Pennsylvania Buck Pool

[deergolf]

Who is the winner? We had a buck pool in my office. The most points determined the winner. Rules: Deer had to be legally harvested with any type of weapon; bow, rifle, or flintlock. PA Game Commission guidelines were used to determine number of points. Hunter A shot a "7 point " with a bow in WMU 2B which requires at least 4 points on one side. However, the fourth point was broken and only measured 1/2" in length at best. Hunter B shot a "5 point" with a rifle in WMU 2C which requires at least 3 points on one side. All points were 1" or longer. Who would you give your money to?

[fabsroman]

Were both deer checked in and determine to be legal by the authorities? If so, then I would give the award to hunter A because that 1/2" point counted, and even if it doesn't count in your mind as a point but the deer is still legal, that deer had 6 points versus the 5 from hunter B's deer.

Sorry if you are on the losing side of this.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

I wouldn't think the 1/2" would count as a point. If the law says 1" or bigger...I think it was not checked at the PGC as to legal deer but if it was and they determine it to be legal..it is the winner.....7pt vs. 5pt? If a game officer says it is not a legal point (and I wouldn't think so unless broken off leaving at least 1")....that makes it not a legal deer and should be tossed out of the pool...thus the legal 5 pt is the winner....only way to solve this ...show an officer the rack or better yet...to save a fine, call the PGC and ask them the big q....is a broken point of 1/2 inch a legal point?...I can guess answer....NO

[fabsroman]

After checking the deer in, don't you guys get a receipt in PA stating what the deer was, how many points it had, and how much it weighed? That is what we get in MD. If that is the process, and the guy is holding a valid/legal check-in sheet that shows 7 pts., game over. Of course, maybe he knows a game warden that let it slide, but it depends on what the rules of the pool are. Something tells me that the pool did not have a 100 page rule book, part of which covered how the points would be determined and who would be the final judge as to the points.

This is a perfect example why there are so many laws in this country.

[skeeter@ccia.com]

fabs..in pa we don't have to report to a deer check station. We might get checked by an officer in the field at times but we are required to fill a deer report card and mail it in. This is postage paid, comes with every license issued. This is how the PGC gets lots of information such as the number buck/doe etc taken along with location. This is also where most hunters slack. So along with your more laws, they have to somehow force hunters to participate now and probably as I have suggested to them before, turn to something like we do with a bird stamp. That is fill out a harvest report when buying license or show printed proof from the PGC website of harvest reported in order to get another license following year...They also hang around the deer processing stations and gather lots of information there. It has been suggested to them to keep records of names etc on the tags at the processing stations and compare to those report cards..But again, you can say you mailed it in and must have gotten lost...I have run into numbers you wouldn't believe of hunters that won't fill the report card and mail free but also bitxh about no deer in woods..
...In Pa a legal point: antler projection of at least one inch in length from bast to tip, including brow tines. Main beams shall be counted as a point regardless of length.

[fabsroman]

Don't ask me why people won't send in those cards. Some probably think the less deer reported, the better. Some probably think that the gov't will use the information against the sender. Who knows.

Since deer checking works that way in PA, it makes judging the contest rather hard because there is absolutely no field judge.