Where do I buy a Pennsylvania hunting license?

Pennsylvania hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.

When is Pennsylvania hunting season?

Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Pennsylvania season dates change every year. Our Pennsylvania deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) regulations before you plan a hunt.

What can you hunt in Pennsylvania?

Besides white-tailed deer, our species guides single out Pennsylvania for whitetail deer, black bear, ruffed grouse, eastern cottontail rabbit, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.

Where is public hunting land in Pennsylvania?

Good starting points include Susquehannock State Forest, State Game Lands 176, Elk State Forest. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.

Hunting · State by State

Pennsylvania Hunting Guide

What to hunt in Pennsylvania, what it costs, the laws that matter and where the public land is — with the official Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) links.

A rising harvest, over a million acres of State Game Lands, and a storied two-week rifle season keep Pennsylvania near the top of whitetail country.

Pennsylvania splits roughly into the 'Big Woods' of the north-central and Allegheny Plateau region — vast, heavily forested public land with lower deer densities and a real wilderness feel — and the farm-and-woodlot country of the southcentral, southeastern, and southwestern counties, where deer densities and trophy potential run much higher on a patchwork of private ag ground and smaller public tracts.

Agency: Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC)
Region: Northeast
Deer rank: #10 of 50
Species guides: 6

Pennsylvania hunting license and tag costs

Deer license and tag prices as last reviewed. Other species' permits are listed in the agency fee schedule.

License / tag	Price
Resident general hunting license	approx. $20
Nonresident general hunting license	approx. $173
Antlerless license (resident/nonresident)	approx. $6.90-$27 depending on residency, plus a WMU-specific application

Pennsylvania hunting laws to know

Rules that catch hunters out most often. Not a substitute for the regulations book.

Topic	Rule
Blaze orange	At least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on head, chest, and back required during most firearms deer seasons; some exceptions for archery-only hunters.
Baiting	Baiting and feeding deer is illegal statewide year-round, including on private land, with narrow exceptions for normal agricultural practices.
Crossbows	Legal for all hunters during archery deer season and any firearms season, no permit required.
Sunday hunting	Sunday hunting is now allowed on a limited number of designated days each season after a 2019 law change ended the historical statewide ban.
Legal firearms	Centerfire rifles, shotguns with slugs, muzzleloaders, straight-wall cartridge rifles, and handguns are legal during firearms deer season, per current PGC regs.
Tagging/reporting	Harvested deer must be tagged immediately with the license's tag and reported to PGC online, by mail, or by phone within a set window after harvest.
CWD carcass transport	Whole carcasses may not leave Disease Management Areas; only deboned meat, cleaned skull plates/antlers, capes, and similar processed parts can be transported out.
Hunter education	Required for all first-time hunters regardless of age before a license can be purchased.

Pennsylvania deer season structure (2025-26)

Exact dates shift slightly every year and antlerless allocations vary sharply by WMU; always confirm current dates and your unit's bag limits on the PGC seasons and bag limits page before you hunt.

Season	Weapon	Typical window
Archery	Bow / crossbow	Late Sept. – mid-Nov., plus a Dec.–Jan. late archery season
Youth/Mentored day	Any legal weapon	Late Oct.
Muzzleloader (early)	Muzzleloader	Mid-Oct., roughly one week
Rifle (firearms)	Rifle / shotgun / straight-wall	Saturday before Thanksgiving through mid-Dec. (opens the Monday after Thanksgiving in the traditional format)
Late muzzleloader/archery	Muzzleloader / bow	Late Dec. – mid-Jan.

What you can hunt in Pennsylvania

Deer — White-tailed deer
Excellent · ranked #10 of 50 for deer.
Whitetail Deer
Enormous public forest and mountain deer that behave like wilderness animals
Access: Over-the-counter buck tags; antlerless is allocated by unit
Black Bear
Very large-bodied eastern bears in hardwood country
Access: Over-the-counter bear licenses
Ruffed Grouse
Extensive state game lands with good young-forest habitat programs
Access: Over-the-counter small-game license
Eastern Cottontail Rabbit
Strong public game-land populations with a long tradition of beagle hunting
Access: Over-the-counter small-game license
Coyote
Strong eastern coyote population in forested and farmland mix
Access: Over-the-counter license; check night-hunting specific rules

Public hunting land in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania has one of the largest and most accessible public-land systems in the East, anchored by State Game Lands and complemented by state forests.

Susquehannock State Forest
State forest · North-central PA (Big Woods)
Over 260,000 acres of remote, heavily timbered Allegheny Plateau terrain with strong Big Woods buck potential.
Official page
State Game Lands 176
State game land · Southcentral PA (Cumberland/Franklin counties)
Large tract in productive farmland-adjacent WMUs with solid antlerless opportunity and a shot at mature bucks.
Elk State Forest
State forest · North-central PA
Rugged plateau terrain bordering the state's famous elk range, with lower hunting pressure than farmland counties.
State Game Lands 13
State game land · Southcentral PA (Bedford County)
Mountain terrain with good rifle-season access and consistent deer sign.
Loyalsock State Forest
State forest · North-central PA
Extensive forested public land in the Big Woods region, popular with archery hunters seeking solitude.
State Game Lands 33
State game land · Central PA (Centre/Huntingdon counties)
Large, well-known tract near State College offering varied terrain and strong access.

Official Pennsylvania links

Last reviewed 2026-09.

Nearby state hunting guides

Questions

Frequently asked

Where do I buy a Pennsylvania hunting license?: Pennsylvania hunting licenses and tags are sold by the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) through its official licensing site. Buy direct from the agency rather than a reseller, and complete hunter education first if your birth year requires it.
When is Pennsylvania hunting season?: Seasons differ by species, weapon and zone, and the Pennsylvania season dates change every year. Our Pennsylvania deer guide summarizes the 2025-26 deer season structure; for every other species, check the current Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) regulations before you plan a hunt.
What can you hunt in Pennsylvania?: Besides white-tailed deer, our species guides single out Pennsylvania for whitetail deer, black bear, ruffed grouse, eastern cottontail rabbit, coyote. Each species guide explains tags, seasons and tactics.
Where is public hunting land in Pennsylvania?: Good starting points include Susquehannock State Forest, State Game Lands 176, Elk State Forest. Confirm access rules, closures and special regulations with the managing agency before you go.