I agree with most of what David Williamson has said. Pheasant hunting in Pa. was very good until the Game Commission decided to allow the shooting of hens north of I-80 in the early 1980's. The decline after that was very predictable, and very quick. Hunters couldn't stop themselves from killing hens even as they complained about declining bird numbers... much as they did when Pa. Game Commission decided to greatly increase doe tag allotments. The Game Commission never admitted to their stupidity, and instead blamed herbicides and habitat loss. According to them, killing all the mama birds had nothing to do with it, even though stocked birds were never more than a fraction of the total populations.
As much as I hate to agree with Jagermeister, his point about predators is 100% correct. When I was a small boy, Pa. actually had a bounty on hawks and owls. When shooting of hawks and owls stopped, we began seeing a lot more piles of feathers and fur where they had killed grouse, pheasants, and other small game. When I brush-hog my field, I have flocks of hawks circling to feed on the newly exposed small critters. Then fur prices declined, and those predator populations increased. Habitat loss in Pa. is not nearly the problem it is in other states. Logging of pines and hardwoods is still a major industry with everything from clear-cutting to selective cuts on private lands. Active farms are cleaner than the 1970's due to herbicide use, but there are still plenty of fence rows, abandoned farms, abandoned strip mines, overgrown clear-cuts, and fallow fields. The last big explosion in grouse numbers I witnessed was during the mass clear-cutting of oaks during the Gypsy Moth infestation of the early 1990's. But that unfortunately coincided with the INTRODUCTION of the Eastern Coyote, a 24/7/365 killing and eating machine. Yes, I am one of those who believes the Game Commission brought in coyotes to help thin the deer herd to placate the insurance companies. Grouse populations have been in decline ever since coyotes became widespread. I've been out several times in North Central counties, and have killed exactly one grouse, missed one, and flushed one other that I couldn't see for the leaves. The pheasant situation is far worse unless you want to hunt stocked birds on SGL's and pay the Game Commission for the new Pheasant Tag after they thoroughly screwed it up. I'm hoping to hit a couple other spots Friday or Saturday, but expect it will be mostly scouting for deer.
I too will miss the late season of grouse hunting in the snow after Christmas, but most of my time then has always been spent flintlock deer hunting.
