If you’re planning on doing some hunting while lodging at one of Pennsylvania’s top campgrounds, you will need to know when the different hunting seasons begin, and if you’ll need a particular license to hunt that season.

When does hunting season begin in Pennsylvania?

The Pennsylvania Game Commission authorizes six broad hunting seasons in Pennsylvania: big game; falconry; furbearer; migratory game bird; trapping; and small game.

Hunters need to pay close attention to each season’s subcategories, which list the actual game hunters can go for and when the season begins for hunting that particular animal.

For example, the small game season lists season opening and closing dates for hunting bobwhite quail, crow, pheasant, rabbits, ruffed grouse and woodchuck.

The next small game hunting season, which is for squirrels, opens on September 14.

Can I hunt for black bear and deer in Pennsylvania?

Hunters going for big game in Pennsylvania, which also includes wild turkeys, will have to wait until Pennsylvania’s big game/black bear season opens on November 23.

Hunters are only allowed to bag one black bear per season, cautioned the Pennsylvania Game Commission, which also declared it unlawful to hunt on Sundays except for coyotes, crows and foxes.

Hunters looking to bag deer should know there are different statewide opening dates for deer hunting, depending on your hunting hardware and species of deer:

• Hunting deer using archery: October 5
• Hunting anterless deer using a muzzleloader: October 19
• Hunting anterless deer using specialized firearms: October 24
• Hunting deer using regular firearms: November 30
• Hunting deer using flintlock firearms: December 26
• Hunting deer with extended regular firearms: December 26

The Pennsylvania Game Commission also published a hunting and trapping digest which includes season dates, reminders and other hunting tips for the 2024-25 hunting season.

Do I need a license to hunt in Pennsylvania?

You will need a license to hunt in Pennsylvania, which can be obtained after completing a hunter-trapper education course.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission offers more than two dozen different types of hunting licenses and add-ons, beginning at $6.97.

“With a resident adult hunting license, hunters receive an antlered deer tag, one fall turkey tag, one spring turkey tag and small game hunting privileges for one license year,” read the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s hunting licensing website. “To legally pursue antlerless deer in Pennsylvania, hunters must apply for and purchase an antlerless deer license.

“Special licensesmust be purchased in addition to a general hunting license to pursue black bear, migratory game birds, elk, and furbearers, and special licenses must also be purchased to pursue deer during archery or muzzleloader seasons.”

Damon C. Williams is a Philadelphia-based journalist reporting on trending topics across the Mid-Atlantic Region.