Friday, March 24, 2017

PA Game Commission Releases Deer Harvest Report

HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania’s buck harvest increased 9 percent, and the overall deer harvest was up 6 percent, in the 2016-17 seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today.
Hunters harvested an estimated 333,254 deer in 2016-17 – an increase of about 6 percent compared to the 2015-16 harvest of 315,813.
Of those, 149,460 were antlered deer – an increase of about 9 percent compared to the previous license year, when an estimated 137,580 bucks were taken. It’s the largest harvest of antlered deer since 2002.
Hunters also harvested an estimated 183,794 antlerless deer in 2016-17, which represents an about 3 percent increase compared to the 178,233 antlerless deer taken in 2015-16.
Bowhunters accounted for nearly 33 percent of the overall deer harvest, taking 109,250 deer (59,550 bucks and 49,700 does) with archery tackle. Meanwhile, 20,409 deer (1,350 bucks and 19,059 does) were harvested during muzzleloader seasons.
The percentage of older bucks in the harvest remained high, with 56 percent of bucks taken by Pennsylvania hunters during the 2016-17 deer seasons being 2½ years old or older. In 2015-16, 59 percent of bucks in the harvest were 2 ½ years old or older.
Game Commission Executive Director R. Matthew Hough congratulated deer hunters on their successes afield during the 2016-17 seasons.
“This has been quite a year for Pennsylvania deer hunting,” Hough said. “Not only was there an increased deer harvest and a significantly higher buck harvest, I saw hundreds of photos from hunters who took their buck-of-a-lifetime this past season. Among them was a hunter whose Clearfield County harvest shattered the state record for nontypical bucks taken with archery tackle.
“To all of those hunters, and to everybody who made memories afield during the 2016-17 deer seasons, congratulations,” Hough said. “I couldn’t be happier for you and wish you the best of luck in the 2017-18 seasons, when hundreds more bucks-of-a-lifetime will be taken.”
Harvest estimates are based on more than 24,000 deer checked by Game Commission personnel and more than 100,000 harvest reports submitted by successful hunters. Because some harvests go unreported, estimates provide a more accurate picture of hunter success.
The antlerless harvest included about 64 percent adult females, about 20 percent button bucks and about 16 percent doe fawns. The rates are similar to long-term averages.
Agency staff currently is working to develop 2017-18 antlerless deer license allocation recommendations, which will be considered at the March 28 meeting of the Board of Game Commissioners.
Wayne Laroche, Game Commission Bureau of Wildlife Management director, said that in addition to harvest data, staff will be looking at deer health measures, forest regeneration and deer-human conflicts for each WMU as antlerless allocations are considered for 2017-18.
Total deer harvest estimates by WMU for 2016-17 (with 2015-16 figures in parentheses) are as follows:
WMU 1A: 6,500 (6,000) antlered, 10,400 (9,100) antlerless;
WMU 1B: 7,900 (6,900) antlered, 8,200 (7,700) antlerless;
WMU 2A: 7,000 (6,500) antlered, 9,200 (10,500) antlerless;
WMU 2B: 5,800 (5,200) antlered, 14,000 (15,000) antlerless;
WMU 2C: 8,300 (9,100) antlered, 8,335 (8,490) antlerless;
WMU 2D: 12,800 (12,300) antlered, 16,400 (15,700) antlerless;
WMU 2E: 5,200 (4,700) antlered, 5,341 (5,300) antlerless;
WMU 2F: 7,700 (7,000) antlered, 6,700 (5,400) antlerless;
WMU 2G: 6,200 (6,100) antlered, 4,000 (4,100) antlerless;
WMU 2H: 1,900 (1,400) antlered, 1,900 (1,100) antlerless;
WMU 3A: 5,400 (4,300) antlered, 3,800 (4,000) antlerless;
WMU 3B: 7,500 (6,800) antlered, 7,300 (7,400) antlerless;
WMU 3C: 8,600 (7,600) antlered, 11,000 (10,500) antlerless;
WMU 3D: 4,300 (3,500) antlered, 4,200 (3,700) antlerless;
WMU 4A: 4,400 (5,100) antlered, 7,913 (8,670) antlerless;
WMU 4B: 5,200 (5,700) antlered, 6,200 (7,000) antlerless;
WMU 4C: 6,400 (5,400) antlered, 5,300 (5,000) antlerless;
WMU 4D: 7,900 (7,200) antlered, 7,533 (7,443) antlerless;
WMU 4E: 7,300 (6,200) antlered, 7,500 (6,900) antlerless;
WMU 5A: 3,000 (2,900) antlered, 4,000 (4,600) antlerless;
WMU 5B: 8,900 (8,000) antlered, 12,400 (11,500) antlerless;
WMU 5C: 8,300 (7,400) antlered, 15,600 (13,600) antlerless;
WMU 5D: 2,900 (2,200) antlered, 6,500 (5,200) antlerless; and
Unknown WMU: 60 (80) antlered, 70 (30) antlerless.

Season-specific 2016-17 deer harvest estimates (with 2015-16 harvest estimates in parentheses) are as follows:
WMU 1A: archery, 3,030 (2,610) antlered, 2,950 (2,480) antlerless; and muzzleloader, 70 (90) antlered, 1,250 (1,120) antlerless.
WMU 1B: archery, 3,230 (2,560) antlered, 1,820 (1,480) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (40) antlered, 1,080 (720) antlerless.
WMU 2A: archery, 2,440 (2,160) antlered, 1,900 (2,110) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (40) antlered, 1,100 (1,390) antlerless.
WMU 2B: archery, 4,260 (3,750) antlered, 6,750 (7,880) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (50) antlered, 750 (920) antlerless.
WMU 2C: archery, 3,320 (3,130) antlered, 1,789 (1,687) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (70) antlered, 1,006 (1,066) antlerless.
WMU 2D: archery, 5,350 (4,780) antlered, 2,590 (2,330) antlerless; muzzleloader, 150 (120) antlered, 1,910 (1,970) antlerless.
WMU 2E: archery, 1,760 (1,460) antlered, 908 (800) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (40) antlered, 626 (700) antlerless.
WMU 2F: archery, 2,530 (1,860) antlered, 1,100 (780) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (40) antlered, 800 (720) antlerless.
WMU 2G: archery, 1,620 (1,340) antlered, 830 (800) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (60) antlered, 670 (700) antlerless.
WMU 2H: archery, 480 (290) antlered, 310 (250) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (10) antlered, 290 (250) antlerless.
WMU 3A: archery, 1,470 (1,180) antlered, 700 (760) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (20) antlered, 500 (640) antlerless.
WMU 3B: archery, 2,440 (2,320) antlered, 1,380 (1,620) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (80) antlered, 1,020 (1,180) antlerless.
WMU 3C: archery, 2,340 (2,060) antlered, 1,880 (1,940) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (40) antlered, 1,220 (1,460) antlerless.
WMU 3D: archery, 1,470 (1,060) antlered, 1,060 (980) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (40) antlered, 440 (520) antlerless.
WMU 4A: archery, 940 (960) antlered, 1,374 (1,401) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (40) antlered, 1,031 (1,285) antlerless.
WMU 4B: archery, 1,850 (1,660) antlered, 1,400 (1,400) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (40) antlered, 600 (800) antlerless.
WMU 4C: archery, 2,570 (2,150) antlered, 1,380 (1,380) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (50) antlered, 620 (620) antlerless.
WMU 4D: archery, 2,420 (1,840) antlered, 1,629 (1,714) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (60) antlered, 876 (968) antlerless.
WMU 4E: archery, 2,750 (2,150) antlered, 1,570 (1,340) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (50) antlered, 730 (760) antlerless.
WMU 5A: archery, 970 (880) antlered, 870 (1,010) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (20) antlered, 330 (590) antlerless.
WMU 5B: archery, 4,730 (4,430) antlered, 4,330 (3,790) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (70) antlered, 970 (1,010) antlerless.
WMU 5C: archery, 5,300 (4,880) antlered, 6,990 (6,310) antlerless; muzzleloader, 100 (120) antlered, 1,010 (1,090) antlerless.
WMU 5D: archery, 2,280 (1,770) antlered, 4,180 (3,440) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (30) antlered, 220 (160) antlerless.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

2017 Valley Trap League Schedule

2017 Valley Trap League
The public is welcome!

Valley League: The Valley League consists of 6 clubs roughly located along the Allegheny River valley north and east of Pittsburgh, PA. It's a 20 week league that starts April 4th, 2017 and ends with a presentation shoot September 9th, 2017. You do not have to be a member of a club to shoot in the league for that club.

The clubs involved are Bull Creek Rod and Gun, West View Sportsmen, South Buffalo Sportsmen, Tarentum Sportsmen, Ford City Sportsmen and Frazier Sportsmen. The shoots are every Tuesday evening, with sign-ups from 4:30pm to 8:00pm.

Costs: program - $10.00, Junior (under 18) - $5.00, Practice: - $7.00
Program shoots 50 targets from 16 Yards.
You do not need to be a member of Bull Creek to shoot for Bull Creek!

2017 VALLEY TRAP LEAGUE SCHEDULE
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Sunday, March 5, 2017

Register NOW For The March 18th 2017 Hunter Education Course At Bull Creek

Our Next course will be Offered on Saturday March 18th from 8AM to 4:30 PM. You may register for the  class here.

HUNTER-TRAPPER EDUCATION CLASSES

Sanctioned By
PA Game Commission

All Hunter Education classes MUST be registered for online 
Click Here To Register for March 2017 basic class

These Classes are FREE, but you must pre-register. Space is limitedPlease register early!

Bull Creek Rod and Gun Club's Hunter-Trapper Education classes are held twice a year, in early spring and mid summer. Our last class was held in July, 2013. Classes are taught by 4 or 5 certified instructors who are both Bull Creek club members and trained by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Plus, volunteers from the club and community assist the instructors with presentations offered in:
  • History of Hunter-Trapper Education in Pa.
  • Knowledge of sporting arms, ammunition, and traps.
  • Safe handling of sporting arms and trapping equipment
  • Wildlife Conservation and Management
  • Wildlife Identification
  • Hunting and trapping laws
  • Hunter-Trapper/Landowner relations and ethics
  • Safe Clothing
  • Outdoor Safety (Emergency first aid and survival)
  • Field care of game
  • Game Law presentation by Game Commission Officers
  • Range Instruction
  • Walk through shoot/don't shoot course
  • Archery Demonstration
  • Tree Stand Demonstration
STUDENT EXAM FOLLOWS COURSE
Eligibility: Student must be 11 years of age or higher to register and receive a training certificate. You MUST have completed this mandatory training and have reached at least 12 years of age to hunt in Pennsylvania.

Call 1-800-243-8519 to reach the Southwest Region Office in Ligonier, PA, for other
class schedules near you.
THESE COURSES ARE FREE!

Read a testimonial: