Randy Santucci and Dan Davila: Pa. Game Commission decisions leave hunters at the gate

The Pennsylvania Game Commission changed the most popular deer hunting weekend in 2019, moving the 60-plus-year Monday after Thanksgiving opening day to the Saturday prior. As Thanksgiving is the most traveled family holiday of the year, that created problems for hunters with family conflicts.

Additionally, hundreds of thousands of hunters travel considerable distances to go to camps and hotels; this rushed time frame, losing two days, breeds further contempt for the Saturday start.

Many businesses en route to hunters’ destinations were no longer patronized due to time constraints; these small shops in rural northern Pennsylvania lost much of their Black Friday and Small Business Saturday, for some their most profitable sales weekend of the year.

There was a compromise to put one of the newly approved Sundays in the following weekend, creating 13 continuous hunting days starting with the Monday opener. If you couldn’t hunt Monday, you had a two-day weekend, just a few days away, but the PGC commissioners instead chose the quantum leap that divided hunters.

There was no deer management or biological basis for this change.

Initially, changing the Monday deer opener was opposed by a majority of hunters. There was an overwhelming number of opposition contacts made to the PGC during the public comment period, and a hunter survey revealed 65% opposed. A myriad of other metrics was brought forth that historically guided decision-making of the PGC board of commissioners; five of eight commissioners ignored them all. There was obviously more driving this decision than sound assessment of data.

After passage, due to strong opposition, a three-year evaluation was promised by PGC commissioners to then House Game and Fisheries Committee Chairmen Bill Kortz and Keith Gillespie. This promise was made when the PGC board was summoned back to Harrisburg by the committee to reconsider their vote. The three-year evaluation never happened. Kortz retired, and the PGC board did not have a quorum at the three-year review date, so the seasons and bag limits were just passed through to 2022 as protocol requires. Gillespie did not request another PGC board meeting after a seated board quorum was achieved just a few weeks later. Gillespie is now in a lame duck situation, losing his bid for reelection.

The evidence was clear before changing the opener; strong opposition was voiced to the agency and validated by PGC staff surveys.

The Monday opener structure rushed hunting activity from travel, scouting time, traditions, youth involvement, opening a camp, business patronage, nonprofit and first responder fundraising events who utilized that weekend in small northern towns. The heartburn continues still today. These issues were as much a part of deer hunting as the hunt itself. What previously was the “Super Bowl” weekend of Pennsylvania deer hunting now feels like a pre-season game for far too many, if they can make the game at all.

Assessment of almost all factors the PGC commissioners claimed would benefit our sport didn’t unfold. Even resident youth license sales continued their decline each year of the Saturday opener. Some like the Saturday, but the damage has been done. This has divided our hunters, and that one aspect alone shows all the opposition was indeed valid.

Those interested are asked to join two recent movements, the Coalition to Reinstate the Monday Deer Opener and, on Facebook, Pennsylvania Hunters Against the Saturday Deer Opener. Both have podcasts that explain the Saturday opener story for Pennsylvania hunters and legislators alike (search Opening Day Sportsman on YouTube).One features former PGC Commissioner Jim Daley, who validates the mistake of the Saturday change and exposes the PGC’s “big lie” (his words) of eliminating rifle use for fall turkey hunting as well.

Randy Santucci of McKees Rocks (rsantucci2022@gmail.com) is a past president of Unified Sportsmen of Pennsylvania and was a member of former Gov. Tom Corbett’s advisory council for hunting, fishing and conservation. He and his family have owned a hunting camp for 48 years. Dan Davila (ddavila2112@gmail.com) of Boardman, Ohio, is a longtime Pennsylvania hunter and camp owner.