Back in the 60's and 70's we took them to the local grocery store and the butcher would cut and wrap them for us. Today, most of the local grocery stores are gone...

I agree with Buff.....

I have ALWAYS taken my 2F harvests to a local butcher even back in the 60s and 70s and continue to this day..same place in FACT

and Most from this area did the same.. there were 4 local places that got hammered with deer harvests back in the 70s and 80s.. so not sure where leadslonger is coming from.. other than talking about guys at camps that did them up while there ??? or that took them home and he's not sure where they went from there..

but most of the locals around here took them to butchers even back then and most that I KNOW still do NOT do up their own deer...

I use to take all of mine to a local butcher up until about 90 or 91. It use to run 25-35$ for a basic cut-up. In the early 90's when I moved to Crawford county. I didn't know any of the local butchers and those who did do deer wanted the money upfront and prices ran around 50$ for a basic cut-up. With multiple tags that adds up quickly. Thats when I started doing all of my own.
I think alot of guys also started doing this as well, thus the info that the PGC gets from cross referencing proccesors and report cards is out of wack unless they have changed their formula.
Mike

While discussing where folks take their harvests is interesting...

it is IMPORTANT to remember that fact has very little to do with figuring the total deer harvest for the state.

I'll try to give my understanding on just how this process takes place...

this is not 100% of the input the PGC uses but it is the basis....

First they need a "FOR SURE" dead deer count.. This is done in two "first-hand" processes....

#1... actual harvests (dead deer)that the WCOs and/or their deputies actually see and check the tags and hunter information in the field and at camps, parking lots, ETC... NOT processors at this point...

They know the deer was harvested and by who...they SAW both

#2... this is also done by WCOs and deputies but there is a much larger staff made up of PGC staffers and others who actually visit venison processors and take random samplings. Again it's a matter of seeing a dead deer and matching it to a successful hunter (in this case his info on the ear tag)

NOW....

what they have is a total number of deer killed accounted for by these two methods and the person who harvested those deer.

After the deer seasons are over and report cards are to have been returned they look thru them to find all the names of the hunters that killed the dead deer they saw by the above two methods

They have found that less than half of those hunters send in their report cards...


So by using that fact (percentage) it is statisically accurate to assume that less than half of ALL the hunters send in their report cards....

So if they knew fist hand that out of the say...140,000 checked deer only 50% returned cards (70,000)

it is accurate to say that of the 100,000 report cards returned it is fair to say that probably 200,000 deer were killed...

As we know... this method has been proven to be a valued method of estimating harvest and is used in some form in MANY other states..


Is it 100% factual/accurate ??

no ...

but neither is any other method used anywhere in the USA 100% accurate

100 % returned cards would not be 100% either...

some would file saying they harvested when they did not... and some (very few in my opinion) would truthfully forget...

This was especially true of many I knew back when - the old shoot a doe and kill 3 deer for next year of the 60s-80s was preached by many...

I knew many hunters who --

1).. reported harvests that were not killed trying to get the antlerless tags lower for the next year.

2) Did not reported doe that were killed for the reason of trying to get MORE doe tags for next year..

3).. Many did not report buck harvests because they did not want "out-siders" coming to that area because of the area having a lot of bucks... and I believe this to BE VERY VERY true to this day...

Just look how hard it is to get a guy to tell you where he shot his bear
and again I know guys who lie about where they shot the bear too.....

I think he figures the PGC report for harvest numbers are as accurate as any that any other state reports...

in fact I bet ours are more accurate over a period of years...

one year harvest figures really do not show or mean anything about the size or condition of a deer herd...

to many variables from year to year...


I like the 5 year studies myself..

Doc,
I knew that processor counts were only a small part of the master equation but numbers are just numbers and the PGC can make them look anyway they want them to look.
Case in point why haven't they released a number yet for this last season? Probably still trying to get the right equation to justify the number they want. LOL
Mike

Doc,

yes, all of the deer hunters that I know from the ridgway area ( where I grew up) processed the deer themselves .... few if any took it to a local place to be cut up. Again, my personal experience .... Now many of those same family and friends go to a processor ... back in the day ( Doc ... before you lived in the area) , processing a deer meant a gathering of friend, a case of beer and lots of stories ... now, in the faster paced world ... people do not want to be bothered. In 34 years of hunting ... with close to 20 bucks ... and a doe every year until 15 years ago (I don't kill does ... persomal choice as I get a buck every year and one is enough for me) ... I have processed everyone myself and never been checked by a warden ... during deer season.

I believe that the overal state harvest statistics are as correct as they need to be for managing the deer heard. I do not believe they are as valid for managing smaller groups but are good enough for me ... I would say that the best system I have seen is New York ... they have several things that I really like ... smaller units, targets ( both short term and long term) and actuals in bucks per square mile for each unit. adjustments made on does permits based on buck kills ... there are swings as this system can be fooled, but over the long run it is no more variation than a bad winter vs a good winter.