Edward Ostrowski tried to get an early start on bagging his antlerless deer license Monday, but it didn’t work out that way.

It wasn’t effortless for other hunters, either, whether they tried to get licenses through the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new system online or by visiting licensing agents like Ostrowski did.

“I was here at 9 o’clock or it might have been earlier,” Ostrowski, of Delano, said from Tom’s Auto and Marine in Tamaqua. “I was standing here with about 30 people.”

It took him until 12:15 p.m. to get his tags through the system, which was implemented Monday by the commission.

Local issuing agents reported that the system “crashed” multiple times throughout the morning.

“We did have slowness,” said commission spokesman Travis Lau. “A lot of people were trying to access the system as we anticipated. We had some systemwide problems this morning and we saw that sales were really slow. That happened between 9:15 and 10:15 a.m. We found the root of the problem and it seems like sales are coming in again and they are steady. We hope it will stay that way.”

As the system slogged at its slowest, the game commission posted an apology on Facebook:

“Due to the high volume of sales this morning, Pennsylvania’s hunting license system experienced widespread slowness and intermittent errors, both online and in stores.”

The commission apologized and said it was working with our online vendor to resolve issues.

Ostrowski had a feeling the new method wouldn’t be without problems.

“I figured it would crash,” he admitted.

No more mail

Before Monday, hunters applied for each round of antlerless licenses by mail, and would send pink envelopes with applications to county treasurers. The treasurers’ offices were the only way to obtain the licenses, and applicants had to apply according to a set schedule.

?Dave Boyle of Summit Hill logged on to the website queue around 10 a.m. and finally was able to purchase his license at 8:45 p.m.

“The fact that I got an email saying when I was able to sign in was nice so I didn’t miss my turn, but I feel as if they should structure the sales better with different WMUs scheduled for different days to reduce site traffic,” Boyle said.

Roxanne Noecker intended to purchase licenses for herself, her husband and her daughter online from her home.

She logged onto HuntFish.pa.gov at 8 a.m. - the minute sales opened.

“I was 33,003 ‘in line’ at that time,” she explained.

A message she received with her number noted that customers would be able to make purchases once those ahead of them had completed theirs.

Alternatively, it noted that customers could visit a local agent.

Noecker decided to do that, and found herself at Tom’s at 10:15 a.m.

It would take about two hours until she got to the front of the line, but as she left - licenses in hand - at 12:15 p.m., she didn’t second guess her decision to visit the agent.

Noecker looked at her phone to see she’d only moved to 25,337 in the online queue by then.

“I’m happy I came here,” she said.

System issues

After lunchtime Monday, the line for doe licenses at A.F. Boyer Hardware & Guns in Slatington was 30 to 40 deep.

“We’ve got quite a few waiting,” said Debbie Boyer.

During the morning hours, she said, the system went down.

“We were only able to issue one license in 1 and ½ to two hours,” Boyer explained.

She noted that the store had expected some issues because it was a new way of doing things.

At Tom’s, customers passed time by talking about hunting and fishing. They were invited to help themselves to doughnuts placed on one of the shop’s counters.

“Everyone has been so understanding,” said Tara Titus, an employee who arrived to find the parking lot full.

As fellow employee Edward Wagner processed licenses, Titus thanked hunters for their patience.

Corey Thompson of Barnesville, admitted that he didn’t have enough patience to wait up to three hours at the Hometown Walmart. The line wound around the outdoor department and reached a rear entrance, he said.

Visiting Tom’s, Thompson said, was a better option.

Long lines at the Walmart also turned around Randy and Sherry Boyer. The couple had other appointments Monday and decided to try Tom’s instead.

Sherry admitted that it was “a lot of waiting and waiting,” but Randy said there will be some perks to the new system once all the glitches are removed.

“You don’t have to buy a stamp or a money order,” he said.

Long time hunters

At Dunkelberger’s Sports Outfitter in Brodheadsville, staff handed out numbers just like at a deli counter.

Harry Koehler of Effort, had been there about 45 minutes as of 2:15 p.m. He was getting closer. His number was in the 90s and they were in the 80s at that point.

Talking to others, the 73-year-old who has been hunting since the age of 15, said the new system “doesn’t appear to be working.”

He wasn’t expecting the long delay.

“I came out because it was raining and I wasn’t mowing so I thought I’d get it taken care of,” he said.

Bob Hand of Saylorsburg, stopped at Dunkelberger’s on his way home from his part-time job.

He said he wanted to be there on the first day to make sure he got a doe license, but he’s more interested in preserving doe and going for the trophy buck.

“At age 71 do I really want to drag a doe out of the woods? The answer is ‘no,’” he said.

Holding ticket 101, he said, “I thought with everything on the computer it would be faster.”

Teri Van Britsom of Effort came to pick up a license for her husband who was working. She said the new system puts a working person at a disadvantage. It was easier to mail in the envelopes.

Clark Tuttle of Albrightsville stopped twice at the store and came away empty-handed both times. The system was down the first time and the second there were just too many people. He will return another day.

Pace picks up

Things started to move along at a steady pace at Buck’s Sporting Goods in Franklin Township after 1 p.m. Monday. Still, there were long lines.

A woman who answered the telephone at the shop said she had been receiving telephone calls “every few minutes” about the licenses. Plus, owner Tony Schmalzel had just been interviewed by a television station about the matter, and he was trying to catch up.

Staff at Cindy’s Deli near Lehighton heard how busy Schmalzel was and wanted to provide him with dinner.

In a Facebook post, the business asked if there was anyone willing to swing by the deli for a meal for the man.

“I heard he’s really busy with hunting licenses and all alone, and I want to make sure he’s got something to eat,” read the post.

Lau said there are more licenses to hunt doe this year. The game commission allocated about 1.09 million for the 2023-24 season, up from the 948,000 allocated last year.

“That means it will take more hunters to affect the sell out,” he explained.

But, he said, there’s a chance the licenses will be sold faster than usual now that there are more than 700 issuing agents and the online option - compared to the approximate 65 county treasurers.

Lau said the process is new, so there’s no telling of sales trends at this point.

“We can’t offer any insurance that if you wait that you will get your doe license,” he explained.

State Rep. Doyle Heffley (R-Carbon) weighed in on the issues consumers experienced.

“The Game Commission’s rollout of the automated process has been a huge debacle thus far,” Heffley said, adding his office received numerous complaints Monday.

He was against the change. “At a time when we should be doing all that we can to encourage outdoor activities and make it easier for individuals purchasing online, this is a huge step backward and an epic failure,” Heffley said.

Marta Gouger contributed to this report.