12—Lancaster Farming, Friday, December 9, 1955
Antlerless Deer "Season Open Only
December 12 and 13-in Pennsylvania
Antlerless Deer Season
Dec. 12 and 13 Only
The 1955 antlerless deer sea
son in Pennsylvania will be ob
served Dec 12 and 13 only- On
both days of the season hunting
hours will be 7 a- m- to 5 p- m.,
Eastern Standard Time- The hold
er of a license tor this special
season is required to hunt deer
without visible antlers only in
the county in- which the license
was issued.
Persons who took a legal an
tlered deer in either the archery
or “buck” season this year may
not hunt for, take or kill, or
stand on watch for another white
tail in the antlerless deer season.
Farm occupants permitted by law
to hunt without license may
hunt for antlerless deer on the
same land as for other game- If
not possessed of a hunter’s
license, to which is attached a
kill tag report card, such farm
people who bag a deer are asked
Jo report the fact to the Game
Commission at Harnsurg.
Five Reasons Listed
Based on the findings of Com
mission personnel and forestry
officials, and on the recommen
dation of sportsmen and farm
ers, the authorities established
the 1955 season for these rea
sons: 1. Good herd management,
and also in the interest of other
wildlife. 2- Diminish damage to
farm crops 3. Reduce over
browsing of forests growths. 4.
Lessen the incidence of highway
accidents involving human safety
and property damage- 5. Pre
vent the wast'* caused by deer
dying of malnutrition in winter-
The Game Commission estab
lished county quotas m relafion
to the need 'of harvest in each
locality- The license total for
Pennsylvania’* antlerless deer
season of th 5 s year was set at
240,250- On Dec- 1, county trea<
surers from only the counties of
Susquehanna, Wayne and Wyom
ing still repoited ahtlerless deer
licenses available- Prior to sea
son, non-residents who have a
current Pennsylvania hunter%
license may purchase a license
to hunt antleness deer.
Past experience indicates one
hunter in 5 or 6 licensees will
bag an antlerless deer in the two
day x season Therefore, the 1955
harvest will probably fall be
tween 40,000 and 50,000 legal ani
mals Weather and other condi
tions will, howvrr, be factors de
termining the total take in this
•special season
Ducks Are Here
Latimer Reports
The Game Commission’s wat
erfowl specialist, Robert E Lati
mer, reports a goodly number of
ducks have been coming into
Pennsylvania in the last two or
three weeks He says that hunt
ers equipped with decoys and
duck boats, and willing to take
rough weather, have been get
ting good waterfowl shooting of
late
Typically, along the Susque
hanna River, ducks have been
feeding in nearby fields, Lati
mer says The birds will stay as
long as the waier is open and
the corn is available, not cover
ed by snow-
Except for locally-reared ducks,
waterfowl hunting during the
earlier weeks of the season was
ssscsasssob ■^ancsistcaa
T. J. MATTHEWS
278R2 '
QUARRY VILIE CONCRETE PRODUCTS CO.
THOMAS J. MATTHEWS, Gen. M*r.
Phone
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\\siv i.Tcrs&A.q v'xrgi xssauras jcssrsasssaca
comparatively slack, but with the
migration of the northern birds
shooting has greatly improved.
Latimer reports a “pretty
good number of leg bands have
been turned in to the Game Com
mission so far this fall ” The
wildlife authorities again request
that hunters send to Harrisburg
the band number, date and local
ity of any banded waterfowl kill
Such reports are of, great as
sistance to state and federal wild
life agencies in planning watei
fowl management-
Small Game And
Bear Seasons Close
Preliminary estimates on the
small game and bear kills dur
ing the 1955 seasons are being
received by the Game . Commis
sion at Harrisburg- The authori
ties point out, however, the of
ficial total for bears will not be
available until all big game kill
tags are in and counted A sur
vey is being made by each Game
Protector prior to reporting the
estimated small game kill in his
district, from winch division-wide
and state-wide tabulations will be
made. Generally speaking, the
seasons were ‘successful’’-
Early reports indicate the legal
bear kill for the recent season
may be slightly less than the 403
reported killed last year-
The switch to wild turkey hunt
ing by many hunters brought
about a reduction in the amount
of hunting in farm areas corm
pared to forest areas. In several
large sections of the state small
game hunting, over the entire
season, was gauged at less than
last year- Nonetheless, early
estimates of small game kills
both farm and forest game in
dicated the 1955 bag ol birds and
animals was as good as that of
1954, in some cases proably bet
ter in several parts of the state
the hold-over of small game
brood stock was reported as en
couragingly good at the comple
tion of the 1955 season
Bear Kill Tags Due;
Mall To Harrisburg
Hunters who bagged a bear in
the 1955 Pennsylvania season are
reminded to observe the legal
requirement that a big game kill
report be mailed the Game Com
mission at Harrisburg
Rat Trappers Busy
Season Ends Jan- 28
Trappers began making their
muskrat sets at 7 a -m, Satur
day, Dec 3, tne first day of Penn
sylvania’s current rat season
The lure of the traplme and
money for Christmas urge many
farm boys and other youngsters,
as well as adults, from warm
beds to cold streams and marshes
before daybieak Compared to
the sagacious mink the rat is
easily trapped, making it the
boys’ “meat”.
The muskiat, an aquatic rod
ent, is much sought for its dark,
glossy brown pelt It most
abundant furbearer in Pennsyl
vania and, in total, provides fur
takers with their greatest cash
return
The season for taking the
“marsh rabbit” ends at noon Jan
28, 1956 The little furbearers
may be taken in unlimited num
bers All traps must be tagged
with metal name tags
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Considerate Hunters '
Draw Praise
Says Nicholas M. Ruha, Land
Utilization Assistant in the Game
Commission’s Northeast Divi
sion- “On the opening day of
the 1955 small game season I as
sisted Game Protector Bruce
Yeager in patrolling Farm-Game
Project No 9i. Montour County.
This general area is one of the
best ringneek sections in the
state- Hunting pressure is ex
treme, particularly on the first
day
“Cooperators on the project
were apprehensive that unhar
vested crops, especially soy
beans, would be trampled and
damaged- Many of the bean fields,
were not posted with signs warn
ing hunters to stay out because
the farmers had expected to
have the crop in before the sea
son opened- Wet weather pre
vented their doing so- The be
havior of the hunters was never
theless excellent There were un
doubtedly $ few careless gunners
who entered bean fields, but the
percentage was so small compar
ed to the number who acted like
gentlemen the cooperators com
mented most favorably on the
fact- Project farmers I contacted
declared that from the standpomt
of hunter conduct, it was the
best opening c!aj in years-”
Hunter’s Dream Situation:
This Bruim Comes Back
William E- Fulmer, a Game
Protector, reports the following:
“The city of Bethlehem is build
ing another large dam on i<s
property in Penn Forest Town
ship, Carbon County.
“While digging holes to secure
clay for use in the construction
of the dam one of the workmen
was surprised, ou a recent morn
ing, to find a large bear standing
in one of the pHs The bear was
chewing on the handle of a
shovel, probably for the salt de
posited there by sweaty hands
The man shouted and the animal
climbed out of the hole and lum
bered from the scene Later,
while in the pit digging the work
man looked up and saw the bear,
standing on its hind legs, “in
specting” the operation. The man
again shouted and made go-away
motions, whereat the bear drop
ped to all fours and slowly left
the scene ”
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License Revocation
Upheld By Court
An important development af
fecting conservation law enforce
ment took place on October 18th,
1955, when the Court of Common
Pleas of Lancaster County up
held a Game Commission order
revoking the hunting rights of
one Leon H- Bixler. Last fall,
Bixler shot and injured another
man, Russel Unger Neff, while
hunting- A referee hearing was
held in accordance with the
Game Code and the shooter was
found guilty of negligence- Bix
ler’s hunting license was sub
sequently revoked for one year,
following which action he peti
tioned the couit to review the
facts surrounding his hunting,
license revocation-
A. transcript of the court rec
ord- of the appeal case reads, in
part: “It • . • becomes the duty
of the court to determine anew
from the testimony taken wheth
er the petitioner should be deni
ed the right to hunt or trap with
in this Commonwealth, with or
without a' license, for a period
of one year, and be required to
furnish satisfactory proof to the
Commission IL-at all required bills,
have been satisfactorily adjusted
before such license shall be re
stored- •. • According to the
-evidence there were four hunt
ers in the pauy of Russell Unger
Neff who was shot and three
hunters in the party Of Leon H.
Bixter, the petitioner. All of
them, as well as two representa
tives of the Game Commission
who investigated the case, testifi
ed- Their testimony in some re
spects was conflicting. . . . Nev
ertheless, considering'all of it,
the court finds as a fact that
Russell Unger Neff was injured
by the discharge of a firearm on
October 30, 1954. in East Cocali
co Township, Lancaster County,
Pennsylvania, fired by Leon H
Bixler, the petitioner, in a care
less and negligent manner, wliile
engagd in hunting,""and that the
payment of hospital and medical
services required by Russell
Unger Neff have not been satis
factorily adjusted . • • The court
feels that the Pennsylvania Game
Commission was justified in re
voking petitioner’s huntuig lic
ense for a penod of one year,
and requiring him to furnish
satisfactory proof to the Commis
sion that all required bills have
been satisfactorily adjusted be
fore such license shall be restor
ed.”
The wildlife authorities remind
hunters if the coming winter
brings deep, long lying snows or
an ice crust many turkeys will
be saved through supplemental
food placed by clubs and indivi
duals, in addition to the stores
of corn put in many large feed
ers established by Commission
personnel.
Director Practices
Own Preachment
Dr. Logan J Bennett, Execu
tive Director oi the Pennsylvania
Game Commissiop, recently dem
onstrated that wildlife adminis
tiators are serious about obtain
ing information on every banded
01 tagged bud or animal killed
or found
On Nov- 5 Bennett, an ardent
woodcock hauler, shot a banded
“timber doodle” about 4 miles
west of Port Matilda, Centre
County Search of the recoids
revealed the bird was' trapped
and banded as an adult by Steve
Liscmsky, a member of the Com
mission’s-research staff, on July
1, 1955, at M.ntna Furnace The
release point is approximately,
seven miles from the place the
bird was bagged
' Information obtained from leg
bands on nugatory birds is not
only important to federal and
state wildlife' administrators, it
often provides an interesting,
sidelight to the hunt- For ex
ample, the woodcock in this ac
count could have been banded in'
New Brunswick or Louisiana.
The hunter who receives in
tormation on this bird, banded in
some distant locality, gets lasting
enjoyment from musing over the
travel habits of the migrant, plus
the satisfaction that comes of
cooperating with game managers
intent on improving his sport.
Scarcity Of Winter
Game Food
Sportsmen seeking wild game
m northern counties* this fall
have noted the general scarcity
of winter foods, nuts particularly.
The Game Commission is aware
that game food there is in short
supply and has accordingly plan
ned an extensive winter feeding
campaign
In recent years sportsmen’s or
ganizations and individuals, as
well as farmers and otners, have
built wild tuikey feeders in re
mote areas, and have kept them
filled with corn during the criti
cal months.
- Having learned of the game
food shortage many deer hunters
will undoubtedly journey to their
northern county camps prepared
to build or fill turkey feeders
in their areas '
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