IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!

To be honest…there are a lot of things that frustrate me about hunting in
Pennsylvania.
* Nearly 1.5 million hunters in the woods each fall
* Antler restrictions
* Late starting archery season
* You’re only allowed ONE buck each season
* Anyone can use a crossbow
* Split antlered and antlerless firearm seasons
* Not able to use inline muzzleloaders for early AND late seasons
* Mountain Laurel

However, I will give this commonwealth kudos on a couple things…they don’t
allow Sunday hunting and with some restrictions, they do allow spotting or
shining.

AN AWFUL IDEA

But there’s one thing that has been a source of annoyance to me and many
other Pennsylvania hunters for many years.
Pennsylvania is one of only two states (New York being the other) that
require hunters to display their hunting license information on their back
while hunting. I don’t know who came up with this idea but it is one of the
most ridiculous laws I have ever heard of.

The print is so small that a Game Commission Officer would have to be
within 10 feet of you to read the information without the aid of optics.
The holders you HAVE TO BUY are prone to be wiped off your body if a branch
happens to swipe your back and, because you can’t see it, you have no idea
where or when it fell off. To top it all off, you are charged a fee to get
a replacement!

NEW LEGISLATION

Republican Representative Keith Gillespie (York County) has recently
introduced legislation that would no longer make it a requirement that
hunters display their license information on a back tag. I say it’s about
time!

If you live or hunt in Pennsylvania, call, write, or email your local state
representative to voice your support for this legislation.

CONCLUSION

If you know of any arcane or outdated game laws that are still on the books
in your state, let me know about them by leaving your comments at the end
of this blog.

If you would like to discuss this or any other archery topic with me
directly, please feel free to email me at toddlydell@gmail.com.

And don’t forget to check out my instructional archery videos at
www.youtube.com/archery64.