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The last half of November is a busy intersection of popular hunting seasons in Pennsylvania occurring one after the other in a three-week span.
They are, of course, the fall archery deer season, which ended on Friday, followed by the four-day bear season, which begins Saturday and ends on Tuesday. Then it's a break for Thanksgiving Day and Black Friday before the first day of the firearms deer season on Saturday, Nov. 25.
During this perfect storm of big-game hunting opportunities, three consecutive Sundays are also in play: Nov. 12 during the final week of archery season to give bowhunters an extra day of hunting during the rut; Nov. 19 for the second day of bear season; and Nov. 26 for the second day of deer season. On those special Sundays, hunting for any other species that also happen to be in season except turkeys and waterfowl is permitted as well.
Until recently, Sunday hunting for most game birds and animals in Pennsylvania had always been prohibited by state law. Younger folks might be even more surprised to learn that when I first started hunting more than 50 years ago, retail stores were not open and alcohol could not be sold on Sundays. Most such prohibitions, generally known as "blue laws," were changed decades ago.
I'll leave it to you to decide if Pennsylvania is a better place now that we can go to the mall, buy a six pack or have a glass of wine with dinner in a restaurant on Sundays. But it still isn't permissible to buy a car on Sundays in Pennsylvania.
For generations, the subject of Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania was debated with little or no real action ever taking place. To allow Sunday hunting required an act of the state legislature, and such legislation was rarely proposed and never went far when it was. In 2019, legislation was passed that allowed the Pennsylvania Game Commission to schedule three days of Sunday hunting during the year. This Sunday hunting trial run started in 2020 with the archery, bear and deer seasons as those selected to get a Sunday added within the season.
Now that we are in the midst of completing the fourth year of limited Sunday hunting, I wonder if and when we will ever get around expanding it across the board. Personally, I have long been neutral to whether we should allow Sunday hunting. So far, I have yet to hunt any of the special Sundays, but if I were charged with casting the deciding vote on the matter I would vote "yes."
My biggest reason for that assenting opinion is there really is no good reason not to have Sunday hunting well into the 21st century and several good reasons to have it.
One of the top reasons and probably the main motivation behind the recent Sunday trial days was expanding opportunity for working folks and those with kids. For them, weekends represent their only free time available to go hunting. Therefore, access to Sunday hunting time would essentially double their opportunity.
On the flipside, one long-standing argument against Sunday hunting is farmers and other landowners will post their land if Sunday hunting is allowed. To that, I say look around a bit. I would estimate that half of the farms and private land I hunted on a few decades ago has long since been posted -- a sad but true sign of the times. And if Sunday hunting is the deal-breaker to allowing hunting the other six days, allow individual landowners to post their land "No Sunday Hunting."
As a landowner who allows hunting, I have another perspective on Sunday hunting. I don't like the state telling me I can't hunt there on a Sunday obeying all the applicable game laws, seasons and bag limits or that I can't invite friends or relatives to do so if they wish. I'm also part-owner in 1.5 million acres of public hunting land known as our state game lands system that was purchased with a portion of hunting license dollars. And so is every other licensed hunter in Pennsylvania. Yet we are not permitted to hunt on "our" public land either.
Another point worth noting is Sunday hunting for certain species has long been permitted in Pennsylvania.
Crows can be hunted on Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays only from late August until late March except during the firearms deer season. Foxes can be hunted on Sundays during the season for them from mid-October through mid-February. There is no closed season on coyotes, so they can be hunted on Sundays year-round. So technically, hunting in some form is permitted every Sunday of the year.
Regardless of whether you support or oppose Sunday hunting, enjoy the bounty of hunting opportunities in the coming weeks. Best wishes for safe outings, great memories and much success.