Trending
LOCK HAVEN -- Though the season is already well underway, it's not too late to fill your tags!
This year's statewide firearms deer season began on Saturday, Nov. 25 and runs until Saturday, Dec. 9 (excluding Sunday, Dec. 3).
The Pennsylvania Game Commission said in the last season, 2022-23, hunters harvested an estimated 422,960 white-tailed deer -- around 164,190 bucks and 258,770 antlerless deer.
According to the Game Commission, the National Deer Association (NDA) regularly ranks Pennsylvania tops in the country for hunter density. It says there were 14.4 hunters per square mile here in 2021, the most recent year for which statistics are available. Only three other states -- New York (12), Wisconsin (11.4) and New Jersey (10.5) - hit double digits.
According to the NDA, Pennsylvania ranked in the top five states in 2021 for antlered buck harvest; antlered buck harvest per square mile; antlerless deer harvest; antlerless deer harvest per square mile; and antlerless deer per antlered buck harvest. That wasn't the first time, either. Pennsylvania stands among the top states in those categories all the time, it noted.
"Pennsylvania's firearms deer season is truly a tradition unlike any other," said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. "We've got lots of deer and lots of hunters pursuing them, some from camps far from home, others in woodlots and fields near where they live. But all share the same passion for wildlife, hunting and conservation. That's something special."
According to the Game Commission, there are new rules in place regarding those hunting within a Disease Management Area (DMA) or the Established Area (EA) to both make things easier on hunters while addressing Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) concerns.
CWD is a fatal neurological condition that affects cervid species -- deer, elk, caribou and moose -- and is classified similarly to mad cow disease (bovine spongiform encephalopathy) and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in humans.
The disease is spread through direct animal-to-animal contact as well as indirectly through environments contaminated with prions through saliva, urine, feces and infected carcasses. Once the environment is infected, the prions can remain in the soil from several years to decades and infect the wildlife.
This disease has swept across much of North America and the Game Commission began testing for it in cervids in the commonwealth in 1998.
In previous years, hunters who harvested a deer within a DMA or EA had two options after harvesting a deer. They could either process it themselves within the boundaries and risk leaving behind parts like the head and backbone of the animal, which are high-risk, or they could take it to an approved processor/taxidermist specific to their DMA/EA.
This helped to limit the spread of CWD into other areas, but made it difficult for hunters to pick up their meat or mount if they lived in a different area.
According to the Game Commission, Starting this season, hunters who harvest a deer within a DMA or EA -- or even outside Pennsylvania -- can take it directly to any Game Commission-approved processor or taxidermist anywhere in the state that will dispose of high-risk parts properly. The list of cooperators is available on the agency website, www.pgc.pa.gov.
This will ensure the disposal of high-risk parts, enhance CWD surveillance and make the whole process more convenient for hunters. Hunters are still unable to process a deer from a DMA or EA and process it themselves, or take high-risk parts from the deer they harvested away from the kill site.
The Game Commission noted, hunters who harvest a deer in a DMA or the EA can get it tested for CWD for free by placing the animal's head in one of many collection bins, the locations of which are identified on the Game Commission website.
Test results can then be checked at the Game Commission's CWD dashboard, pgcdatacollection.pa.gov/CWDResultsLookup.
To educate yourself on the impact of CWD, you can visit www.pgc.pa.gov/Wildlife/WildlifeHealth/Pages/ChronicWastingDisease.aspx for more information.
As always there are numerous requirements, regulations and guidelines to follow during the season. The Game Commission provided a list of license requirements and season regulations in a recent press release.
License
requirements
Hunters are permitted to harvest one antlered deer with a valid general hunting license, which costs $20.97 for adult residents and $101.97 for adult nonresidents.
To take an antlerless deer, a hunter must possess either a valid antlerless deer license or valid Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) permit. A mentored hunter under the age of 7 cannot apply for their own antlerless license or DMAP permit, but can harvest an antlerless deer if an antlerless license or DMAP permit is transferred to them by a mentor at the time of harvest.
Antlerless deer licenses can be used anywhere within the Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) for which they're issued.
A DMAP permit, meanwhile, can be used only on the specific property for which it is issued. Some DMAP permits might remain available on private and public properties throughout the state. Visit the DMAP Participating Properties locator on the Game Commission's website to learn more about where they are available.
As for mentored hunting permits, they're available to hunters of all ages. Mentored hunters ages 7 and older receive an antlered deer harvest tag with their permit and can apply for their own antlerless deer license. Those under 7 must receive deer harvest tags from their mentors. A mentor can transfer an antlered deer harvest tag and an antlerless license and/or DMAP permit to a mentored hunter under 7.
Mentored hunting permit fees are $2.97 for residents and nonresidents under 12; $6.97 for residents 12 to 16; $41.97 for nonresidents 12 to 16; $20.97 for residents 17 and older; and $101.97 for nonresidents 17 and older.
Hunters 12 or older who are certified through the Game Commission's Hunter-Trapper Education program qualify to purchase general hunting licenses, which provide more privileges. Certified hunters 12 to 16 can obtain junior licenses, the least expensive of which cost $6.97 for residents and $41.97 for nonresidents.
Those holding senior lifetime licenses are reminded they must obtain a new antlered deer harvest tag each year, free of charge, to participate in the season.
Hunters are reminded the field possession of expired licenses or tags, or another hunter's licenses or tags, is unlawful.
Deer season
regulations
Antler point restrictions vary by WMU. In most WMUs, a buck with three points to a side, counting the brow tine, is legal to harvest. But in WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B and 2D, a buck must have three points not counting the brow tine.
Junior license holders, mentored youth, disabled hunters with a permit to use a vehicle, and resident active-duty U.S. Armed Services personnel, can harvest antlered deer with two or more points on one antler, or a spike three or more inches in length.
For a complete breakdown of antler restrictions, WMU boundaries and other regulations, consult the 2023-24 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which is provided to hunters and available online at the Game Commission's website, www.pgc.pa.gov.
Deer hunters everywhere statewide, meanwhile, must wear at all times a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange material on their head, chest and back combined, visible from 360 degrees, during the firearms deer season. An orange hat and vest will satisfy the requirement.
Nonhunters who might be afield during deer season and other hunting seasons should consider wearing orange, as well. And on state game lands between Nov. 15 and Dec. 15, nonhunters are required to meet the 250-square-inch fluorescent orange requirement.
Hunters who harvest a deer are required to affix a valid tag to the ear -- not an antler -- before the deer is moved. Hunters can use a large safety pin to attach the tag, as it won't damage the ear. The tag must be filled out with a ballpoint pen.
Hunters must then report their harvest to the Game Commission within 10 days. Harvests can be reported online at www.huntfish.pa.gov, by calling 1-800-838-4431 or by mailing in the postage-paid cards that are provided in the digest.
Mentored youth hunters are required to report deer harvests within five days. And hunters with DMAP permits must report on their hunting success within 10 days of the last possible date of harvest, regardless of whether they harvest deer.