Personally/selfishly I'd love to have Sunday hunting in PA.

Pragmatically, I think PA is a bit unique and think the potential for harm outweighs the potential for good.

We've got the highest hunter density of any state in the country. Although public land is abundant, our hunting heritage is still highly dependent on the generosity and good will of private landowners. Most properties I hunt are owned by folks that don't hunt, but I know that they appreciate having one day a week where nobody is hunting their property. The PGC could implement Sunday hunting and say the onus is on the landowner to tell hunters that Sunday hunting is not permitted on their property. Easy on the smaller properties I hunt but I could see many larger landowners deciding to just post their land to all hunting because they don't want the hassle of patrolling their property on a Sunday.

Sunday hunting is appealing for many of us because it's often the least busy day of the week for many of us. I would think it would be a turn off to many landowners for the same reason.

Speaking of kool aid, my generation (I'm 43) has been chugging the kool aid that makes us think we have to keep our kids as busy as we can with sports and other activities. I took a few sips a few years ago with my now 14 year old son and baseball. Put him in a high level AAU program because we got a big discount because he was really good and a team really wanted him. We pretty much committed to baseball three times a week and every weekend from April through July. He did very well against some of the best competition in the western half of the state but he hated that it basically eliminated fishing that spring and summer and so we put him in a program with a lot less time commitment the past two seasons and this season coming up. He's much happier that we have time to fish a lot and that he still gets to play baseball at a high level. I'm much happier and I see how miserable many families are dropping $4000 a year on training and travel with no free time because they're convinced their kids are D1 or pro talents when in reality half won't even play in high school because they'll be burned out.

He'll be a freshman next year and really thought long and hard about signing up for football again after taking a few years off. We talked through it and he decided not to play - even though he's got the athleticism, work ethic and body type to play beyond high school if he avoids injury - because he wants to have all of October and most of November to hunt and fish because he knows that once JV hoops starts the week of Thanksgiving he'll have very little time to do either one. Entirely his choice, but he's defined what his priorities are and I think he made a very wise choice.

It's all about priorities when we're talking about why hunter numbers are dwindling. The opportunities in PA have never been greater for getting youngsters involved with the statewide legalization of crossbows, the Mentored program, early muzzle loader, youth doe hunts, youth waterfowl and youth pheasant days.

As I said, I'd gladly hunt on Sundays if I could but I don't think for one minute that adding an extra day a week will magically increase hunting participation in PA for those who don't already make it a priority for themselves and their kids.

I love the Mentored Program and my son started hunting when he was 9. But those I know who took advantage of that program were already committed to teaching their kids to hunt no matter what age they were allowed to start. Is there any data that suggests the Mentored program has helped to recruit and retain more PA hunters? I doubt it based on the numbers that continue to show declining participation, but maybe I'm wrong.

Priorities are what make the difference.

eyesandgillz
dpms, 
I think you had it right.
Grumpy old curmudgeon doesn't want it, so no one else should....
Everything written in the above post is nonsensical, sooooooo, it just has to be old age.
Happy Friday!
 

  Really  "Grumpy old curmudgeon"  and "it's old age" is the best you can do?    That's your defense,  demeaning name calling and that's,  your response? 
 
Well thank you very much because it proves I am correct in saying people like you, think somebody else owes you everything because that's what you want.  
 
FYI eyesandgills, I'm no older in your eyes than you are in the eyes, of a teenager.  The difference between you and me; I am able to enjoy my "Golden Years", not sitting around whining about gimme's,  and I am still going strong. 
 
Oh, about that difference in age between you and a teenager, welcome to the curmudgeon club.... ole boy! 

rsquared
As I said, I'd gladly hunt on Sundays if I could but I don't think for one minute that adding an extra day a week will magically increase hunting participation in PA for those who don't already make it a priority for themselves and their kids.

I love the Mentored Program and my son started hunting when he was 9. But those I know who took advantage of that program were already committed to teaching their kids to hunt no matter what age they were allowed to start. Is there any data that suggests the Mentored program has helped to recruit and retain more PA hunters? I doubt it based on the numbers that continue to show declining participation, but maybe I'm wrong.

I don't think you are wrong in the above points as I also believe that allowing Sunday hunting will not measurable increase participation or slow the decline in hunter numbers. Increasing recruitment is not why I support it. 
 
My support is primarily based on one point, and secondarily on another. 
 
First, I believe game agencies should be regulating hunting. In this state we have a law that grants politicians the responsibility to regulate hunting 52 days of the year. The discussion of when and where to implement SH should be in front of Commissioners at public PGC meetings, not within the halls of the capital building. 
 
Second. Participation is dropping like a stone. Deer hunting down close to 50%, small game down 70%, fall turkey down 60% over the past 20 years. For hunters that still hunt, why are we willingly allowing barriers to remain which keep hunters that want to hunt from hunting on their days off during open seasons. 
 
 

Hey, I think we should be able to buy a car on Sunday too.....just sayin'......
 
Old blue laws should go the way of the dodo.....
 
Let the landowners decide if they want to allow Sunday hunting or not.  They can easily say now if they want to let people hunt their land AT ALL, and it isn't ANY stretch for those that want to keep Sunday for themselves to say, "ok mr. hunter, you can hunt my land but please, no Sundays." 
 
Pretty simple.
 
How ya been Dave???? 
 
 

Other states, and PA to a lesser extent, already do that to some extent dpms.

When I lived and hunted in both NC and KY, both states restricted which days of the week you could hunt on some state owned lands. General season firearm Deer hunting on public lands in KY was through a drawing and access was restricted to certain days. Waterfowl on some public lands in NC was limited to like 2 or 3 days a week even though seasons were open statewide.

Why in PA can you only hunt crows on Friday, Saturday and Sunday? Aren't the hunting opportunities for waterfowl at Pymy and Middle Creek restricted to certain days?

Granted, all those examples have to do with conservation, and not social perception so it's a little different, but the point is that PA and other states already do that.

I do understand your point though of at least giving the PGC regulatory control of that as game agencies in other states have in the examples cited above. My guess is that the hesitancy on the part of lawmakers has to do with hearing from their constituents on the matter that they do not want it.

Even in this discussion we've got two guys who hunt on their own property - BTDT and DarDys - with differing opinions on the matter. 2 of 3 landowners whose property I hunt regularly would not like it. 1 couldn't care less. Very, very small sample sizes but I would imagine that there are many landowners in PA that would be very upset about Sunday hunting.

As I said I'm certainly not opposed to SH and would participate if given the opportunity. I think from my own experiences and purely anecdotal evidence - both very small and limited - that there's potential for it to create more problems than opportunities, but hopefully I'd be wrong.

I personally know of no landowners who would not want to hunt their property on Sunday. For those that are opposed to it, just don’t do it.

Now, that being written, those same landowners post their property and restrict access, so it is easy for them to make that decision. For those whom permit public access to their property, the decision and the enforcement of not permitting Sunday hunting would be far more difficult.

This same discussion took place, as my father relayed to me (I’m old, but not that old) concerning fishing on Sunday, something which was not permitted on Sundays because landowners would post their property if hordes of anglers (and one must admit, since this was centered around trout st the time, that there were far more trout anglers crowded around a stream than hunters concentrated in the same size area) descended up their Sunday tranquility. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

DarDys
I personally know of no landowners who would not want to hunt their property on Sunday. For those that are opposed to it, just don’t do it.

 
Same with me. None of the private property I hunt would be off limits to myself or others on Sundays if it were allowed. 
 
But I understand that there will be some landowners that won't allow it. As for the comments that landowners will shut down their land to all hunting 7 days of the week if SH were to become legal, I believe it will be a very tiny number that go to that extreme. Those that do will most likely open it back up in time when the sky doesn't fall and people accept it for what it is, which is a non issue. 

This same discussion took place, as my father relayed to me (I’m old, but not that old) concerning fishing on Sunday, something which was not permitted on Sundays because landowners would post their property if hordes of anglers (and one must admit, since this was centered around trout st the time, that there were far more trout anglers crowded around a stream than hunters concentrated in the same size area) descended up their Sunday tranquility. Obviously, that didn’t happen.

Yep. Sunday fishing used to be illegal. On that point, fishing on private property is more common  than hunting on private property, according to a study I saw, so trespass is more likely to happen with fishing than hunting. 
 

I've said it before and I'll say it again, the PLA is a powerful lobby group in PA.  However, that being said etc, etc, etc, I do not believe it is the PLA preventing Sunday hunting in PA.    The PLA does not represent the PA. State Game Lands nor the millions of acres of forest still owned or under control by the paper mills.
 
Yet  Sunday hunting is only permitted on State Game Lands in the same manner as on private land.  Nay some say, opening State Game Lands to Sunday hunting would cause over harvesting then in the same breath, say private land owners wouldn't be burdened by or over run with hunters which leads me to believe "some" here want their cake, and eat it too.  Except the cake belongs to somebody else.
 
Certainly I agree, land owners could post their land if they don't want Sunday hunting and certainly I agree, with any land owner who does post their land.  The question now, will the land owner agree to allow any hunting at all?
 
As for fishing in PA. on Sundays, I must say, it is nice fishing at least one day out of the week during firearms season and not wonder which direction the shots are heading.   Oh.... and it is super nice having at least one day where I don't have to flip a coin to decide what I shall be doing, heads I hunt tails I fish.

eyesandgillz
 
 
How ya been Dave???? 
 
 

Doing good Justin!  How 'bout yinz?

I've killed many squirrel,rabbits,and deer on Sunday. Just not in Pa. Spend 164.00 and I go to Ohio. Been going there since 92 on a regular basis. PGC will do whatever they want with or without your consent. I'd be fine with either yea or nay. I'm not waiting for them.