Saturday's deer season opener still draws fire from traditionalists

There are few items on the Pennsylvania hunting calendar that draw more anticipation than the opening day of firearms deer season.

There also are few events that have generated as much heated debate in recent years, particularly since the Pennsylvania Game Commission made the decision in 2019 to shift opening day to the Saturday after Thanksgiving. It was traditionally the Monday after the holiday.

“Growing up, I looked forward to the first day of deer season all year,” Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Steve Smith said. “I’m hardly alone that way. For many of us, hunting, and deer hunting in particular, isn’t just a hobby. It’s a part of the fabric of our lives.”

For former game commission board member Jim Daley, that meant hunting on the first Monday after Thanksgiving. The change in 2019 was enough to prompt Daley, 68, of Mercer to resign his seat, when he and like-minded board members weren’t able to convince enough members to vote against the shift.

“The real issue, I think, is the negative impact to businesses who don’t have that weekend of sales now,” Daley said. “But I also don’t think people realize the impact it has on families. You have Thanksgiving coming up, then Black Friday. And families are traveling. So what do you want to do that Friday after Thanksgiving? Do you want to have to tell your family, ‘Well, I have to go up to (hunting) camp’?”

Downward trend

In changing the opener to Saturday, commission officials largely cited their desire to increase hunting opportunities for adults who return to work the Monday after holiday and students who are returning to school.

In the five years since the change, however, resident adult and resident junior hunting licenses — the two primary sales categories — have continued on a steady downward trend that began in 2014. The exception was 2020, when outdoor activities statewide increased during the early stages of the covid-19 pandemic.

During October hearings in the state House’s Game and Fisheries Committee, Minority Chair Rep. David Maloney, R-Berks, attempted to amend a bill addressing Sunday hunting dates to include the reinstatement of the Monday deer opener. That amendment was voted down, with Committee Chair Rep. Anita Kulik, D-Kennedy, saying the opening date, as well as several other amendments that did not make it into the bill, would be better considered as individual pieces of legislation.

The bill passed the House by unanimous vote Oct. 8.

Opposition to the Saturday opener has not waned, however. Membership in the online Facebook group “PA Hunters Against the Saturday Opener” has remained about 5,000. Becca Latini of West View, who has helped lead efforts to push back against it, created an online fundraiser this month that has brought in nearly $3,000 to continue purchasing ads in the PA Outdoors News and do additional marketing to help galvanize opposition.

Daley said the increased number of archery hunters in recent years may make it a moot point. In the 2010-11 hunting season, just under 77,000 deer were downed by archers. By the 2023-24 season, that number had nearly doubled to more than 154,000.

“There are a lot more people out hunting archery than there used to be,” he said. “Among the Amish where I live, most of them have already filled their tags hunting archery.”

The rifle deer season begins Saturday and runs through Dec. 14, with the exception of Dec. 8. Last year, hunters harvested more than 430,000 white-tailed deer, according to game commission data. That included more than 171,000 bucks and 258,400 antlerless harvests.

Bigger bucks

According to the National Deer Association, Pennsylvania regularly ranks among the top five states in the country in terms of overall antlered and antlerless harvests for the past decade.

Pennsylvania hunters also are bagging bucks with bigger racks.

The early 2000s implementation of antler point restrictions — meaning hunters in some areas of the state are limited to harvesting bucks with 3 or 4 points on one side of their antler rack — has meant bigger deer with more impressive headgear.

Game commission officials said, in the past, yearling bucks about 18 months old with their first set of antlers dominated the annual harvest. Now, two of every three bucks reported is about 2 1/2 years old.

For a complete breakdown of antler restrictions, boundaries and other regulations, hunters can consult the 2024-25 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is available online at PGC.pa.gov.

In addition, the commission reminds hunters about the effort to control chronic wasting disease. Deer harvested from designated disease management areas or established CWD areas can take them directly to commission-approved processors or taxidermists who can properly dispose of high-risk body parts. A list of approved businesses also is at PGC.pa.gov.