Mark Nale

Twenty-two lucky hunters drew tags for Pennsylvania’s archery elk season Sept. 12-27, which included three Sundays for the first time. There were 15 antlered elk tags, with 14 of the 15 hunters being successful. Seven antlerless elk tags were awarded and five of those hunters bagged cow elk.
According to Pennsylvania Game Commission elk biologist Jeremy Banfield, the results for the bull elk hunters match the long-term average of about 90% success rate. However, the archery antlerless elk hunters did much better than the average success rate of approximately 50%.

Pennsylvania’s elk seasons and the application process has undergone many changes for 2026. Elk hunt changes affect hunters, ultimately the herd, and most of all, the elk guides.
It is more expensive for out-of-state hunters to apply because they first need to purchase a nonresident hunting license. In addition, the number of out-of-state hunters who can win the lottery is limited for the first time to 10%.

Archery elk season begins Sept. 12, and for the first time in over 10 years the Pennsylvania Game Commission has redrawn the elk hunt zones.
In addition, this fall’s seasons split the regular (rifle) elk hunting season into two separate parts, Oct. 3-11 and Oct. 31-Nov. 8 – with the new session added earlier, while the elk are still in the rut. There are also 15 additional bull elk tags offered for this fall. Combined, these three changes make up the greatest change in Pennsylvania elk hunting since the modern-day elk season began.