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<p>HARRISBURG &#8212; In an effort to attract younger people to the hunting ranks, the Pennsylvania Game Commission voted Tuesday for change over tradition.</p><p>By unanimous vote, the PGC board gave preliminary approval to change the opening day of deer season from the first Monday after Thanksgiving to the first Saturday. The motion, which was made during the quarterly meeting, needs final approval at the April meeting. If that happens, the change will be implemented for the upcoming hunting season.</p><p>The firearms deer season would open Saturday, Nov. 30 and conclude Dec. 14, giving hunters an extra day by increasing the season length from 12 to 13 days. Hunters will also have three Saturdays to hunt, as opposed to two under the traditional season structure.</p><p>Despite a 2017 deer hunter survey conducted by the agency in which 65 percent of hunters preferred Monday over Saturday as the opening day of deer season, the commissioners insisted they&#8217;re targeting a different demographic.</p><p>&#8220;We have a lot of children in for Thanksgiving break and it will give them an opportunity to hunt before they go back to college,&#8221; said commissioner Stanley Knick Jr., of Dupont.</p><p>During the first two days of the quarterly meeting on Sunday and Monday, the board received public comments both for and against the proposal.</p><p>Commissioner Brian Hoover said any time a change is made it results in &#8220;anxiety,&#8221; especially when it involves deer season. But he emphasized the agency needs to go after new hunters in the wake of declining license sales.</p><p>&#8220;Not all schools in Pennsylvania are off on Monday. College kids aren&#8217;t going to take that day off,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;re trying to get to the youth.&#8221;</p><p>In another move made Tuesday to appeal to younger people, Hoover directed PGC staff to prepare language to allow for the use of semi-automatic rifles during deer, bear and turkey seasons. A similar motion failed in 2017, and Hoover said it&#8217;s time to re-visit the matter.</p><p>Hoover also is hoping a Saturday deer season opener will compel legislators to approve a measure to lift the prohibition on Sunday hunting, raising the possibility of being able to hunt deer for the entire weekend after Thanksgiving.</p><p>While there is data that shows hunters aren&#8217;t in favor of changing the opening day, the agency is in the process of finding out what those who don&#8217;t hunt think about the move. A survey of those who haven&#8217;t purchased a hunting license for two years is nearing completion, and one of the questions asked is if a Saturday opener would compel them to try hunting again. The survey will be completed before the board meets in April.</p><style>
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<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Measure needs final approval when board meets again in April</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Tom Venesky</p><p>tvenesky@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div>

Game Commission board OKs changing deer season opener to Saturday; final OK still necessary