The Sportsman's Corner

By now, most hunters have purchased their licenses for the 2020-21 hunting year. Many have bought additional tags and stamps so that they can hunt with a bow, crossbow, or muzzleloader for deer. In addition, pheasant-hunting enthusiasts have plunked down an extra fee so that they can pursue stocked ringnecks. More than 100,000 hunters will likely have bought a license so that they can hunt for bears during one of the many seasons that will be available to pursue Pennsylvania's bruins. The commission will come up with loads of money from the sale of these licenses.

We have had the chance to mail in our $6.90 during the first round of doe license applications. By autumn, some people will have come up with three or more doe licenses – legally – as they scarf up the licenses left over from the first round.

Enough of that. We all know that there are so many licenses and tags out there that even the greediest of game hogs should be satisfied.

I suppose what I think most about during this license-buying period concerns the many changes that have occurred over the past dozen years. As a turkey hunter, I am glad to see that locally this year we will be able to have an uninterrupted two-week fall hunt. For an old hunter like me, this will provide the opportunity to locate birds and keep after them without overexerting myself physically. Of course, I am hopeful that Bob, my son, can locate a flock of birds quickly and can help me get into position to tag one. I have, however, told my friend Scout, who is only a little younger than I am, that he and I are going to have a lot more trouble tagging turkeys than we used to have, since we can no longer cover some of the rugged territory where we once ran turkeys down. Disappointingly, the PGC has chosen to retain the unnecessary tag for a second spring gobbler.

I also think about the dramatic changes that we have seen in deer hunting lately. The six-week bowhunting season occurs during one of the nicest times of the year and has recently attracted many new hunters. Not too long ago, archers accounted for only a fraction of the deer killed in Pennsylvania. With the refinement of compound bows and the legalization of crossbows, almost half of Pennsylvania's deer harvest occurs during the bow season, according to PGC statistics.

These are several things that ran through my mind after I bought my license.