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Back to 200,000

12K views 54 replies 31 participants last post by  bohunr 
#1 ·
Good news for Phesant hunters. The PGC will be back to releasing 200,000 birds this year. Up from a bit over 100,000.
 
#2 ·
Yep...good news for sure as my labs are aging faster than any budgets fix themselves, I want them to have one more "good old day" in front of my now hunting kids, before all I got is a collar, bell, and some great memories...Hunt em up Eddy , go gettum buddy!!

Even the youth releases last couple years seemed off.

Now to find the days available to take in all the opportunites this state is throwing at us. LOL...OK let's not turn down there.
 
#4 ·
Don't understand how they can pull it off after losing so many to that horrible flood, but nice that they can.

I think I hunted Pheasant once in the past 10 years. Went to a GL, got peppered in the chest, and never went again.
 
#11 ·
That's good news for more reasons than just the number of birds! It shows the mindset of the Commission and their commitment to the small game hunter in Pa.. If you get a chance to thank them, you should. It doesn't matter if you hunt squirrel, rabbits, grouse,pheasants, etc., it's good to know that we have educated people working on our behalf! Thank You PGC!
 
#12 ·
Talk with Game warden Cory on Sun he said everything looks great great they fixed everything from the floods thanks to the mild winter, also said they would be stocking som of the lands by the house for the first time!!! What a great job the PGC did overcoming all the diversity to get back on track!
 
#14 ·
RB-HPA said:
Yep...good news for sure as my labs are aging faster than any budgets fix themselves, I want them to have one more "good old day" in front of my now hunting kids, before all I got is a collar, bell, and some great memories...Hunt em up Eddy , go gettum buddy!!

Even the youth releases last couple years seemed off.

Now to find the days available to take in all the opportunites this state is throwing at us. LOL...OK let's not turn down there.
 
#15 ·
Lyco Setter said:
Should clear out a few coverts.
I don't understand the division here. Well I should say I do but I don't. I'm not much of a bird hunter, but I do know that when I pursued Grouse in the past, the places where I targeted and found them were where no respectable pheasant hunter would be found. How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?

To me it's like the fly-chuckers bad mouthing bait-chuckers in the fishing arena, haha.
 
#16 ·
Fleroo said:
Lyco Setter said:
Should clear out a few coverts.
How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?
They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.
 
#17 ·
They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago.
Greene County, and certain parts of Washington County is the posterchild for that statement. In the 70's/80's, it would be nothing to put up 20-25 flushes a day in those parts. But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.
 
#19 ·
HighCountry66 said:
Fleroo said:
Lyco Setter said:
Should clear out a few coverts.
How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?
They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.
X2. . . Clean out, meaning less blaze orange.
 
#20 ·
Lyco Setter said:
HighCountry66 said:
Fleroo said:
Lyco Setter said:
Should clear out a few coverts.
How will 50 guys converging on a Gameland sorghum field ruin somebody's Grouse covert ?

They won't ruin it, now. The fact they are chasing pheasants closer to home will improve grouse coverts. Grouse habitat is more specialized and increasingly scarce in alot of areas in this state. They aren't found in alot of areas that they were 20 years ago. They aren't found even close to those areas as has been my experience and possibly never will be again. Their range in this state has drastically shrunk and outside of a mass timbering of the 1900's scale, it will likely continue to shrink. And I doubt we will see that amount of early successional habitat created in my lifetime.
X2. . . Clean out, meaning less blaze orange.
Around here that means straw hats.:)
 
#21 ·
Fleroo said:
But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.
I would venture a guess that it was not the right type of early successional habitat. The Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2011-2020 (pg 19-26) has a great detailed description of the preferred grouse habitat.

just my barely informed 2¢ worth of musings.
 
#23 ·
LostintheUplands said:
Fleroo said:
But here's what gets me. As the logging increaded in those areas, in the 80's and 90's, the birds disappeared. That's what baffles me. We don't have the mature canopy forests here, yet, the Grouse are gone in what should be very good habitat. A mystery to me.
I would venture a guess that it was not the right type of early successional habitat. The Ruffed Grouse Management Plan 2011-2020 (pg 19-26) has a great detailed description of the preferred grouse habitat.

just my barely informed 2¢ worth of musings.
We used to put them up in marginal habitat. There were quite a few at that. That woods may have changed, but there are others nearby that would be perfect.

They don't exist around there anymore. For whatever reason, but I don't think habitat is it.

To get back on topic, even this grouse hunter is glad that the will be stocking farms again.

Sometimes my dog will need a break and we can go near home for easy pickens. LOL.
 
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