This is a historic day in the annals of the Pennsylvania Game Commission as we start our firearms buck season on a Saturday instead of the traditional first Monday after Thanksgiving.

I must admit this Saturday kind of snuck up on me and many of our hunting routines seemed to get jammed up with the advanced opening. Regardless of the Saturday vs. Monday opener, I was going to be ready!

Two things that caused me problems were family traveling on the holiday weekend and last-minute touch ups at the shooting range. Anyone traveling to hunt always likes to make a final check of their rifles’ accuracy before the hunt lest they bumped the scope or have any other unforeseen issues.

I will have several rifles ready to go if needed and they will certainly be zeroed in at the 100-yard range targets at a minimum. I read an article about PA hunting many years ago that insisted that most of the Keystone State hunters shot their bucks at 100 yards or less in distance.

I tried to think about the deer that I have harvested over the years and the ranges certainly varied from real close to about 200 yards. It really depended on the location of my stand and what shots I allowed myself to take, keeping the terrain in mind.

We are a woodsy state and have plenty of draws and hollows crisscrossing our hunting areas. Even in the more open field areas, the deer like to stay on edges and cut the corners of the farm land.

The PGC expects the Saturday buck opener to be the best harvest day of the hunting season, followed by the next two Saturdays and likely the traditional Monday after Thanksgiving. I do like having three Saturdays to go hunting,but my wife still wants the season over soon so that we can do our traditional Christmas tree hunt!

How about this sportsman’s holiday … Saturday buck hunt … Sunday the Browns game at the ‘burgh and then the traditional Monday hunt! I can’t wait, but for some reason she can’t wait until it’s over!? If I can keep my buddies quiet with the Duck calls at the game, I will feel like I had a successful weekend!

I have seen and heard of plenty of nice bucks this year in my hunting areas, which makes me consider this dilemma. Do I want to look over every buck and find a shooter buck or do I want to wait for the boss of the woods?

With me, it has always been more of a luck thing that I count on in hunting. However, you do make your own luck by putting yourself in the right situations, by scouting areas, picking good stands and having clean shooting lanes.

Many times, you can put yourself at a disadvantage due to poor stand placement, not being vigilant or being caught off-guard by a quick appearance of a deer. Two times in recent years, I passed on bucks because I wasn’t certain if they passed the three-up rule. They certainly looked the part, but I could not confirm it!

This brings me to a very important part of hunting that I can’t stress enough — good optics. Having quality vision assistance in the woods can make the difference between a successful hunt and a flash of white tails down the trail. Put the binoculars on a deer quickly and then you can pick your shot if it’s a good one.

Trying to view the antlers with your scope can really be a disadvantage and can be dangerous when you consider safe backgrounds to shoot toward. I like to take some looks at all the areas that I might expect to see a deer and to especially check for potential problems. Remember, a high-powered rifle can shoot for miles if you don’t have a safe area behind your target!

Whether you like the new changes or you are more of a traditionalist, have a safe and fun-filled hunt with your friends and family. The Pennsylvania deer season is one of the greatest events in outdoor sports across the United States and I dare say that no other hunt can match it for the sheer numbers of hunters and excitement it brings to the Pennsylvania rural areas.

The economy benefits by all the hunter dollars in supplies, fuel, lodging and meals served in all the small-town diners! In some areas, the hunting industry is a large part of the income many of these businesses count on.

Don’t forget the deer processing, specialty meats and sharing the harvest programs if you are successful. A stick of deer boloney is a nice Christmas present for a landowner that grants you access to their land.

Until we meet again, hunt safe and shoot straight!

Jay Hewitt is an outdoors columnist for the Butler Eagle