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Saturday opener....

jjb4900

By jjb4900,
in General Hunting

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jjb4900 Newbie

jjb4900

Posted
Posted

so, it's been a few years since opening day went to Saturday from Monday, how does everyone feel it has worked out? I for one have not seen an increase in hunter participation due to it, but I can say it has put a hurt on the local businesses. Back when we had the Monday opener people would come up the Friday or Saturday before and spend money buying food at local markets, eating out at local restaurants and having a few drinks with friends at the local bars........know it seems everyone shops at home and brings the stuff they normally would have bought near their hunting grounds up with them. Instead of dumping money into the local economy for a day or two it's right to hunting.........

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BizCT Grand Master

BizCT

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Posted

I love it! Get the first 2 days off without having to use vacation time! Gotta be a big plus for people that have a hard time getting off from work during the week or too many people wanting the first couple of days off and managers denying vacation.

Same

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aqua750 Newbie

aqua750

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Posted

my feeling are since they changed the opener they did a lot more harm than good , It used to be the orange army used to head north sat or sunday morning and spend money to feed the local economy which in some cases  was badly needed then they would hunt mon tues wed and go home Wednesday afternoon which  In my opinion there were a lot more hunters in the woods which in turn kept the deer moving  am I the only one who noticed the come monday there is practically no shots fired and the woods are DEAD  albany just wanted to sell more tags to people

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growalot Newbie

growalot

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Posted (edited)

I wonder how many over 30 hunters prefer monday to the Sat. opener...I Loved being at camp and relaxing with the guys ...getting some last minute shooting in and checking travel past stand sights...just a nice relaxing time...now it's freaking rush rush rush and trying to run to camp and set up before the morning.

Now let me get in to the kids situation...opening day in rural schools ment kids out and they prepared for it...rarely was it questioned and kids where more than willing to at least give it a try to get out of a day or even two of school...now it's hey!! I have a couple of days off and 3 days worth of home work ..No thank you I don't want to go to camp or out hunting...say it's not so and I'll tell you ...sorry I worked in a high school...it's exactly what they think...and the liberals LOVE IT!

Edited by growalot
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malesi1 Newbie

malesi1

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Posted

HATE it!...It took away much of the pre-hunt traditions and ceremony we used to have. Monday openers allowed for us to gather Friday or Saturday and enjoy the company of family and friends all weekend, and then hunt together. I can't overstate enough how much it has changed deer hunting for the worse.

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RTGobbler Newbie

RTGobbler

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I tend to agree that is is not a good change. When it first happened I thought it was a great idea, but over time I don’t think so. Most of the reasons people already stated are why, less relaxing with the crew, rushing out of work on Friday's, loss of that extra day off from school.

 

Since the Saturday opener started we have seen a dwindling population at camp. Not sure why, but I just think it is easier and calmer to have two days of prep before the opener. You also there was a different mindset to take off a day to go HUNT compared to taking a day off to DRIVE to camp.

 

I also think the day off from school is a huge change that people may not consider. I grew up in a rural area and people expected kids to miss school and were OK with it. There was an extra excitement to the day because you got to miss school as a little kid. I even remember in the 6th grade being called down to the office in the afternoon of the spring turkey opener to talk to the principal about how I did that morning. Making it a weekend interferes with a lot of the other extracurricular activities or jobs kids already have obligations to.

 

 

 

 

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shooter Newbie

shooter

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Posted

Hate the Saturday opener!! Wish it would go back to Monday. I to am a camp hunter and we had traditions as well as mentioned above. I wish it were always the Monday of thanksgiving week. Ever since the switch to Saturday as silly as it may seem our deer take at camp has dropped drastically.

 

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Larry Community Regular

Larry

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Posted

I hunt down near Swain NY when I started to hunt down there in the eighty's  with the Monday opener the bar was standing room only. But as the years went by there started to be and fewer and fewer people in the bars and restraints. This started to happen well before the Saturday opener. Do I know why I can only guess. Hunter numbers were declining, land changed hands this area is in WMU9P, this WMU went from everyone getting 2 DMP's to having to have preference points to get one DMP. The way we hunt also changed gone are the days of the deer drive now we sit on stand. Also we are not happy to shoot a deer we have to shoot the biggest deer we can find if someone shoot a deer smaller then something seen on TV then there not hunters. I think some just left the sport because it became no longer fun.
Things down where I hunt seem to have stabilized.

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stubby68 Newbie

stubby68

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Posted

I don't what here is to relax from for 2 days before hunting. I get done with work go to camp [not rush]. Most things were taken care of the weekend before so I just show up kick back bs withe guys and then hit the sac get up and go hunting. Sounds like some of you guys live way to far from where you hunt, my trip is 20 miles one way. If I lived far enough away that I had to rush after work I would just take the Friday before off. As for putting money into local business? Maybe the out of towners started bringing supplies up with them because local prices were to high and they could stop somewhere along the way and save some money. That could have happened even if it did not changa Usually when people complain about the Saturday opener they say it took away a final weekend of bow hunting. Which has been mentioned a couple of times here. Probably most of the ones who do not like it are bow hunters.

The sat opener lets people get out therer on opening day who otherwise had to wait 5 days to get in the woods. It also those who can only hunt weekends a couple extra days. I am not sure in made for an increase in the number of licenses sold but it sure didn't hurt it either.

IF you always used that weekend to drink and party it up with the boys before opening day it sounds like hunting it just an excuse for you to drink.

I am sure a lot of guys love it. They don't have to put in for vaca for the first two days and worry about getting turned down becauce other guys already have it off.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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Posted

I'm retired so one opener is as good as any .... lol. Did the change increase participation? Logically, you would think that it would, but if I go by the level of shooting, it seems to be just the opposite. I have seen participation (as perceived from the number of shots, and the car-counts in state parking lots) going down hill dramatically. But then that seems to have been started before the "Saturday opener" changes.

 

Look, nobody wants to burn vacation days when it is not necessary. The schools and colleges have not decided to make opening day an excused day of absence. Also, in these days of corporate downsizing, just taking a day off, including vaco, may not always be an option if you want to maintain your job. So since opening day really is such an important day for deer harvests, why not make it on a day when the majority of the people already have off. Makes a lot of sense to me. Those that need an extra day for preparations or travel ..... use your vacation days there  instead of for accessing opening day.

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Doc Experienced

Doc

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Posted

I never could understand the camp argument of the Monday opener fans. If you are willing to burn a vacation day or just play hooky on the Monday, why not take that same  vaco day on the Friday before and do your camp thing prior to the Saturday opener that we have now. Yes it does cut one of these non-hunting days out of the "camp experience" but really how many of those do you really need?

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Culvercreek hunt club Enthusiast

Culvercreek hunt club

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Posted (edited)

I never could understand the camp argument of the Monday opener fans. If you are willing to burn a vacation day or just play hooky on the Monday, why not take that same  vaco day on the Friday before and do your camp thing prior to the Saturday opener that we have now. Yes it does cut one of these non-hunting days out of the "camp experience" but really how many of those do you really need?

 I now take Friday rather than Monday. Or like this year I did BOTH...lol

Edited by Culvercreek hunt club
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Nomad Grand Master

Nomad

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Posted

Don't work a m-f job so I got no dog in the fight,however it's been great for my friends who only can hunt week ends. Most guys I know don't have or go to camps .

Those that do if you were taking off Monday,Tuesday and wed. To hunt and the week end prior to Hang out at camp,it seems to me you could now just take off Thursday and Friday before and have the same thing.

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Fletch Mentor

Fletch

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Posted

I hunt pretty much every day during bow and gun so it does not matter much to me. I will say my son is 12 so I will not have to worry about him missing school to catch the opener. When I was a kid that was acceptable, now his teachers would probably give tests on those days to punish the "bad" hunter kids!!

 

 I do have friends that have jobs they can not miss and they really like it on Saturday.

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