# Deer Season 'practically a national holiday'; who knew? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [November 22, 2010, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544 "2010-11-22T16:35:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/21 "2010-11-22T20:34:22Z")
A large multinational company I worked for “back in the day” had at least two of it’s plants “closed” on the opening day of deer season. One was in the middle of Pennsylvania and the other in the middle of Louisiana. Other rural plants may have done something similar. The more hunting oriented crowd would often take the whole week. ---
**Author:** ![Soliloquy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Soliloquy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Soliloquy)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/22 "2010-11-22T20:38:51Z")
I live in California, of all places. Here, it’s not a state thing, but an individual obsession. My (soon to be) ex-husband actually refused to accompany me to my little sister’s wedding and my mother’s wedding, one year following the next, because they had the audacity to plan their weddings during deer season. Yes, he actually expected them to plan their weddings around deer season, or else he would not (did not) go to their weddings. I was 7 months pregnant during my mother’s wedding. That is one of many reasons that he is my ex. It isn’t the hunting I cared about. I went with him! I hunted, sometimes! But for goodness sake, family should be more important than ONE DAY out of your hunting life. ---
**Author:** ![filling\_pages](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/b9bd4f/32.png) [@filling\_pages](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filling_pages)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 8:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/23 "2010-11-22T20:39:57Z")
> [@Tom\_Tildrum](#): > > Sure it is. That’s when they all go to Florida. I wish. I was hoping for venison on Thanksgiving, but all the hunters in my family are either having bad luck or just holding off on bagging theirs so they can maximize the time spent in the woods. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/22080_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/24 "2010-11-22T20:46:55Z")
My husband isn’t a hunter, so he’s not aware of the seasons. He was plant engineer at a wire mill in Florida and he scheduled some major maintenance for the first week of deer season. His entire maintenance staff threatened to quit, and they were serious. So he rescheduled. Apparently, you don’t mess with deer season. ---
**Author:** ![caveman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/caveman/32/7242_2.png) [@caveman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/caveman)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/25 "2010-11-22T21:16:33Z")
I witnessed the rural to suburban transition in my hometown. I distinctly recall that in elementary school (K-5) both the start of deer season and the local livestock show were school holidays. By high school they were merely excused absences with a parent’s note, plus a critter to exhibit in the case of the livestock show. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/26 "2010-11-22T21:23:39Z")
It always worked out great for me. We were allowed to swap the days we worked with other people. I don’t hunt so I was able to get Christmas by working for a hunter on opening day. ---
**Author:** ![wheresmymind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/91b2a8/32.png) [@wheresmymind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wheresmymind)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/27 "2010-11-22T21:33:29Z")
You’re obviously from the _Western_ shore of MD. Across the bridge attitudes towards deer season are similar to those you’re experiencing now. ---
**Author:** ![Kyla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/eada6e/32.png) [@Kyla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kyla)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/28 "2010-11-22T21:34:51Z")
:dubious: If deer season is a national holiday, West Virginia must be in a different nation from where I grew up. ---
**Author:** ![norinew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/eb9ed0/32.png) [@norinew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/norinew)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/29 "2010-11-22T21:39:25Z")
> [@Kyla](#): > > :dubious: If deer season is a national holiday, West Virginia must be in a different nation from where I grew up. Well, as I’ve already said, I realize it’s _not_ ‘national’ per se; it’s regional. But ‘it’s practically a national holiday’ is exactly what my plumber said to me! ---
**Author:** ![Athena](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/35a633/32.png) [@Athena](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Athena)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/30 "2010-11-22T21:48:30Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > We lived near the trailhead for a popular hunting spot, and used to watch all the guys bring back their deer Thanksgiving week. We found it pretty amusing that most of them were wearing 1) Camouflaged clothing and 2) bright orange vests. Yup, you definitely didn’t grow up around deer season. I think I knew that deer couldn’t see orange by the time I was 5. Kids here don’t get the week off school - just the typical 2 or 2.5 days for Thanksgiving - but it’s pretty common for people to take their kids out of school for the week to go to deer camp. Nothing too fancy is planned during deer season, except for girl stuff. My little town has an annual shopping night for women, where the stores stay open late and have appetizers and such for the camp widows. For me, deer season means I see more of my mother (because my Dad’s at deer camp) and I can’t go walking in the woods with my dogs. If I’m lucky, I get some venison, but not much because Mr. Athena doesn’t hunt and that confuses most of the men in my family. In the Athena household, we’re on the deer’s side. (except if they’re already dead, butchered, and presented to me for cooking) ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 10:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/31 "2010-11-22T22:29:25Z")
I used to hunt every year, no longer do. I notice an increase in deer strikes during hunting season. As a motorcyclist, I worry about hitting a deer or moose. Thank God for hunters thinning the herd. What sucks is that there are less and less hunters. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 10:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/32 "2010-11-22T22:44:40Z")
> [@sparky\_1](#): > > I used to hunt every year, no longer do. > > I notice an increase in deer strikes during hunting season. As a motorcyclist, I worry about hitting a deer or moose. Thank God for hunters thinning the herd. What sucks is that there are less and less hunters. I’m not sure how much hunters do to “thin the herd”. If you want to really thin the herd you kill the females, not the males. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/33 "2010-11-22T22:51:41Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I’m not sure how much hunters do to “thin the herd”. If you want to really thin the herd you kill the females, not the males. Well, something is better than nothing. ---
**Author:** ![flickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7bcc69/32.png) [@flickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flickster)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/34 "2010-11-22T22:52:02Z")
Does are taken just as often, or more so, than bucks. While there are a small percentage of hunters only out after a trophy, most are just out after venison for the freezer ---
**Author:** ![dhkendall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a9adbd/32.png) [@dhkendall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dhkendall)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/35 "2010-11-22T23:02:15Z")
And Americans wonder why the Chinese are beating them? (I know I live in an urban area and all (yes, in Canada, but I know people hunt north of the 49th too) but really, I’d find most of these stories hard to believe if I didn’t know that y’all were telling the truth … ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/36 "2010-11-22T23:51:33Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I’m not sure how much hunters do to “thin the herd”. If you want to really thin the herd you kill the females, not the males. Quite a few places issue does licenses as well as those for bucks. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 22, 2010, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/37 "2010-11-22T23:53:02Z")
> [@ShibbOleth](#): > > I’m not sure how much hunters do to “thin the herd”. If you want to really thin the herd you kill the females, not the males. The number of doe shot depends on how many you want born the next year. One buck impregnates a lot of doe. It’s called herd management not genocide. The deer are shot just before winter when the feed becomes more scarce. The fawn pop out next year when there is plenty of food. In the CWD control areas they do shoot everything. The purpose there being to try and wipe out this plague, which I don’t think is possible. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/38 "2010-11-23T00:01:27Z")
In Wisconsin it’s what Thanksgiving weekend is for. Eating was always secondary to hunting when my aunts and uncles were younger and and owned farms. Hunters would go over to the neighbors farms to see how many they had tied up. All the farmers had relatives and friends hunting that weekend. A dozen deer shoot was not unheard of. Many people took one of their vacation weeks off to hunt. Lot’s of people came up from other states even to hunt on the farms. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/39 "2010-11-23T00:08:01Z")
> [@Simplicio](#): > > We found it pretty amusing that most of them were wearing 1) Camouflaged clothing and 2) bright orange vests. The camouflage is to confuse the deer. The orange is to alert other hunters. Obviously deer are blind to orange. But orange you glad you wore yours? ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2010, 12:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544/40 "2010-11-23T00:28:14Z")
> [@dhkendall](#): > > And Americans wonder why the Chinese are beating them? Because our holidays involve chasing deers with firearms and their holidays involve chasing dragons with fireworks? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/deer-season-practically-a-national-holiday-who-knew/561544.md?page=3)