Pa changes opening day..

[G-Man]

https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2019/04/09/pa-game-commission-votes-move-deer-rifle-season-opener-saturday/3402149002/?fbclid=IwAR0yiqtWRHEMxOAC4il4xDBuaNxV5NJ3I6Ob9O-FNMlo2CuNe2fDEucxXaM

[Lawdwaz]

Good

[wolc123]

Good for PA.  Hopefully they will soon allow Sunday hunting there also.  I loved it when NY moved the opener from Monday to Saturday.  It sucked having to burn a vacation day or skip school for that.   

[Pygmy]

When they allow Sunday hunting  I'll figure that either hell froze over or the Bills won the Superbowl...

[wolc123]

16 minutes ago, Pygmy said:

When they allow Sunday hunting  I'll figure that either hell froze over or the Bills won the Superbowl...

They got to be running low on fracking dollars now, so you would think they would do it just to bring in some more tourism cash.   

[G-Man]

48 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

Good for PA.  Hopefully they will soon allow Sunday hunting there also.  I loved it when NY moved the opener from Monday to Saturday.  It sucked having to burn a vacation day or skip school for that.   

I still prefer the Monday opening. Made a lot of money for little town the weekend before.

[Lawdwaz]

9 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I still prefer the Monday opening. Made a lot of money for little town the weekend before.

Lots of businesses lost productive employees from taking Monday.  For 20 years I had a contract with a steel fabrication  business in Lockport and the owner (a great guy) could not stand hunting season........everybody in the shop wanted off for Opening Day and plenty of other weekdays.  Some played hooky with their faux illnesses.

Two sides to every coin. 

[wolc123]

21 minutes ago, G-Man said:

I still prefer the Monday opening. Made a lot of money for little town the weekend before.

I know of a handful of others who also preferred the Monday opener (one or two will probably chime in here soon).  Monday was not so bad if you are retired or have lots of vacation days.  It sucked the worst when I was in school or starting a new job.   We really need more young hunters in the sport, so I think it is important for the rules to cater a bit more towards those folks.    

[G-Man]

23 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

I know of a handful of others who also preferred the Monday opener (one or two will probably chime in here soon).  Monday was not so bad if you are retired or have lots of vacation days.  It sucked the worst when I was in school or starting a new job.   We really need more young hunters in the sport, so I think it is important for the rules to cater a bit more towards those folks.    

There were more hunters when it was Monday. It seemed , now everyone in rush fri evening to get to camp. Not as enjoyable at all. Some use to come fri night, some sat , some sunday.. some.would have to run home to get something they forgot before monday.. kids aren't using sat to hunt as they have practice or work themselves on weekend and if they miss practice coaches dont let them play..so I do not.see benefit of sat.opener like they wanted.

[G-Man]

27 minutes ago, Lawdwaz said:

Lots of businesses lost productive employees from taking Monday.  For 20 years I had a contract with a steel fabrication  business in Lockport and the owner (a great guy) could not stand hunting season........everybody in the shop wanted off for Opening Day and plenty of other weekdays.  Some played hooky with their faux illnesses.

Two sides to every coin. 

Construction place I worked at worked fri late or the sat before  so they were shut down for Monday opening ..still got work done and employees were happy

[Rattler]

I guess PA won't have to close the schools on the deer opener anymore.

[Jeremy K]

On 4/10/2019 at 9:17 PM, G-Man said:

I still prefer the Monday opening. Made a lot of money for little town the weekend before.

I think Miller and Brandes have made a small fortune off me in the last 10 years .

Edited April 13, 2019 by Jeremy K

[First-light]

On 4/10/2019 at 8:31 PM, Pygmy said:

When they allow Sunday hunting  I'll figure that either hell froze over or the Bills won the Superbowl...

I thought they changed that law to allow sunday hunting? I even texted my buddy who has a camp there that they changed it. 

here it is:

Modifications proposed for the 2019-20 seasons include: moving the opening day of the firearms deer season to the Saturday following Thanksgiving, creating an 13-day season that includes three Saturdays; 

*Sorry it was prelim info. Just the date change no sunday hunting allowed. 

Edited April 13, 2019 by First-light

[G-Man]

2 hours ago, ODYSSEUS said:

Getting more New Hunters involved is the most important thing. And a Saturday Opener will do just that.

Pa.shuts schools for.opening day..they didnt have a kid hunting problem because kids were off to go hunt..

[eaglemountainman]

On 4/10/2019 at 9:30 PM, wolc123 said:

I know of a handful of others who also preferred the Monday opener (one or two will probably chime in here soon).  Monday was not so bad if you are retired or have lots of vacation days.  It sucked the worst when I was in school or starting a new job.   We really need more young hunters in the sport, so I think it is important for the rules to cater a bit more towards those folks.    

Do you really think the Saturday opener has recruited more younger hunters? I don't see it in the area of the Catskills where I hunt.

We used to arrive at camp Friday night or Saturday morning. Had all weekend to set up camp, relax, visit with neighboring camps, hit the local bars for gun raffles, make last minute purchases at the sporting goods store or grocery, visit the local fire hall for a fundraising breakfast or dinner, have a huge game feast and massive card game at camp. Some guys hunted Monday and maybe Tuesday, then went home. A bunch of us, including myself, always stayed the entire week.. Now I see a lot of guys hurrying to get to camp Friday night or O'dark:30 Saturday morning, hurry to get in the woods, and hurry to leave by mid morning Sunday. It has really killed deer camp tradition and hurt local economies.

Different people have their own reasons to prefer a Saturday vs Monday opener. These are mine and yours are yours. 

[wolc123]

1 hour ago, eaglemountainman said:

ofDo you really think the Saturday opener has recruited more younger hunters? I don't see it in the area of the Catskills where I hunt.

We used to arrive at camp Friday night or Saturday morning. Had all weekend to set up camp, relax, visit with neighboring camps, hit the local bars for gun raffles, make last minute purchases at the sporting goods store or grocery, visit the local fire hall for a fundraising breakfast or dinner, have a huge game feast and massive card game at camp. Some guys hunted Monday and maybe Tuesday, then went home. A bunch of us, including myself, always stayed the entire week.. Now I see a lot of guys hurrying to get to camp Friday night or O'dark:30 Saturday morning, hurry to get in the woods, and hurry to leave by mid morning Sunday. It has really killed deer camp tradition and hurt local economies.

Different people have their own reasons to prefer a Saturday vs Monday opener. These are mine and yours are yours. 

It certainly has helped a lot here in NY.  I still remember the day that I killed my first antlered buck, early on opening day morning.  I was in my first year of college and one of my professors had scheduled an exam that day at around 10:00 am.   I barely had time to wash up.   I wonder if he appreciated the blood stains on my exam.  I can't recall how I did on that test, but I am lucky that I did not get a speeding ticket that day.   

The problem with the Monday opener is that it unfairly discriminates against the young and the working folks.    It sort of reminds me of the vertical bowhunters arguments against the crossbow.   Most of those who prefer the Monday opener might have just a little "selfish elitism" backing up their wants to return to "the good old days".    Wouldn't it be nice if most of "the competition" had to work or go to school, on the easiest day to kill a deer with a gun ? 

You may be right about PA though.  If they already had opening day Monday off from school then this might actually hurt young hunter recruitment.   Here in NY, we never had that luxury so the Saturday opener was a real Godsend.    

[Jeremy K]

Why would the day of the opener get more kids involved ? So they can hunt the first day ,if they are really in to hunting they're going to hunt regardless of the day of the week it falls. 

[Jeremy K]

36 minutes ago, wolc123 said:

It certainly has helped a lot here in NY.  I still remember the day that I killed my first antlered buck, early on opening day morning.  I was in my first year of college and one of my professors had scheduled an exam that day at around 10:00 am.   I barely had time to wash up.   I wonder if he appreciated the blood stains on my exam.  I can't recall how I did on that test, but I am lucky that I did not get a speeding ticket that day.   

The problem with the Monday opener is that it unfairly discriminates against the young and the working folks.    It sort of reminds me of the vertical bowhunters arguments against the crossbow.   Most of those who prefer the Monday opener might have just a little "selfish elitism" backing up their wants to return to "the good old days".    Wouldn't it be nice if most of "the competition" had to work or go to school, on the easiest day to kill a deer with a gun ? 

You may be right about PA though.  If they already had opening day Monday off from school then this might actually hurt young hunter recruitment.   Here in NY, we never had that luxury so the Saturday opener was a real Godsend.    

Its opening day ! You act like its the one and only day to hunt for the whole year.

[Dinsdale]

3 hours ago, eaglemountainman said:

Do you really think the Saturday opener has recruited more younger hunters? I don't see it in the area of the Catskills where I hunt.

We used to arrive at camp Friday night or Saturday morning. Had all weekend to set up camp, relax, visit with neighboring camps, hit the local bars for gun raffles, make last minute purchases at the sporting goods store or grocery, visit the local fire hall for a fundraising breakfast or dinner, have a huge game feast and massive card game at camp. Some guys hunted Monday and maybe Tuesday, then went home. A bunch of us, including myself, always stayed the entire week.. Now I see a lot of guys hurrying to get to camp Friday night or O'dark:30 Saturday morning, hurry to get in the woods, and hurry to leave by mid morning Sunday. It has really killed deer camp tradition and hurt local economies.

Different people have their own reasons to prefer a Saturday vs Monday opener. These are mine and yours are yours. 

I'd say the writing was already on the wall for the decline of local hunt traditions at the time frame Saturday opener was put in place.Between 1984's high and 2000 there was a 30% decline of license sales in the Catskill region alone.

1984 there were roughly 800,000 licences down to around 560,000 when Sat. opener came into existence 30 years later. (statewide)

(There plenty of sources on sales and trends on the net)

That number has just about stayed the same now for last 10 years around 560-570,000 or so.

Edited April 13, 2019 by Dinsdale

[eaglemountainman]

3 minutes ago, Dinsdale said:

I'd say the writing was already on the wall for the decline of local hunt traditions at the time frame Saturday opener was put in place.Between 1984's high and 2000 there was a 30% decline of license sales in the Catskill region alone.

1984 there were roughly 800,000 licences down to around 560,000 when Sat. opener came into existence 30 years later. (statewide)

(There plenty of sources on sales and trends on the net)

That number has just about stayed the same now for last 10 years around 560-570,000 or so.

That last line illustrates my point. There has not been the huge infusion of new hunters that the state claimed would occur. Forgetting about tradition for a moment, which is still a major factor with the camps in my immediate area, the single biggest affect has been the hit to the small town economies that depend on seasonal income from tourists and sportsmen.

[eaglemountainman]

1 hour ago, wolc123 said:

It certainly has helped a lot here in NY.  I still remember the day that I killed my first antlered buck, early on opening day morning.  I was in my first year of college and one of my professors had scheduled an exam that day at around 10:00 am.   I barely had time to wash up.   I wonder if he appreciated the blood stains on my exam.  I can't recall how I did on that test, but I am lucky that I did not get a speeding ticket that day.   

The problem with the Monday opener is that it unfairly discriminates against the young and the working folks.    It sort of reminds me of the vertical bowhunters arguments against the crossbow.   Most of those who prefer the Monday opener might have just a little "selfish elitism" backing up their wants to return to "the good old days".    Wouldn't it be nice if most of "the competition" had to work or go to school, on the easiest day to kill a deer with a gun ? 

You may be right about PA though.  If they already had opening day Monday off from school then this might actually hurt young hunter recruitment.   Here in NY, we never had that luxury so the Saturday opener was a real Godsend.    

Like I said, we each have our own reasons for preferring a Saturday or a Monday opener. You stated yours, and that's fine. But please, don't go characterizing me and others as as selfish elitists. You don't know me or anything about me to make such a ridiculous statement. Just so you know, I worked my whole life in construction and if I didn't work a day, I didn't get paid for it. I retired 2 years ago and never missed opening day, ever. Most years, I took the entire first week.

Some people can do it, and others can't. But the point is moot because we've gone to the Saturday opener. And now, you don't have to take any more tests with bloody hands. 

[reeltime]

in the traditional deer hunting heritage towns and villages of the northern tier of the state of Pa.  this will with out a doubt 

have a heavy financial impact on a good number of them with the loss of several days of income the friday and saturday prior to  the monday opener.

this change was not widely accepted by hunters nor was it accepted by all of the commissioners as the carrying votes were from region 7 and 8 covering the eastern end of the state. 

no matter what day of the week ANY season starts some will not be able to get off work  or get out of school.  it will be interesting to see if the monday after thanksgiving gets taken off the pa state holiday list.  many stores held deer hunter widow sales on the first day of deer season.

the heritage of deer hunting in the state of PA runs deep, BUT as all are aware hunter numbers are decreasing and new recruitment has slowed considerably since the early 2000's. As much as some of us try to recruit kids the bottom line is no matter what the season is, when it is, how long it is a vast majority of kids do not have the desire to take up the sport either because of peer pressure or a busy life, or just simply no patience to set and wait for a deer or turkey to walk by.

traditions and history being wiped away almost on a daily basis with a stroke of a pen simply to satisfy the whats in it for me crowd.  many people today only care about themselves and want everything to benefit themselves no matter how many other people it negatively affects.

The days of orange leaning against every other tree the first day of gun season in PA are GONE and will never return, people have changed the way they hunt, since the inclusion of crossbow archery tag sales have increased, antlered harvests have gone up, early antlerless season for kids and seniors allow the early kill and some people are 1 and done for a deer because they cant eat more than 1 a year. 

the biggest majority of folks set in a stand, blind, shooting hut and don't move  because they don;t want to push deer off their property.  a lot of land is now posted and deer in some areas don't even know its deer season.  folks don't see deer, don't hear shots close, and crappy weather just adds salt to their wounds and some just give up.

the "doing it to help in recruitment" statement is nothing more than a feel good statement to play to peoples emotions.  You want recruitment step up to the plate and do something to recruit a youngster, don't wait for the state to do something  in hopes it will work.

 

 

Edited April 13, 2019 by reeltime

[wolc123]

2 hours ago, Jeremy K said:

Its opening day ! You act like its the one and only day to hunt for the whole year.

Well, since close to half of the overall gun-season deer take in the southern zone happens on that day, I would say it is a pretty important day, almost equal in fact to the rest of the season combined.   

[G-Man]

Personally I think a Sunday opening would be the correct compromise. No rush to get to camp fri night early sat am, sat time to visit shop,support local fundraisers and events as well as camp chores and comroderie.  No school games or cant miss practices as that is a big problem for many students or they work part time on sat. 

Sunday hunt!!!  .pa still doesnt allow Sunday hunting so that will still cause a huge problem . Opening day sat..then no hunting and then hunt again mon?? Almost a second opening day!  When ny  went to eat opening they had previously opened hunting on sundays 1st.

[Rattler]

I prefer a Saturday opener so you can plan on going without having to beg for a day off from work that could get denied because so many guys want to take off.

As far as going to camp in advance, I figure those guys had to take a few days off to hunt when it opened on Monday.  Why not take a few days off prior to Saturday's opener to get to camp and make ready?  Six of one and 1/2 dozen of the other IMHO.

As far as PA goes, a Saturday opener is wasted when they don't allow deer hunting on Sunday.  Not hunting on Sunday is one of the most illogical game laws currently in effect today as far as I'm concerned.  That probably does more to ruin local economy income in PA than anything.