Here in PA we have the most ridiculous archery season ever. First and foremost we pay 40 plus dollars for our license and tag. Then we only have Oct 3 - November 14 to hunt Now in that short time frame we as bow hunters suffer this Small game season fall turkey muzzelloader junior rifle and to top it off...Now Crossbows are legal!!! WTH.. Now every whino in the woods who was too lazy to give archery the effort and time it deserves, will be out in the woods. Cause ANY1 can shoot a crossbow.!!! Does any1 else have some thoughts!!!
Dont forget about your late season, Dec 26- Jan 9. Total thats 58 days to bow hunt deer. Up here our season dont open until October 17th, and closes November 20th, then opens Dec 14-22. Which is just 44 days of bowhunting deer. We also have small game, fall turkey and muzzleloaders (late season). Im not whining, but i would much prefer your season vs. mine.
Nothing like one hunter hating another. Great way to present a united front. Here in Texas we have from Oct.3rd to Nov. 6th. That includes small game and youth rifle as well. Crossbows are also legal. I'd be happy to share my woods anyone that will strengthen our numbers. Who needs anti hunters when we have folks like you?
Take a look at Oh, KY, IN, Wisc if you really want to feel sick We have 76 does of hunting, I like mine of yours NY:p
I am lookin forward to PA's opener... can't wait. I don't understand the complaining about season length... we have 6 weeks for early season, followed by nearly two weeks of rifle season, which we can archery hunt, and then the late season which is several more weeks. I have never really been bothered by small game hunters, only ever saw one guy squirrel hunting, and the few rabbit/pheasent hunters around me have pushed bedded deer out of brushy areas and grown up fields into the woods where I was hunting.
The first 6 weeks is plenty, I wouldn't mind it pushed back a week though. Sunday hunting, sure I'll take it. Doesn't mean my butt won't be in church, just gets me another evening sit. Crossbows, yeah, I ain't thrilled, but when the day is done I can't do much about it. For me it's not the weapon, it's the hunter. I'll take a practicing, ethical crossbow'r everytime over a slob with a compound. As far as overlapping seasons, the best time of the year is only a few short months, we have to share the woods. I am lucky to have private ground, and I don't get much small game pressure, but what do you want them to do? After it's all done, we get a second chance after Christmas. I have some minor problems with our state's regs, but over all it could be a hell of a lot worse.
PA must be near 3rd world country status when it comes to hunting as much as guys complain there. I wouldn't know what the griping is about, I can hunt from the first saturday in September - the third weekend in January. :D Xbows, small game hunters, turkey season, etc are present everywhere and only come across as whining when someone brings them up. Get over it and get it done anyway. That guy with an xbow has no real advantage in the woods over you other than he likely didn't have to practice as much (debatable with a compound). Quit griping over his presence and outsmart him for that buck!
we start sept 26 and go till feb 7th with an urban zone and 4 antlerless tags statewide untill nov 29th..... thats not all too bad to me :D i can kill 6 deer this year, including one buck
Don't get me wrong, I love to complain but it could be worst. 1. You'll never hear me complain about the price of our tags. IMO they should charge more. 2. I will agree that I HATE the ML & especially the rifle season. I don't mind the small gamers, they are few. I do wish there were no rifles allowed for turkey. Or at least keep it to rimfire. 3. I detest X-bows, we have too many people already, but I'll save my blood pressure by not getting angry over things I can't control.
In the red-Consider yourself lucky for only paying $40.00 for license and tag. In Kansas, the license will cost you $20.50. An archery either species/either sex tag will cost you $32.50 bringing the grand total to $53.00. Add in a single doe tag (we can have up to four) of $17.50 and your grand total comes to $70.50! In the orange-Lucky for us, archery season starts on Sept. 21st and runs until Dec. 31st. I guess we at least have an advantage on that one!
As a non resident tack on another $100 to your resident total. I've been paying nonresident fees for 30+ years... So quit your whining. Want a longer season come spend your non resident money in Ohio. Something for you to chew on...Ohio has had crossbows for a long time..here's what you have to look forward to: 2008-2009 season total archery kill 85856 of those 46480 were with crossbows that leaves 39376 for vertical bows. So your herd will see a huge upswing in archery kills this year!
for those who think im whinning ...id like a chance to defend myself... my only real prob. is that i feel that as bow hunters we take on a far greater challenge then that of gun hunters. IPSO facto i find it irritate that we have so many interuptions during our season. Small game not a huge problem ( althought i did have a squirel hunter mess me up last year) And i love the fact the younger generations are trying to get into the sport of hunting. I just dont feel it is needed to involve all of those MINI- seasons within our month of hunting. I merely wanted your feedback on your thoughts about all of the MINI season interuptions. AND I WONT get started on xbows...because well ...unless ur unable to hold a compound, recurve, longbow, or twig with a string, you shouldnt be able to use 1. ( My opinion. )...and all you OHIO hunters believe me...next year im jumping on that tag! paying off school loans this year and wasnt able 2 afford it.
Different perspective. Just this past weekend, I was talking with my grandfather in law. He is a gun hunter, but not a "gun hunter." He's just like us, but has no interest in using a bow. His complaint made me think. Looking at it from the other side of the table, a PA gun hunter gets two weeks to hunt deer that have been hunted for 6 and with the time change, can't do much in the way of "after work hunts." This means that without time off, a gun hunter likely will be out the first day and then two Saturdays. I have never thought of it like that because I have nver been in that situation. I don't take time off work to hunt and I logged 170 plus hours last year, compared to the average gun hunter's 30, if he is in the woods for most of 3 days.
Crossbow inclusion is the worst thing that has ever happened to PA. Way worse than the worthless HR program that Alt created. The archery season will be drastically shortened in PA once the kill #'s increase by about 60% with the inclusion of Xbows. So you think its short now, just wait. If you use a crossbow during archery season you are not a hunter, you are a shooter.