Pa. game commissioners to consider Sunday hunting for the fall following repeal of ban

• By P.J. Reilly/LNP | LancasterOnline

Pennsylvania hunters will likely be allowed to chase most species on most Sundays during the coming fall season.

The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissioners on July 28 will consider a proposal to open to hunting every Sunday from Sept. 14 through Dec. 7.

Open to hunting on those days would be any species with an open season on those dates, except for waterfowl and other migratory birds.

The proposal listed in the board’s meeting agenda would authorize the addition of the designated Sundays by executive order issued by agency Executive Director Stephen Smith.

An executive order can be issued at any time, and the state Game and Wildlife Code authorizes the Game Commission’s executive director to change set hunting seasons if necessary.

The hunting seasons for the 2025-26 hunting year all were set by the Board of Game Commissioners back in April.

Gov. Josh Shapiro on July 9 signed a bill that repealed the long-standing state law banning general Sunday hunting in Pennsylvania.

Eager to allow hunters to take advantage of this new opportunity, the Game Commission sought a way to legally change the 2025-26 hunting seasons as soon as possible.

One option considered was having the Board of Game Commissioners add Sundays to this year’s schedule.

But that would have taken votes by the board at two separate meetings, as well as allow time for the change to be published in the Pennsylvania Bulletin.

That process was expected to delay Sunday hunting until around early November.

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READ: What’s next now that Sunday hunting is legal in Pennsylvania?

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By issuing an executive order, the addition of Sundays can happen much quicker, according to Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau.

The board only needs to authorize the executive director to issue an executive order, and that move only requires one vote at one meeting.

So authorization for Sunday hunting this fall could be granted by the Board of Game Commissioners at the July 28 meeting.

The proposed order specifically lists every Sunday from Sept. 14 through Dec. 7.

“The board acknowledges the substantial interest among hunters and other stakeholders in expanding hunting opportunities through the inclusion of Sundays within existing seasons, provided such expansion does not negatively affect the sustainability of wildlife populations,” the proposed resolution states in the meeting agenda.

By voting in favor of the resolution, the board would authorize the executive director to “issue an executive order establishing that hunting may occur within the established game species in season, excepting migratory birds,” on every Sunday from Sept. 14 through Dec. 7.

Among other things, this move would allow Sunday hunting for all of the fall archery and firearms deer, turkey and small game seasons.

As for why the list of Sundays ends Dec. 7, even though the 2025-26 hunting seasons runs through June 30, 2026, “I’m sure we will hear more about this at the meeting,” Lau said.

“What’s outlined in the agenda is just a proposal, and there could be changes.

“In the end, though, I am sure the board will want assurances that whatever Sundays are added will not negatively impact wildlife.”

Sunday hunting during spring turkey season is one season that could raise special concerns with the board, Lau said, since adding weekend days could boost season harvests.

Waterfowl and other migratory birds are exempt from the Sunday hunting opportunities because allowing any Sunday hunting would eliminate all “compensatory days” afforded to Pennsylvania as a state that didn’t allow Sunday hunting.

Migratory bird hunting is regulated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

As it always had done, USFWS granted compensatory days to Pennsylvania for the 2025-26 migratory bird seasons when those seasons were set earlier this year to make up for the Sundays when hunting wasn’t expected to be allowed.

Now that Sunday hunting is legal, USFWS rules stipulate that if hunting migratory birds were to be allowed on even one Sunday in Pennsylvania, all of the compensatory days would be rescinded.

Lau said the Game Commission believes that would result in a net loss of hunting days for the coming season, so the agency plans to leave Sunday hunting of waterfowl and other migratory birds off the table for 2025-26.

It likely will be incorporated into the hunting seasons starting with 2026-27.

Doe tags

The second round of antlerless deer license sales begins Monday, July 28.

Starting at 8 a.m., applications can be submitted online at huntfish.pa.gov, or at any state-authorized licensing agent, such as sporting goods stores and many big box stores.

As of July 23, all 22 Wildlife Management Units in Pennsylvania had tags available for sale.

WMU 3A was the closest to selling out, with 1,440 tags left.

The only other unit with less than 10,000 tags was 1B, which had 9,259 remaining.

Surprisingly, WMUs 2G and 2F – two units where tags are highly sought by hunters – still had 14,212 and 17,446 tags remaining respectively.

WMU 5B, which covers all but a tiny sliver of Lancaster County and parts of several surrounding counties, had 61,313 tags remaining.

WMU 5C, which covers the tiny sliver of Lancaster County not in WMU 5B and much of neighboring Chester and Berks counties, had the most tags available for sale, with 83,687.

In this round of sales, hunters who bought a tag in the first round can buy one more. Hunters who did not buy one in the first round can buy up to two tags.