For Pennsylvania big game hunting opening day issues

[hesse]

So I am originally not from PA . I am wondering if anyone can give me a good argument for why we should move the opener back to Monday (losing the weekend after thanksgiving) instead of Saturday opener. Not using the that is the way it has been black Friday small business Saturday that it is a rush because it only gives them 1day on Friday. It is hard enough to get time for kids to get away from school and the sports that weekend might be the only time they can or Sunday's. I am just trying to figure it out from an outside perspective. I would agree to a Monday opener if it was the Monday before Thanksgiving. If it is you want to drink beer hang out shoot the bull then just say that I would respect that

 

[birddog 68]

I am wondering if anyone can give me a good argument for why we should move the opener back to Monday

I definitely can’t.
I think it’s a tradition thing.

 

[Ol' Red]

Some traditions need to be broken.

 

[just_jon]

I see the Saturday opener as a good thing for getting young hunters more days afield. Personally, I liked the Monday opener because it gave us three days to blow off steam in camp. Fun things like consuming copious amounts of alcohol, greasy fried foods, non-stop poker, farting contests, good natured ribbing, howling at the moon and the like. Good times at Camp Chaos.

 

[Ol' Red]

That sounds like every night when I was in the Army. And many days.

 

[Coyote Shadow Tracker]

I see the Saturday opener as a good thing for getting young hunters more days afield. Personally, I liked the Monday opener because it gave us three days to blow off steam in camp. Fun things like consuming copious amounts of alcohol, greasy fried foods, non-stop poker, farting contests, good natured ribbing, howling at the moon and the like. Good times at Camp Chaos.

No wonder why they call you drunks "Swamp Yankees" (up North) that spend the weekend consuming copious amounts of alcohol, greasy fried foods, non-stop poker, farting contests, good natured ribbing, howling at the moon and the like instead of hunting.

 

[crashlanding]

Through and through potter county, guys get real comfortable with those cabins up there and deer hunting became secondary to all of the goings on. We would take a drive into coudersport and it looked like dodge city of old.

 

[Robert23430]

So I am originally not from PA . I am wondering if anyone can give me a good argument for why we should move the opener back to Monday (losing the weekend after thanksgiving) instead of Saturday opener. Not using the that is the way it has been black Friday small business Saturday that it is a rush because it only gives them 1day on Friday. It is hard enough to get time for kids to get away from school and the sports that weekend might be the only time they can or Sunday's. I am just trying to figure it out from an outside perspective. I would agree to a Monday opener if it was the Monday before Thanksgiving. If it is you want to drink beer hang out shoot the bull then just say that I would respect that

You do realize that the Pennsylvania deer regular firearm season has not changed and that it still starts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, don't you? I don't understand why you are asking, is Pennsylvania considering a change next year?

DEER, REGULAR FIREARMS (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Nov. 30; Sunday, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2-14. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license or permit.

 

[hesse]

You do realize that the Pennsylvania deer regular firearm season has not changed and that it still starts on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, don't you? I don't understand why you are asking, is Pennsylvania considering a change next year?

DEER, REGULAR FIREARMS (Antlered and Antlerless) Statewide: Nov. 30; Sunday, Dec. 1 and Dec. 2-14. One antlered deer per hunting license year. An antlerless deer with each required antlerless license or permit.

I know when the opener is. There are a lot of people that still want to go back to the Monday opener. I am trying to figure out why anyone would want to give up a weekend with good reasons why

 

[Robert23430]

I know when the opener is. There are a lot of people that still want to go back to the Monday opener. I am trying to figure out why anyone would want to give up a weekend with good reasons why

I understand you now. My only concern is that since they changed the opening day to Saturday, added 2 Sundays, and increased the number of does that you can get tags for statewide, that to many deer are being killed.

 

[hesse]

I understand you now. My only concern is that since they changed the opening day to Saturday, added 2 Sundays, and increased the number of does that you can get tags for statewide, that to many deer are being killed.

I agree with you on the tags . There are areas that have way to many deer other areas that they may be give to many tags I agree.we hunt in an area that is mostly private property. I am see over 50 deer on an 80 acre field and in multiple fields at the same time there is only 8 people hunting almost 1000acres

 

[Robert23430]

I hunt state game land area 179. It is badly hunted now.

 

[birddog 68]

My only concern is that since they changed the opening day to Saturday, added 2 Sundays, and increased the number of does that you can get tags for statewide, that to many deer are being killed

Actually the amount of Antlerless tags in 11 WMU’s stayed exactly the same as 2023. They did increase doe tags in the other WMU’s.
I think if they would have concurrent deer and bear season in all the low deer density WMU’s it would really help the deer.

 

[Robert23430]

I hunt in Greene county Pennsylvania, WMU 2A, State Game Land area 179. As in all of Pennsylvania, a hunter can get up to 6 antlerless deer tags, if available initially, and more as they use those. I think the number of antlerless deer tags available in area 2A used to be about 38,000 a few years ago. Now it's 46,000. But the extra Saturday and 2 Sundays along with the extra doe tags are really affecting the number of deer that we see negatively. I wish I had private property to hunt on. There are very few bear killed in Greene county, just 1 in 2023 and 3 in 2022. We've been hunting there 22 years and we've only seen 1 bear in all of those years.