Bear season in Pennsylvania for the 2025-26 license year opens September 20, 2025 in a handful of Wildlife Management Units and closes December 13, 2025, with archery, muzzleloader, special firearms, regular firearms, and extended firearms seasons layered across that window. Exact dates depend on the season type and the WMU you plan to hunt. You’re limited to one bear across all seasons combined.
2025-26 Bear Season Dates
Archery
The statewide archery bear season runs October 18-25, 2025. A few WMUs keep longer archery windows:
- WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D: September 20 through November 28, 2025
- WMU 5B: October 4 through November 21, 2025
- All other WMUs: October 18-25, 2025
Muzzleloader and Special Firearms
The statewide muzzleloader bear season runs October 23-25, 2025. The special firearms bear season covers those same three days but is limited to junior and senior license holders, active-duty military personnel, and disabled persons’ permit holders. Hunters in the special firearms season may use the weapons allowed during the regular firearms season.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Regular Firearms
Statewide regular firearms bear season is November 22-25, 2025, including Sunday, November 23.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Extended Firearms
After the regular season closes, two groups of WMUs reopen:
- WMUs 3A, 3B, 3C, 3D, 4C, 4E, and 5A: November 29 through December 6, 2025 (including Sunday, November 30)
- WMUs 2B, 5B, 5C, and 5D: November 29 through December 13, 2025 (including Sunday, November 30)
Licenses You Need
You need two things: a general hunting license and a bear add-on license, which includes your harvest tag. For 2025-26:
- Resident adult general hunting license: $20.97
- Nonresident adult general hunting license: $101.97
- Resident bear add-on: $16.97
- Nonresident bear add-on: $36.97
The general license is valid June 23, 2025 through June 30, 2026. The bear license expires December 13, 2025, when all bear seasons close.3Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pennsylvania Game Commission 2025-26 License Catalog
Buy through the HuntFish.PA website or any authorized license-issuing agent. If you buy online, make sure the physical license with the attached harvest tag arrives before you hunt. The tag is what you fasten to the bear’s ear in the field; a digital confirmation on your phone won’t do.
First-time hunters of any age must complete Pennsylvania’s Basic Hunter-Trapper Education course before buying a license.4Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Register for a Hunter Safety Course
Legal Hours and Sunday Hunting
Legal hunting hours for bear are one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset. Check the sunrise and sunset times for the specific date and county.5Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania 2025-26 Hunting and Trapping Digest
Sunday hunting is allowed on certain dates that fall within an open season. For bear, those Sundays are November 16, November 23, and November 30, depending on season and WMU. If you hunt on a Sunday on private land, you must carry written permission from the landowner that includes your name, address, CID license number, and the landowner’s contact information. In state parks, Sunday bear hunting is limited to November 16, 23, and 30. State forests allow hunting on all Sundays the Game Commission has opened.1Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. FINAL 2025-26 SEASONS ADOPTED
Fluorescent Orange
During any firearms bear season, wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on your head, chest, and back combined, visible from all directions. A blaze orange hat and vest meet the rule. It applies no matter what weapon you’re carrying during a firearms season.6Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Safe Hunting Tips
Hunting from a blind or enclosed tree stand during a firearms bear season adds a second requirement: at least 100 square inches of fluorescent orange displayed within 15 feet of the blind, visible from all directions, on top of what you wear on your body. The full amount of orange must be on you while you move, from one hour before legal hunting hours start until one hour after they end. Archery-only bear seasons have no orange requirement.
Allowed Weapons
What you can carry depends on the open season.
Archery: a bow with a peak draw weight of at least 35 pounds, firing arrows tipped with broadheads at least 7/8 inch in outside diameter and no more than 3.25 inches long.7Legal Information Institute. 58 Pa. Code 141.44 – Bear Seasons
Muzzleloader: single-barrel firearms that fire a single projectile. Long guns must be .44 caliber or larger; handguns must be .50 caliber or larger.
Regular and extended firearms: manually operated centerfire rifles, handguns, or shotguns firing single-projectile ammunition. Semiautomatic centerfire shotguns are allowed if they fire single-projectile loads. Buckshot and other multiple-projectile loads are illegal during bear firearms seasons.
Tagging, Reporting, and Handling the Meat
As soon as you’ve killed a bear, fill out the harvest tag completely and attach it to the bear’s ear before moving the carcass. The tag stays on until the meat is processed for eating or the animal is prepared for mounting.8Pennsylvania General Assembly. Title 34 – Game
Within 24 hours, bring the bear to a Game Commission check station with your general hunting license and bear license. Field dress the bear before you go, but leave the carcass otherwise intact for examination. Check station locations and hours are posted by the Game Commission before each season.9Pennsylvania Game Commission. Reporting a Harvest If no station is open, call 833-PGC-HUNT or 833-PGC-WILD to reach the Game Commission’s dispatch center and have an officer respond.
Bear meat carries a real risk of trichinosis from Trichinella roundworms. The CDC recommends cooking all wild game to an internal temperature of at least 165°F (74°C). Freezing does not reliably kill the parasites in bear meat the way it can for some other meats, because certain Trichinella species survive freezing.10Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Notes from the Field: Suspected Outbreak of Trichinellosis Associated with Undercooked Bear Meat Dress the bear quickly after the kill, keep the hanging carcass at 40°F or below, and consider a commercial processor for safe handling.11Ask USDA. How Do You Handle Wild Game Safely?