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Pennsylvania Record Buck and Dr. Gary Alt

Posted by on November 21, 2014

New PA RECORD BUCK

(This was my post from 2014, and now in 2017 we got a new PA archery record, once again,)

Dr. Gary Alt May Have Been Right All Along

I guess with age comes the ability to see the results of change. Earlier this week when I saw the Outdoor Life story “Pennsylvania Hunter Kills Potential State Record Buck” , I had this overwhelming want to pat Dr. Gary Alt on the back.

 

Dr. Gary Alt, Pennsylvania Deer Management, and Hunters’ Quick History

Once upon a time in the 1990’s when a deer hunter took to the PA woods, it was common to see hundreds of does, before “getting your buck”. The buck for most hunters was a young 1.5 year old carrying forked antlers of 6 points or less. Dr. Alt changed that. He and his staff embarked on some of the most intense deer population and management studies performed at the time. As a result of his studies, he presented and proposed life altering (for PA deer hunters that is) new whitetail bag limits, increasing doe harvest and imposing antler restrictions on buck harvest. After a long battle and upsetting many PA hunters, the new rules were adopted.  But not without a price.  Dr. Alt soon retired from the PA Game Commission and had to leave town at the end of 2004.

Shortly after the Change

I remember having a conversation with a PA deer hunter just a few seasons after the antler restrictions and increased doe harvest was put into place.  He described how his hunt was ruined by the new rules and how they are killing off all the deer and he had not seen the number of deer like he used to. He then proceeded to tell me about how his father and grandfather had both shot their biggest bucks of their lives that same season. I just smiled and kept my mouth shut.

Today

So yesterday, I see the Outdoor Life report on the possible new archery PA record buck shot this season and I could not help but to think back to the time when it was more acceptable to shoot a spike buck than a doe and how hard Dr. Alt worked to change that mind set. And to that end, PA hunters are now seeing the results. The average age and size of the bucks killed in PA has grown greatly. If ever a man had the right to say “See I told you so” I think Dr. Gary Alt has deserved that right.