I’m probably going to be shot at for writing this column by one side or the other. But Pennsylvania’s ban on Sunday hunting is again back on the legislative skinning and gutting table.

The only real reason there’s a fight is because the Game Commission needs “bigger bucks” from whitetailed deer licensing and tags. That’s why the agency is gamely pushing for license fee increases after several years of major program cost-cutting.

BIG BUCKS ARE THE TARGET: With the state’s budget/spending pinch, Pennsylvania legislators may squeeze off an “easy shot” by dropping the Sunday hunting ban.

It’s safe to say that the main reason private landowners oppose Sunday hunting is to have a day of peace and quiet and without risk of errant 30-06 hollowpoint “missiles” invading their properties. “These are the people who account for about 80% of all land used for hunting in the state,” points out Joel Rotz, senior director of Pennsylvania Farm Bureau State Government Affairs.

As more hikers, bikers, horseback riders and leaf-peepers do the agritourism trip on private lands, that’s a valid concern. While there’re no damning statistics of injuries or fatalities, fear may be a deterring factor.

What ‘kill ol’ blue’ proponents argue

So you know, blue laws such as the ban on Sunday hunting, were originally aimed to encourage a day of worship or rest. All but two in Pennsylvania have been repealed, points out Bryan Burhans, the Game Commission’s deputy executive director.

One often-used claim is: “Well, everybody else is doing it.” It’s used as an excuse for many things, particularly by teenagers. Walmart has become today’s favored place of Sunday worship. And, only four states prohibit Sunday hunting altogether – Connecticut, Delaware, Maine and Massachusetts, says Burhans.

Some states allow Sunday hunting on private lands, but not “state wildlife lands”. A total of 11 states still have some restrictions, according to the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, a national lobby group.

Burhans contends many Pennsylvania residents living near state lines don’t even purchase Pennsylvania hunting licenses. “They opt to drive an hour or so to hunt in Ohio or New York to be able to maximize the time they have available by hunting Saturday and Sunday.”

He also reports that in a recent survey of hunters who let their licenses lapse, 49% said Sunday hunting would encourage them to buy licenses again. He didn’t clarify if that survey was done in Pennsylvania.

Really a buck and bucks issue

Hunters have only so many days to bag whitetailed bucks – and does, or course. The Game Commission and rabid sportsmens’ groups argue that hunters can’t take many days off work.

Since when? What rifle-toter hasn’t called in sick more than once?

The biggest target is bucks – money spent during deer season. And if you believe the 2010 jiggered (multipliered) numbers for allowing Sunday hunting, it’s a doozy.

“Spending by all hunters would likely have increased by $460 million,” says Burhans. The multiplier effects would have produced $803.6 million for the Pennsylvania economy, supported 7,439 jobs with $247.4 million of salary and wage income. That increased activity would have generated $56.8 million in state and local tax revenue, and $60.7 million in federal tax revenue.

Hey, I don’t make up stuff like this. Opening up for Sunday hunting almost sounds like a patriotic things to do, or like one of those stories coming out of hunting camp.

Will Pennsylvania legislators decide to put a bullet in “Ol’ Blue”? I’m betting they will. Big bucks tend to trump meeker voices.