Seeing a deer in a rifle scope for the first time is an experience hunters cherish, as junior Cole Reed knows. 

“I remember sitting in the stand with my Pap and him helping me aim my shot before I killed it,” Reed said.

With Thanksgiving weekend coming, most people look forward to food, family, and football. But deer hunters also understand the peacefulness of relaxing in the woods with family on the opening day of hunting season. 

“It always helps me clear my mind when I get to breathe in the fresh air while I wait for a deer,” sophomore Donald Brown said. 

Reed, meanwhile, said he values the time he gets to spend with the guys in his family on his uncle’s farm. He is not alone in that view, since for many young hunters, the sport is also a way for the family to come together. 

“Hunting is a sport where you have comradery with other hunters. A lot of families like to go up to camps. It is definitely a big family tradition and overall an atmospheric sport,” Allegheny County Game Warden Tyler Castronova said.

Sometimes, those family members use the opportunity to make sure the young hunters are learning some lessons.

“Every single time I walk to my stand, I step on at least 10 branches. My Pap yells at me to be quiet every time,” Brown said. 

And not every hunting trip goes perfectly, as sophomore Aiden Robinson learned one cold day. Still, he embraces the memories from that experience.

“I wasn’t paying attention and I stepped in a deep puddle. Then, 15 minutes later, my boot was like an icicle, completely frozen solid,” Robinson said.

While archery hunting season starts each September and has remained unchanged for years, the Pennsylvania Game Commission in 2019 moved the opening day of rifle season to the Saturday after Thanksgiving, instead of the Monday after the holiday. This extended the season by two days for Pennsylvania hunters. 

Hunters like Brown and his family have made a tradition out of this earlier start date. 

“Our new family tradition is always to hunt the Saturday after Thanksgiving,” Brown said. “Although I like the weather of archery season, I got my first deer in the snow and dark after Turkey Day.”

The sport has long been controversial because some people don’t agree with killing animals. But for some hunters, the deer they kill provide free meals for their families.

“The idea of killing animals is so controversial because others do not understand that when you kill a deer, you use the meat of the deer to make burgers, meatloaf, meatballs, deer jerky” and other dishes, Robinson said. 

Reed agreed, saying that the meat is put to good use more often than not. 

The fear of poaching or overkilling is another concern people have with hunting. But states like Pennsylvania have strict hunting regulations as well as game wardens, who protect the population of species.

“There are unfortunately some people who don’t do it the right way, and that gives a bad name for hunting. But that’s what a state game warden’s job is – to make sure that people are doing it the right way,” Castronova said. 

Baldwin students who hunt offer several points to defend their sport. 

“Hunting isn’t a bad thing because there is a yearly limit on whatever type of animal you are going for,” Robinson said. “The law is you have to buy deer tags, and you get one doe tag (female deer) and one buck tag (male deer) every year.”

Brown pointed out that hunting helps keep the deer population in check.

“I think hunting is good because the deer population is so high,” Brown said. 

The number of hunters in Pennsylvania has decreased in recent years, however. 

“People are starting to move away from hunting just because they don’t have the time or the resources anymore. Most of the older generation has that time, so usually retired individuals are out,” Castronova said. 

Among people who are still working, many have to work weekends, which is a prime hunting time, he said.

Each person hunts for a different reason. Some like the meat and others collect the antlers, while most just enjoy the challenge of the sport. 

“My favorite type of hunting is deer hunting, because the reward of getting a deer is either the rack if it is a buck or just the meat that is able to feed my family,” Robinson said. 

This story was originally published on Purbalite on November 25, 2024.