Reporting by Brian Whipkey, Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist / Erie Times-News
Several small game and bird hunting seasons are getting underway across Pennsylvania in the coming weeks. Here’s what you need to know.
Hunting licenses have been on sale since June 22 and the fourth round of antlerless deer licenses sales begin Aug. 24 for the fall seasons.
However, small game and migratory game bird hunters are getting ready for a variety of opportunities that open before Labor Day.
New regulations for those hunting on Sundays
One of the biggest changes with the Pennsylvania Game Commission involves being able to hunt on Sundays. All hunting seasons, except for migratory game bird seasons, include all the Sundays within them.
For example, the two-week rifle deer season, which opens the Saturday after Thanksgiving, now for the first time includes three Sundays.
Most state parks have areas open to Sunday hunting as well throughout the fall and winter seasons. However, for state parks and preserves within Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties, Sunday hunting is limited to Nov. 15 and 29 in designated areas.
In 2025, the state legislature dropped the ban on Sunday hunting and 13 Sundays were included in the fall season. Between 2019 and 2024, there were only three Sundays for hunting in the fall.
When hunting on private land on Sundays, the Game Commission recommends hunters carry written permission from the landowner. The agency reports the requirement within state law for hunters to carry written permission when hunting private land on Sundays has been lifted.
The other change with the small game opportunities is that many of them are longer and overlap with some deer seasons. Squirrel, ruffed grouse, rabbit, pheasant, bobwhite quail and woodchuck seasons are remaining open for the first time during the regular firearms season.
Small game and migratory bird hunting season
Dove season is open Sept. 1 to Nov. 27 and Dec. 18 to Jan. 2. Sundays are closed to hunting migratory birds like doves. Hunters can keep 15 birds a day.
Canada geese have a variety of seasons depending on what part of the state you are hunting. They are also a migratory bird that can’t be hunted on Sundays.
For all of Pennsylvania, except the Atlantic Population Zone, the season is open Sept. 1-25 with an eight-goose daily limit. In the Oct. 24-Nov. 27, Dec. 15-Jan. 18 and Jan. 29-Feb. 20 hunting opportunities, the daily limit is five.
In the Atlantic Population Zone in the southeastern corner of the state, the season is Sept. 1-25 with an eight-bird daily limit, and Nov. 21-27 and Dec. 4-Jan. 18 with a three goose daily limit.
Bobwhite quail are in season Sept. 1 to Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 to March 31. There is no bag limit. No quail hunting is permitted at the Letterkenny Army Depot where there is a bobwhite quail recovery project underway.
Squirrel season opens Sept. 12 and continues through Dec. 24. It reopens Dec. 26 and continues until Feb. 28. Hunters are permitted a combination of six red, gray, black and fox squirrels each day.
Ruffed Grouse season runs Oct. 17 to Dec. 24 with a daily limit of two birds.
Cottontail rabbit hunters will be out Oct. 17 to Dec. 24 and Dec. 26 to Feb. 28. The daily limit is four bunnies.
For hare and snowshoe rabbits, the season runs Dec. 26-31 with a daily limit of one and a season limit of three.
Junior hunters get an earlier start with the season opening Oct. 3 and continued into the regular statewide season for everyone.
Ring-neck pheasant season opens opens Oct. 24 and continues until Christmas Eve, Dec. 24. The season reopens Dec. 26 to Feb. 28. Hunters are permitted two birds a day and they can be male or female.
Junior hunters get an earlier pheasant season that runs Oct. 10-18.
Fall turkey hunting 2026-27
Pennsylvania hunters have a variety of dates to hunt either one hen or gobbler this fall depending on which Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) they prefer.
In WMUs 1A, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B and 4D, the season is open Oct. 31 until Nov. 15.
In WMUs 1B, 3D, 4C and 4E, the season runs Oct. 31 to Nov. 8.
For WMUs 2A, 2F, 3B, 3C, they can hunt Oct. 31 to Nov. 15 and Nov. 25 to 27.
For WMUs 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E, the season is set for Oct. 31-Nov. 20 and Nov. 25-27
WMU 5A and 5B, you can Oct. 31 to Nov. 3.
WMUs 5C and 5D are closed to fall turkey hunting.
Deer hunting in Pennsylvania 2026-27
Ag Tag season for antlerless deer started on Aug. 1 and continues until April 15.
Archery season statewide for both bucks and does is Oct. 3-Nov. 20 and Dec. 26-Jan. 24. In WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, archery has expanded opportunities between Sept. 19-Nov. 27 and Dec. 26-Jan. 24.
Muzzleloader for antlerless deer is Oct. 17-25.
Special firearms season for antlerless deer is Oct. 22-25 for junior and senior hunters, mentored hunters, active military and persons with a permit to use a vehicle as a blind.
Regular firearms season is Nov. 28-Dec. 13.
Flintlock season is Dec. 26-Jan. 24.
Extended firearms season for antlerless deer is Dec. 26 to Jan. 24 for DMAP areas, Dec. 26-Jan. 18 for WMUs 4A, 4C, 4D and 5A, and Dec. 26 to Jan. 24 for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D.
Pennsylvania black bear hunting 2026-27
Archery season is Oct. 17-25, except for WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, where archers can hunt Sept. 19-Nov. 27, and in WMUs 3C, 3D, and 5B, Oct. 3 to Nov. 20.
Muzzleloader season and special firearms seasons are Oct. 22-25.
Regular firearms season is Nov. 21-24.
Extended bear seasons are Nov. 28 to Dec. 13 in WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C and 5D, and Nov. 28-Dec. 6 in WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E and 5A.
Orange clothing requirements for hunters
Hunters are required to wear daylight fluorescent orange clothing in most seasons that involve a gun.
Hunters are required to have 250 square inches of orange clothing on the head, back and chest combined for all small game seasons, deer, bear and elk regular seasons, the October muzzleloader antlerless deer and bear seasons, special firearms antlerless deer and bear seasons, and the extended firearms antlerless deer and bear seasons.
In the regular, special and extended firearms season for deer, bear and elk, orange is required regardless of the sporting arm carried.
No fluorescent orange is required during archery seasons for deer, bear or elk or when hunting waterfowl, doves, turkeys, furbearers or crows.
Hunters in the flintlock season after Christmas are exempt from orange clothing, too.
The Game Commission recommends the use of orange clothing even when it’s not required as it alerts other hunters of your presence. For more hunting seasons and regulations, visit the Game Commission’s website.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@usatodayco.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website’s homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News.
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