I’ve hunted in Pennsylvania for 62 years and missed only one year due to travel. I missed many opening days of buck season due to school and work requirements, but that didn’t deter me. In life one does what is required at the moment and not what is convenient.
Things I’ve read and heard recently about hunting are discouraging. Hunting opportunities and the hunting environment far outweigh hunting license sales. While the general interest in hunting is declining, it’s more likely that Pennsylvania Game Commission decisions have had a greater effect on license sales. I’ve never encountered the complacency that hunters now display due to a feeling of non-control over commission decisions.
Going to a Saturday opening for the deer rifle season will surely result in fewer license sales due to the proximity of Thanksgiving and the constraints it puts on travel. If what I’ve heard is accurate, the majority opinion of game commissioners does not reflect the majority opinion of hunters.
Allowing hunting on Sunday also bothers me, and it will certainly bother those who are non-hunters.
Instead of increased license sales, the commission should be focused on the real needs of hunters.
Robert Uhrin
Mendham, N.J.