Pennsylvania’s spring turkey season opens April 28. Share your passion for hunting by mentoring a new hunter.

Each year when hunting season arrives, we have a great opportunity to make sure our loved ones and friends have the chance to experience that same love of the outdoors we enjoy. Perhaps more important, with Spring turkey season upon us, you have the chance to spend quality, one on one time with those you care about the most. Pennsylvania’s mentored hunting programs allow an experienced hunter to take a newcomer hunting prior to the completion of hunter education. Quality time in the wood will be something remembered for years to come. Use this Spring turkey season to share your love of hunting with someone new.

Teach someone new the tricks of hunting wild turkeys, calling birds, placing decoys, setting up and hunting safety. Pass along your love of the turkey woods to someone new, and get excited about hunting again. Buy your license today.

Learn more about Pennsylvania’s mentored hunting programs.

Courtesy PA Game Commission  www.pgc.pa.gov

The approach of spring gobbler season has Pennsylvania hunters eager to get afield. That they’ll be participating in the state’s 50th anniversary spring-gobbler hunt further sweetens the pot.

Properly licensed junior hunters and mentored youth can head afield Saturday, April 21 to participate in Pennsylvania’s annual youth spring turkey hunt. A week later, on April 28, all hunters can head into Penn’s Woods in pursuit of spring gobblers.

The forecast for the coming season is a statewide turkey population numbering between 210,000 to 220,000 birds, said Mary Jo Casalena, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s wild turkey biologist.

“Pennsylvania’s turkey population will provide plenty of excitement for those who choose to head afield for the Commonwealth’s golden anniversary spring turkey hunt,” Casalena said. “Make no mistake, Pennsylvania remains one of America’s premier turkey-hunting destinations.”

Turkeys are coming through a relatively mild winter, and they again had a tremendous acorn crop last fall to help them with winter survival. A light fall harvest – preliminarily estimated at 11,780 – sparked by greater supplies of fall foods and fewer hunters afield also has helped kindle increased expectations for the spring hunt.

“Last spring, hunters took 38,101 birds in the state’s turkey seasons,” Casalena said. “I expect a similar harvest this spring, somewhere between 36,000 and 38,000 turkeys.”

Hunters should note the second spring gobbler license only is on sale prior to the start of the season. Once April 28 rolls around, it’s too late to purchase one.

“So, hunters who want to ensure their best opportunity to hunt as many days of the season as they can need to buy the license soon,” Casalena said. “There’s promise for a great season.”

Read more:

• Youth Hunt
• Hunting Hours
• Licensing and Other Regulations
• Reporting Harvests
• Harvest Photo Contest

Courtesy PA Game Commission  www.pgc.pa.gov

The approach of spring gobbler season has Pennsylvania hunters eager to get afield. That they’ll be participating in the state’s 50th anniversary spring-gobbler hunt further sweetens the pot.

Properly licensed junior hunters and mentored youth can head afield Saturday, April 21 to participate in Pennsylvania’s annual youth spring turkey hunt. A week later, on April 28, all hunters can head into Penn’s Woods in pursuit of spring gobblers.

The forecast for the coming season is a statewide turkey population numbering between 210,000 to 220,000 birds, said Mary Jo Casalena, the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s wild turkey biologist.

“Pennsylvania’s turkey population will provide plenty of excitement for those who choose to head afield for the Commonwealth’s golden anniversary spring turkey hunt,” Casalena said. “Make no mistake, Pennsylvania remains one of America’s premier turkey-hunting destinations.”

Turkeys are coming through a relatively mild winter, and they again had a tremendous acorn crop last fall to help them with winter survival. A light fall harvest – preliminarily estimated at 11,780 – sparked by greater supplies of fall foods and fewer hunters afield also has helped kindle increased expectations for the spring hunt.

“Last spring, hunters took 38,101 birds in the state’s turkey seasons,” Casalena said. “I expect a similar harvest this spring, somewhere between 36,000 and 38,000 turkeys.”

Pennsylvania turkeys are coming off a trying year. Frequent spring and summer rains in 2017 hampered poult survival in some areas of the state. What has helped turkeys, though, has been recent mild winters.

“The lighter fall harvests, mild winters and increased acorn crops over the past two years, however, could support increased reproduction this spring, Casalena noted. “But our spring weather will have to cooperate.”

The turkey population remains below its peak of 280,000 in 2001 with substantial fluctuations every three to four years, likely due to fluctuations in recruitment, which is influenced substantially by the interaction of habitat quality, weather, predation and harvest, Casalena said. Overall, the population is slowly increasing from its most-recent low of 192,612 in 2010, with increases in the one- and two-year age classes.

Last spring, 5,049 turkeys were taken with a second spring gobbler license; 20,529 hunters purchased second gobbler licenses.

Hunters should note the second spring gobbler license only is on sale prior to the start of the season. Once April 28 rolls around, it’s too late to purchase one.

“So, hunters who want to ensure their best opportunity to hunt as many days of the season as they can need to buy the license soon,” Casalena said. “There’s promise for a great season.”

Youth Hunt

All participants in the youth hunt must be accompanied by adults as required by law. A complete list of regulations applying to mentored youth and junior hunters can be found in the Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, which may be purchased with a hunting license and is available online at www.pgc.pa.gov.

Hunting Hours

Hunting hours during the youth hunt end at noon. Junior hunters and mentored youth also may participate in the statewide spring gobbler season.

Hunting hours begin one-half hour before sunrise and end at noon for the first two weeks of the statewide season (April 28 through May 12). Hunters are asked to be out of the woods by 1 p.m. when hunting hours end at noon. This is to minimize disturbance of nesting hens.

From May 14 through May 31, hunting hours are from one-half hour before sunrise until one-half hour after sunset. The all-day season allows more opportunity at the point in the season when hunting pressure is lower and nesting hens are less likely to abandon nests.

Licensing and other regulations

During the spring gobbler season, hunters may use manually operated or semiautomatic shotguns limited to a three-shell capacity in the chamber and magazine combined. Muzzleloading shotguns, crossbows and long, recurve and compound bows also are permitted. For a complete list of regulations, consult Pages 40 and 41 of the Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest.

Only bearded birds may be harvested during the spring season, and hunting is permitted by calling only. The stalking of turkeys is unlawful and unsafe.

There is no requirement for hunters to wear fluorescent orange during the spring turkey season, though it is recommended that orange be worn while moving.

Blinds used while turkey hunting must be manufactured with manmade materials of sufficient density to block movement within the blind from an observer outside the blind. Blinds must completely enclose the hunter on all four sides and from above. It is unlawful to hunt turkeys from blinds made of natural materials such as logs, tree branches and piled rocks.

Blinds that represent the fanned tail of a gobbler do not hide all hunter movement, and therefore are unlawful to use in Pennsylvania.

It is unlawful, as well as unsafe, to stalk turkeys or turkey sounds. All hunters need to wait patiently and identify their targets properly prior to pulling the trigger. When in a stationary position, a hunter should sit with his or her back against back against a large tree, rock or other barrier that shields movement and offers protection from others who might approach from the rear.

Turkey hunters should not wear any clothing that contains black colors like those of a turkey’s body, or red, white or blue, like those on a turkey’s head.

Pennsylvania hunters again this year can purchase a license to harvest a second gobbler in the spring season, but only one gobbler may be taken per day. This license must be purchased no later than April 27 – before the statewide season begins.

The $21.90 license ($41.90 for nonresidents) may be purchased online, but cannot be printed at home. Therefore, if a hunter expects to need the license early in the season, purchasing it directly from an issuing agent might be better. The same goes for general hunting licenses. General hunting licenses purchased online also are sent by mail, and shipping charges apply.

Reporting harvests

Successful turkey hunters must immediately and properly tag the bird before moving the bird from the harvest site, and are required by law to report the harvest to the Game Commission.

For most hunters, harvests must be reported within 10 days. Mentored youth and mentored adult hunters must report harvests within five days.

Reporting harvests enables the Game Commission to more accurately estimate harvest and population totals, and is important to effective management.

There are three ways harvests can be reported. Hunters can visit www.pgc.pa.gov, click the blue “Report a Harvest” button along the right side of the home page, then fill out a form and submit. Alternately, hunters can fill out and mail in the tear-out harvest report cards that are inserted into the Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest, or report the harvest by phone at 1-855-PAHUNT1 (1-855-724-8681).

In all cases, it is helpful to have your license with you, as well as the tag you used in the field after harvesting the bird.

“Even though the Game Commission is not currently conducting any large-scale turkey research, there are still leg-banded turkeys remaining throughout the state from recently completed projects,” Casalena said. “If you are lucky enough to harvest a leg-banded turkey please call the toll-free number on the band and we will provide details of when and where the bird was tagged.”

Harvest photo contest

A beautiful gobbler might not be the only prize a successful turkey hunter brings home this spring.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission is sponsoring its second annual Turkey Harvest Photo Contest, and hunters submitting the photos of themselves with their 2018 Pennsylvania gobblers are eligible to win one of two personalized, engraved box calls.

Entries will be narrowed to a field of finalists in each the adult hunter and youth hunter category, with one winner in each category then selected by voters on the Game Commission’s Facebook page.

But you must enter to win. Hunters should be sure to submit photos of their 2018 Pennsylvania harvests by email to [email protected]. Submissions should include the first and last name of anyone in the photo, the hunter’s hometown and the county the turkey was harvested.

The contest will run from youth season April 21 through Monday, June 4, with the winners selected shortly thereafter.

Courtesy PA Game Commission  www.pgc.pa.gov

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners is scheduled to meet Monday, April 23 and Tuesday, April 24 at the agency’s Harrisburg headquarters.

Both meetings begin at 8:30 a.m., with doors opening at 7:45 a.m.

Individuals interested in offering public testimony – limited to five minutes – can do so at the April 23 meeting, and may register on a first-come, first-to-speak basis. PowerPoint presentations are not permitted during public comment periods.

On Tuesday, April 24, the board will take up its prepared agenda. Among other initiatives, commissioners will give final approval to hunting and trapping seasons and bag limits for 2018-19, as well as set allocations for 2018-19 antlerless deer licenses and elk licenses.

The agenda for the April meeting is available at the Game Commission’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov. Under “Quick Clicks,” on the left side of the homepage, select “Meetings of the Board & Upcoming Events,” then click the link provided in the description of the Tuesday, April 24 meeting.

The Game Commission’s headquarters is located at 2001 Elmerton Ave., just off the Progress Avenue exit of Interstate 81 in Harrisburg, Dauphin County.

Those unable to attend the meeting can watch much of it from home.

The meeting is scheduled to be live-streamed beginning Monday morning, immediately following the conclusion of public comments.

The livestream can be accessed through the agency’s website, www.pgc.pa.gov, though viewers may need to log in to a free account to access the stream. In addition, the full board meeting on Tuesday is to be live-streamed beginning at 8:30 a.m.

Courtesy PA Game Commission  www.pgc.pa.gov

Pennsylvania’s buck harvest increased 10 percent, and the overall deer harvest also was up 10 percent, in the state’s 2017-18 hunting seasons, which closed in January, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reported today.

Hunters harvested an estimated 367,159 deer in the 2017-18 seasons, which easily topped the overall deer harvest of 333,254 in the 2016-17 seasons.

Across the 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMU) used by the Game Commission to manage whitetails, the deer harvest decreased in only three units.

The 2017-18 buck harvest totaled 163,750, representing a 10 percent increase over the 2016-17 buck harvest of 149,460. It is the second largest harvest of bucks since antler restrictions were put in place in 2002. The largest harvest – 165,416 – occurred in the first year of antler restrictions.

The 2017-18 buck harvest also compares well with big buck harvests in Pennsylvania since the Game Commission began using calculated harvests in 1986. From that perspective, the 2017-18 buck harvest ranks as the 10th best.

But when comparing deer harvests over time, it’s important to remember that deer and hunter numbers have changed from decade to decade.

In the 1987-88 deer seasons, 16 percent of deer hunters took a legal buck.

Ten years later, that rate increased to 19 percent. In the 2007-08 seasons, which were five years into antler restrictions, 15 percent of deer hunters took an antlered deer. In the 2017-18 seasons, more than 20 percent of deer hunters took an antlered deer.

The antlerless deer portion of the 2017-18 harvest also increased. Totaling 203,409, the antlerless harvest was up 11 percent over the 2016-17 antlerless harvest of 183,794. But that was by design. The 2017 antlerless license allocation increased about 7 percent over 2016’s allocation.

About 64 percent of the antlerless deer harvest was adult females; button-bucks comprised 19 percent and doe fawns made up 17 percent.

In what is becoming an annual occurrence, bowhunters accounted for about a third of Pennsylvania’s 2017-18 overall deer harvest, taking 118,110 deer (62,830 bucks and 55,280 antlerless deer) with either bows or crossbows. The archery harvest also increased 10 percent over 2016-17’s total harvest of 109,250.

Good fortune also came to muzzleloader hunters, who took 23,490 deer (1,310 bucks) in the 2017-18 seasons. This harvest also represented an about 10 percent increase in overall muzzleloader harvest.

The percentage of older bucks in the 2017-18 deer harvest remained high. About 57 percent of the bucks taken by hunters were at least 2½ years old. The remainder were 1½ years old.

Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans found the latest harvest news from Pennsylvania’s deer woods to be indicative of the big bucks and good deer hunting that can be found in the state’s forests and from farming valley to farming valley.

“Everywhere I go, hunters are telling me about and showing me photos of the trophy bucks they took last season,” Burhans said. “It’s something that started months ago and hasn’t stopped. I consider it a pleasure to share their excitement and see their pride.”

Agency staff currently is working to develop its 2018 antlerless deer license recommendations, which will be considered at the April 24 meeting of the Board of Game Commissioners.

In addition to harvest data, staff will be looking at deer health measures, forest regeneration and deer-human conflicts for each WMU as it assembles antlerless allocations, according to Matthew Schnupp, agency Bureau of Wildlife Management director.

View total deer harvest estimates by WMU for 2017-18.

PENNSYLVANIA’S DEER PLAN SCORES WELL INTERNATIONALLY

The Game Commission’s deer management plan has the right stuff.

The Pennsylvania Game Commission’s deer management plan recently was rated one of North America’s best by Simon Fraser University in a recently published study that measured the scientific soundness and transparency of varied state and provincial wildlife management plans.

Pennsylvania tied with Wisconsin for the highest-scoring deer plans in North America among states and provinces that participated in the research conducted by Kyle A. Artelle and colleagues. The study used a framework that identified four fundamental hallmarks of science relevant to natural resource management – measurable objectives, evidence, transparency and independent review – and tested for their presence through 11 specific criteria in plan assessments, according to a research article recently published on the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s Science Advances website.

The research paper, titled Hallmarks of science missing from North American wildlife management, challenged the widespread assumption that wildlife management in North America is science-based. Contributing to the investigation were researchers from Simon Fraser University, University of Wisconsin, University of Victoria, Hakai Institute and the Raincoat Conservation Foundation.

Pennsylvania’s deer plan earned the highest score out of 667 species management plans among 62 wildlife management agencies in the United States and Canada.

“Pennsylvania’s deer management plan was developed to meet high scientific standards,” said Chris Rosenberry, agency Deer and Elk Section chief. “This article validates those efforts.”

Rosenberry believes work in deer management from 2006 to 2009 paved the way for the Game Commission’s deer plan to achieve the level of proficiency and transparency it has today.

“No management plan is perfect,” Rosenberry emphasized. “There’s always room for improvement. And it’s that mindset that has made Pennsylvania’s deer plan stronger and more defendable today than it was 10 years ago. But it was and remains a science-based plan.”

One of the most important take-home messages coming from this independent research is that it wasn’t sanctioned by Pennsylvania hunters or the Commonwealth’s deer managers, emphasized Matthew Schnupp, agency Wildlife Management Bureau director.

“This rating is a third-party assessment, an objective evaluation derived from specific scientific standards that were applied to the management plans of dozens of state and provincial agencies,” Schnupp said. “It clearly illustrates our deer biologists have our white-tailed deer plan moving in the right direction.”

After applying hallmarks of science to 667 hunt-management plans, Artelle and colleagues concluded 60 percent of them featured fewer than half of the indicator criteria.

“The key to honest discussions about wildlife management and conservation is clarity about where the science begins and ends,” said Artelle, who is now a biologist with the Raincoat Conservation Foundation and a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Victoria. “Our approach provides a straightforward litmus test for science-based claims.”

COURTESY OF PA GAME COMMISSION

Archery, extended season harvests help to make up for poor weather on firearms opener.

Despite one of the worst opening days in more than three decades of bear hunting, Pennsylvania charted yet another Top 10 bear harvest in 2017.

Hunters harvested 3,438 bears in the 2017 seasons, with the archery harvest of 493 bears and the extended season harvest of 1,083 bears setting records for those seasons.

Forty-eight bears weighing 500 pounds or more, including 14 weighing 600 pounds or more and two weighing 700 pounds or more, were part of the 2017 harvest.

Bears were taken in 57 counties and 22 of Pennsylvania’s 23 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs).

The totals represent a rebound from what was a rough start to the firearms bear season, when widespread wind and rain noticeably reduced hunter participation on opening day – traditionally the top day for bear hunters.

Only 694 hunters were successful on opening day, compared to the usual 1,500 hunters that typically harvest a bear, said Game Commission bear biologist Mark Ternent.

“In fact, the last time opening-day harvest dipped below 700 bears was in 1982, when bear season was only two days and the statewide bear population numbered less than 5,000 animals,” Ternent said.

Participation returned to normal by the second day, and hunters proceeded to take 1,852 bears in the general season, which is just over 70 percent of the average, Ternent said.

But new bear-hunting opportunities – including an earlier bear archery season that overlaps with a week of the archery deer season, and expanded extended bear seasons – paved the way for new records in those seasons, making up for some of the opening-day loss.

“The net result is that 2017 ranks as the ninth best all-time bear harvest, and hunters will have the same season opportunities and a strong bear population again in 2018,” Ternent said.

The all-time bear harvest high was recorded in 2011, when 4,350 bears were harvested. Hunters harvested 4,164 in 2005. All other bear harvests have been under 4,000.

While the 2017 harvest was down compared to 2016’s harvest of 3,529, harvest totals increased within the Game Commission’s Northeast and Southeast Regions.

The largest bear harvested in 2017 weighed an estimated 707 pounds. It was taken in Middle Smithfield Township, Monroe County, during the extended bear season in WMU 3D by Holly F. Scott, of Steelton, Pa. It was one of two 700-pound bears in the 2017 harvest.

Chad A. Wagner, of Titusville, took a bear estimated at 700 pounds in Oil Creek Township, Venango County, during the firearms bear season. Other large bears included a 691-pound bear taken during the firearms season in Cherry Grove Township, Warren County by James M. Langdon, of Wattsburg; a 661-pound bear taken during the extended season in Elkland Township, Sullivan County, by Timothy M. Smith, of New Albany; a 648-pound bear taken during the firearms season in Dreher Township, Wayne County, by Joseph D. Simon, of Newfoundland; a 648-pound bear taken during the extended season in Lehman Township, Pike County, by Jared R. Kipp, of Bethlehem; a 638-pound bear taken during the archery season in Tamaqua Township, Schuylkill County, by Jason R. Strohl, of Nesquehoning; a 632-pound bear taken during the extended season in Zerbe Township, Northumberland County, by Timothy I. Lenig Jr., of Shamokin; a 625-pound bear taken during the extended season in Harrison Township, Bedford County, by Mark C. Kunkle, of Sinking Spring; and a 616-pound bear taken during the extended season in Tremont Township, Schuylkill County, by Paul H. Neidlinger, of Pine Grove.

Lycoming County finished with 252 bears to take the top county bear harvest. It was followed by Tioga County with 214. Other top counties for bear harvests in 2017 were: Pike, 193; Potter, 161; Sullivan, 156; Wayne, 156; Clinton, 153; Bradford, 112; Warren, 109; and Luzerne, 108.

Final county harvests by region (with 2016 figures in parentheses) are:

Northwest – 388 (522): Warren, 109 (131); Venango, 61 (94); Jefferson, 55 (68); Clarion, 51 (50); Crawford, 40 (57); Forest, 35 (74); Butler, 18 (11); Erie, 13 (28); and Mercer, 6 (9).

Southwest – 237 (313): Somerset, 75 (116); Fayette, 66 (77); Armstrong, 36 (24); Westmoreland, 26 (36); Cambria, 21 (23); Indiana, 11 (35); Allegheny, 1 (2); and Greene, 1 (0).

Northcentral – 1,187 (1,287): Lycoming, 252 (243); Tioga, 214 (169); Potter 161 (149); Clinton, 153 (220); Centre, 93 (114); McKean, 86 (106); Elk, 72 (74); Clearfield, 66 (99); Cameron, 52 (79); and Union, 38 (34).

Southcentral – 383 (436): Huntingdon, 91 (90); Bedford, 57 (73); Perry, 44 (66); Mifflin, 43 (40); Juniata, 41 (51); Fulton, 29 (33); Blair, 27 (32); Franklin, 24 (22); Snyder, 13 (24); Cumberland, 8 (5); and Adams, 6 (0).

Northeast – 1,112 (858): Pike, 193 (109); Sullivan, 156 (77); Wayne, 156 (104); Bradford, 112 (82); Luzerne, 108 (114); Monroe, 82 (94); Wyoming, 70 (49); Susquehanna, 66 (73); Lackawanna, 65 (51); Carbon, 57 (60); Columbia, 29 (39); Northumberland, 16 (5); and Montour, 2 (1).

Southeast – 131 (113): Dauphin, 49 (47); Schuylkill, 47 (44); Northampton, 19 (8); Lebanon, 8 (7); Berks, 7 (2); Lehigh 1 (1); and Bucks, 0 (4).

The final bear harvests by Wildlife Management Unit (with final 2016 figures in parentheses) were: WMU 1A, 17 (34); WMU 1B, 103 (156); WMU 2A, 3 (2) WMU 2B, 4 (4); WMU 2C, 207 (282); WMU 2D, 131 (101); WMU 2E, 39 (60); WMU 2F, 232 (323); WMU 2G, 474 (603); WMU 2H, 87 (108); WMU 3A, 213 (168); WMU 3B, 457 (321); WMU 3C, 262 (170); WMU 3D, 417 (355); WMU 4A, 96 (123); WMU 4B, 130 (153); WMU 4C, 157 (144); WMU 4D, 296 (324); WMU 4E, 94 (85); WMU 5A, 7 (1); WMU 5B, 1 (1); and WMU 5C, 11 (11).

While the overall harvest was down in 2017 due to tough hunting on opening day, it could equate to an excellent year for bear hunting in 2018, Ternent said. Prior to the start of the 2017 hunting seasons, the statewide bear population was estimated at 20,000.

The fact a lower-than-expected 2017 harvest still ranked among the best on record shows how special bear hunting in Pennsylvania has become, said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. 

 “There’s no place like Pennsylvania for hunting bears, and there’s never been a time when hunters’ chances have been better,” Burhans said.

Courtesy PA Game Commission