Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting PA Deer Season To Open On Saturday

The Pennsylvania Game Commission has voted 5-3 to open the statewide firearms deer season on a Saturday. The change is effective this year.

Oh man, this thread will be good for at least 30 pages.

When they first started talking about this, there were some people on here that thought the world was coming to an end. They might get an extra day to hunt, but it made opening day on a Saturday instead of Monday. Personally, I always thought the Monday thing was a little off. We open on Saturday here.

Everyone I know up there loves the idea.

Intended to get more college students out to hunt, since the poor dears will be home that Saturday, but can't be around the following Monday. Maybe help a few more adults that can't get Monday off and kids whose schools no longer close on the first Monday. They are desperate to stem the loss of hunters and think this will help? Despite the fact that more than one poll indicated a clear majority of deer hunters didn't want the change.

Our current board of commissioners have decided old goats that still drive hours to hunting camps are dinosaurs of the past and no longer matter.

Even though we probably still make up a third or more of current deer hunters. One stat I read during the controversy leading up to this decision, is that only about 25 to 30 percent of deer hunters still travel to a hunting camp for rifle deer So this will benefit those who hunt close to home and the afore mentioned groups.

For decades we got camp open on the Friday after Thanksgiving, visited a bit with camp neighbors, went small game or turkey hunting on that Saturday and got prepped for the Monday opener. Out the window now.

Gah

You can still hunt, visit on Monday.

Heard about it right away this morning. Nothing but bitching back and forth since. Small business going to take a hit same as when they changed the bear opener. Guys no longer had to take off on Mon-Wed. Schools and employers no longer need to offer Monday off.

All a push for Sundays. Nothing to do with people and time. Dept of Labor statistics dont lie. Majority of people dont use all their vacation, and the few without vacation is just that, minute compared to the majority.

Personally, I hate it and how itll affect not only tradition, but small business. Not too happy that there will be potentially hung over hunters just over the ridge from partying the night before. With Monday starter they could sleep off Fridays/Saturdays escapades on Sunday. Now theyll be out in full force. Yay.

Ill still do my thing, get my deer after the majority will go home. Am afraid ill lose Monday holiday off and have to burn another vacation day, but oh well.......anything to keep the greedy no priority bastards happy.

Is Sunday hunting still prohibited?

Is Sunday hunting still prohibited?

Machs nichs to me. I don't bother hunting PA until end of first week or the second week anyway. Most of the PA guys I talked to were for it. They screwed up in not including Sundays in the new regulations, IMO.

One thing it will do for us in MD is yank the PA guys out of our woods that first Saturday, hopefully. Historically there's been a large crew of PA guys that swoop down to the Game Lands I hunt to score an extra day of hunting, and all the while blasting anything that moved and actually put on drives right through where others were hunting. (I mean, c'mon. Drives on opening day morning for pete's sake, on public not private land where it's acceptable?!)

I'm disappointed. I've previously stated my position ad nauseam.

It is what it is.

added
It's a bummer, that's what it is.

It's change, for change's sake.

Pretty much it in a nutshell.

This drives me nuts I’m fairly young and disappointed with the way things are going hate to hear arguments that I love to hunt just don’t want to use my vacation to do it. I believe all this is going to back fire on PGC with not getting them any more license sales because that’s what they are digging for I hope that Sunday hunting doesn’t pass when this gives them no change in license numbers

How many College students will head home after classes Fri, to hunt Saturday,then head back Sunday for class Monday? Not many. When my daughter was at university, if she could hunt she did. If it wasn't prudent she didnt. Believe it or not,college came first. Still will I bet. It's 2 to 6 years of your life on average. No body will die missing a deer season of two. Megan usually hunted the first Saturday and a couple days within the two week season. Probably as much as most of the folks that voted to change the opener do.

If this is really about students and folks without vacation,why no Sunday hunting?

We've got to appease the "get to do everything" generation....


This is just the rifle season opener. They should have left well enough alone.

During the "debates" on Sunday Hunting what was one of the biggest arguments? "I dont have vacation and work Saturdays" So the GC gives them Saturdays....the more I think about this schit the more pissed I get. If they wanted another Saturday give us a 3rd week. Reduce the doe allocation to reflect the extra week and BOOM everyones happy again. Again, this has not a damn thing to do with time, and everything with setting up Sundays.

Said it a million times, quit phuggin around with Sundays and put it on the ballot!! Along with disbanding the GC and combining agencies. Its time!

This whole argument never ceases to amuse! same with the sunday hunting arguments. the thought of lobbying to not hunt more is astounding to me.

Denny, im sure as President of PFSC you sat in many meetings. Your opinion, honest question, no BS.....did we, the average hunter ever have a say? Our emails mean nothing?

I'm delighted. If only obviously.

Im sure you rubbed one out as soon as you heard.

There's already a gazillion days to hunt deer in Pa. Plus you could hunt small game and turkeys on that Saturday. Now you can't. Adding one more Saturday for deer ain't gonna do jack chit to increase hunter numbers.

All it does for me is cut family time over the Thanksgiving holiday, I'll have to travel on Friday instead of Saturday or Sunday to get from my daughters house in Berks county to my hunting grounds in Clearfield county. Sucks a big one.

Dale

No Sunday hunting without approval from the legislature. Just how it is here. If they'd give that over to the game commission, then maybe a Saturday deer opener makes a bit more sense? I don't give a damn about Sunday hunting for deer anyway, but that's just my view, lots do want it.

The Monday opener was more to my liking for several reasons.

Sundays for pretty much everything else is fine with me, especially woodchucks and turkeys.

Old traditions die hard and painfully. We always enjoyed the Friday ride to camp and taking our time getting ready for Monday. Saturday was a good day to go try for a turkey or some squirrels and grouse. 'Guess that's done. 'Can't believe they didn't get Sundays included in this. Kinda makes that first Saturday look like the ugly stepchild. Like I said, hard to see the old traditions die off, along with the old hunters.

Now wait a second....YOUR name was signed on the HUSH lawsuit! You dont give a damn about Sunday hunting? Pfft!!! Tell me thats not your name and signature Denny!

Please explain that better with actual dates as an example. did they shorten your season by a week by opening it the saturday before? I will be honest, I never understood how hunting was done on the east coast, even when I lived there. it was so screwed up as a whole I didn't even hunt. To me is seems like a soup sandwich that ya'll are trying to organize and rationalize. Where I live our season(s) run about the same every year. a few are the whole month of november (or october) regardless of when the 1st starts, and the regular rifle for west river runs so the last of the 3 weekends it's open is thanksgiving weekend. Now I get that people bank on these dates and expect them, but to whine about it opening the saturday before, or complaining that it's not closed on sundays seems absolutely retarded to me. I don't know the whole story, nor do I care except for what I see here when I scroll and it intrigues me enough to click. but as an outsider, it looks to me like the overall season hasn't changed aside from the saturday before the "normal" opener is the new one, so in effect you gained A day of hunting, on a weekend... and many are pissed about it. forget the whole "sunday hunting" which you still fight for keeping. I wonder what kind of stupid they put in the water there. You do realize the deer have no idea what day it is right? now if someone can explain it in a rational matter, I'm all ears, but this really seems like you all have been eating [bleep] for so long, that now when they offer you piss, you complain that it isn't more [bleep]. I honestly feel very sorry for you all to not know what it's like to live free, at least to the degree we are allowed out here. You have my prayers

You’ve obviously never been in the PA deer woods at dawn on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

The "got to have it now" generation has no time for foreplay. This decision devastates a lifetime of tradition. This is only one season of many.

Nothing says you HAVE to hunt that opening Saturday. Guys I've talked to plan to continue their driving/kibitzing/drinking on Saturday and Sunday and heading into the woods on Monday. Big deal. It just adds a little more flexibility to some people's seasons, that's all.

PA gets dragged kicking and screaming into the 21st century. Hell, we just recently were granted the privelage to buy a six pack between noon and 5 on Sundays ...

It's the no Sunday hunting that makes this a dumb move,I'll likely skip driving 5 hours each way to hunt Saturday and not be able to hunt Sunday
NY did this a few years back but it wasn't as big a deal since you could hunt Sunday
IF PA was really interested in getting more people/youths involved they would allow Sunday hunting

Exactly.

Nope, I sure haven't, nor would I want to from how it sounds.

It must be more magical than opening day in other places..... you know, with it being monday and all....

Like I said earlier, the deer don't know what day of the week it is.

Exactly.

When someone says they get less time with family because they have to leave for camp on Friday, I say BS. Do it as you always had.

Some seriously stuck individuals here. I bet the switch from paper to plastic gave a few wives black eyes.

Paper or plastic? Now there's an issue worth pulling out the pistol over.

Maybe it's an apple and oranges kinda thing, comparing deer hunting traditions from one state to another? PA manages to sell roughly 900,000 licenses per year, despite a national trend of declining sales and the number of hunters, but that's down from what it was a few decades ago.

PA measures a tad over 46,000 square miles and still has lots of rural land, not to mention millions of acres of forested, mountainous land, primarily in the northern parts of the state. Within that acreage is over 2.5 million acres of public access land to hunt on, plus lots more private land open to public access with permission. We probably have roughly 700,000 people that hunt deer. Estimates put the majority of those out on opening day of firearms deer season.

Deer numbers are not spread evenly across the state, but there are areas with huge deer numbers, most areas have adequate numbers and still some areas that hold few deer. People argue endlessly about how many deer we have, but we seem to always rank high in deer/vehicle accident rates, so I'd say we have plenty of deer? Annual deer kill numbers from the various seasons, have stayed in the 300,000+ range for years.

Hunting camps were the thing here, going back to the 1920s, because the deer were primarily in the northern areas. Hundreds of thousands of hunters went to those camps to hunt each year. Not the big deal it once was, partly because deer are now more common in other parts of PA, but that camp thing is still an important part of our deer hunting traditions. May not be the same in other states, can't say?

I couldn't agree more pa game commission just sees $$$$$

The average hunter is a whiny bitch and this thread proves it. LMAO. Some of you guys would squawk about getting hung with a new rope.

I assume you mean turning everything over to the polititions would be preferable?
In my 72 seasons of hunting in PA ive witnessed quite a few changes, and not all I agreed with including this one.
But this just might be one whose time has come. That said I don't think it will change much, especially in license sales numbers.
I don't think Sunday hunting will either other than for maybe a year, but it will no doubt shift the days some choose to hunt.
So we could look for the big exodus on Sunday afternoon instead of Tuesday afternoon?
That might not be all bad.
Bars at least initially will probably see more business with a weekend opener, especially those that offer freebees.
I mean where else is there to go to complain about seein no deer? lol

ARs and brown goes down weekends cant be very far off.

Holy schit...why would you want to with this many screaming children in the woods?

HAHAHAHA, that's my thought. then with the apparent lack of deer for many, oh man. sign me up!

"Holy schit...why would you want to with this many screaming children in the woods"?

Aw, go out in the shop and lean on a Furd or something? We don't pick on yinz like that. ;O)

The amount of b!tching over this law change is upsetting.

This is the start, Sunday hunting legal by 2020 season. Great job PGC!

I don't understand why everyone there isn't thinking like that. But damnit!!! They don't want to hunt on Sunday. lol

Bout F'N time the PA Game Commission got in the 21 century

I'll hunt every chance I get, hell told the wife I may hunt NY pn Thanksgiving. She told me to be home in time for dinner

Here's another good one. Lots of non res campers have been b!tching about not being able to get doe tags. Allocations are up all over this year 8000 in my wmu. Now you will hear them cry about killing all the deer!

I don't hunt on public land if I can help it, but I'm with you gnoahhh, this might keep all of those "Penntuckians" from comin down here a scarin all of our deer. Man, you drive past the parking areas for the public land on Saturday, and 3/4 of the vehicles are from PA. They can get here and be in the woods in about an hour or so. Them guys up there in Southern PA ain't goin to no deer camps because they know that they can come down here and shoot more in one day than they can in a whole season in PA.

I can see where this might upset the traditions of those guys that go to "Deer Camp" to hunt. But I bet the majority of the hunters in PA don't. I've talked to a handful of guys that I deal with from up around the Scranton area, and none of them go to a hunting camp. They all sleep in their beds at home, get up bright and early on opening day and drive down the road a few miles to where they hunt on private land and go wait for a buck to show himself. ALL of those guys are delighted with this news.

We've always had opening day on Saturday. I always thought that no hunting on Sunday gave the deer a "cool down day" so that we could catch them off guard on Monday. Now that we can hunt on Sunday, it hasn't made a hill of beans difference. We can still shoot the hell out of them for the next 2 weeks just like we used to.

If it's the tradition you guys are worried about, or the logistics of getting to where you need to be on a certain day, keep doing what you do. I'm sure you'll still kill just as many deer as you used to. For those of you that don't have any traditions of going somewhere special, go shoot a deer on Saturday and have fun doing it. All of the rest of those guys will be sitting around their deer camp getting drunk and waiting for Monday to roll around. If I was from there, I'd be having a celebration for the extra day of deer season. It's hard for me to comprehend people complaining about more hunting time, but I'm not from there.

They are thinking like that. I think there's probably more people in PA that want this, than don't. If they ever open on Sundays, I guarantee you that they'll change their ways. It's probably only the Amish and Mennonites that won't be out there on Sunday if they do change it.

Slowly, bit by bit, this all changes...

Youre a phuggin idiot. 3 local townships around my camp are dominated by southern PA folks and their camps. Fulton, Franklin, Adams, York, Lancaster, Cumberland, Dauphin, Lebanon, Chester.......generations of families from southern PA, where I live, made the drive north. And though members have passed on, those camps are still in use today. A few are just summer camps, but the majority still see at least a few for a day or 2. Usually after Tuesday theyre heading home.

Cross over 6, and the majority of non local owned farms in potato country are owned by southern PA folks, Jersey and New York. I lived there for 4 years. I worked and socialized with these folks. Maybe you outta get out of your small world and actually learn a little about a place you know not a damn thing about.

That's a strange way of saying "rolled a number".

PA is "bitch baby central" as far as the Sportsman here go.

i think is long overdue. i love tradition but this makes the most sense. hunt saturday, celebrate saturday night and butcher on sunday or pack up and go home without blowing half a day of hunting or driving twisty mountain roads in pitch black winter conditions.

The Saturday opener hasn't helped in NY. No more visiting with neighboring camps back and forth. No more saloon hopping to buy gun raffles. Breakfasts and dinners at the fire halls is a thing of the past, as is the traditional game feast at camp and late hours card games. Local businesses are suffering, from sporting goods stores to restaurants to grocery stores.There used to be a pretty substantial amount of money pumped into these economies. Not anymore. And all in the name of getting more people involved in the sport. Guess what - I haven't seen a single new hunter in our camp or any of the many camps around us. And it's the same everywhere when I talk to guys in restaurants, bars and around town.
Guys used to take a week vacation. They'd come up Friday night and stay till Wed. before Thanksgiving or the whole week. Now, they come up, hunt Saturday and Sunday morn then split for home. All the tradition and comradery is gone. I, for one, don't like it. Even guys that initially thought it was a good idea, have changed their minds.

I don't care what day they open it. Lord willing I'll hunt it.

Now with regards Sunday hunting, here is the reason why it hasn't happened. Hunters want it, but the Farm Bureau, which has more than a little clout didn't....

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau Testifies in Opposition to Expanding Sunday Hunting
CONTACT:
Mark O’Neill, Media and Strategic Communications Director
510 S. 31st Street , Camp Hill, PA 17001 • 717.761.2740 • Email • @pfbmediaone

For Immediate Release: May 18, 2016
(Harrisburg) – Pennsylvania Farm Bureau (PFB) restated its overwhelming opposition to any legislative effort that would directly or indirectly lead to the expansion of existing Sunday hunting laws in the Commonwealth, during testimony before the Senate Game & Fisheries Committee.

“Farm Bureau members have considered the issue of Sunday hunting on multiple occasions over the past two decades. Each time, farmers expressed their unequivocal opposition to any expansion efforts,” said Joel Rotz, PFB State Government Affairs Senior Director.

Although it opposes additional hunting on Sunday, PFB supports hunting and the role hunters play in managing wildlife in the state. In fact, Farm Bureau has worked for decades to build constructive relationships with the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and its staff to help keep privately-owned lands open and accessible to hunters.
“Farmers and other private landowners, who account for about 80% of all land used for hunting in the state, voluntarily allow hunters on their property to pursue game. It would be unfortunate if efforts to force more hunting on Sundays damaged positive relationships developed between hunters and landowners,” added Rotz.

Farm Bureau notes that most Pennsylvanians support keeping the status quo on Sunday hunting, including many licensed hunters in the state. In addition, outdoor enthusiasts of all kinds support PFB’s position.

“Several years ago, hikers, bikers, horseback riders, naturalists, bird watchers, fall foliage fans and others joined Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in opposing legislation that would have opened the door to expanded Sunday hunting,”### continued Rotz.

Farm Bureau has a history of actively embracing efforts to increase opportunities for youth hunters in Pennsylvania and has worked in conjunction with the PGC, sportsmen’s groups and others to provide youngsters more chances to hunt.

“Farmers have suggested that the state Game Commission allow youth hunting during the rifled deer season on the Friday and Saturday following Thanksgiving, when schools are closed. It is a rule change that the Commission can implement without action from the state General Assembly,” concluded Rotz.

Pennsylvania Farm Bureau is the state’s largest farm organization with a volunteer membership of nearly 61,400 farm and rural families, representing farms of every size and commodity across Pennsylvania.
###
Category: News Releases


Now the last sentence tells a little hidden secret. Farms of all sizes, and you can have a little farmette and be a member. And many of them are against hunting, so when the farm bureau takes a vote on Sunday hunting, there are enough of the little anti-hunting farmeette owners to sway the vote to against. Then there is this: “Several years ago, hikers, bikers, horseback riders, naturalists, bird watchers, fall foliage fans and others joined Pennsylvania Farm Bureau in opposing legislation that would have opened the door to expanded Sunday hunting,” continued Rotz. Between the farm bureau and the leaf peepers they backed the legislature into a corner. The leaf peepers are for the most part anti-hunting and will side with anything that limits days afield.

I say forget about Sunday hunting on the farms, but there is no reason not to Sunday hunt on the 1,000,000 plus acres of Game Lands bought and paid for by hunters. Most farmers today don't let the majority hunt when asked anyway. Deer especially. "No we like to keep the Deer hunting for family and friends." Forget them, with the exception of a few farmers, and most of them want Does wiped out on their grounds, it has been a long time since the Pa hunters and farmers have been a coalition working together for the benefit of each other.



The GC wants Sunday hunting along with the hunters, but they don't always get to make the rules.... But those who know little about the reason, jump all over the GC. Nor can you just blame the out of staters. Most of the in staters are just as clueless. Sunday hunting in 2020. Wave the flag, but don’t hold your breath and at least know the why not you are up against.

The people that weren’t born and raised on this tradition won’t understand why no one likes it and apparently never heard the jerry reed song about the preacher and the bear. That said if you think we are whinny bitches you can swing by my place and let me know personally what a whinny bitch looks like
Pat Mcpeak
121 Borden road
Towanda Pa 18848
Sunday’s are for drinking and cutting up the deer you killed that week

Dam...where else can you get all this entertainment! We even got wrastlin’

I hear you guys on the tradition, but I’ll take the additional day.

Oh boy, now the BAMF are coming out against Sunday hunting. Now we are not only up against the Farm bureau and leaf peepers, but ourselves. Nobody said you can’t drink and cut up Deer on Sunday. You want to do that instead of hunt fine with us. Some would like to hunt. Why the problem?

BTW, I was born to the tradition and most likely before you.

PFB has welcomed the support of those "hikers, bikers, equestrians and others", because those groups also oppose more SH. That's because they want to continue to have use of State Game Lands on Sundays, as they have for decades and no hunters around. While the hunters that helped pay for those SGLs, can't hunt on them. Unless they're hunting foxes and crows in season, or coyotes?

While PFB likes to boast about those membership numbers, only those actively farming on a commercial basis, are entitled to a vote..

Over the years, PGC, often with urging from Legislators, has given PFB just about everything they've asked for, when it comes to dealing with crop damages from wildlife. DMAPs, Red Tags, higher doe tag allocations, longer deer and bear seasons and so on. Ask them for one more day of hunting on a weekend, when most have time to hunt and it's 'Oh, hell no".

I don't favor more SH only on SGLs and other public lands. I would favor being able to hunt on my own land, too. From conversations with my kin and camp neighbors that are farmers, so would they.

Agree completely Dube. In addition farmers get to hunt 365 if they desire. GC asks what is going on and all he has to say is crop damage take it. Or hassle me and I will let none hunt here. I’ve seen it.

On my little 56 acres the rules are much different.

Let’s not leave out various farm subsidies, a portion of which comes out of hunters taxes.

I read most of the posts on this and find it a bit incredible.

I understand sentiment on tradition - been doing it since 1973 or so, '75 as a 12 year old with a license. I shot my first deer just outside of Marienville in Elk County. My moms famy is all from Clearfield. We hunted Turkey, deer, bears up there for years. I get it.

I also recall the days of the pumpkin army invading the woods, 100 shots in the first hour, deer running everywhere, and any buck larger than a 3" spike getting shot. 80% of the buck kill in those days were 18 month old deer.

I recall the 'horror' over antler restrictions. Woods be littered with dead bucks too small to tag, never shoot another buck again, etc. Last year I saw 5 bucks on the first day, including a legal nice 8 pt that didn't present a shot right after daylight. Shot an 18" 8 pt on Weds of the second week. My dad shot its twin the same evening.

I am now an out of stater. I drive 600 miles to hunt their because of the tradition involved. Wouldn't miss the first day for anything. This year I'll do something really crazy. Drive up Thursday, hang stands on Friday, hunt Saturday, drive 600 miles home on Sunday. I'll repeat the following Friday to hunt Saturday and stay the following week when does are legal and guys are home bitching about the lack of deer, crappy weather or some other complaint. I'd be willing to bet I hang a decent buck and a doe or two by the end of the season.

Suffice to say, I'm ok with a Saturday opener, antler restrictions, and hopefully Sunday hunting next year. We only have so many seasons on this earth. Let's savor what we have. Carry on.

There is NOTHING like opening day in PA. I am sure the guys in Michigan, Maine, Wisconsin etc. have the same sentiment As has been said before it's about tradition. I have lived opening day in PA and CO, no comparison, just sayin. Do I love Colorado absolutely but it doesn't have the mystique for me Pennsylvania did. I think it has a lot to do with the lead up to opening day the weekend before afforded it. I will probably never hunt opening day in PA ever again, but I will never forget the wonderful times and experiences I had when I was there.

This thread is pure gold!

And like Yogi would say. "It is deja vu over again" Come Deer season it will repeat. Waa, I like Monday, waa I'm happy with Saturday, waa I want to cut up Deer on Sunday, waa I want to hunt on Sunday, waa Grandpa is really pisssed about this Saturday thing and I have to drive to camp with him, waaa Grandma is pisssed that the GC upset Grandpa and she is going to post the farm.

And to top it off, Christmas is on Wednesday this year.

I'm retired, and a long time PA resident, so it doesn't matter much to me, but if they do this without allowing Sunday hunting, I feel it will have a negative effect. As an old fart who has hunted every PA opener for 57 years, I think the northern tier hunting camps and small retailers will suffer, again.
donsm70

They don care about the northern tier. 36% increase in doe kill last year in 2G. Stabilization my ass. 13% reduction in tags this year.....wont even make a dent in last years loss. Its about the trees man, the trees. Failed experiemnt. Oh, cant forget gas, need that revenue. Drill drill drill. Maybe Wolfs gas tax will put a stop to the drillin.

Ok, so did anybody think to ask the deer for their opinion? Easiest way would be to set up a polling station outside The Deer Cave* at 8AM opening day.


* The Deer Cave- that secret hidey hole all the bucks disappear to when the first shots are heard. They contain bunks, lavatories, corn stockpiles, and hooker does. Choice bunks and hookers are on a first-come-first-serve basis, usually claimed by the 10-pointers who are smart enough to arrive the night before.

It must be. Folks wanted to start shooting bigger bucks. So, PA changed the rules so a bunch of does can be shot and let the little guys grow. Then, they started whining about not being able to shoot spikes and forks. Now I've seen some damn fine bucks coming out of PA for the guys that put their time in. Hell, I know a few guys that hunt PA, and their camp butts up against public land. One guy that's never been there, went into those big scary woods with the other hunters and shot a 9pt on his first day. Huh? Who'd a thunk it?

Oh I've been part of hunting traditions my entire life. Camps, opening day's.... You'd have a hard time convincing me that WI's opening day/deer camp tradition isn't as strong as any state in the country. And... hold the phone, it opens on a Saturday!!! It's the week of Thanksgiving. Schools are closed, bars and restaurants get a good portion of their yearly revenue in those 9 days.

Some people even hunt on Sunday. But we all have fun.

Haven't done so lately, but when deer hunters here in PA were on our boards moaning about this and that, I looked at similar boards from MI, WI and OH. Seemed like some of the same "end of the world" crap was going on there, as well, if there were changes coming? Perhaps not as much, but seems like as a group, hunters who like to fuss, ain't in short supply.

Maybe we just look worse, because there are 700,000 of us, instead of smaller numbers in many other states? ;O)

That's BS. Last two years I was able to get two doe tags each year (as a non resident). Should be able to get my two this year.

Keep voting Communist. They appreciate it.

pahick, did you ever pick up your venison from the butcher?

Not in 2f you didnt. They were sold out first week. Like I said 8000 in my wmu.

I like the communist comment it's very true in pa as well as the deer cave

Anyone hunt on gl 66 ??

Interesting debate.. I hunted Pa. until I moved in 1972... Later when I retired in 99 I hunted it every fall until 2015 when the camp was sold.. There is an excitement about Pa.s deer season that is lacking other places.. Here I have units that I can hunt from Sept. til Dec.. Great, but it is not as exciting as that Pa. opener.. I guess if I were still able to hunt there, it would not make much difference to me either way.. Still an exciting time.. Enjoy!!

Lifelong Republican here, sorry

You know I did...

You did more than look Denny. You and old Chuck made sure to ban anyone that raised a stink over the Commission, or anyone who brought data from other states that refuted your agenda. If it wasnt for Mack protecting your identities youd have all been flogged in public.

Look what the Saturday opener for bear did to bear hunting in state before the Saturday opener and all of the first week of deer to sit on your lazy but and wait for first thing to run by and start shooting you couldn’t find a spot to park around any mountain by my house now there’s no one. I’m not against more hunting time just rather see it later in the season when the good weather is starting to take over you wouldn’t hear a complaint about longer season if you didn’t ruin first day

The PGC themselves polled hunters about changing opening days twice and both times results came back hunters did not want to fug with the switch. Yet they voted in favor of it anyway going against their own cash base.
Truth be told it was because one Commissioner wanted his and his brother's college kids to be able to hunt over Thanksgiving weekend. He went on record saying as much at a public board meeting. Just like the Commissioner who wanted baited dove hunting legal in Pa like he pays to do down south.
It is POLITICS PLAIN AND SIMPLE. The day will come when one of those azzholes wants baited deer and bear hunting statewide and will push that thru, too.

Yep!

Youre right, politics. Ask dubePa...Denny Fillmore, president of PFSC. Him and his buddies pushed for it.

And the HuntingPA.com hate has even shown up here!

No it's common sense plain and simple. All our other seasons open on Saturdays but the world is ending because they moved this one to Saturday?

Why do a couple polls if you are not going to listen to the very people you are polling. Little wonder hunters have no respect for an agency that once was revered!

The PGC was once thought one of the best game orgs if not the best and today they have lost the confidence of the back tag buyers. Why because of failed programs, out right lies, getting caught giving sweetheart retirement buy outs to each other,. Still hunters overlooked all of that until they feared getting sued over PaWilds and ordered the drop in deer numbers DCNR wanted.
Those are facts not anecdotes! Many long time sportsman gave up the sport over them and would not give the PGC the spit it takes to wank off with.

What is a "back tag buyers" ?

Its shown up everywhere due to a$$holes like him and Chuck banning everyone. I have a folder I kept of all the screenshots I took right before many were banned.

But thats neither here nor there. What really matters is the lying [bleep] actions. Legislators dont like that very much. When Dennys crew, especially Melody, got up in front of the legislators they made an ass of themselves. I saved that video too. Total disgrace. GC biologists and PFSC got knocked down a few pegs that day.

What makes you think they stopped their deceiving ways?

Back Tag is what Pa call a general licence then you buy additional licences such as archery, mz, bear, pheasant,etc.

I got a permanent ban from HPA myself but it wasn't because of Denny. It was because Roosterbooster had a hard on for me.

We used to have to wear our hunting licenses on our backs. They became known as "backtags"

It was hard to piss John off. Dont mess with the owner...lol