Some pan Saturday start to firearms deer-hunting season

Pennsylvania’s move to start firearms deer-hunting season on Saturday, two days earlier than the traditional Monday after Thanksgiving, turned out pretty good for one hunter along Laurel Summit east of Ligonier. But many of his fellow hunters panned the state Game Commission’s early start for the second year.

Josh Vitalie of Johnstown had an 11-point buck hanging from the eaves of his hunting cabin along Laurel Summit Road by noon Saturday, having shot the deer that morning in Forbes State Forest along the Westmoreland-Somerset counties border.

Vitalie, who was hunting with his family, had no complaints about starting Saturday.

“It works out well for me. I work Monday and Tuesday,” said the Vitalie, 24.

He was the only member of his party to bag a deer so far this year. Vitalie said he did not see many deer, nor did he hear many shots.

For the first time, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is permitting firearms deer hunting on Saturday and Sunday. Hunters who don’t fill their deer tags Saturday will have the chance to go out Sunday for the first time.

The Saturday start did not sit well for a group of hunters in the Mt. Pleasant area, who were taking a break at their cabin in Linn Run State Park after a morning of searching for deer and seeing none, nor hearing any gunshots atop the ridge.

“We like the Monday start. It takes away from the tradition,” said Gary Gorecki of Mt. Pleasant Township, who was hunting with his son, Joe, and other family and friends.

Joe said he is not a fan of the Game Commission permitting hunting on Sunday.

“That’s a day for the hikers,” said Joe Gorecki of Mt. Pleasant Township, whose family and friends have been renting a cabin at Linn Run State Park for about 20 years.

The Goreckis and their fellow hunters — a group of seven — said they did not see deer moving about, nor did they hear the typical gunfire on the first day of the season.

The hunting party had a word of advice for the Game Commission, particularly the way the agency is managing the firearms deer season.

“The deer is getting scarce. You used to see a lot of them,” Joe Garecki said.

The reason, they said, is that the Game Commission is permitting two weeks of doe-hunting season.

“They slaughtered (the deer population) with two weeks of doe season” a few years ago, Joe Gorecki said.

That was the opinion of another group of hunters who did not see the deer nor hear other hunters who got off shots. They also said they did not see as many hunters as they usually do.

“You kill the mothers (doe), and you kill two deer,” said Steve Billey of Mt. Pleasant Township, standing on the porch of the family cabin built in 1932.

“Monday was a better time to start hunting,” said Paul Sefchik of Scottdale. “You could get up here and scout around for the deer on the weekend.”