Latest News For Hunters And Trappers From Pennsylvania Game Commission

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners today gave final approval to the 2025-26 hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits.

The adopted seasons and bag limits contain a handful of significant changes compared to 2024-25.

There are two changes pertaining to the after-Christmas extended firearms season for antlerless deer. First, the extended firearms deer season will be open on all Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) properties statewide from Dec. 26-Jan. 24, 2026, with participating hunters needing a valid DMAP permit for the property they’re hunting. And second, an extended firearms deer season to run Jan. 2-19, 2026 will be held in Wildlife Management Unit 4C, where Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) was recently detected. WMU 4C was not initially among the WMUs slated for an extended season.

Additionally, the statewide archery bear season is being shortened from three weeks to one week, an acknowledgment the early bear seasons established to increase harvest have been effective in recent years. The statewide archery seasons this year will run from Oct. 18-25. The archery bear seasons in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D will retain their longer formats.

For snowshoe hares, there will be a season limit of three hares per hunter. Previously, a hunter reaching the one-hare daily limit could harvest as many as six hares in a season. This reduction in maximum possible harvest per hunter protects against overharvest in isolated segments of the hare population.

And for those two lucky hunters who receive an elk license either through the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s auction or the Keystone Elk Country Alliance’s raffle, there will be a two-month-longer season, beginning July 1 instead of Sept. 1. Lengthening the season could help address crop damage issues caused by bull elk that might be hunted with these two tags at a later date.

The Game Commission also announced 1,312,000 antlerless deer licenses will be allocated statewide for 2025-26, which is up from the 1,186,000 licenses allocated for 2024-25.

Allocations by Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) are as follows, with the allocation from the previous license year appearing in parentheses. WMU 1A – 46,000 (46,000); WMU 1B – 44,000 (37,000); WMU 2A – 44,000 (46,000); WMU 2B – 59,000 (53,000); WMU 2C – 93,000 (93,000); WMU 2D – 96,000 (102,000); WMU 2E – 51,000 (54,000); WMU 2F – 51,000 (55,000); WMU 2G – 57,000 (37,000); WMU 3A – 21,000 (21,000); WMU 3B – 53,000 (34,000); WMU 3C – 57,000 (40,000); WMU 3D – 52,000 (41,000); WMU 4A – 64,000 (61,000); WMU 4B – 60,000 (60,000); WMU 4C – 51,000 (53,000); WMU 4D – 83,000 (77,000); WMU 4E – 61,000 (61,000); WMU 5A – 46,000 (40,000); WMU 5B – 86,000 (67,000); WMU 5C – 98,000 (79,000); and WMU 5D – 39,000 (29,000).

Meanwhile, 140 elk licenses (65 antlered, 75 antlerless) were allocated across three 2025-26 elk seasons. For the one-week general season to run Nov. 3-8, 30 antlered and 38 antlerless tags have been allocated. In the archery season open only in select Elk Hunt Zones, to run from Sept. 13-27, 16 antlered and 11 antlerless licenses are available. And there are 19 antlered and 26 antlerless licenses available for the Dec. 27-Jan. 3 late season.

Antlerless deer and elk license allocations are based on scientific data and staff recommendations tailored to meet population objectives within each WMU and Elk Hunt Zone.

Antlerless deer licenses for 2025-26 again will be sold over the counter and online, but this year, antlerless licenses for all WMUs will be guaranteed to Pennsylvania residents, as long as they buy before 7 a.m. on Monday, July 7 – when the first round of antlerless license sales opens to nonresidents.

The Game Commission last year guaranteed residents antlerless licenses in most WMUs, but licenses for three WMUs – WMUs 1B, 2G and 3A – went on sale first and were sold first-come, first-serve. Only WMU 2G sold out of licenses prior to the start of nonresident sales.

This year, however, with an increased allocation in WMU 2G, the Game Commission is comfortable guaranteeing Pennsylvania residents a license in any WMU. Antlerless licenses go on sale to residents June 23, and residents will have two full weeks to buy a license at any time that’s convenient for them.

Once the nonresident portion of the first round begins at 8 a.m. on Monday, July 7, all remaining antlerless licenses will be sold on a first come, first serve basis until the allocated number of licenses is exhausted.

Guaranteeing antlerless licenses to residents for most WMUs worked last year to spread sales and significantly reduce wait times for hunters buying licenses. Extending that guarantee for all WMUs gives resident hunters everywhere flexibility, convenience and the ability to avoid unwanted waits.

All elk licenses will be awarded by lottery, and hunters must apply separately for all seasons they wish to be eligible to hunt. Each application costs $11.97, meaning a hunter can enter all three drawings for $35.91. Individuals can be drawn for a maximum of one elk license per license year.

The deadline to apply is July 13.