![]() ![]() “We’ve always offered something to do with sporting goods, and hunting has become an integral part of our business. “For us as a small business - our hardware store has changed a lot over time,” Orient said. Orient, 46, is a fourth-generation owner of Hepler’s Hardware in Youngwood, a store that has seen a regular influx of customers for hunting license sales over the years. The law change is prompting local hunting license sellers to buckle down and prepare for the wave of hunters soon to flood through their doors.ĭespite the worries that older hunters have expressed, local shop owner Megan Orient is confident in her employees’ preparations for the upcoming rush. It may turn out to be the best thing in the world, or it may turn out to be the worst. “It’s going to be a big change, and change is always hard. “I just think the old way worked,” Bilik said. “I think that (the Game Commission is) trying to modernize their hunting process.”īilik predicted that the lines at in-person license purchase sites will be “out the door.” He said the second round of license sales would be unfair because it would be first-come, first-served rather than the traditional raffle that came with the mail-in application system. “We might see a decline in older hunters, but it could cause an increase in younger hunters because it will be easier for them to get a license,” Simon said. Jason Simon, 46, an avid hunter and member of the Logan’s Ferry Sportsmen’s Club in Plum, believes the new law was a “long time coming,” pointing out that other states such as Texas and Virginia have had online license purchases available for years. “So there is increased convenience and choice of how or where to purchase an antlerless license associated with these changes, and hunters no longer will need to navigate the mail-in application process.” “(The new law) opens up new options for hunters, including buying antlerless licenses online,” said Travis Lau, communications director for the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Other hunters said the new law allows for a modern approach for getting an antlerless deer license, and takes a massive amount of work off county treasurers’ shoulders. Some raised the concern that older generations of hunters don’t have computers in their households, nor are they familiar with how to navigate different portals on the Game Commission website. ![]() There have been mixed opinions from local hunters about the new procurement process. Hunters were required to use a self-addressed stamped envelope and paper checks, a process that is becoming “increasingly foreign to some hunters.” They had to do so according to a set schedule, with various deadlines based on state residency and rounds of sales. Hunters previously applied for each round of antlerless licenses by mail, sending pink envelopes to county treasurers, the only entity permitted to sell them. ![]() The new process for obtaining antlerless licenses was made possible by a new law - Senate Bill 431 - that took effect this year. “I can’t imagine the system is going to be able to handle that many people visiting the site all at once the first thing in the morning. “I think the (computer) system will crash,” Bilik said. Some lifelong hunters such as Mike Bilik, 67, a board member of Westmoreland County Sportsmen’s League and the Sportsmen’s Association of Greensburg, think the change was unnecessary and may come with unforeseen repercussions. Not all hunters are happy to see the tradition of mailing their pink envelopes to county treasurers - and waiting with anticipation to receive their doe tag - be erased after four decades of practice in Pennsylvania. Hunters can either go to a license issuing agent or they can purchase licenses online at huntfish.pa.gov. Monday when sales begin for general hunting and furtaker licenses. The new process will go into effect at 8 a.m. Hunters in the state soon will be able to buy their 2023-24 antlerless deer licenses wherever hunting licenses are sold. ![]() Change is in the air this Pennsylvania hunting season. ![]()
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