First Day in Pennsylvania

[texasbilly]

The Monday after Thanksgiving is the first day for deer hunting in Pennsylvania. As this is written, it is snowing. Expected accumulation is anywhere from 3 - 12" depending on where in the state you are located. This will be the first time in several years that we will hunt on the first day in the snow. Think of the smell of the fresh clean air; think of the beauty of the woods all painted white; think of the sight of the buck sneaking through the timber. What joy. I can taste the venison burgers now. I can hardly wait.

[snowwolfe]

I miss deer hunting in PA as I grew up there.
Do they still have that stupid law prohibiting hunting on Sunday?

[quack1]

There was several inches on the ground last year on the first day. Made for easy dragging.

[fairview]

Back in the day when I was in PA, the Monday and Tuesday after thanksgiving was a state holiday. Schools and most of the businesses shut down. Schools didn't have enough students nor teachers to open and not enough employees would show for anything to get done.

First deer I ever took was off of highway 817 above the blue cow drive in. We were hunting the old railroad grade. Made for a great shooting lane. My old man preached a sermon about not shooting a deer in the river. Lord I can still recite it after 42 years. I tumbled down the embankment to the old grade. Took about a dozen steps and there they were. He did say diddly about shootin them across the river. Being doe season odds were in my favor. Bore down on one, fired and the flat exploded with deer save for one sitting on its rear hunche. I had 19 more 308 rounds in my pocket and proceeded to expend them all. 5 hours later finally made it to the deer. Turns out first shot shattered the backbone and the remaining 19 just aerated the ground. It took us 12 hours to get that sucker out of the woods. I learned 2 valuable hunting lessons that day. Don't shoot them across the susquehanna river and a indirect relationship exists between the distance from the nearest road and the size of deer shot.

[RU shooter]

Unfortunately the long term forcast for Monday is low 50's and 50 percent chance rain in the sw part of the state anyways . I'm only 45 but even I can remember back to my first years on first day when it was 10 degrees and 6 in of the white stuff on the ground . Would much rather it be cold with snow than have to deal with ticks all over me all day long .

[John Allen]

The snow is coming down. we are expected to get 4 to 6 inches last I heard.

[dragon813gt]

I miss deer hunting in PA as I grew up there.
Do they still have that stupid law prohibiting hunting on Sunday?

Some of us like a lot of the old blue laws. I wish people that move here would stop trying to change them.

I will not be waiting until Monday. I will be up bright and early to track them through the snow. Doe is still open here so hopefully I can fill a tag. Only have a few hours because Thanksgiving is at my house and I'm doing all the cooking. Come Monday I will be in my stand waiting for people to push them onto the farm. Public land is a not a place you want to be in the SE part of the state. Lots of idiots walking around that shoot at anything that moves.

[RU shooter]

That statement about public land is so very true and not just for the SE part if the state . Way way too many one day a year hunters and guys half kicked in the rear or hung over from being up drinking the entire night before at "deer camp" for me to venture onto pubic lands .

[texasbilly]

I will be hunting on public land, but it will be one of the larger State Game Lands where there are more acres than hunters. Still I will be fearful of "sound shooters". These are the hunters that "heard a sound, so they shot". Be safe out there.

[snowwolfe]

Some of us like a lot of the old blue laws. I wish people that move here would stop trying to change them. moves.

I respect people may like them but the years I was born, raised, and hunted in PA and not being able to hunt on Sunday just never made any sense to me. Students and most workers are busy Monday thru Friday then the state has the law you can't hunt on one of the two days off most people get. Government sticking its nose into where it doesn't belong. People should be free to choose the days they do not wish to hunt during the week without being told. This was the main reason I choose to retire in Tennessee instead of PA.
Just my two cents worth.

Regardless, best of luck to all of you PA deer hunters.

[pergoman]

It has been speculated that the Pa Game Commission is in cahoots with the hotel owners. LOL On Monday and Tuesday, the 2 days I am able to hunt the first week I may only shoot a buck in 4C. If I was able to hunt Wednesday I would be allowed to shoot a buck and a bear. Come Saturday I could shoot a buck, doe, or a bear if I had the tags. The next huntable day, Monday the 8th I am back to either sex deer. This week on Nov 24-26 bears are open statewide but most of the state is off limits for deer. Tomorrow through Saturday I am allowed to shoot a turkey but not a deer or bear.
I sometimes feel like studying the rule book is a lot like work. And they wonder why hunter numbers are down.

[dragon813gt]

The regulations are for management. There is no way around it. My grandfathers were able to fill their tags every year while working two jobs and having five and seven children respectively. The seasons have been pretty much the same for as long as I can remember. The exception being bear is opened up longer because of population size. Should I complain because fall turkey has been closed here for years? Because of this the population is on the rebound. People like to slam the Game Commission constantly. If anything they've been pressured into issuing more doe tags then they should which has hurt the herds in the northern parts of the state. You can't make everyone happy.

[oldfart1956]

Looking forward to the opening day here in southcentral Pa.! Don't figger we'll have any snow left as I can hear it melting off the roof right now. (11 p.m.) Spending Thanksgiving Day at the range checking out a few guns and haven't decided on which one. Trapdoor/.45Colt Ruger or the flintlock smoothbore. Only have 6 rounds loaded for the .45 so I better work on that tonight. Gaaaah! As for the Sunday hunting debate...me and my fellow hunters paid for and pay yearly taxes on 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands that we can't hunt (other than coyotes) on Sunday. That is retarded. I don't care if they open up private land, I'll help you post it "no sunday hunting" if you're local. But the game lands...yeah...open them up. If you don't want to hunt then...duhhh..don't hunt. Problem solved. And mind ye I've lived here all my life so it's not a non-resident thing. As well I was baptized Aug. of 2003 so this isn't a religious thing. It's a time thing. I, and many others, are blue collar workers doing 6 days (nights in my case) a week and that 1 more day sure would be nice. Audie....the Oldfart..

[MaryB]

To bad you aren't here with a doe tag. Went out to sweep the snow off the solar panels and spooked that same doe that has been hanging around for 2 weeks. She was huddled in the brush 30 feet from where I was. Headed about 200 feet into the field and stopped and stared at me. Watched for a bit then started walking back to her bed out of the wind and snow. I have been tossing cracked corn and the chaff back there along with the compost pit that this time of year the scraps freeze on top. So she has cover, food, and no hunters.

[wch]

Snowwolfe,
I once asked a PA warden why hunting was prohibited on Sundays and he told me that the farmers wanted it observed as a day of peace and quiet.
Obviously, the Game Commission wants to keep farmers happy and with a favorable opinion of hunting and hunters.

[starmac]

Maybe the game wardens don't want to have to work on sundays. lol

[375supermag]

Hi...

Couple of things...

The Pa. Game Commission is regularly questioned about Sunday hunting. The stock answer is that farmers and private land owners are against it, so it isn't going to happen.
I haven't been able to gain access to private land to hunt in York County, Pa. for at least 20-25 years so the farmers wishes are kind of a moot point.

I think Sunday hunting should be allowed on any state owned land, including state game lands, state forests, parks, etc.
I am forced to hunt on public lands, but I stay away from the areas near the cities or higher population areas. It just isn't safe...too many people who shoot first and never look to see what they were shooting at.
I knew a couple of guys who were killed in hunting "accidents" because of people who shot at sounds or, in one case, thought a car on a logging road was a deer. Shooter got a suspended sentence for that killing, because he did try to render aid.


As far as weather for Pennsylvania deer season...I have hunted the first day of buck season in weather that spanned the gamut from -10F to 75F, with thunderstorms and lightning, to heavy(+2Ft) snow, sleet, fog, high winds(to the point that trees were blown over) and anything and everything in between.

I live in southcentral Pa. but almost exclusively hunt deer and bear in the northcentral part of the state. I know from bitter experience that a 45F day in York county(where I live) can very well mean a day of single digit temperatures and heavy snow in Elk county (where I hunt).
The key is to pay attention to the weather forecasts and prepare for nasty weather.

[nekshot]

kinda fun watching this thread as I am from pa. I miss the mountains and all the public land but sure do not miss the game commisions little KGB of deputies running around asking "who shot on the side of that mountain" and then sniffing the barrels to try find the guilty one!!! Or the deputy going thru all the garbage at camp just positive he would find "something"!Have a good safe one fellas!

[DougGuy]

I would simply bring venison from the freezer in Virginia to the in laws house in PA for the holidays, didn't have to put up with NONE of the dumb ch*t! :bigsmyl2:

[WRideout]

Some of us like a lot of the old blue laws. I wish people that move here would stop trying to change them.

I will not be waiting until Monday. I will be up bright and early to track them through the snow. Doe is still open here so hopefully I can fill a tag. Only have a few hours because Thanksgiving is at my house and I'm doing all the cooking. Come Monday I will be in my stand waiting for people to push them onto the farm. Public land is a not a place you want to be in the SE part of the state. Lots of idiots walking around that shoot at anything that moves.

When I arrived in PA in '98, I began to learn about the local game rules. The regulations say that you can use a center fire pistol for deer (except in Allegheny County). I imagined the woods outside Philadelphia filled with guys in trench coats with deer tags on their backs, carrying snubbie .38's in shoulder holsters.

Wayne

[dragon813gt]

When I arrived in PA in '98, I began to learn about the local game rules. The regulations say that you can use a center fire pistol for deer (except in Allegheny County). I imagined the woods outside Philadelphia filled with guys in trench coats with deer tags on their backs, carrying snubbie .38's in shoulder holsters.

Wayne

Anything but. This is where my family is from. Both sides lived one township outside the city limits. They were able to fill their tags in the Miquon area. Unfortunately the area where the stands were is now a development. There were less people hunting there then where I live in Berks county. Lots of idiots come out here because it's the first non shotgun only county and there is a lot of public land. Family still leases the rights to hunt PECO property outside of Philadelphia an they pull a few off every year.

Sunday hunting is brought up every year at the Game Commission meetings. It's not going to happen anytime soon. I don't have the poor view that a lot seem to have of them. The officers and deputies I've come across have all been very nice. They have to deal w/ a lot of problems that aren't easy to deal w/. Poaching is a problem in some areas. And approaching a party of armed individuals can't be fun. I'm not saying they are always right. But if there weren't seasons and regulations the game would be wiped out in short order.

[WRideout]

I have to admit that the Game Commission has done a better job than they are given credit for. Not too long ago, deer and turkeys were about extinct in the commonwealth; the fact that they have been brought back from the brink is a true success story.

Wayne