"In some areas, the deer population is down; and in some areas, the population is still very high," said Trewella. "Access is always the issue. In areas of public ground where people can get in there easily, we have seen a difference."

Last year, hunters took 7,700 antlered deer from Wildlife Management Unit 5C, the third best among the 22 WMUs. Unit 5B ranked fourth, with a harvest of 7,400 antlered deer. This is a radical departure from traditional antlered deer harvests, a clear shift from the North-Central Region to the southern regions.

In the southeast portion of Pennsylvania, the bottom line is that hunting on the few tracts of public land is difficult. Hunters should seek permission to hunt on private land if they want to find trophy deer there.

NORTHEAST REGION
Hunters in the Northeast Region face similar problems with land access, but not nearly as limiting -- yet.

"With the human population explosion, we're losing more land. So we're going to have more problems in the future," said Tim Conway, Northeast Region Information and Education supervisor.

Many of the private lands where hunting is allowed have become hunting leases, which puts more pressure on the public hunting lands. But numerous state game lands and some state forestlands are open to hunting. Access is difficult in many places, due to either rugged terrain or wet ground. But this provides serious hunters with some degree of seclusion.

Last year, hunters took 5,800 antlered deer from WMU 3C, which ranked 10th in the state. Wildlife Management Unit 3D ranked 18th, with a tally of 3,900 antlered deer. From WMU 3B, which extends into the North-Central Region, hunters took 6,000 antlered deer, seventh among the units.

Over most of the commonwealth, natural food conditions since the new antler restrictions were implemented have not been favorable for good antler growth. Mast availability from the previous fall will affect antler growth this season. Also very important is the condition of deer coming out of the winter.

"Going into last winter, we had a decent acorn crop," Conway said. "The winter was also mild, with very little snow."

There were not many beechnuts, but soft mast, such as apples and berries, was in good supply. Plentiful soft mast and acorns, combined with the mild winter and lower deer density, means that the bucks were probably in good health during spring when their antler growth began. Under these conditions, more of the energy that deer consume can be diverted to antler growth.

"The antler restrictions have kicked in, based on the antlers that we saw last year," Conway said. He notes that main-beam averages were larger and there were more points than in the past.

"The deer population is definitely lower than what it used to be, but when I say 'used to be,' there was a time when there were way too many deer," Conway added.

Hunters who truly enjoy hunting for larger bucks, as opposed to those who just want to get a deer -- will adapt to the current situation.

"We are definitely seeing a big difference in the racks that are being harvested," Conway said. "Our crews who are out there doing the aging are seeing a difference in the 2 1/2-year-olds, the 3 1/2-year-olds across the Northeast Region and in some of the big-woods areas."