BY DOYLE DIETZ
Perhaps the Saturday opener for the firearms deer season in Pennsylvania was the correct decision by the Pennsylvania Game Commission to do after all. Certainly the Saturday opener had the desired effect of providing additional — and in some cases, only — hunting opportunities for college students and workers with low seniority at their place of employment unable to hunt on the long-standing Monday opening day.
Personally, I know of three instances of hunters who would have otherwise been unable to hunt on the Monday opener who were in the field. All three took part in the 163,240 bucks taken in the 2019-20 seasons, which is a 10-percent increase from 2018-19 when 147,750 bucks were taken.
In addition, 226,191 doe were taken in the combined seasons, for a total of 389,431 deer. That total is the most in 15 years, when 409,320 were taken during the 2004-05 license year.
“One of the highlights of the 2019-20 deer harvest was deer hunters continue to experience antlered harvest success levels comparable to historic highs in the late 1990s and early 2000s,” PGC Deer and Elk Section supervisor Chris Rosenberry said. “In recent years, about 17 to 18 percent of all hunters harvested an antlered deer, and we look for this trend to continue.
“Keeping harvest pressure on antlerless deer is critical in our ongoing efforts to address the risk of chronic wasting disease, particularly in Disease Management Areas. That hunters took over 10,000 antlerless deer with DMA DMAP permits illustrates the cooperation we need from deer hunters to help whitetails where CWD threats are at their greatest in Penn’s Woods.”
I’m hoping that optimistic outlook by Rosenberry means in my future — this season, perhaps — there will be a slammer rack buck coming my way to rival several taken by my brother Jim in the archery and firearms seasons. It’s not that I haven’t seen my share of monsters, but roundballs from a .54-caliber flintlock have little to no chance of making a lethal shot head on or through laurel.
If my “trophy” 5-point Pennsylvania bucks represent the low point in more than 60 years of hunting, I have been blessed. Accepting that was never more important to me than this past season when it was all I could do to go deer hunting.
For the first time in more than 17 years I would not be hunting with my best friend as my wife Betty passed away unexpectedly in August because of complications brought on by diabetes.
DOYLE DIETZ / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
Long after the venison is gone, the memories of every deer hunt and hunting companions remain, and in 2019 Doyle Dietz made a memory to last the rest of his days by taking a “trophy” on the first day of the Senior antlerless season when he hunted from the ground blind used by his late wife Betty and downed this doe with her .308-caliber Mossberg Patriot.
Her failing eyesight was a concern, but when she had implant surgery she told the doctor to put the one for distance in her right, or “shooting” eye.
As July turned to August, Betty was keeping busy practicing with her new crossbow and making sure our tailgating supplies and her Eli Manning No. 10 and autographed Henry Hynoski No. 45 jerseys were ready for the upcoming season. She loved hunting and football — especially the New York Giants and Penn State.
We had attended Giants games together since 1974, and thanks to my friend and Hazleton High athletic director Fred Barletta I continued to attend games this past season. I struggled, however, to find the strength to go deer hunting.
Then it came to me that the best way to honor Betty’s memory was to shoot “her” deer on the opening day of the special three-day senior rifle season in October. Three shots at the rifle range showed her .308 Mossberg Patriot was still the tack driver from the previous season, so that Thursday afternoon I was in her blind.
That afternoon my body was warmed by a hot autumn sun and my spirit was warmed by years of hunting memories. Then, just after 5 p.m. my hunch was right when a herd of five doe came out of the wood line to my left and into the open field.
Raising the rifle, I took “Betty’s” deer with a single shot and instantly was overcome with more emotion than I ever experienced while hunting. Non-hunters can never understand the emotional connection we make with a hunting companion.
Last year I learned that connection remains even after that companion is gone.
Dietz is parliamentarian of the Pennsylvania Outdoor Writers Association. Contact the writer: outdoors@republicanherald.com
Deer harvest totals
Estimated deer harvests by wildlife management units for 2019-20 with 2018-19 figures in parentheses are as follows:
• WMU 1A: 6,400 (5,800) antlered, 13,200 (12,400) antlerless; WMU 1B: 8,700 (8,000) antlered, 12,700 (15,800) antlerless; WMU 2A: 6,900 (6,000) antlered, 9,900 (10,900) antlerless; WMU 2B: 5,500 (5,000) antlered, 10,400 (12,000) antlerless; WMU 2C: 9,400 (9,600) antlered, 14,069 (11,787) antlerless; WMU 2D: 13,000 (11,800) antlered, 18,888 (20,958) antlerless; WMU 2E: 6,400 (6,300) antlered, 9,473 (9,701) antlerless; WMU 2F: 9,000 (7,700) antlered, 9,724 (7,973) antlerless; WMU 2G: 8,100 (6,300) antlered, 6,105 (7,402) antlerless; WMU 2H: 2,400 (2,500) antlered, 1,100 (1,800) antlerless;
• WMU 3A: 5,700 (4,800) antlered, 5,700 (7,400) antlerless; WMU 3B: 7,600 (7,000) antlered, 10,300 (8,400) antlerless; WMU 3C: 9,400 (7,700) antlered, 12,800 (12,200) antlerless; WMU 3D: 6,000 (5,200) antlered, 4,900 (5,700) antlerless;
• WMU 4A: 6,000 (5,100) antlered, 7,924 (8,230) antlerless; WMU 4B: 5,700 (5,300) antlered, 8,285 (6,916) antlerless; WMU 4C: 7,000 (5,800) antlered, 8,300 (7,200) antlerless; WMU 4D: 8,700 (8,300) antlered, 10,955 (9,081) antlerless; WMU 4E: 7,300 (7,000) antlered, 9,500 (9,300) antlerless;
• WMU 5A: 3,400 (3,100) antlered, 5,000 (4,600) antlerless; WMU 5B: 10,200 (9,200) antlered, 15,345 (14,608) antlerless; WMU 5C: 7,600 (7,600) antlered, 14,427 (16,415) antlerless; WMU 5D: 2,500 (2,600) antlered, 6,700 (6,000) antlerless;
• Unknown WMU: 340 (50) antlered, 496 (169) antlerless.
Season-specific 2019-20 deer harvest estimates with 2018-19 harvest estimates in parentheses are as follows:
• WMU 1A: archery, 3,240 (2,530) antlered, 4,320 (3,150) antlerless; and muzzleloader, 60 (70) antlered, 1,680 (1,150) antlerless. WMU 1B: archery, 3,960 (2,750) antlered, 3,230 (2,790) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (50) antlered, 1,170 (1,210) antlerless.
• WMU 2A: archery, 3,140 (2,050) antlered, 2,540 (2,040) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (50) antlered, 960 (960) antlerless. WMU 2B: archery, 4,150 (3,520) antlered, 5,500 (5,760) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (80) antlered, 700 (640) antlerless. WMU 2C: archery, 4,230 (3,400) antlered, 3,939 (2,378) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (100) antlered, 1,854 (1,315) antlerless. WMU 2D: archery, 5,800 (4,540) antlered, 4,085 (3,472) antlerless; muzzleloader, 100 (60) antlered, 2,701 (2,274) antlerless. WMU 2E: archery, 2,540 (1,950) antlered, 1,944 (1,601) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (50) antlered, 1,252 (1,205) antlerless. WMU 2F: archery, 3,340 (2,520) antlered, 2,006 (1,216) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (80) antlered, 1,534 (998) antlerless. WMU 2G: archery, 2,540 (1,430) antlered, 1,381 (1,341) antlerless; muzzleloader, 60 (70) antlered, 1,321 (1,060) antlerless. WMU 2H: archery, 690 (480) antlered, 230 (270) antlerless; muzzleloader, 10 (20) antlered, 170 (230) antlerless.
• WMU 3A: archery, 2,080 (1,180) antlered, 1,400 (1,320) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (20) antlered, 800 (780) antlerless. WMU 3B: archery, 3,160 (2,160) antlered, 2,590 (1,630) antlerless; muzzleloader, 40 (40) antlered, 1,710 (1,170) antlerless. WMU 3C: archery, 3,370 (1,940) antlered, 2,860 (1,820) antlerless; muzzleloader, 30 (60) antlered, 1,740 (1,280) antlerless. WMU 3D: archery, 2,250 (1,660) antlered, 1,470 (1,410) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (40) antlered, 830 (590) antlerless.
• WMU 4A: archery, 1,610 (820) antlered, 1,696 (1,338) antlerless; muzzleloader, 90 (80) antlered, 1,313 (991) antlerless. WMU 4B: archery, 2,350 (1,760) antlered, 2,551 (1,598) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (40) antlered, 1,070 (627) antlerless. WMU 4C: archery, 3,550 (2,350) antlered, 2,960 (1,900) antlerless; muzzleloader, 50 (50) antlered, 1,240 (800) antlerless. WMU 4D: archery, 3,120 (2,430) antlered, 3,287 (1,796) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (70) antlered, 1,618 (1,002) antlerless. WMU 4E: archery, 3,420 (2,550) antlered, 2,750 (1,890) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (50) antlered, 1,250 (1,010) antlerless.
• WMU 5A: archery, 1,580 (880) antlered, 1,880 (1,220) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (20) antlered, 620 (480) antlerless. WMU 5B: archery, 6,420 (4,640) antlered, 7,400 (5,401) antlerless; muzzleloader, 80 (60) antlered, 1,438 (1,365) antlerless. WMU 5C: archery, 5,330 (4,690) antlered, 7,075 (7,238) antlerless; muzzleloader, 70 (110) antlered, 1,042 (1,272) antlerless. WMU 5D: archery, 2,180 (2,080) antlered, 4,460 (3,790) antlerless; muzzleloader, 20 (20) antlered, 240 (210) antlerless.
• Unknown WMU: archery, 140 (40) antlered, 164 (0) antlerless; muzzleloader, 10 (0) antlered, 94 (0) antlerless.
