Well there is no argument as to wether deer numbers have diminished in the NC region of Pa.
And there is also no doubt that the habits of the ones remaining have changed as well.
In the 60s and even the 70s you could take a ride on Rt 555 from Driftwood to Benezette which is about 20 miles, and see 50 or more deer in fields or even standing neer the road.
Rarely would you see a buck however, at least a decent one.
Today on that same trip you might see 50 Elk, but no deer at all.
We also today have the DCNR determining how many antlerless deer tags are issued in certain areas, and not the game commission. And if those tags are unsold by a certain date, then one person can buy more than one, im of the opinion, pretty much as many as they want.
For decades weve been told by the game commission that due to the ageing of the forest it can only support 2 deer per sq. mile.
But what about the Elk? Their numbers have increased drastically over the same time frame.
Also there is the coyote issue, which is no doubt a contributing factor in changing of deer habits as well as their numbers.
They have also become much more nocturnal than in past decades.
Couple those things along with the fact that there are less hunters at least during rifle season, and it all adds up to why less deer are being seen by hunters in that region.