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Saturday Opener

26K views 441 replies 76 participants last post by  JJ4D 
#1 ·
#3 ·
We were actually talking about going up the second week, for the first time ever, next year. We can shoot buck or doe then. So, the opener wouldn’t make much difference. We’d probably treat the opener like any other opening weekend. Go up Friday and hunt Saturday. Like it’s the archery opener. Then head up the next Saturday for camp.

The only thing we would miss was that bear wouldn’t be open.
 
#4 ·
At least one archery org doesn't like the idea of a longer archery bear season being shared with two firearms early doe seasons. While they wanted a bit longer archery bear opportunity, not exactly what they had in mind.

I can do a Saturday deer opener, if that's what this bunch decides on, because I'm retired. It will rile some, make some happy and the rest will just do whatever is needed to be there - IF they can do it?

Ain't gonna do a thing for those that have to work Saturdays and kids that have sports commitments on Saturdays.

Where I live, the youth soccer fields are busy on Saturdays; youth football does some Saturdays and some Sundays. Most of the HS football is now on Friday nights, but not all of them. No idea when HS soccer is played, probably weeknights?
 
#7 ·
Where I live, the youth soccer fields are busy on Saturdays; youth football does some Saturdays and some Sundays. Most of the HS football is now on Friday nights, but not all of them. No idea when HS soccer is played, probably weeknights?
High school football season is over unless the team makes it deep into the playoffs. Most youth football leagues are wrapped up by then as well - this year was an exception for our league, but that was due to the playoffs being held at a field that swamps with a decent rain.

High school basketball practice often affects the existing opening day...I had to head out of the woods after lunch on Monday a few times for practice. Not sure if HS b-ball coaches have Saturday practices that weekend.

Not a soccer guy, but I’m guessing that only the serious travel teams would still be playing that late in the fall...not sure if they would have tournaments on the holiday weekend.

Fall baseball/softball is wrapped up by then as well, unless the team has a indoor practice facility.
 
#5 ·
I like the idea of hunting bear and doe with an inline rifle in October, or bear, buck and doe if I carry my bow. Might actually get an antlerless tag for upstate for that week!



The Saturday opener will work for me, but I don't see it as a recruiting tool. Not sure how adding 1 day will make that much of a difference?
 
#8 ·
They can start the opener any day of the week and its not going to matter. I hope they don't have the opener on Saturday. Saturday opener for bear didnt get the participation they anticipated so what makes you think this will. Saturday after Thanksgiving is probably the worst day to have the opener. People have family up, kids in travel soccer have indoor soccer games and the list can go on and on. Most guys are taking the second week off because you can shoot both doe and buck. Most WMU's is buck only the first week so a Saturday opener will not make a difference. The PGC have shot themselves in the foot to many times over the years with changes and this would be another one. You might find a Saturday opener will have less participation than the normal Monday opener. I just shake my head everytime a new change is proposed. Everything else they have tried hasnt worked for participation and over half the hunters oppose it anyway.
 
#9 ·
I know I have said this before, but if you look at the dates this is adding a full day of hunting to the rifle season. That is correct that it goes from a 12 day to a 13 day season. Rifle only hunters have complained that they have gotten the short end of the stick when it comes to additional opportunity. This proposal changes that. It adds opportunity.
 
#43 ·
The problem is that the “additional opportunity ” isn’t really an additional opportunity. They are adding a single day of buck season to a day when many people are either traveling, working or spending time with friends and family at home. So because of this many people will miss a Saturday opener and I imagine many will decide to not travel to hunt Monday and Tuesday. Combine that with the people that will go home on Sunday and you are left with a significant drop in participation during the first week which defeats any benefit a Saturday opener would bring.

Just look at the attached chart which shows the rough percentage of hunters in the woods each day for the two weeks of rifle. The highest percentage is Monday with the two saturdays coming in second and Tuesday in third. As you can see there is a 20% drop in participation from Monday to Tuesday and an additional 16% drop Wednesday. More importantly look at the first weekend, 60% of hunters go out the first Saturday but only 22% stay to hunt Monday. What this tells me is that a number of hunters will hunt Saturday and we can expect at least a 30% drop in participation for that Monday.

It’s like removing the last week of archery in November and adding two weeks to the end of the winter season. Technically they added more opportunity but in reality they simply put it at a time when most people don’t want it at the cost of something they do want.
 

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#10 ·
Yeah you say that every time a Saturday opener is discussed. I personally think 2 weeks is long enough and you will never hear me complain that rifle hunters need more days. I hunt all seasons with the weapons you are allowed to use. Maybe add the Saturday after the last day might be better but there is so much going on around Thanksgiving and yes i dare say traditions most hunters have leading up to the Monday opener. A Saturday opener might benefit a few but not enough to put license sales and participation through the roof. Everyone i have talked to but my dad are really ticked about this proposal. I will still hunt it either way just my plans will have to be cut short like it will be for most.
 
#11 ·
There isn't a hunting propsal out there that will put sales and participation thru the roof. Fact is we will still continue to lose hunters. This is additional opportunity for those that still hunt.

You might not have complained about it, but rifle only hunters have complained for years about not getting additional opportunity.
 
#12 ·
Not all that thrilled with the idea of the muzzleloader bear season. At first I thought the idea was pretty cool but now I am thinking about some of my archery spots getting driven out just before the rut.......,which will inevitably happen if it goes through. Hopefully if it does happen it won’t mess my area up too badly. I have no intentions of buying an in-line just to hunt for bear for that one week in October.
 
#22 · (Edited)
They may come back but they may not want to move as much during daylight after getting that kind of pressure or perhaps abandon the area all together and get pushed on to posted property and stay there . There really isn’t too much good that can come out of a bedding area being driven out by a group of guys a week or two before you plan on archery hunting it.
Not trying to offend those who may be looking forward to possibly hunting bear with a muzzleloader but on my end it has the potential to make things pretty challenging for me.
 
#34 ·
...I really dont think the Monday after Thanksgiving off had Anything to do with deer hunting....
...now back in the day when antlerless opened on a Monday and was 2 days....I remember counting over 400 kids that were off that monday on the absent list in HS....that was over half my high school lol
 
#35 ·
Our school district is closed for the Monday and Tuesday after Thanksgiving.

tdd has stated before that "Deer Monday" is often built into teacher's contracts. If I recall correctly, the teachers would have to agree to the day being removed as a day off.
 
#46 ·
I live in Montgomery County. Some schools are closed, a lot are not. I think our district may have been closed back in the day. The other schools used to call us "the farm boys". All the farms from when I was a kid are now shopping centers, houses or big pharma companies.
 
#51 ·
With all the pressure up North in bear season, the deer certainly do get a bit compromised. There's about half the camps in in deer season that there are in bear season. Most of the camps that do come in aren't in until Saturday afternoon or Sunday, and mostly gone by Tuesday morning. Most of my guys hunt NY that Saturday and Sunday until lunch time then head to camp. They'll have a decision to make. Is not going to do anything to help recruitment, just give the guys that do hunt an extra day.
I like having that weekend off.
gives me a chance to get healed up after almost 2 months of chasing waterfowl and that week of bear.
If they change it, I sure will not like it, but will hunt. While I do realize I don't have to, but its opening day.
Does it need voted on since it looks like it was part of season planning?
 
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