Readers react to potential change for start of firearms deer season

An announcement was made this week that the Pennsylvania Game Commission could propose starting the state’s firearms deer season the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

For the past seven years, that season has opened the Saturday after Thanksgiving. And for decades before that, the season opened on the Monday after Thanksgiving.

Opening the season then would have a ripple effect on the state’s bear season and archery deer season.

LNP | LancasterOnline asked readers for their thoughts on this.

In a reader poll, 53 voted no and 18 voted yes on whether to move firearms deer season to the Saturday before Thanksgiving.

On Facebook, LNP | LancasterOnline asked readers to comment with their reactions to the potential change. Following are just a few of those comments (in no particular order and with no changes made to punctuation or spelling):

"I’d say no. Thanksgiving morning is still a small game hunting experience for many hunters." —Doug Shiffler

"No, go back to the Monday opening day and reduce the number of deer one person can shoot to 1buck and 1 doe." —Gene Miller

"First Saturday in November till the end of the 2nd week of December. If archery can have 2 and a half months, why cant firearms have a long season. And its legal to use a bow during firearms season. So, archery folk have nothing in this fight." —Robert Ream

"Put it back to Monday after Thanksgiving. It gave the weekend to go see friends go onto the local stores and restaurants put dollars back into the small towns that counted on it after the holiday. Or maybe all of us hunters just boycot the rifle season and don’t hunt if it changes." —Kevin Trimble

"This is not a good idea Please move it back to Monday after Thanksgiving like every resident and business wants and close up the PA Game commission." —Jeff Van Brookhoven

"Why not?" —Mark Wolf

"Sure. Can’t hurt" —Reid Miller

"This is the worst idea since the Saturday opener" —Tyler Morton