After 55 years of opening the Monday after Thanksgiving, the Pennsylvania Game Commission has moved up the start of the firearms deer hunting season to Saturday this year.
The commissioners plan to see if the Saturday opener increases hunting license sales and hunter success. The board will also gauge the opinions of hunters who take part in the state’s first Saturday opener in decades.
Rifle season for hunting deer in the state has started the Monday after Thanksgiving since 1963. Supporters of the change believe a Saturday opener could increase interest in hunting.
The Game Commission’s Northwest Region office in Franklin will be open until 4 p.m. today in order to accommodate those who have waited until the last minute to purchase a hunting license. The statewide general firearms deer season runs through December 14.