Pennsylvania Game agency OKs final 2026-27 hunting seasons

Harrisburg — Pennsylvania game commissioners gave final approval to the 2026-27 hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits at their April 11 meeting.

The commissioners decided that rifle deer season will begin the Saturday after Thanksgiving again this year, but several made comments indicating that the board is still exploring the possibility of moving the season before the holiday in future years.

All 2026-27 seasons include the Sundays that fall within their listed start and end dates. Also, seasons that previously ended on Saturdays largely will end on Sundays, providing additional days of opportunity throughout the year.

The lone exception is for migratory game birds. There will be no Sunday hunting for migratory game birds – including waterfowl, woodcock and mourning doves – this coming season.

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The Game Commission surveyed migratory game bird hunters in recent weeks, which showed a slight preference for keeping Sundays out of migratory seasons, allowing seasons to stretch farther.

That, combined with federal rules that say if Pennsylvania starts incorporating Sundays into migratory seasons, it must do so always – there’s no going back – led commissioners to exclude Sundays for the 2026-27 seasons.

Agency staff and board members say they will revisit the issue prior to 2027-28 after further study and input.

The full slate of migratory game bird seasons, which are set through federal frameworks, will be announced after they are finalized.

The approved 2026-27 seasons include several significant changes:

– For wild turkeys, a bag limit of one spring gobbler is approved to offset possible additional harvest due to the inclusion of Sundays and ensure that harvest rates remain within sustainable levels.

The commission reminded hunters that no Sundays are open for the 2026 spring gobbler season that starts May 2. Sunday hunting for spring turkeys won’t begin until 2027.

– For white-tailed deer, minor adjustments to date structures of extended firearms, flintlock and late archery seasons are approved to reduce complexity and to ensure season lengths correspond to sporting-arm efficiency and management objectives.

– For black bears, in WMUs 3C and 3D, a longer archery bear season (overlapping with the entire first segment of the archery deer season) is approved to increase harvest in response to bear-human conflicts in these areas.

– For elk, a new early October firearms season segment is approved to limit crowding and maintain hunter satisfaction under current and potential future increased license allocations.

The late firearms elk season is approved to be moved later in January to avoid conflicts with major holidays.

– For small game, the squirrel, ruffed grouse, rabbit, pheasant, bobwhite quail and woodchuck seasons all are approved to remain open during the firearms deer season.

– For furbearers, WMU 5A is approved to be opened to bobcat hunting and trapping, and WMUs 2G, 3A, and 4C are approved to be opened to river otter trapping.