,” stated the website. “While these numbers and mild weather compared to many other states on our list place Pennsylvania in some impressive company, its No. 1 ranking in hunter density (20.3 hunters per square mile) and large yearling buck harvest (50 percent of all antlered deer) land it at No. 5.”
Not exactly, said Chris Rosenberry, head of the state Game Commission’s deer andelk team.
“The numbers reported are not correct. In 2013, Pennsylvania hunters harvested 134,280 antlered deer and 218,640 antlerless deer,” he said. “These harvests ranked Pennsylvania in the top five states for total antlered harvest, antlered harvest per square mile, total antlerless harvest and antlerless harvest per square mile. Pennsylvania annually produces top-five-highestdeer harvests in the country for the secondlargest number of deer hunters.”
Wide Open Spaces was right about Pennsylvania having a high density of deer hunters, Rosenberry said, and yearling bucks made up 47 percent of the antlered harvest in 2013.
The website’s “10 Worst States for Deer Hunting” feature included New Jersey (2) Vermont (3), Maine (4), New Hampshire (6), Massachusetts (7), Rhode Island (8), Wisconsin(9) Michigan (10).
Read the full story at wideopenspaces.com.
Fly tying
The brown trout in the promotional photo is too big to stuff in a stocking, but an angler in your life might be thrilled to find that Santa paid the $75 admission fee for a six-week Beginner Fly Fishing Course taught by Springdale tying instructor Bruce Cox. Classes start at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 16 at International Angler in Robinson. Students should bring a vise and tools. Details at 412788-8088. THIS WEEK: Pennsylvania deer hunting deserves to be ranked among the worst in the United States. • Yes • No • LAST WEEK: Hunter-donated venison should be distributed through food banks while research continues into possible health risks from longterm consumption.