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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 11:53:52 GMT -5
A fellow I know has been after me to help him. He runs a archery only urban deer management program in a upscale suburb of Pittsburgh and has been looking for good hunters to join. We took a drive yesterday through the area. Very tight hunting and lots of deer laying in yards and fields. While the deer tolerate people around the houses, they are still deer and the hunting can be tough because of the need to be respectful of the neighbors who may not like hunting or hunters. Basically, the borough mails out letters to every resident about the program and if they wish to enroll are put in touch with hunters. Hunters have to compete a shooting test, an interview and take a bowhunting safety course. Lots of rules while hunting.
The fellow that runs the program wants to put me on some of the properties that need good hunters in there cause the hunting can be a challenge. I look forward to being assigned some properties this summer. Some are owned by some pretty big names in the Pittsburgh area.
One of the of the roadblocks is being able to get enough tags as the PGC limits tags to 6 being in possession at a time and 2B did sell out last year. He said, sometimes, it is possible to shoot multiple deer on one sit but tags are a problem. Hunters have to shoot a doe before they are allowed to shoot a buck and multiple deer have to be donated
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Post by cspot on Mar 10, 2024 12:31:21 GMT -5
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Post by cspot on Mar 10, 2024 12:32:03 GMT -5
It would almost seem that in certain twps or within city limits tags should be unlimited. May be tough to manage that.
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Post by CoureurDeBois on Mar 10, 2024 12:37:55 GMT -5
Not something I would do, it's not really hunting, but I can understand why it needs to be done. Just too many things that can go wrong that would turn into a big hassle.
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Post by Dutch on Mar 10, 2024 12:38:16 GMT -5
My co worker is so tired of deer it ain't funny. It's a tight situation, very tight, and I'm not comfortable doing it. I know I could set up a blind and get a shot, but it can't go far
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Post by Loggy on Mar 10, 2024 12:41:32 GMT -5
Not something I would do, it's not really hunting, but I can understand why it needs to be done. Just too many things that can go wrong that would turn into a big hassle. Agree...not my cup of tea...hunting deer laying in homes yards & other tight quarters. Be like fishing in a fish tank with an audience.
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Post by Dutch on Mar 10, 2024 12:43:58 GMT -5
Not something I would do, it's not really hunting, but I can understand why it needs to be done. Just too many things that can go wrong that would turn into a big hassle. Agree...not my cup of tea...hunting deer laying in homes yards & other tight quarters. Be like fishing in a fish tank with an audience. I'd like to try, but if things go sideways.....
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Post by Loggy on Mar 10, 2024 12:46:36 GMT -5
Be best to killem when kids are in school though. My mom regularly has deer in her back yard which if I would kill...I'd likely be drug out with them! lol
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Post by rusty on Mar 10, 2024 12:57:16 GMT -5
It is not hunting but it is very much needed vermin control in many areas. Does the shooting have to be done from elevated stands? I would think that even archery equipment could cause big problems with errant shots and deflected arrows from ground level.
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Post by rusty on Mar 10, 2024 12:58:18 GMT -5
Elevated in this case might very well be from a hunter friendly owner's back deck.
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Post by davet on Mar 10, 2024 13:17:20 GMT -5
My daughter lives in Mt Lebo....just up from Banksville road. Check this buck out that let me and my granddaughter walk up to about 20 yards
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Post by bushmaster on Mar 10, 2024 13:41:19 GMT -5
I cut my teeth urban deer hunting. I had more than enough of it in my youth. Everything is tight and noisy. Nothing worse than tracking deer in and out of swingsets in people's yards. People yelling off their decks into the woods. Game Commission hassling ya. I'll pass.
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Post by Loggy on Mar 10, 2024 14:29:22 GMT -5
I know that nighttime sharpshooters have helped bring down deer numbers in dozens of communities in Bay watershed states, such as Fairfax County and Charlottesville in Virginia, and Montgomery and Howard counties in Maryland where population densities are extremely high. Never read of any adverse reports.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 14:53:44 GMT -5
It would almost seem that in certain twps or within city limits tags should be unlimited. May be tough to manage that. Yep. Tags should be unlimited in many areas around the big cities. The PGC needs to address this. Last year, guys were still trying to get tags for city hunts and it was sold out.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 14:55:59 GMT -5
My co worker is so tired of deer it ain't funny. It's a tight situation, very tight, and I'm not comfortable doing it. I know I could set up a blind and get a shot, but it can't go far Shot selection is critical. I won't shoot past 20 yards and the deer has to be in a good spot. Local police are on board with the hunt and have been great working with the hunters in retrieving deer if need be, according to the hunt administrator.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 14:57:33 GMT -5
Be like fishing in a fish tank with an audience. It often seems that way but much harder than it appears at times. Deer are still deer and know what is normal and what is not. Some of the most polluted properties did not get many killed last year.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 15:00:17 GMT -5
Does the shooting have to be done from elevated stands? I would think that even archery equipment could cause big problems with errant shots and deflected arrows from ground level. Hunting does not have to be from elevated stands. Some properties have rules about how the hunters can hunt. It is up to each property owner. All arrows have to be numbered with a ID number of the hunter. On the public parcels, hands have to have the steps removed when not in use and ladder stands cannot be left in place.
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Post by Dutch on Mar 10, 2024 15:14:43 GMT -5
A buddy of mine hunted the Philly suburbs with an organized hunt. He said it was quite different than what he was used to. He said the one morning the woman of the house came out on the deck and thru hand signals, offered him coffee. She put the coffee in a small thermos and he hauled it up with his haul rope. He became "her hunter" and was happy to see him out there. LOL
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Post by davet on Mar 10, 2024 16:12:17 GMT -5
Murrysville has (or had) a program for their park the hunters had to pass an accuracy test, had to shoot from a tree stand, had to have arrow’s numbered.
The program is a joke. I don’t understand the numbers arrow thing. If you lose an arrow you lose an arrow…and??
It’s not like that makes it faster to find it.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 16:31:37 GMT -5
Murrysville has (or had) a program for their park the hunters had to pass an accuracy test, had to shoot from a tree stand, had to have arrow’s numbered. The program is a joke. I don’t understand the numbers arrow thing. If you lose an arrow you lose an arrow…and?? It’s not like that makes it faster to find it. I believe the arrow thing is to keep people honest about taking good shots. If you take a shot in this program, you have to report it. If a landowner finds an arrow and calls in the ID number, the administrator better have a record of you shooting that arrow or you are out of the program.
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Post by stroupy on Mar 10, 2024 17:23:08 GMT -5
Some of the biggest buck I ever seen shot are always by cities or power plants and such. 2 years ago when I took my 8 point to get mounted in Jonestown he had an absolute monster there that was shot around the Lebanon power plant. I think it was Lebanon. What's the most acreage you can hint in the western part of the state? I'm used to 100s of acres of public or 1000s up in Lycoming. Urban hunting probably wouldn't be for me.
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Post by davet on Mar 10, 2024 17:30:02 GMT -5
Murrysville has (or had) a program for their park the hunters had to pass an accuracy test, had to shoot from a tree stand, had to have arrow’s numbered. The program is a joke. I don’t understand the numbers arrow thing. If you lose an arrow you lose an arrow…and?? It’s not like that makes it faster to find it. I believe the arrow thing is to keep people honest about taking good shots. If you take a shot in this program, you have to report it. If a landowner finds an arrow and calls in the ID number, the administrator better have a record of you shooting that arrow or you are out of the program. So I don’t know what difference it makes if I don’t number my arrows or if I do & report that it was a great shot that got deflected by a branch.
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Post by ridgecommander on Mar 10, 2024 17:48:32 GMT -5
So I don’t know what difference it makes if I don’t number my arrows or if I do & report that it was a great shot that got deflected by a branch. Again, comes down to shot selection. Someone that is shooting lots of arrows but not getting many deer would be better off being replaced with someone else.
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Post by jwk on Mar 10, 2024 18:14:20 GMT -5
I had a few places to hunt in Green Tree when I lived there, but never had the desire. Some big deer there for anyone willing to do it. It's not a slam dunk hunt either.
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Post by davet on Mar 11, 2024 5:59:04 GMT -5
So I don’t know what difference it makes if I don’t number my arrows or if I do & report that it was a great shot that got deflected by a branch. Again, comes down to shot selection. Someone that is shooting lots of arrows but not getting many deer would be better off being replaced with someone else. True. But that’s a truth even on public land.
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