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PA Doe Tags

4K views 34 replies 20 participants last post by  jtrop 
#1 ·
For those PA hunters that hunt in the WMU where the Doe license sell out in the first couple of weeks is there a chance you can not get a tag?

Why should you have to pay for a license and then apply for a doe tag to hopefully get one.

I hunt in 5D and 5C so I typically can get as many tags as I want usually up until the end of the season. Doesn't seem fair across the board.:confused:

Doe License update as of 8/19/2008
1A 42,000 22,826 19,174 Open
1B 30,000 30,000 0 Closed
2A 55,000 15,650 39,350 Open*
2B 68,000 3,201 64,799 Open*
2C 49,000 35,857 13,143 Open
2D 56,000 38,965 17,035 Open
2E 21,000 18,617 2,383 Open
2F 28,000 28,000 0 Closed*
2G 26,000 26,000 0 Closed
3A 26,000 18,590 7,410 Open
3B 43,000 22,489 20,511 Open
3C 27,000 23,099 3,901 Open
3D 37,000 20,819 16,181 Open
4A 29,000 23,786 5,214 Open
4B 23,000 21,093 1,907 Open
4C 35,000 27,368 7,632 Open
4D 40,000 35,354 4,646 Open
4E 30,000 15,575 14,425 Open
5A 19,000 9,062 9,938 Open
5B 51,000 20,392 30,608 Open*
5C 92,000 15,670 76,330 Open*
5D 22,000 891 21,109 Open*
Totals 849,000 473,304 375,696 Open
 
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#2 ·
If you don't get drawn for a tag you get your $6 back, they don't keep it. Seeing as how it is a random drawing essentially, a lottery if you will, I don't see how the process could be anymore fair than it is now :confused:
 
#4 · (Edited)
I don't see how the process could be anymore fair than it is now :confused:
Not to hijack this thread, but it could be much more fair and convenient if PA would sell OTC doe tags like in Ohio. IMHO the Ohio system of OTC doe tags is far superior to the PA system of preparing a yellow envelope (and hoping you don't make a mistake), hoping that your unit does not sell out, hoping you get the doe tag in time for the early opening for archery in some units and if you do get a doe tag - hoping that it does not get lost in the mail, etc. (and God help you if you are an out-of-state hunter trying to get a doe tag in one of the units for which there is a great demand for doe tags or not many doe tags allotted).

It is not surprising to me that more and more Western, Southwestern, and Southern PA bow hunters do a lot of their bow hunting in Ohio, Maryland and WV. Here in PA, there is no Sunday hunting and the archery season generally closes during the peak of the rut - why not go to Ohio where there is Sunday hunting, the season is open from early October all the way through the end of January and the buck to doe ratio is much better? In Ohio, OTC doe tags are good anywhere in the state. Here in PA, if I want to hunt a doe in more than one unit, I have to either apply through the mail for a "leftover" tag or go to the treasurer's office in the county that I want to get a doe tag for - the first option is inconvenient, the second option is not doable without taking time off of work and traveling to the treasurers office in some distant county.

In my opinion, I think the PA system of doling out doe tags is antiquated and needs to be scrapped for a modern, computerized, on-demand licensing system like many other states have adopted.

PA has a long and proud hunting heritage, but the doe tag system is one major part of PA's hunting history that needs to be changed. I will concede that a lot of PA hunters like the "yellow envelope" system, I'm just not one of them.

While I am on my soapbox, I will further stir the pot by saying that the antler restriction regulations are the best thing that have happened to deer hunting in PA in a long time. Gary Alt is a visionary and a first class wildlife biologist - his departure from the PA Game Commission was a great loss for that organization.

Greetings to all PA bow hunters - have a successful and safe season.
 
#10 ·
OTC tags?? Why would that be fair? The PGC doesn't want every person in the state to have a doe tag. If that was their goal then each WMU would not have a certain amount of tags and you would just be able to walk in and buy them at Wal-Mart. I for one don't find filling out the envelope and app all that difficult, especially since I have been doing it for 15 years now and the PGC puts a checklist on the envelope.

If you get one you get one, if you don't you don't. It really is quite fair.
 
#7 ·
Wow

BDINPGH, I couldn't agree with you anymore. I think everything you just said should have came out of my mouth and probably has before. Everyone talks down about Mr. Alt and what he has done to Pa. What I have been seeing lately are a lot nicer buck on trail cameras and a lot of very nice bucks taken in 2007. Everyone is starting to like Gary now!!!! Reguardless.........just wanted to say nice post and I do agree. Doug
 
#8 ·
what if you don't get a doe tag?

So say you don't get a doe tag. Basically you purchased a license for a Buck (under the assumption that you only hunt deer). Now out of all the deer hunters in PA only 17% get a buck. So if you factor in the low chance of getting a doe permit, low the probability of shooting a buck within point restrictions and the amount of deer available I guess it could be frustrating for some deer hunters in PA.

I just figured if you gave a doe permit with every license more deer hunters would be inclined to stick with the sport considering the percentages are not on our side. Just on less thing a hunter has to worry about.:wink:
 
#15 ·
So say you don't get a doe tag. Basically you purchased a license for a Buck (under the assumption that you only hunt deer). Now out of all the deer hunters in PA only 17% get a buck. So if you factor in the low chance of getting a doe permit, low the probability of shooting a buck within point restrictions and the amount of deer available I guess it could be frustrating for some deer hunters in PA.

I just figured if you gave a doe permit with every license more deer hunters would be inclined to stick with the sport considering the percentages are not on our side. Just on less thing a hunter has to worry about.:wink:

Unfortunately that's hunting. The days of killing deer in this state are over. If you are not a hunter and/or put in what you expect out, you will be disappointed. Sure Ohio and other states give out guaranteed licenses, but give it time--Ohio and others will dry up.

PA gets too much use. Similar to golf courses. Your best playing is where it usually is difficult to get in. PA cannot be a free-for-all.

I also do not get the movement of trying to keep people hunting. Sure it sounds great but you either have it in you or you don't. I know I kept hunting pre-AR days when you were lucky to see bone 1 day all season.

JMO.
 
#11 ·
Honestly, all this sounds like to me is a bunch of people who are unhappy because they are not guaranteed a doe tag. I see all these long responses here but the majority of them just read "Waaaaa waaaa, me me me" from what I can tell.


"It's not fair because I am not guaranteed a tag!".... booo hoooo :cry:



Funny part is if the PGC sold tags to everyone over the counter then I bet some of you would be the first in line to cry foul on the PGC and say there are no deer left :rolleyes:
 
#12 ·
No booo hoooo on my side. Suprisingly I started this thread because I didn't think it was fair that some hunters may not be able to get a doe tag. In my case I can go down to the court house and by 100 if I wanted as long as I had the cash. I'm in a fortunate situation but for most PA deer hunters the odds are against them and that's one of the reasons why so many hunters do not continue in the sport.
 
#14 ·
i don't really have a dog in this fight anymore, but i hunted in PA for 17 years, and the only time i didn't get a doe tag was the years where i couldn't afford to send for one in time. they have it set up to pretty much ensure that residents who wish to hunt a doe will get their tag. residents get first chance then non residents can apply. i don't knw of anyone who has ever been denied their first round tag as long as the app. was sent in before the first round of non resident tags went in. PA has too many brown and down hunters to just sale tags over the counter, the application and alotment system is based on how many deer are supposedly in each WMU and the number that the PGC feels can safely be harvested with out really hurting the population. any other way would have seriously bad effects on the deer population in many of the WMUs
the only thing i wish PA would change is to implement game checking stations so they actually had some way of really estimating the deer population in each WMU instead of just guessing based on those stupid report cards that nobody ever turns in.
PA has many problems when it comes to the management of the whitetail population but i personally don't feel that their doe tag system is one of the problems.
 
#17 ·
Gary Alt is a visionary and a first class wildlife biologist - his departure from the PA Game Commission was a great loss for that organization.

QUOTE]

While I agree with MOST of what you said, allow me to just add that I have heard Gary Alt called many things, and VISIONARY has NEVER been one of them:eek:
 
#19 ·
As a hunter who has been hunting in Pa for deer since he was 12 this topic interest me a lot. I think the PGC has things a@$ backwards when they allow hunters to walk into WalMart the night before season and buy a license to harvest a buck, but make hunters apply early for doe tags. There are far more doe than buck in Pa. Shouldn't more doe be harvested and more buck protected? I for one know a lot of your run of the mill hunters who will not go through the hastle of applying for doe tags. This is what has caused the doe to buck ratio to get way out of hand over the years. I would like to see the PGC sell doe tags more liberally and OTC as the poster said. Dr. Alt knew what he was doing and the critics are finally realizing that even after all their *****ing. The majority of the people who forced him out of office were the traditional Pa hunters. The older hunters who think they want the days of millions of deer even if it means unhealthy deer and an out of balance doe to buck ratio. They are now saying... maybe Dr. Alt was right and because of antler restrictions we are seeing nicer buck. It is not about trophy management. It is about having a balanced doe to buck ratio and more mature deer in the herd. The proof is in the pudding. Look at what Dr. Alt did with bear management. Pa used to be an average bear hunting state. Now it is near the top with number and size of bears harvested. Best of luck Pa hunters. I hope things improve in the future.
 
#21 ·
I guess I am just used to the way the doe permit has been set up since I been doing it for the last 35 years. I hunt 1B and honestly, I can't recall a single year I didn't get a doe permit. There were years I had 2. Most the time I get 1 to get 1 but don't harvest a doe because I always concentrate on that eluding big buck. I hunt NY as well and travel to the midwest for a week every year as well for change of scenery. I'm another that is glad to have the AR but every year I wish NY would because the young bucks I see and hope to get bigger are getting plowed as they cross the line come slug season in NY. Most don't make it in my area, but the older ones do & they keep me seeking them!
 
#23 ·
As someone already stated there are too many brown and down hunters in PA that go out the first day of rifle season and shoot the little buck that has the minimum amount of points instead of maybe passing him up and letting him get introduced to the breeding cycle. People always say well there are more doe than buck, there is going to be if people do not start passing on some little buck and letting them mature to breed with the overabundance of doe that we supposedly have. I hunt on my families private property in 3C and have seen fewer deer year after year, and we try manage our property along with our neighbors and their surrounding properties. It should be an interesting year for doe hunting since 3C is one of the selected WMU's that has the doe restrictions limited to only one week of rifle season. This will hopefully allow more deer to slip through the cracks that have been bred so that the deer herd can start to come back from the overhunting that has occured. In short.....keep the process as is. If you want a doe tag follow the process and quit whining about it because you waited unitl the last minute to send your "yellow envelope" in.
 
#25 ·
This year is going to be my first year hunting PA and and trying to figure out the license process and the anterless permist have been a major pain. The only place I have ever bought a hunting license before here in VA and it is simple as can be. residents and non residents the same get 2 either sex tag (west of the Blue Ridge) and 3 either sex west of the Blue Ridge. Then you get 3 antlerless tags 3 turkey tags and 1 bear tag. I just got my PA license and I am having one heck of a time figuring out the antlerless application.
 
#26 ·
??

In about as long as it takes to complain on here, you can fill out an envelope to send in. Pretty minimal in comparison to the preparation that a responsible hunter should put in before the season anyway. I checked my bank account online today- the checks have cleared for 2A, 2B, 2D, and 5C.
 
#29 ·
First off if your a resident and can't get a doe tag you got other problems. Heck maybe 2G is the only place is you don't send it out by Monday you may have trouble getting one. But heck I sent in 2a just last week after everyone got there's and I'll get my second tag.

You also have to remember we have alot more hunters than Ohio so you can't compare us to them. I wouldn't just give out a doe tag. Then it would be even worse with its down if its brown gang.

But I agree they should make the deer tag that comes with the license a buck or doe tag, which is what it is if you use if for late muzzleloader season.
 
#32 ·
Some of you really need to get over yourselves lol. "They need to start letting the little bucks go so they can grow instead of shooting the first legal buck they see". Who are you to tell people what to shoot?? Better yet, who are you to judge someone because of what they shoot?


The key word there is LEGAL and as long as it is LEGAL then who are you to say that they can't shoot it? They paid the same money that you did to hunt this state and are free to put their tag on whatever they want. You do realize that some guys aren't after big racks, they simply want the meat right? Some people shoot the first legal deer that comes by because the 3 days they take off for gun season are the only 3 days they can hunt all year due to work and family. You guys are right though, they should throw their money down the drain and start following the standards that you want them to, how selfish of them :rolleyes:
 
#33 ·
Some of you really need to get over yourselves lol. "They need to start letting the little bucks go so they can grow instead of shooting the first legal buck they see". Who are you to tell people what to shoot?? Better yet, who are you to judge someone because of what they shoot?


I don't judge anyone, to me, any deer is a trophy,

This topic is sensitive and we [as hunters] need to stop bickering between each other and do something to preserve this "right" the we cherish :rolleyes:
 
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