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The opening days of the mourning dove and early Canada goose seasons on Sept. 1 are well-established traditions in Pennsylvania.
The start of the statewide squirrel last weekend on Saturday, Sept. 10, however, is somewhat of a new tradition for early-season hunting here in Pennsylvania. It is the third year of the squirrel season starting in early September rather than the long-established mid-October opener.
When the Pennsylvania Game Commission approved this change for the fall of 2020, the rationale for it was to provide increased hunting opportunities. And moving the season up by five weeks has certainly achieved that for hunters who desire to get in some small-game hunting during September.
Hunting squirrels this month presents a different set of challenges from those of October. The weather is often more like summer with warm days with lots of pesky bugs still around. Most trees still have all their lush, green summertime leaves that afford plenty of concealment for squirrels in the canopy above. One strategy to overcome those obstacles would be to hunt early mornings when the weather is likely to be more pleasant and the bushytails will be foraging in the open on the forest floor.
Before moving the opening of squirrel season to September, a special junior squirrel hunt was in place for two weeks before the start of the regular squirrel season for hunters under 17 years old. With the earlier opener, there still is a two-week youth hunt, but it runs concurrently with the regular statewide squirrel season.
This year, the youth squirrel hunt is from Sept. 10-24, but it seems to be mostly irrelevant. Because everyone can hunt squirrels during the entire two weeks of the youth squirrel season, the only possible benefit would be that a junior hunter does not need a hunting license to participate in the youth season but must have passed a hunter-trapper education course. Most folks take the HTE course because they need it to buy their first hunting license. I must believe not many kids are going to go through the effort of taking an HTE course just so they can hunt squirrels a couple of days without having to buy a hunting license.
Over the past couple of years, the number of in-person HTE classes have been severely reduced because of COVID restrictions. Fortunately, many sportsmen's club and other groups and organizations are again offering in-person HTE training. Many of these classes fill up almost immediately, so if you need to enroll a young person in an HTE class so he or she can hunt this fall, it would be prudent to do so as soon as possible.
Online HTE classes are another option and one that many young folks would easily embrace. Any Pennsylvania resident 11 years or older can take the complete HTE course online for a $34.95 fee. Also available online is a free class sponsored by the NRA. Complete information on in-person and online HTE classes can be found on the Pennsylvania Game Commission website, PGC.pa.gov.
The junior rabbit and pheasant hunts are still in place as usual and will give young hunters an early start for those popular small-game species. The junior rabbit hunt is scheduled for Oct. 1-15 and the junior pheasant hunt on Oct. 8-15. Junior hunting license holders and mentored hunters under 17 years old are eligible to participate in the junior hunts but must be accompanied by an adult as required by law. Junior pheasant hunters are also required to have a free junior pheasant hunting permit to hunt pheasants.
During the early years of my hunting career, my hunting buddies and I looked forward to the opening of small-game hunting with nearly the same anticipation as deer season. The memories of bagging my first pheasant, grouse and rabbit are still as fond and vivid to me as the morning I shot my first buck. And some of my most lasting and cherished hunting memories are struggling through a favorite grouse cover, watching the flush a pheasant from behind a pair of bird dogs or kicking a bunny from a fencerow, all shared with some great hunting partners. Hunting small game was always more fun with a good friend or two.
Small-game hunting can also be one of the best ways to introduce young hunters to the sport of hunting. A day in the woods can be an engrossing experience that allows young hunters to learn and bond one-on-one with their mentors. When hunting small game with more partners, everyone works in concert to work the cover and flush game. Everyone in the party is involved regardless of who actually makes the shot.