HARRISBURG, PA - Pennsylvania’s elk hunting season kicks off Saturday, Sept. 12 with the archery elk season, in which 26 hunters selected by lottery will be spread across nine of the 14 Elk Hunt Zones within the state’s elk range. Ten of those hunters are in pursuit of bulls, while 16 are hunting antlerless elk.
The season runs until Saturday, Sept. 26.
The November general season, Nov. 2 through 7, will follow, with 26 hunters pursuing bulls and 78 hunting antlerless elk across 13 zones. Another 34 elk hunters will take part in an antlerless-only late season, which will run from Jan. 2 through Jan. 9, 2021.
As elk-hunting opportunities continue to grow, hunting continues to become a bigger part of the public’s enjoyment of elk, a precious wildlife resource, Pennsylvania Game Commission Elk Biologist Jeremy Banfield said.
“Those who are drawn for elk licenses truly will get to experience the hunt of a lifetime pursuing world-class animals in Pennsylvania, and it can’t get any more exciting than the archery season, when bulls are keyed up in competition with one another, and close encounters are a must for harvest success,” Banfield said.
Saturday, Sept. 12 also marks the new, earlier opening of the statewide squirrel season, the first segment of which runs until Nov. 27. Mourning doves and Canada geese are among the other species popular with hunters, with seasons open at the time the elk archery season starts.
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