Big Deer Blog

  A year ago to the day I penned an article for Realtree.com titled: Is a Trail Camera Ban Coming to a State Near You? I wrote: Earlier in 2022 Utah joined Arizona and Nevada in banning the use of all trail cameras for hunting. Montana prohibits the use of cellular cams during hunting season.  I then asked: Could similar restrictions move eastward to states where millions of us chase whitetails, and where millions of us use trail cams extensively for scouting and hunting? It did not surprise me that those western states banned cameras. Most of the western elk and deer hunters I know, especially the die-hard “trad” bowhunters, are fervently anti-technology and very vocal about it. If the game [...]

Last year I reported on a survey showing that most hunters in Pennsylvania like the new if controversial Saturday start to the firearms deer season. For many years, the Penn. gun season started the Monday after Thanksgiving, but that was changed to the Saturday opener in 2021. The study found that some 60% of hunters preferred the Saturday opening day. Top reasons cited included more opportunity to hunt since most people are off work that day, and kids are out of school so it's easier for them to go with a parent on Saturday. Lancaster Online has conducted 3 polls since the season was changed, and all three times the majority of respondents favored the Saturday opener by a wide [...]