Since the switch to a Saturday opening most hunters in my camp and others nearby do not arrive in camp until late Friday evening.In the past we used to arrive at the same time, but had the whole weekend to relax, bowhunt, take that one last trip to the range, scout ect. It just seems more rushed. Also the economic impact of the local stores and restaurants, we simply do not go out to eat once the season begins. This has had to impact the local economy. I have been a deer hunter for over 35 years and I much preferred the Monday opener and so do most of the hunters I have spoken with.

More kids get to go out hunting on non School days with their familys. Keep the opener on Saturday and extend the seasons.

openning the season on sat.allows more amateurs in the woods to stir up the game and alert them that there's more presure coming.serious hunters hunt opening day all the way threw to closing day. I myself don't hunt on weekends that's why I am still alive.

openning the season on sat.allows more amateurs in the woods to stir up the game and alert them that there's more presure coming.serious hunters hunt opening day all the way threw to closing day. I myself don't hunt on weekends thats wy I am still alive.

go back to monday for opening day...if you can`t get it off you shouldn`t be hunting anyway.

I feel the Saturday opener is perfect for the guys who can't take time off during the week to still get out on opening day and have the best chance to harvest a deer.

it's sad that we have lost the great tradition of the hunting camp because of the saturday opener. now we rush to hunting camp friday night. if we are lucky we get there before dark and go to our favorite spot for some quick scouting or to set up a stand. saturday morning we are in the woods with guns that have not been sighted in. i'll bet the rate of wounded deer has increased since the saturday opener. we no longer go to our favorite restaurant or visit our favorite country store over the weekend. i'm sure the have felt it in there pockets. we hunt, not prepared and stressed out and then we go home. sad isn't it

The saturday opner have hurt the local buiness a lot, as there not the huter coming down to this area like before,It sure have hurt the fire dept fund rasing as the people just come down for the opener and then go back to work on sunday night and then come back down for the long weekend for thanksgiving, there are fewer hunter in the woods on sat compare to the monday opner, i hope they move the opener back to monday and leave it like it was for so many years.

tHE SATURDAY OPENER HAS ALLOWED MY SON AND GRANDSON TIME IN THE WOODS TOGETHER,WHERE AS THE mONDAY WAE NOT CONDUCIEVE TO US GETTING TOGETHER FOR OPENING dAY.nOW IF WE COULD ONLY GET A crossbow season FOR THE WEEK BEFORE gun ,MIT WOULD BE GREAT.

Nobody likes the Saturday opener!

We used to get together on Saturdays and Sundays to renew acquaintances, get our gear ready, cook soup or stew, sight in guns, check the tree stands, walk in the woods, etc.Now we have to take an extra day off on Friday and still can't do the things we did before. It ruined the camp experience for me.

I would like to see opening day changed back to Monday for several reasons. First, I think the camaraderie of the deer camp is being replaced by a drive-thru mentality. I liked it better when everyone would come down during the weekend, relax, share some stories around a fire, check out their stands, sight the guns in, and make soup while watching football. We all feel extremely rushed trying to get down to camp late Friday evening for Saturday Opening Day. Everyone's running all over the place looking for their socks and buck lure, hoping they didn't leave something behind...We also don't get into town the first couple nights to enjoy a nice dinner at the legion like we used to. I hope it changes back to the old way...

No time to relax, rush to camp friday night and try to get everything working. Before you know it, its time to go to bed if you are going to get a reasonable amount of sleep. No more seeing once a year friends down at the local establishment/legion/vfw/etc. Use to be fun to get together with fellow hunters and watch the Bills on sunday, now you better hunt or somebody might get your buck. By monday, nobody is in the woods anymore and nothing is moving. Lack of hunters means very little deer movement, by tuesday you wonder why you took the week off. Tradition is gone, thanks NYS DEC.

I feel that it hasn't effected anything. if anything it gave some hunters an ability to hunt opening day.

But if this state doesn't do something quick, there won't be any deer to hunt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The main reason people want a monday opening is so they can spend the time getting drunk in camp all weekend.The person who has to work monday thru friday deserves the right to get into the fresh woods as does the person who can take monday off.You should have been checking your equipment long before the weekend before and you still have friday night saturday and sunday night to enjoy camp life

I would like to see opening day back to Monday. To get up to hunting camp, hunters now have to take off on Friday or drive up at night. There's no more Sunday's of relaxing with your buddies, checking treestands and the usual pre hunt activities. Everybody seems to be in a rush now. I have not seen any indication in the last two years that Saturday enables more hunters to be afield. Go back to Monday!!!

Go back to Monday the "tradition" of taking of school and going hunting is gone. We have less hunters now and fewer deer. They want kids to start hunting so at least if they didnt see anything opening day , they would at least not be in school.

I would like to see Opening Day start the Monday before Thanksgiving, regardless of when Thanksgiving falls.

First saterday is nice becouse most people today can't get time off work or can't aford it.Two the number of deer taken on opening day will not change becose the deer arn't thare.

Saturday opener has eliminated the pre-hunt comaraderie time at deer camp. I am going to be on vacation from work to hunt opening week anyhow. Now I would also have to take off time at the end of the preceding week in order to have a relaxed arrival at deer camp before hunting starts. I much prefer the Monday opening day.

Having opening day on Saturday has given me more time to hunt. Without this change it was harder for me to hunt. I did not want to use up the little vacation time I had so I could actually take time to spend with my family. I think the guys who want it on Monday are the guys who have it better than the rest at work and can afford to take the time. Some of us don't have the same luxury. To the Monday hunters, it is a way of keeping less hunters out because they are greedy.

I hunt on public hunting land and i have found that there are higher volumes of people who dont know how to hunt wandering through the woods. They come out hunting for 2 days only. These are the people who are taking the deer that i have been scouting all year long. These people have no hunting eidcit whatsoever. They sit in the trees that i have setup. It would be great to see it changed back to a weekday.

I prefer the monday opener because I had always made it a tradition to skip school on opening day and hunt till late morning. But, I guess this is better because it gives me more time to hunt on apening day and I can still go out on monday.

The main loss I have seen is in the loss of the comradery. We no longer get together the 2 day before the BIG day and hang out. Now its down to camp, go hunting, and then back to our hectic lives. It has now lost the part of hunting that doesn't have anything to do with filling a tag, friendship. Too bad all the state cares about is money....

I like the opener on saturday due to the fact that I dont have to take as much time off of work to hunt. Being in the law enforcement field time off is hard to come by and am happy it opens on a saturday instead of monday.

Saturday brings out all the weekend assault rifle hunters. kicked a guy off my land last year on Saturday hunting with an ak-47, with a banana clip. let's leave deer season for the real hunters.

I understand the reason for the change to a Saturday opener. I just felt it was a old standard to have the weekend to prepare the woods for your hunt on Monday morning. This is from a 55 year old hunter that grew up on the Monday hunt opening. Thanks for all you do.

I don't think that the change to a Saturday open makes as much of an impact to the likelyhood of a hunter being in the woods as much as instituting an antler size restriction throught the state. The hunter that are afield for the meat can utilized DMPs, and the ones that are looking for racks can find some satisfaction (all be it in a few years) in the fact that there will be more trophies out there. This is what will entice hunters into the woods and keep them there longer.

A Monday opeing day may have resulted in more of the hunters in the field being serious dedicated hunter.

My land/cabin is in Chenango County, but I live in Reading, PA.

Due to the change to a Saturday, it costs me one more vacation day as I travel on Friday instead of Sunday and take the week off anyway.

I think with opening day on Saturday, it makes it easier for some hunters to get out on opening day. And I think it is more convenient for people that have a harder time getting out when opening day was on a Monday. Plus, when I worked second shift, I could only hunt until noon when opening was on a Monday. In general, I think overall, less people are deer hunting.

The Saturday opened has been a great boom for my group. Our kids have been able to hunt opening day and our guys who must work during the week get to hunt another weekend. Good change for my group.

In the past when opening day was on a monday we coul go to our camp after work on friday or saturday and have the weekend to get set up and just have a good time.I think you would find the a bunch of guys and and there hunting wives miss the time spent at the camp telling stories ( sometime lies or tall tails )for the weekend before opening day I know personaly i miss more work now then i did before !!!!!!!

I find the cost of hotel rooms more expensive be cause of the weekend,because of that I have not hunted opening day,try to come up on Sunday and hunt on Monday Tuesday.I would like to see the return of hunting season back to Monday.

I am more afraid of getting shot accidently on Opening day now and have even considered not hunting. The people that are not serious hunters are more apt to be in the woods on a Sat. than if they had to take a day off. Before it was nice because the more experienced (and thus safer) hunters tagged a deer or two by the first Sat. and could take the day off. Now if you have been hunting a serious Buck during Archery...you had better be on him Saturday opener because of the hunting pressure. I'd rather it be moved back to Monday.....If we need more of a deer harvest, hand out exchange tags in return for having your kill inspecteded by a DEC Biologist.....the result would be more deer taken by successfull hunters and more accurate data for the DEC.

I don't think there is much of a change but I do miss the tradition of opening day being on Monday. I miss having that weekend to get ready and hang out with buddies.