PA deer tags 2023

[hesse]

The funny thing is for me is we live on the edge of 2f and1b right off route 6 but we hunt done in 2 a the hunting is better we see way more deer

 

[birddog 68]

Kind of cracked me up seeing stuff about being able to buy 6 tags or something . Maybe if you want to hunt downtown Pittsburgh or something. Lol

I'm about 60 miles north west of Pittsburgh (1A) and they have been adding tags for the last few years but there's always some leftovers. WMU 2B around Pittsburgh is basically unlimited tags. Funny thing is 1A harvested a little over 13,000 doe and 2B about 10,000. Limited access in most areas of 2B

 

[CMP70306]

Kind of cracked me up seeing stuff about being able to buy 6 tags or something . Maybe if you want to hunt downtown Pittsburgh or something. Lol

We hunt 4A and while I've only ever gotten 3 does in one year some of the other guys have used 5 or 6 doe tags.

 

[FrogFire7]

We hunt 4A and while I've only ever gotten 3 does in one year some of the other guys have used 5 or 6 doe tags.

I could probably shoot that many where I hunt if I wanted to. I don't want to

Just seemed a bit misleading about the number of tags you could get. Probably you technically can?

 

[CMP70306]

I could probably shoot that many where I hunt if I wanted to. I don't want to

Just seemed a bit misleading about the number of tags you could get. Probably you technically can?

They changed the rules a couple years back, before you could only get three tags for the entire state unless you hunted the SRA outside of Philly and Pittsburgh. Now you can get unlimited tags but you can only hold 6 at one time and need to report your harvests before you can purchase any more.

That was their way of spreading out the tags in the SRA since guys couldn't go in and buy 20 tags at once anymore as well as allowing those in the CWD areas to harvest more deer. We are up to 61,000 tags in 4A and as far as I can tell based on the first round purchases we only have about 11,000 people hunting that area.

At our camp we hunt as a group and do our own butchering so we evenly divide the meat with whoever is at camp. On the big weekends during muzzleloader and rifle the meat is getting split 10 different ways so the more people with lots of tags the better our odds of getting enough meat.

 

[birddog 68]

Curious to how many doe tags everyone buys? And do you usually fill them all?
I've been buying 2 doe tags and if I get a buck I'll normally just try for one doe.
2 deer a year is about all me and the wife need.

 

[FrogFire7]

I usually get one doe tag, and sometimes a dmap. My wife, kids and I only use 1/2 to 1 whole deer a year, but my parents and my brother and his wife use about 2 each. Sister's family uses a good chunk of one. And sometimes others we know.

Two years ago my dad, brother and I processed 12. That was just way too much work lol.

 

[CMP70306]

Curious to how many doe tags everyone buys? And do you usually fill them all?
I've been buying 2 doe tags and if I get a buck I'll normally just try for one doe.
2 deer a year is about all me and the wife need.

When I started in 2004 we used to buy one or two as that's all we could get. Over the years they bumped the total allocation to the point we could get 3. Then on the first year they changed I bought 6 because why not then I went back to buying 3 last year because I never end up using more than 3.

I'll probably end up getting 3 again this year but if I get any in archery or muzzleloader I'll probably pick up a couple more for rifle since we divide the meat evenly during that season.

 

[hesse]

Question does pa have a hunters for the hungery where you can drop deer off to be processed for people in need where it don't cost you to have processed. We shot 4 deer in total gave 2 away I processed the 2 myself and that is about the max I want to process myself at 1 time. I wish they would do a early doe hunt before the rut on private ground so you can spread out the processing. Or a late season that way you can try to do some doe management.

 

[FrogFire7]

Yes! Just have to find a processor that participates. It's a great program!

 

[birddog 68]

Yes! Just have to find a processor that participates. It's a great program!

My processor does participate in the program but I didn't realize that there wasn't a charge. I keep all of my meat from the 2 or 3 that I shoot but it is a good program for others hunting in high density areas or for someone who just doesn't like venison but likes to hunt.

 

[Ben Gallardy]

As long as people have tags, and they are using the resources wisely, I don't see a reason to limit harvest if the resource is available. Plenty of WMUs need doe management. Where I hunt in MD, does are an unlimited resource....which is good, because my 4 kids and German Sheperds are a bottomless pit when it comes to venison! I self-processed 12 whitetails and a mule deer last season and will be Winchester on venison very soon. My family eats the prime cuts (backstrap, tenderloins, roasts) the 2nd tier clean meat goes to snack sticks and bologna that we eat and give out to our friends and neighbors as Christmas Gifts. ALL the remaining trimmings, hearts, livers and kidneys get ground and froze, and then fed to our German Shepards throughout the year (I need a pound a day for them). I even save and freeze the bones for chew toys for the dogs. The head, nervous system and hide go into the outdoor boiler which turns to ash and heats my house. Literally use the entire deer, minus gut pile.

I will caveat this post with the fact that by the end of the season, I am SICK AND TIRED of processing deer! But it's worth it to me. The meat is the ultimate healthy protein for my family, both 2 and 4 legged.

 

[Ben Gallardy]

That's a typical return from a long weekend of hunter/gatherer fun!

 

[hesse]

I don't use a processer . I wish they had a list because the property owner gets 20 management tags that we fill only a couple bet really need to fill more. I won't waste them I was taught you eat what you kill or give it someone else that will.