Santo Cerminaro, right, follows his son, Dominick Cerminaro, left, and grandson, Santo Cerminaro, 11, into the woods to go deer hunting on the first day of regular firearms deer hunting season, in most of Pennsylvania, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 in Zelienople, Pa.
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
Keith Srakocic / AP Photo
Santo Cerminaro, right, follows his son, Dominick Cerminaro, left, and grandson, Santo Cerminaro, 11, into the woods to go deer hunting on the first day of regular firearms deer hunting season, in most of Pennsylvania, Monday, Nov. 26, 2018 in Zelienople, Pa.
(Harrisburg)–Pennsylvania’s firearms deer hunting season opens today. For the first time in the Game Commission’s history, deer hunters have a Saturday-Sunday opening weekend.
Another change is a regulatory change that allows hunters to attempt to harvest a second deer before tagging the first, as long as they have the appropriate tags and they don’t attempt to move a deer before it’s tagged.
Last year, Pennsylvania hunters recorded the highest overall deer harvest in 15 years when they took 389,431 deer. The last time the total deer harvest topped 400-thousand was in 2004-05. In recent years, about 22 percent of all hunters have harvested an antlered deer.
The firearms deer season opened Saturday morning and continues on Sunday, the only day of Sunday deer hunting during the season that runs until December 12. The antlered deer season runs until December 4, including a day of Sunday buck hunting on Nov. 29.
Hunters during the statewide firearms season can harvest antlered deer, one per season per hunter, if they possess a valid general hunting license or a valid mentored hunting permit.
A valid tag must be attached to the ear of each deer harvested before the deer is moved. Within 10 days of a harvest, a successful hunter is required to make a report to the Game Commission at www.pgc.pa.gov.
With the new Saturday-Sunday opening weekend to the firearms deer season, the extended bear hunting season does not begin until Monday, Nov. 30. Licensed bear hunters who see bears during the first two days of the firearms deer season, Saturday and Sunday, may not attempt to harvest them. To participate, a hunter needs a general hunting license, as well as a bear license.
Florescent orange requirements for the extended bear season and firearms deer season are identical.
A collection of interviews, photos, and music videos, featuring local musicians who have stopped by the WITF performance studio to share a little discussion and sound. Produced by WITF’s Joe Ulrich.
