Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Deer Season


I did a story on the first day of rifle deer season yesterday.

I read the releases from the Pennsylvania Game Commission. I did some research on the internet and looked at the numbers.

I talked with hunters and spent some time in the woods.

There's a lot of disagreement.

The Game Commission says everything's great. The hunters I spoke with say just the opposite. The deer population has been decimated the last few years, and the deer just aren't there.

During my long morning on the roads and in the woods of the Bear Creek and White Haven areas, I didn't see one successful hunter. I heard only a few shots fired.

I also spoke with some hunters in Lackawanna County after work. Same story. No deer.

On the other hand, it seems like there was an above normal number of deer carcasses along the highways during the past few weeks.

The state public relations machine, and those who serve as mouthpieces for the state paint one picture. The average hunter say things are not as rosy as the state would have you believe.

Something's wrong somewhere.