Here’s a quick rundown of some common questions people may have about the 2023-24 hunting seasons in Pennsylvania:
Which Sundays can you hunt in Pennsylvania in 2023?
Three Sundays are open to hunting: Nov. 12, 19 and 26.
You are viewing: When Does Pa Doe Season Start
Nov. 12 is open to archery deer, and in Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5C and 5D archery bear hunting.
Small game including squirrels, pheasants, rabbits, grouse, bobwhite quail, woodchucks, crows, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, opossums, striped skunks, weasels and porcupines can be hunted.
Nov. 19 is open to bear hunting and in Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5C and 5D archery deer hunting.
Small game including squirrels, pheasants, rabbits, grouse, bobwhite quail, woodchucks, crows, raccoons, foxes, coyotes, opossums, striped skunks, weasels and porcupines can be hunted.
Nov. 26 is rifle deer season statewide and extended black bear season in certain WMUs.
What are the 2023-2024 small game seasons in Pennsylvania?
The Game Commission plans to release more than 237,000 pheasants across Pennsylvania this fall and winter. Hunters should check pgc.pa.gov to see where birds will be released compared to previous years.
Pheasant season in Pennsylvania starts Oct. 7-14 for junior hunters. For all hunters, the seasons run Oct. 21-Nov. 11, Nov. 13-18, Nov. 20-24, Dec. 11-23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 29. There are two Sundays, Nov. 12 and 19, open to pheasant hunting.
Hunters are permitted to take two birds, male or female, a day.
A pheasant permit is required. Adults pay $26.97 for the permit in addition to their general license. The pheasant permit is free to junior license holders ages 12-17.
Squirrel season is Sept. 9-Nov. 24, with Sundays Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 included, and Dec. 11-Dec. 23 and Dec. 26-Feb. 29.
Ruffed Grouse is Oct. 14-Nov. 24, Sundays Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 included, and Dec. 11-Dec. 23
Rabbit for junior hunters was Sept. 30-Oct. 14
Rabbit season is Oct. 14-Nov. 24, Sundays Nov. 12 and Nov. 19 included, and Dec. 11-Dec. 23 and Dec. 26.-Feb. 29.
When is deer season in Pennsylvania?
The statewide archery season is Sept. 30-Nov. 17, including Sunday, Nov. 12. The late season is Jan. 26-Jan. 15. Hunters in Wildlife Management Unit 2B around Pittsburgh and 5C and 5D in southeastern Pennsylvania have longer archery seasons that include Sept. 16-Nov. 24 and Dec. 26-Jan. 27.
Hunters can use long, recurve and compound bows and crossbows.
Read more : When Do Ameraucana Chickens Start Laying Eggs
This year’s antlerless doe only muzzleloader dates are Oct. 14-21. Various action styles are permitted including in-line, percussion and flint lock. Hunters need to have an antlerless deer license in addition to their muzzleloader stamp.
For part of that week, Oct. 19-21, junior and senior license holders, mentored license holders, active-duty military and hunter with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind can hunt antlerless deer with a rifle.
The late flintlock-only muzzleloader season is Dec. 26-Jan. 15. The season extends to Jan. 27 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, where it’s also an extended firearms season for antlerless deer.
The regular firearms deer season for both buck and doe is Nov. 25-Dec. 9.
An extended regular firearms season for antlerless deer runs Dec. 26-Jan. 27 in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D.
Tagging deer
Hunters who kill a deer are required to secure the tag on the deer’s ear. It needs to be filled out with a pen. In the past two years, hunters were required to notch out the date on the back of the tag, but that requirement has ended. Deer should not be tagged on an antler because the Game Commission staff want the tag to stay with the animal’s head for research possibilities. Sometimes antlers are removed from the deer at the butcher shop.
When is fall turkey season in Pennsylvania?
Hunters are permitted to shoot one turkey, male or female, each fall using a shotgun or archery gear. The seasons varies across the state.
- In WMU 2B, the season runs Oct. 28-Nov. 17 and Nov. 22-24
- In WMUs 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B, 4D and 4E, the season is Oct. 28-Nov. 4.
- In WMUs 2A, 2F, 2G, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D 4C, the season is Oct. 28-Nov. 11.
- WMU 2C, 2D and 2E seasons are Oct. 28-Nov. 11 and Nov. 22-Nov. 24.
- WMU 5B has a three-day season Oct. 31-Nov. 2.
- WMUs 5A, 5C and 5D are closed to fall turkey hunting.
More:Pennsylvania study monitors wild turkeys that produce poults throughout the summer
When can you hunt black bear in Pennsylvania?
There are several seasons to hunt black bear.
- There is an early archery season for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D Sept. 16-Nov. 24 and WMU 5B is Sept. 30-Nov. 17.
- Statewide archery bear season runs Oct. 14-Nov. 4.
- Muzzleloader bear season is Oct. 14-21.
- Special firearms bear season for junior and senior license holders, active-duty military and certain disabled persons’ permit holders is set for Oct. 19-21.
- Regular firearms bear season is Nov. 18-21.
- Extended bear season overlapping with rifle deer hunting in Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, is permitted Nov. 25-Dec. 9.
- In WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A, the season runs Nov. 25-Dec. 2. Both extended seasons include Sunday, Nov. 26.
When is elk hunting season in Pennsylvania?
The Game Commission reports 57,154 people applied for the 144 available elk tags. Hunters can apply for each of the three seasons ― archery, general and the late season ― and in total the agency received 111,595 applications. Each application costs $11.97. The deadline to apply for a license has passed.
Archery season was Sept. 16-30.
The general hunting season is Oct. 30-Nov. 4 and the late season is Dec. 30-Jan. 6.
Conservation at work:What’s joining, what’s leaving Pennsylvania’s endangered and threatened species lists?
What can mentored hunters pursue?
A mentored hunter can hunt squirrels, rabbits, hares, ruffed grouse, bobwhite quail, pheasants, crows, doves, porcupines, woodchucks, coyotes, deer and turkeys while hunting with a licensed adult.
Mentored Hunting Program permit fees are $2.97 for resident and nonresident applicants under 12; $6.97 for resident applicants 12 to 16; $41.97 for nonresident applicants 12 to 16; $20.97 for residents 17 and older, and $101.97 for nonresidents 17 and older.
Licenses and Mentored Hunting Program permits can be obtained from any license-issuing agent or huntfish.pa.gov.
How much do Pa. hunting licenses cost?
Hunting licenses, including antlerless deer licenses, are available at huntfish.pa.gov and hundreds of sports shops and county treasurers across the state. Resident adult hunting licenses cost $20.97, resident junior licenses $6.97. For residents, archery licenses are $16.97 and muzzleloader stamps are $11.97. For nonresidents, general licenses are $101.97, junior licenses are $41.97, archery is $26.97 and muzzleloader is $21.97.
Read more : When Will Trodusquemine Be Available
The agency plans to issue just more than 1 million antlerless deer licenses, up from the 948,000 issued for 2022-23. The licenses went on sale June 26 wherever general hunting licenses are sold. They cost $6.97 for residents and $26.97 for nonresidents. Huntfish.pa.go, provides live updates of where antlerless licenses remain available.
How do I report a violation?
If you see someone doing something illegal, such as shooting at deer from the roadway, the Game Commission has three phone numbers to call: 833-PGC-HUNT (833-742-4868), 833-PGC-Wild (833-742-9453) and Operation Game Thief at 888-PGC-8001. The agency’s website is pgc.pa.gov to report something online. The agency would like people to report crimes against wildlife as quickly as possible and callers should try to document a physical description of people, animals and vehicles.
When do I have to wear fluorescent orange while hunting in Pennsylvania?
This is a common question as the regulation varies depending on what you are hunting.
For example, those hunting groundhogs only need to wear an orange hat.
If you are small game hunting or firearm hunting for deer, bear or elk, you need to have at least 250 inches of orange clothing combined on your head, chest and back.
If you hunt out of a blind where other hunters might not be able to see you, you are also required to post 100 square inches of orange on the outside of the blind.
If you walk on state game lands during the rifle hunting season times of Nov. 15-Dec. 15, you are required to wear at least 250 inches of orange clothing regardless if you are hunting.
No fluorescent orange is required during archery seasons for deer, bear or elk, the after-Christmas flintlock muzzleloader season, and when hunting waterfowl, doves, turkey or crows.
What’s the status of Chronic Wasting Disease in Pennsylvania?
The Game Commission is monitoring Chronic Wasting Disease in deer across the state. There are Disease Management Areas and Established Areas where deer have tested positive for the fatal neurological disease. The agency has deer-head collection bins located in these areas where hunters can have their deer tested free of charge.
The Game Commission is allowing hunters who harvest a deer, elk or other cervid outside of Pennsylvania to take it directly to any Game Commission-approved processor or taxidermist anywhere in the state. Hunters who take a deer within any of Pennsylvania’s DMAs or its EA can do the same. The list of CWD partners is available at pgc.pa.gov/cwd.
In past years, hunters were prohibited from bringing high-risk carcass parts from such animals taken in other states back to Pennsylvania.
Hunters were also prohibited from moving those parts from any of the state’s Disease Management Areas or the Established Area to anywhere else in Pennsylvania.
Hunters who process their own deer have options, too. If a hunter harvests a deer within a DMA or the EA and is transporting it home to process within that same DMA or the EA, they can do so as long as the high-risk parts are disposed of through a trash service. Hunters who live outside a DMA or the EA can quarter the animal to take it home, free of high-risk parts.
High-risk parts include the head (including brain, tonsils, eyes, and any lymph nodes); spinal cord/backbone; spleen; and skull plate with attached antlers.
Also, although not recommended, high-risk parts can remain at the harvest location. But once they’re moved from the harvest location, high-risk parts cannot be placed back onto the landscape.
This column was meant to highlight some of the more common things we as hunters need to remember. But it’s in no way intended to replace the 70-page Hunting and Trapping Digest you received with your license. If you still have questions, you’ll probably find the answers there. If not, please reach out to me and I’ll track down the information.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him [email protected] and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook@whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram atwhipkeyoutdoors.
Source: https://t-tees.com
Category: WHEN
