Legislation to restore Pennsylvania’s traditional opening day of statewide firearms deer season to the first Monday after Thanksgiving will soon be introduced by State Sen. Gene Yaw, R-23, and State Sen. Lisa Boscola, D-18.
Yaw represents the 23rd Senatorial District, which includes Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties. Boscola represents the 18th Senatorial District, which includes portions of Lehigh and Northampton counties.
For more than 50 years, the first Monday after Thanksgiving marked the start of rifle season in Pennsylvania. In 2019, the Pennsylvania Game Commission moved the opening day to the Saturday following Thanksgiving, citing a goal of increasing participation and hunting license sales.
Yaw and Boscola said the change has not achieved its intended effect.
“Moving rifle season to a Saturday has crushed rural communities,” Yaw said. “Small businesses, fire companies, local grocery stores and hunting camps rooted in tradition have all suffered. It’s time to bring rifle season back to where it belongs, support our sportsmen and women and invest in rural Pennsylvania.”
Boscola said it remains unclear whether the change produced measurable benefits.
“It remains unclear whether moving opening day delivered any real benefit,” Boscola said. “What is clear is the toll it has taken on families and communities across Pennsylvania. I’ve heard firsthand from families with generations of hunters how devastating the change has been to Pennsylvania’s rich hunting tradition, as well as the small businesses that sustain rural areas.”
According to the senators, the Monday opener had become a longstanding community tradition, with some schools scheduling days off, government offices operating on reduced hours and families planning gatherings around the start of the season.
They said moving the opener to Saturday created scheduling conflicts with Thanksgiving celebrations and reduced participation in some areas. Yaw cited a volunteer fire company in his district that reported attendance at its annual hunter-related fundraiser declined from several hundred participants to 40 this year.
The issue resurfaced Jan. 24 when the Pennsylvania Game Commission considered a proposal to move the opening day to the Saturday before Thanksgiving. The commission ultimately rejected that proposal.
The senators said they plan to introduce legislation in the coming weeks to return the opening day to the first Monday after Thanksgiving.
