Pennsylvania allows (some) Sunday hunting

[ResearchinStuff]

[/QUOTE] Or the worst of it all, THEY CLOSE HUNTING SEASON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NOVEMBER RUT.[/QUOTE]

I actually think this is one of the best policies the pgc has, and consider it to be the main reason pa can support such a high annual deer harvest and population. I think the western states should really look at things closely and consider if Elk populations could be higher if no one could hunt for a week or two at the peak of the rut. It's a shame to give up such an exciting time of the year, but I believe it is worth it to have higher overall game populations.

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[GMC]

Massachusetts resident here still dealing with the antiquated no Sunday hunting law. I'm also a land owner (dairy farmer) and I have never understood the law or enjoyed it. I literally work 7 days a week, free time to me is extremely precious, and the no hunting on Sunday just adds to the "tree therapy" pinch. But it's Massachusetts so I'm screwed regardless!

 

[hutty]

Live in Maryland where we finally got Sunday hunting revoked (in a modified manner) some 15 years ago I belive. The law was on the books for 238 years which is a heck of long time. LOL. We started off small with sunday hunting and it has increased every year. Many of the same arguments used in PA for those against Sunday hunting I heard when we were working on sunday hunting here in Maryland. I can fish, trap, hunt on a RSA, buy lottery tickets or attend a sporting event on Sunday but couldn't hunt on my land?

The world has not ended, hikers haven't been shot, and the deer harvest on Sundays has counted for a high % of the overall deer harvest. Glad my neighbors to the north will have some limited sunday hunting next year.

 

[BuckeyeRifleman]

I can’t fathom how anyone on rokslide, or any hunter in general could support Sunday no hunting laws. It’s the equivalent of gun owners who support gun control.

 

[West.mass.hunter]

Massachusetts resident here still dealing with the antiquated no Sunday hunting law. I'm also a land owner (dairy farmer) and I have never understood the law or enjoyed it. I literally work 7 days a week, free time to me is extremely precious, and the no hunting on Sunday just adds to the "tree therapy" pinch. But it's Massachusetts so I'm screwed regardless!

Every couple years removing that restriction comes up and it never passes the house. Frustrating

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

If you need a break from your dogs potentially getting shot, then don’t live in the National Forest where the largest tract of public land is, and or set up electric invisible fencing. I’m from Warren. Sunday hunting is needed.

1. Cut down on CWD more with extra days to hunt.
2. More opportunity for people that work all week.

Other states populace have got along just fine without a ‘break’ needed each week from hunting. That’s just a cop out of personal want. The break from hunting is in between each season, aka most of the year. All the uproar about Sunday hunting is simply just old timers that can’t stand ANY sort of change at all.
World changes we learn and adapt to improve upon what has worked or has not. This is life.

 

[black_bear]

If you need a break from your dogs potentially getting shot, then don’t live in the National Forest where the largest tract of public land is, and or set up electric invisible fencing. I’m from Warren. Sunday hunting is needed.

1. Cut down on CWD more with extra days to hunt.
2. More opportunity for people that work all week.

Other states populace have got along just fine without a ‘break’ needed each week from hunting. That’s just a cop out of personal want. The break from hunting is in between each season, aka most of the year. All the uproar about Sunday hunting is simply just old timers that can’t stand ANY sort of change at all.
World changes we learn and adapt to improve upon what has worked or has not. This is life.

I liked how bear season/deer season were this year. Got to hunt for several weeks in a row. I would imagine having bear open the first week of rifle was part of the reason we had a record bear cull this year.

I got mine the first day of bear season trying to break in my boots lol.

Eventually when younger people get into positions of power, we will see more changes. Look at Maryland as an example of slowly changing game laws/regulations. Almost exactly what is happening in PA right now.

 

[Gallahad]

This conversation is eye opening. I don’t have a right for opinions here. I’m in northern Wisconsin. Since I started hunting 30 something years ago I have never heard of not hunting on sundays. Our deer gun season is 9 days long. The dnr has added a youth hunt-very good thing in my opinion- and a doe “holiday hunt” which is like 3 days. I have always wished for more big game hunting opportunities but it’s pretty limited here. The “week” of hunting season (as it is generally referred to here) is a rat race. Public land swarms with hunters for the week. We get more people from down south, and other states hunting here than locals. Huge boom for small town economy, but if you hunt public land your kinda SOL. Because of this private land is almost always posted. That short deer season means everyone is in the woods at the same time. Most of us skip work at least a couple days that week. As far as Sunday being a day of rest, fine. Not a bad principle. But realize it’s more tradition/church tradition than biblical instruction To gentile Christians. They were instructed to adhere to 3 observances. Sabbath is not mentioned with them. Also that some men hold certain days above others, and not to let it bother you or steer you away from your faith. This was because the gentile Christians did not observe sabbath and feasts and observences of the Jewish people, and most of the Jewish Christians held to many of those observances. Besides, the sabbath, which was a day of rest, was Saturday. Sunday was deemed the Lord’s day by the early church. A day they gathered together, not necessarily rested Or observed a sabbath. Hope this observation don’t offend anyone. Not meaning to. That said, I have NO faith in the dnr. Our black bear population is causing problems, and they are trapping bears every where in the summer, yet it takes more than 7 years to get a kill tag? I don’t know what to think of the handling of cwd, but it a big concern here. I’ve seen a lot of wasted money and meat because of it. I’ve seen good and bad wardens, but feel I have been harassed at least 3 times. Wish they would work on the human element a bit more. I say the conversation is eye opening because we have recently thought about moving out of state. I better read up on game laws before we do!

 

[lyle_destroys]

While I know there is no holding these changes back, I don't have to like it.

The Pa game commission is struggling to find a reversal to declining hunter numbers in Pa. Unfortunately the new changes have not helped. It may be a little early to make that claim, but recruitment will not come from more days available to hunt.

Kids and others need to be drawn into hunting by the whole experience. Not much allure for a kid to sit in the woods in the cold or rain on a chance to get a shot alone. It takes all the activities and freedoms and to be away from the routine of everyday life. It has to be fun, exciting. There has to be a build up of anticipation so strong that it is hard to go to sleep. It is peer review the day you get home on who got "their deer".

As we go thru the different stages of maturing as hunters, our priorities change. It is the experiences, not the kills that we will remember.

Anything that limits the experience will be at the detriment of hunting. So no more Sundays off or changing openers to Saturday limits the time to be exposed to other aspects to the hunting traditions.

It is my belief that kill the traditions and you will lessen the draw for new folks to be attracted to a way of life so dear to me.

I dont understand why people think that these changes will kill a tradition? Is everyone so inflexible that the change of a date will tear apart something they have supposedly been doing for years, or generations? This is the biggest and most common sense argument that I see against sunday hunting but even with that, I think it is detrimental.

 

[camping1601]

I dont understand why people think that these changes will kill a tradition? Is everyone so inflexible that the change of a date will tear apart something they have supposedly been doing for years, or generations? This is the biggest and most common sense argument that I see against sunday hunting but even with that, I think it is detrimental.

This was the first year for the PA gun opener to start on Sat compared to the traditional Mon. It was undeniable the changes it had to some things that were long held as tradition.

I'm not a traditionalist and I do believe Sun. hunting should happen, but it needs to happen slowly. PA hunting has evolved to be what it is over a long period of time without Sun. hunting so we can't just add another 2-4 weeks of Deer hunting without some sort of reaction.

It needs to gradually evolve to Sun. hunting.

On a bright note PA antlerless gun season may go back to 2 weeks!

 

[Diesel]

Pa hunter here. I am so tired of hearing all these PA hunters complaining about the Sunday hunting and the rifle opening date change. PA has some of the worst hunting laws in the country. The walking dogs or the woods need a day of rest is probably the worst argument ever constructed. Also the rifle date change is a good thing. Do you really think people are not going to the bar or buying hunting goods because the date moved back one day? I don’t even want to get into the corruption in the doe tag system, where I can only get one doe tag for my property before they sell out. Or the worst of it all, THEY CLOSE HUNTING SEASON IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NOVEMBER RUT. I’m a hunter in my late thirties with a family that works 6 days a week, I’ll take the three extra Sunday’s. People like these idiot complaining hunters are the reason PA hunting has declining numbers. And by the way, the number of hunters aren’t declining. People are hunting in different states. I can’t tell you how many people at my gun club live in PA and don’t have a hunting license here but hunt NJ, DE, NY and Ohio. I can’t wait until this older generation of hunters moves into nursing homes and stops harassing the younger generation.

Hunters can have differing views on any given topic including this one without dividing the whole. Wishing older folks out of the way due to perceived "harassment" is silly, not to mention disrespectful.

We can disagree without calling folks Idiots. It is obvious you are passionate about the topic and change will most likely occur, for better or worse. Just remember that you too will some day be seen as the old idiot ... if you are lucky.

Rokslide has been a class act in the world of online communities. I hope it will continue remain so

 

[Diesel]

I was trying to get a laugh with the old people stuff, not trying to offend. And yes, absolutely everyone is entitled to an opinion without “dividing the whole”. Dividing hunters in this state is the main issue here. The Sunday hunting thing has been a never ending debate that has divided hunters here for a long time. There was a lot of effort put into getting those couple Sunday’s with a lot of resistance from fellow hunters. It gets frustrating, that’s all. Deer and Deer hunting and Ted Nugent put a YouTube video out not too long ago about PA hunting that confirms the opinion of a lot of hunters here.

I get why Sunday hunting is wanted by many. It won't be the end of my world when it happens.

I hope it works out for all. If Sunday hunting encourages more hunters in Pa, it would be worth the negatives.

And, thanks for the civil reply.

 

[black_bear]

I dont understand why people think that these changes will kill a tradition? Is everyone so inflexible that the change of a date will tear apart something they have supposedly been doing for years, or generations? This is the biggest and most common sense argument that I see against sunday hunting but even with that, I think it is detrimental.

I thought I read on their Facebook page that they had an increase in tag sales, which they attributed to in part, to the moving of the first day.