Shortage of deer in PA?

[petey]

I was never a real advocate of all the new hunting seasons and the 2 week long season of antlerless deer, however I believe the deer around my area are way more in balance then they used to be.

If you look at the harvest records for PA on the PAGC website, we're right back where we used to be prior to the "slaughter". The reason? Not sure really. I'm sure there's lots of variables.
I hear a lot of people saying there are no deer anymore. Granted, I no longer see the herds of 50 doe with the single tailing scrub buck, but is that truely what a herd should be? 50-1 ratio? Yeah, my first year of hunting, this sight was common. The average buck never lived past 1.5 yrs and if you saw a 2.5 yr old WOW!!

3 nights ago I made a quick ride within 2 miles around my place. I spotted 29 bucks and 28 does! I'm sure a lot of it has to do to the fact that it's private property, but this is what I want my herd to be. 1-1. Over the past 5 years I've had my choice of bucks. I let the littler bucks go for someone else buck of lifetime and I shoot 3.5 - 4.5 year olds. Of the 29 I saw, 4 were close to if not over P&Y minimum of 120". You know, your typical 18-19" 10 point with 8" and 7" G2's and G'3, 4-5" G'3. 5-7 years ago, those sightings were very uncommon, but 4-5 in 30 mins? All I can say is, it's worked in my neck of the woods. I was always a fan of the point restriction. We're now seeing bucks way past that 1.5 yr range. I'm still not sure I totally agree with the slaughter of the doe, but it sure put our herd in balance.

I don't want to start a flame war, but what are you seeing in your neck of PA? I'm seeing a 2-1 or 1-1 ratio. I LOVE IT! Come archery I can let more than 15 legal bucks walk buy before I shoot one. I have the past 3 years in a row and it looks like this year won't be any different. I have my eye on several nice bucks.