Late deer seasons begin

Harrisburg, Pa. — This winter figures to be a bit busier in the deer woods, thanks to a mix of hunting seasons, old and new, that kicked off recently. Pennsylvania’s flintlock deer season runs Dec. 26-Jan. 24 in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 2B, 5C, and 5D and Dec. 26-Jan. 19 in the rest of the state. Archery deer hunting is open Dec. 26-Jan. 24 in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D, and Dec. 26-Jan. 19 everywhere else in the state.

Extended antlerless firearms hunting, meanwhile, also is available Dec. 26-Jan. 24 in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D, and Jan. 2-19 in WMUs 4A, 4C, 4D, and 5A. Extended antlerless hunting is authorized on all Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) properties while in possession of a valid DMAP permit for that property, statewide Dec. 26-Jan. 24.

Finally, hunters with Agricultural Deer Control Permits can take antlerless deer on the properties for which their tags apply through April 15. Antlerless licenses still remain available for WMU 4A; all other WMUs are sold out. DMAP permits remain available for various properties across Pennsylvania. Hunters can check for those at https://www.pgcapps.pa.gov/Harvest/DMAP.

Enjoying the different opportunities in different places this season might mean adhering to some different requirements. If the extended season is open within a WMU, a hunter may use a WMU-specific antlerless license to take an antlerless deer within that WMU. If the extended season is not open within a WMU, hunters on DMAP properties need a valid DMAP permit for the property they’re hunting to take part in the season. Late archery and flintlock hunters can harvest antlerless deer with a valid antlerless license or DMAP permit, or an antlered deer with a valid, unused antlered deer harvest tag. Flintlock hunters can take an antlerless deer with their unused antlered deer harvest tag, as well.

Hunters participating in the extended firearms deer season in WMUs 2B, 4A, 4C, 4D, 5A, 5C, and 5D, on DMAP properties and on Agricultural Deer Control properties must, at all times, wear 250 square inches of daylight fluorescent orange on the head, chest, and back combined, and it must be visible from 360 degrees. An orange hat and vest satisfies this requirement.

Flintlock and archery hunters are not required to wear orange. However, given those seasons overlap with firearms seasons, the wearing of orange is highly recommended. The new extended seasons are meant to give hunters the time needed to be effective deer managers. David Stainbrook, the Game Commission’s Deer and Elk Section Supervisor, said the late-season opportunity was first offered in WMUs 4A, 4D, and 5A a year ago to help meet deer harvest goals in places where hunters were already buying all available tags. Simply making more available was unlikely to boost the harvest. “Essentially, the needed antlerless harvest exceeded what the current hunters could accomplish with the amount of time they were given,” Stainbrook said. “Extending the use of firearms during current antlerless seasons would increase hunter efficiency, allowing them to more fully utilize the antlerless allocation already available.” That worked. Hunters took about one additional deer per square mile during the 2024-25 season, Stainbrook said.

So biologists recommended continuing that season in those three WMUs this year. The agency’s Board of Game Commissioners added WMU 4C to the season, along with Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) properties statewide to likewise make a difference. All that will potentially put thousands more hunters in the woods, many of them likely chasing deer later into the season — or perhaps earlier in the calendar — than they’ve done before. To find deer then, they should focus on food and cover. Female deer, which actually shrink their home range in breeding season to make it easier for bucks to find them, now move a bit more. But only if they can take in more calories than they burn while doing so, said Game Commission deer biologist Jeannine Fleegle. They’ll eat when they can – standing corn or waste grain, leftover acorns, woody browse, and the like – to help offset the body weight they lose fighting the cold. They also seek out refuges to deal with the weather. They’ll settle in places with softwood cover – think pines, spruces, and hemlocks – that cuts wind chills and prevents snow from accumulating too deeply.

Of course, snow can help hunters figure out what areas deer are using, be it to eat or hide. It’s great for revealing fresh deer beds and trails. On state game lands enrolled in DMAP, in particular, hunters can also up their odds of finding winter deer by looking for areas of active management. Those are places where the Game Commission has done or is doing timber cuts, prescribed fires, and other habitat work. All those activities grow deer food and cover. Timber cuts 12 years old and younger offer deer a lot of browse, for example, while older ones offer less food but still provide bedding cover. An area with places under active management connected by a corridor of mature woods can be ideal.

Hunters can search for such potential hotspots by visiting the Game Commission’s online habitat map that shows the location of timber cuts, oak stands, thermal cover, and more. Whatever the case, hunters have more opportunities this year than at any time in recent memory. Those taking advantage might find it’s a great time of the year to go hunting! Early reports suggest that the extended seasons are helping elevate participation among hunters.

The 2025 late deer season represents a significant opportunity for many hunters across Pennsylvania. With the introduction of extended antlerless seasons and effective deer management strategies, hunters are likely to not only see improved numbers in their harvest but also a more fulfilling hunting experience altogether. Enhanced regulations and resources provided by the Game Commission and DMAP have opened up new avenues for sustainable deer management. As evidence mounts regarding the effectiveness of these programs, it’s clear that they hold the potential for shaping the future of deer hunting in Pennsylvania.