Almost synonymous with fall in Pennsylvania is deer hunting season. Hunters anxiously wait to gather their bows, guns, camouflage, rainwear, and hand-warmers and take to the great outdoors.
There are a few changes from the 2020 hunting season in Pennsylvania and bag limits and dates set by the Pennsylvania Game Commission. Overall, the 2021 deer hunting season in Pennsylvania has a positive outlook.
Major Changes
The 2021 hunting license is valid from July 1, 2020, to June 30, 2021. While hunting is not permitted on Sundays, the PA Game Commission approved two Sunday hunt days for deer. For archers, you were allowed to hunt deer on Sunday, November 15, 2020. For firearms, hunters took to the woods on Sunday, November 29, 2020. Did you take advantage of these days?
Other significant changes are a 14-day concurrent firearm season for buck and doe in 10 wildlife management units (WMUs) and a split season in the remaining 13 WMUs. Statewide archery lasted until November 20, 2020.
General Hunting Rules
Hunting begins each day, a half-hour before sunrise until a half-hour after sunset.
About Orange and Camo Garments
Hunters must typically wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on head, chest, and back combined. The orange must be visible at 360 degrees and be worn at all times. This equals about a shirt’s worth of orange that must always be visible.
Looking for compliant and waterproof gear to get out there and stay out comfortably? Our fluorescent orange rainwear from Kool Dri® Rainwear is the perfect hunting rain suit to comply with this requirement. The bib rain suit includes durable bib pants and a lightweight hooded jacket.
The material is breathable and contains spacious storage pockets.
Not sure if you want to commit to an entire rain suit’s worth of blaze orange when you don’t need quite that level of visibility? We also offer our popular olive drab 3/4 length rain parkas and camouflage rain suits.
Pair these versatile and incredibly protective garments with your orange hats and/or vests to comply with safety rules. The biggest benefit here is that your parka or camo rain suit can be worn in other non-hunting situations when you don’t require high visibility clothing—and probably want to blend in a bit better!
Deer Season Outlook
According to OutdoorLife.com, PA’s whitetail deer population is stable in 21 WMUs and increasing in two units. In 2019, 67 percent of bucks harvested were 2.5 years or older, which is the highest proportion ever. This statistic means that PA hunters will have a good chance of encountering older antlered deer in their hunts.
The 2020-2021 deer hunting season limits are one antlered deer per hunting license and one antlerless deer with each required antlerless license.
The 2021 Deer Hunting Seasons in PA
Beginning with archery in September 2020 and ending with firearms in January 2021, PA hunters must abide by the following seasons. Find more information from the PA Game Commission.
Archery
Hunters in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D can hunt from December 26-January 3, 2021. Statewide archery hunting (even in the rain) runs from December 26, 2020, to January 18, 2021. Hunters can aim for both antlered deer and antlerless deer during these periods.
Regular Firearms
For WMUs 1A, 1B, 2A, 2F, 2G, 2H, 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E, and 5B, hunters were able to shoot antlered deer on November 28, Sunday, November 29, and from November 30 to December 4, 2020. They shot antlered deer and antlerless deer on December 5-12, 2020. The state’s remainder shot regular firearms at both buck and doe on November 28, Sunday, November 29, and November 30 to December 12, 2020.
Flintlock
Hunters can use flintlock firearms for antlered and antlerless deer statewide from December 26, 2020, to January 18, 2021. For hunters in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D, you can use flintlock firearms from December 26, 2020, to January 23, 2021.
Extended Regular Firearms
Hunters can gather their firearms, camouflage, fluorescent orange rainwear, and hand-warmers to hunt in Alleghany, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties from December 26, 2020, to January 23, 2021. They can only aim for antlerless deer.
Other Game to Hunt
Pennsylvania hunters can use Kool Dri® Rainwear’s rain suit during the late winter and spring hunting seasons too. There is a late elk season from January 2-9, 2021, for antlerless elk only. Red, grey, black, and fox squirrels can be hunted from December 26, 2020, to February 27, 2021. Hunters can kill six squirrels daily or 18 total.
Another game hunters can aim for is cottontail rabbits from December 26, 2020, to February 27, 2021. The limit is set at four daily, 12 possessions.
Spring gobbler for bearded birds occurs from May 1-31, 2021. There is a special season for eligible junior hunters with the required license and mentored youth on April 24, 2021. Only one spring gobbler may be taken on this day.
For the hunting time in May, hunters can shoot from one half-hour before sunrise until noon from May 1-15, 2021. From May 17-31, hunters can legally shoot for these birds from one half-hour before sunrise until one half-hour after sunset. The daily limit is one gobbler with a season limit of two per hunting license.
Prepare for the 2021 Hunting Season with Quality Rainwear
No matter where and when in PA you’re hunting this year, you need to be prepared for unpredictable weather. Having a high-quality hunting rain suit, like the ones found from Kool Dri® Rainwear, will protect you from rain, wind, sudden storms, and other challenging weather. You can order your rain suit in camouflage or fluorescent orange for your hunting needs. The strong fabric resists snagging, tearing, and fraying. And while we can’t accurately tell you where to find deer this season, we know that wearing hunting gear made in the USA from Kool Dri Rainwear will at least keep you comfortable and safe during your hunts.
