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Ugh....

7K views 58 replies 31 participants last post by  CMP70306 
#1 ·
I’m not a fan of this Saturday start of deer season. Everyone says well you don’t have to hunt and I won’t, but my son will be. He would have been hunting on Monday anyhow. Honestly they say you don’t have to hunt, but that’s like telling a race car driver he doesn’t have to race. Of course he/she is gonna race that’s what they do. It truly ruins the camp experience and the camaraderie of owning and being part of a camp. They are jamming everything into 1. Hopefully they switch back or at least start it on Sunday next year.
For those who remember the days of the old sole doe season it was great cause you had 2 first days and another fun trip to camp with high expectations. Actually make that 3... bear, buck, and then doe.
I would love to see the real number of “new” hunters just because of the new start date, but I’m sure that will get lost along with their gas royalty fees.
 
#2 ·
Yeah if they insist on the Saturday start I would like to see it moved to the next weekend. To much jammed in here this weekend.
Friday traffic should be great here in central pa. Rutgers is playing at psu this weekend. Black Friday shoppers, holiday travelers, guys heading for camp. This will have to be a record for travel in pa. This weekend.
We always seem to get snow in the old doe season. Why I’d like to see rifle moved back to cover that week.
 
#5 ·
I don't go to a camp anymore,but understand what you are saying.As a teenage hunter my father would drive us to a friends camp and he would not leave until mid Sunday morning which left little time to get settled,but it all worked out,deer were seen or harvested still and all had a good time.Even for those that don't have a camp to go to it does affect us also as being pressed for time if you need to do some extra scouting on public.As far as new hunter recruit or getting previous hunters on board I think it varies.In my case my young adult daughter is going to try deer hunting again since the opener is on Saturday.Work would have prevented her from going Monday.Other people may have hard time getting off work on weekends vs a weekday.Next year they may throw that Sunday day of hunting in on opening weekend.?
 
#6 ·
Saturday will mark the first time in my entire life that I will not be in the woods at all on the opening day of rifle season. Rifle season is my favorite deer season. I've already discussed it with my dad and he is in agreement. Everyone asks where are all the camps for sale. Well, we are keeping ours through trout season to enjoy one more and then ours is for sale. There are other factors, but this Saturday opener is the straw that broke the camel's back for us. I've had enough.
Either way, best of luck to all the next couple weeks.
 
#12 ·
Saturday will mark the first time in my entire life that I will not be in the woods at all on the opening day of rifle season. Rifle season is my favorite deer season. I've already discussed it with my dad and he is in agreement. Everyone asks where are all the camps for sale. Well, we are keeping ours through trout season to enjoy one more and then ours is for sale. There are other factors, but this Saturday opener is the straw that broke the camel's back for us. I've had enough.
Either way, best of luck to all the next couple weeks.

Its unfortunate but Ive heard this same thing from many others. Guys not going to camp, some just cant get there for sat. and some just quit or not even buying a license. Hope we look back 5 years from now and see it all worked out but from how it looks now, well, it ain't gonna be good.
 
#10 ·
I was out with my Dad food shopping for this weekend and he made a comment that with the Saturday opener he just isn’t into it like he usually is. Normally we treat the weekend like a vacation, a 3 day get away before the season starts on Monday. Having the opener on Saturday really kills any relaxation aspect of it for us and now it’s basically just work right from the get go.

I don’t know how the rest of you hunt but we hunt as a group, Monday we sit in the morning, drive the midday and hunt the evening. I’ve had days where I’ve walked 7 miles up and down ridges trying to drive deer to the standers. It’s fun but you’re beat by the end of the day and you have to head to bed early to get up at 3 am the next day and do it all over again. Then after hunting and driving Tuesday morning we spend the rest of the day butchering and packing up to leave.

The Saturday opener starts that process two days earlier which means we go to bed early Friday, hunt hard Saturday and butcher Sunday only to go to bed early and do it again on Monday. It leaves no downtime for even simply hanging out sharing drinks around a campfire because there is always work to be done. And with 11 guys coming up for the opener with a bunch of DMAP tags we are sure to have 6+ deer on the ground Saturday which means we will spend the majority of the day Sunday butchering and packaging the meat to make less work on Tuesday.

And last time this topic was brought up there were members here that scoffed at the fact that people would rather have that weekend for hanging out with friends and family up the mountains getting ready to go hunting instead of actually hunting. Honestly if it wasn’t for my family and friends hunting here I’d probably never hunt in PA again and instead spend my money heading out west on long range spot and stalk hunts which is far more what I’m into and is near nonexistent here.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that for some of us who we hunt with and the traditions surrounding it are far more important than the actual hunting itself.
 
#17 ·
I guess what I’m trying to say is that for some of us who we hunt with and the traditions surrounding it are far more important than the actual hunting itself.
^^^This says it all.

Made the 122 mile trip tonight , in the dark, after eating dinner at my son’s place. Got to camp at 7:00 pm. Funny thing...I traveled 100 miles of I 80 , never saw one vehicle that looked to be heading to camp. ( deer racks, quads, treestands etc) Maybe folks will travel tomorrow.

One thing I can all but guarantee....a Saturday opener is here to stay. All the talk the PGC uttered about revisiting a Saturday opener for the future was just mumbo jumbo to temporarily quell the dissension of changing the opener. What with the Sunday hunting approved, it has already been said that one of the hunting Sundays would be the day following the opener.
 
#11 ·
I also agree with not liking the Saturday opener. We ,8-10 of us usually arrive Friday morning, stack some wood on the side porch, start a fire outside and have some beverages and game birds cooking. We will move a stand if needed, check trail cameras, and the such, as well as visiting other camps and have them visit us. This will continue into Saturday. We will hunt Saturday, but it’s gonna be different.I agree it’s like a pre vacation(Friday,Saturday and Sunday)to one of the most anticipated times of the year for us. We are so busy outside of this with work, kids and the honey do list, this when we get to spend time together.I hope it goes back to the TRADITION of PA deer hunting !! Good luck to all and safe travels.
 
#14 ·
I have a hard time understanding how the opener being on Saturday changes anything for those who wish to follow traditions. Is there a mandate that hunters have to be out? Can you not do things just as you've done previously and simply ignore the fact that that extra day is there?

A genuine query as I simply don't understand all the angst over this.
 
#22 ·
The opener is the important day, if you wait till the second day then you aren’t hunting the opener anymore and your chances to get a deer drop by a significant amount. Just look at the bear numbers, 1000+ taken on Saturday and only 300 taken on Monday. So if you don’t hunt the opener why even bother going up when you can wait until the following weekend and increase your odds with the ability to hunt does as well.

9 hunters Friday at camp and not one complaint "yet" about Saturday being opening day. Just have to wait and see for a better opinion. People selling there camps because of this??? Sorry excuse to me
If your primary reason for owning a camp revolves around the opening day of rifle season and the Saturday change makes it so that many of the members can’t make it and choose not to hunt that weekend then why bother owning the camp anymore? As I’ve said before for many this weekend is about the camaraderie more-so than the hunting itself so if that is gone then people might feel owning a camp is not worth it anymore. I know I wouldn’t want to own our camp if it wasn’t for the time I get to spend with my dad and brother.

As for our camp none of the 10 in our normal group want it. The addition of DMAP tags to our area is making it suck less but nobody is really thrilled about the change.

9 hunters Friday at camp and not one complaint "yet" about Saturday being opening day. Just have to wait and see for a better opinion. People selling there camps because of this??? Sorry excuse to me
If something miniscule like this causes someone to sell their hunting camp....well all I can say is that it really wasn't a true hunting camp.
It wasn’t your version of a true hunting camp but that doesn’t make it any less important. Some people only hunt the opening weekend and the loss of members due to the change may make some of them reevaluate if the effort to maintain a camp is worth it.
 
#16 ·
We’re heading up tomorrow morning and staying through Monday. I wasn’t for the Saturday opener at first but I think it will work out for us quite well. Hang out Friday hunt Saturday, hang out Sunday and hunt Monday. I know the distance and the way I hunt in the big woods it exhausts me one day let alone two days in a row. Sunday will be a welcome break. Grant it I got a buck in archery so I will just be a “guide” for my dad. ( just as good as me hunting in my book)
 
#24 · (Edited)
I see your point with members owning a camp solely for hunting ,. That's not the case with me. My place is used year round for family and friends, I would have never bought it 26 years ago strictly for hunting. Anyway, enjoy your hunt,be safe and shoot straight! Be back in 12 days to see your pic. and hear how you guys and gals made out.
 
#26 ·
I am not looking forward to the the traveling this evening. Working right now and I won’t be done until 3:30 pm. Then I have a 40 minute ride home to pack the truck and another 140 miles of driving to get to camp. I think once I finally make it there tonight things will be fine once I am settled in. Sunday plan on scouting in the morning then headed to the bar to watch the Steeler game.
 
#42 ·
There was a lot of hunting traffic going through Snow Shoe today. Folks exiting I 80, heading out 144 and 879. Seemed to be really busy around noon. Halls Market was busy, and there was a line of guys buying hunting licenses. I had to wait at the Sunoco to get a open gas pump. Some of that was holiday travelers.

I took a ride out into the Sproul SF this evening. About 25% of the camps were empty. About normal anymore. On a township road that parallels SGL 100, there were 9 empty camps in a row. That seemed unusual.

Overall, the activity was nothing like openers from 50 years ago, but about normal for the last few years.

Something I’ve been pondering.... you see a fair number of quads in the back of trucks heading out into the SF. I even saw a few on trailers parked in camp yards. They’re not allowed to be operated in the SF, or driven on the roads there. But I’m guessing as long as they remain in the truck bed or trailer, they can’t be cited. Unlike booze on SGL property ( can’t have in possession ), I’m surmising the law forbids only the operation of atvs, not possessing them. But you know the minute someone drops a deer, they’re going into to woods, if not sooner.
 
#46 ·
Something I’ve been pondering.... you see a fair number of quads in the back of trucks heading out into the SF. I even saw a few on trailers parked in camp yards. They’re not allowed to be operated in the SF, or driven on the roads there. But I’m guessing as long as they remain in the truck bed or trailer, they can’t be cited. Unlike booze on SGL property ( can’t have in possession ), I’m surmising the law forbids only the operation of atvs, not possessing them. But you know the minute someone drops a deer, they’re going into to woods, if not sooner.

ponder this,



I see allot of quads in trailers and the back of trucks during hunting season. I had one this weekend in the bed of my truck going thru the SF to my cabin. Doesn't mean that I'm an outlaw or broke a law. Some have hunting spots that they can ride a quad to. I'm in SF also.



I got a buck the last day of archery, he ran 100 yards into deep laurals, and I did grab the atv and dragged him out. Work smarter not harder.
 
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