With firearms deer season’s arrival in Pa., it’s time to officially accept the Saturday opener

Column explores opinions, reactions to seventh year with Saturday opener

• By P.J. Reilly/LNP | LancasterOnline

Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season opened today and will run uninterrupted through Dec. 13.

That includes both Sundays – Nov. 30 and Dec. 7.

This is the seventh year Pennsylvania’s firearms deer season opens on the Saturday after Thanksgiving, rather than the Monday after Thanksgiving that had been traditional for decades before the switch in 2019.

There still is a contingent of hunters who want opening day to go back to Monday.

And there are legislators who continue to introduce legislation mandating that return under state law.

I’m here to say, it’s time to move on.

It’s time to remember the Monday opener as a great tradition that reached the end of its life, and join in the celebration of Saturday as the new traditional deer season opener.

Time marches on, and things change.

“I’ve been hunting since I was 12 years old – 42 now, so 30 years in the woods of southwestern Pennsylvania hunting…” said Pittsburgh-area hunter Matt Thomas.

“During my youth, we didn’t mind the day off of school to hunt with family and friends, but as I became an adult, working for the laborers union, we weren’t guaranteed to have opening day off and many years I didn’t.

“When the pipeline boom hit, more of the same, and as my children were growing and taking advantage of the mentor program and working, the Saturday opener was a breath of fresh air for all of us…

“The Saturday opener has drawn so many people to Penn’s woods by opening the weekend after Thanksgiving.

“I’ve seen it with my own family that traveled in for the holidays but had to work the traditional opener.

“They purchased licenses and hunted the weekend before leaving, starting new traditions along the way…

“My son, 15, and daughter, 12, enjoy three days of hunting before going back to school…We love the Saturday opener and don’t want it to change back!”

It’s a different world now.

Thirty years ago, many schools and businesses across Pennsylvania closed for the first day of deer season.

Some still do. But others had stopped doing that prior to the 2019 change in opening day, which meant going hunting on a Monday was more difficult for those hunters whose businesses and schools are now open that day.

I have written many times over the past seven years about the change in opening day – primarily focusing on those pushing to reverse that change.

Those who favor the Monday opener regularly make headlines as they circulate petitions, launch and maintain social media pages, and support legislators who have introduced multiple bills seeking to make a Monday deer opener state law.

No such legislation has ever been brought up for vote in front of the full state House of Representatives or the Senate.

They won’t even touch the issue.

That’s a clear message.

Likewise, the Board of Game Commissioners every January considers when to open deer season later that year.

Since 2019, they’ve consistently stuck with Saturday.

Their resolve hasn’t wavered.

As we mark another opening weekend – since Sundays are now open for deer hunting, the “opener” typically refers to the Saturday and Sunday after Thanksgiving – I wanted to give a voice to the hunters who have moved on.

Those who love starting deer season on Saturday.

Don’t be misled by the loud voices in the room claiming there aren’t many hunters who favor the Saturday opener.

There are plenty.

A survey conducted in 2021 on behalf of the state Game Commission showed 60 percent of hunters supported starting the season on a Saturday, while 27 percent opposed, and 13 percent had no preference.

“I have been hunting for 26 years now,” said Jordan Geisler of Manheim.

“I grew up hunting in Bradford County, but have been hunting in Juniata County since 2010.

“With two small children, weekends are all I get to hunt. The Saturday opener paired with the Sunday, allows me two extra days in the woods that I otherwise wouldn’t have.

“I’m a firm believer in tradition, and can understand the argument to the contrary. However, nobody is stopping people from waiting until Monday.

“Our tradition looks much different than it did when I was a kid, but with the Saturday opener, I have the opportunity to forge a new tradition with my kids as they come of age and take to the woods.”

Jake Sas hunts the northcentral part of the state in Wildlife Management Unit 2F, where many Pennsylvania hunters have camps.

“I have hunted 2F from our camp for the last 25 years of my life, whether that was tagging along with my grandpa, my uncles, or my dad to now taking my own son,” he said.

“In those last 25 years I only have missed one opening day. The Monday opener, for our family, was always difficult because we eventually moved out of state.

“By having the opener on Saturday, we were able to revive our camp culture. We were able to get more people that couldn’t afford to miss work on Monday, or kids that couldn’t miss school…

“In 2018, there were six people in our camp that made it up for opener. Last year we had 13. We had more time at camp for all who made it than ever before.

“For us, the Saturday opener has not only brought us more opportunity for the hunting aspect, but has allowed us to create that camp culture that I remember growing up on.

“To have my own son now, and to immerse him in that type of culture of friendship and family traditions, would not be possible with a Monday opener.”

Stephen Heimbach of Fleetwood likewise has seen the Saturday opener breathe new life into his family’s camp.

“My family has a cabin in Sullivan County,” he said.

“Before the Saturday opener, we were lucky to have one or two people hunting for a day or two on the weekend after the season opened.

“Since the Saturday opener, we have had four-five people on opening day, and most stay until Tuesday.

“And we generally go out to eat for dinner or lunch at least once supporting local business.”

A common claim from the pro-Monday crowd is that the change to Saturday hurt local businesses and fire companies across the state’s traditional, mountain hunting country.

Hunters rushing to camp after Thanksgiving to hunt Saturday and Sunday don’t frequent those businesses like they did when that weekend was spent at camp preparing for the Monday opener.

Many businesses the last few years have confirmed the change hurt their bottom lines.

But is it the Game Commission’s responsibility to set hunting seasons based on the potential impact to select economies?

“The Game Commission is required by law to manage wildlife and provide opportunities for hunters and trappers,” said agency spokesman Travis Lau. “That is where our focus remains.

“While we recognize that hunting seasons can have economic impacts, our decisions are guided by what best supports wildlife management and hunter participation.

“The Saturday opener helps achieve both by making the start of deer season more accessible for more hunters, especially younger hunters, which bolsters participation today, and helps ensure the next generation of hunters can continue managing deer populations into the future.”

Ryan Zerbe, who lives in Wildlife Management Unit 5B, which includes most of Lancaster County, said he never wants to see the state revert back to a Monday opener.

“I spend time with my family at Thanksgiving, then it’s a decent haul up to camp on Friday,” he said. “Been doing this for 25+ years.

“Still have plenty of time – more really – to be social with the guys and enjoy everything hunting has to offer.

“With work, Monday opener basically gives me one day to do all this instead of three.

“Switching back is a terrible idea.”

Opening day of deer season is supposed to generate the feeling kids have when they barrel downstairs on Christmas morning.

Excitement. Anticipation. Wide eyes.

Don’t let that experience be soured by a once-hallowed tradition that’s now seven years dead.

It’s gone.

It’s not coming back.

It’s time to move on.