Since 1963, the first day of hunting has been on a Monday until this year. The first day of hunting was on a Saturday, which has left some students divided in their opinions.

Meredith Brooks, a junior, said she has been hunting since she was old enough to go into the woods with her dad, who she normally goes hunting with. Brooks said she enjoys hunting because it is a stress reliever and brings her family together.

“There’s not a much better supper conversation than talking about what we saw, where they come from, and how fast they were going,” Brooks said.

As for the first day of hunting being a Saturday, Brooks said she definitely does not like the change. She said Black Friday messed with the people who didn’t have time to do their pre-season preparation. If they needed to get extra supplies, she said, they would have to wait in insane lines, which was inconvenient.

Brooks said her family usually does their grocery shopping on the Saturday before opening day, which gives them time to get their guns sighted and tree stands ready.

“This year, we had to do everything the weekend before,” Brooks said, “which set back other things that we had to get done.”

Although Brooks strongly disliked this change in tradition, Braden Mohney, also a junior, felt indifferent to it.

Mohney said he has been hunting since he was five years old with his dad, grandpa, or by himself as he got older. He said he enjoys hunting because he loves being in the woods.

“It takes your mind off the problems you might have in your life and you can just relax,” Mohney said. He also said it helps put food on the table when he harvests a deer.

Mohney said he doesn’t mind that the first day is on a Saturday now, adding that it opens up a lot of opportunities for others to hunt. In the group of people who work heavily throughout the week, Mohney said, that one day allows them to get into the woods without them having to take a day off of work.

He said that none of his first day traditions changed. On the first day, he still got to hunt with his dad, which he said he has done since he can remember. After the first day, Mohney said he hunts by himself on his property.

Overall, Brooks and Mohney both said they enjoy hunting, no matter if it is a Saturday or Monday, they both still go out and enjoy the day.