BOWHUNTERS AWAIT FALL DEER ARCHERY SEASON
There really isnt much commotion in the days leading up to and for the start of Pennsylvanias six-week fall archery deer season, which begins Oct. 4. According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, if passersby didnt see bowhunters entering or leaving the woods, most wouldnt know whitetail hunting had begun in the Commonwealth.
Hunting deer with a bow has always been a passion or at least a favorite pastime for hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians, said Carl G. Roe, Game Commission executive director. On the first day of the season, thousands of hunters will take to the woods in order to start filling their freezers with venison. It also marks the time when bowhunters begin to be rewarded for all the time theyve spent on ranges practicing, scouting and running trail cameras in recent months.
The start of our archery deer season also represents the beginning of relief for some landowners who are sustaining crop and property damage from deer. This is especially true for people who live in Pennsylvanias developed areas around Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, where deer populations remain exceedingly high.
Bowhunters who have purchased and received antlerless deer licenses to hunt in Wildlife Management Units 2B, 5C and 5D will once again get an early start on the rest of the state. They may begin hunting for antlerless deer only in these WMUs beginning Sept. 20. There also are two late fall archery antlerless deer seasons in WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D that run from Nov. 17-29, and Dec. 15-23.
Statewide, including WMUs 2B, 5C and 5D, archers can hunt antlered or antlerless deer from Oct. 4 to Nov. 15, and the late statewide archery deer season runs from Dec. 26 to Jan. 10.
GAME COMMISSION OFFERS ONLINE TREESTAND SAFETY COURSE
As treestand use is a popular part of archery deer seasons, as well as a growing part of other deer seasons, the Pennsylvania Game Commission is offering hunters the opportunity to take a free, voluntary online treestand safety course. To take the course, go to the agencys website (
www.pgc.state.pa.us), click on Education in the left-hand column of the homepage, then click on Treestand Safety Course in the Education box in the upper right-hand corner of the page.
WMU 3D SELLS OUT OF ANTLERLESS DEER LICENSES
Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) 3D has exhausted its entire antlerless deer license allocation today, announced Pennsylvania Game Commission Executive Director Carl G. Roe.
WMU 3D covers portions all of Monroe and Pike counties, and portions of Carbon, Lackawanna, Lehigh, Luzerne, Northampton and Wayne counties.
For more information on any of these three items, please visit the Pennsylvania Game Commission - State Wildlife Management Agency website:
http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/view.asp?a=11&Q=174954