Pennsylvania’s regular firearms deer season runs November 29 through December 13, 2025, but if you are asking when deer season is in PA more broadly, the answer stretches from September 20, 2025 through January 24, 2026 depending on which weapon you carry and which Wildlife Management Unit (WMU) you hunt. The Pennsylvania Game Commission sets the dates each year, and the 2025-2026 calendar includes archery, muzzleloader, flintlock, regular firearms, and several special and extended antlerless seasons.
2025-2026 Deer Season Dates by Method
Archery
Statewide archery opens October 4 and runs through November 21, then returns December 26 through January 19, 2026. Hunters in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D get a longer window: September 20 through November 28, and December 26 through January 24, 2026. You can take bucks or does during archery, though antlerless deer require a separate antlerless license.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Muzzleloader and Flintlock
The early antlerless muzzleloader season runs October 18 through 25 statewide. It is does only, and you need both a muzzleloader license and an antlerless license.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
The late flintlock season opens December 26 and runs through January 19, 2026 for most of the state, or through January 24, 2026 in WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D. Either sex is legal. One quirk worth knowing: during flintlock you can take one antlerless deer using your general license’s antlered harvest tag, which gives you a doe opportunity even without a separate antlerless license.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Regular Firearms
Regular firearms season for both antlered and antlerless deer runs November 29 through December 13, 2025, statewide.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Special Firearms Antlerless Season
A three-day antlerless firearms season runs October 23 through 25 statewide, but it is restricted to specific hunters: junior and senior license holders, mentored permit holders, disabled person permit holders (who may use a vehicle as a blind), hunters who are or will turn 65 in the year they applied for their license, and Pennsylvania residents on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces or Coast Guard.2Pennsylvania Game Commission. Final 2025-26 Seasons Adopted
Extended Antlerless Firearms Seasons
Several WMUs and properties get additional antlerless-only firearms days after the regular season closes:
- WMUs 2B, 5C, and 5D: December 26 through January 24, 2026
- DMAP properties statewide: December 26 through January 24, 2026 (requires a valid DMAP harvest permit)
- WMUs 4A, 4C, 4D, and 5A: January 2 through January 19, 2026
These extended seasons target areas with high deer densities and are antlerless only.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits
Sunday Hunting Is Now Legal
Pennsylvania’s longtime ban on Sunday hunting ended in September 2025. Act 36 of 2025 repealed the prohibition and gave the Game Commission authority to regulate Sunday hunting directly. For the 2025 calendar year the Commission authorized 13 Sundays: September 14, 21, and 28; October 5, 12, 19, and 26; November 2, 9, 16, 23, and 30; and December 7.3Pennsylvania Game Commission. Sunday Hunting Days Set for 2025
Several of those Sundays fall inside deer windows. November 16 and 23 land during archery, November 30 is the second day of regular firearms, and December 7 falls in the last week of regular firearms. The authorized Sundays can change year to year, so confirm the schedule before heading out.
What Dates Mean for Bag Limits
Only one antlered deer per license year is allowed, regardless of which season you take it in. The buck tag is built into your general hunting license and carries across archery, firearms, and flintlock. Antlerless deer have no fixed bag limit beyond the number of antlerless licenses and permits you hold, with each license good for one doe.1Pennsylvania Game Commission. Seasons and Bag Limits Antler point restrictions apply across all seasons: at least four points on one antler in western Pennsylvania WMUs, at least three points on one side elsewhere, with junior license holders exempt.4Pennsylvania Game Commission. Antler Restrictions in Pennsylvania
Licenses You Need for Each Season
A general hunting license is the starting point for every deer hunter. Residents pay $20.97, nonresidents $101.97, and the license includes one antlered deer tag.5Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2025 PGC License Year Catalog
From there, match the add-on to the season you want to hunt. Archery requires an archery license: $16.97 for residents, $26.97 for nonresidents. Muzzleloader and flintlock seasons require a muzzleloader license: $11.97 for residents, $21.97 for nonresidents.5Pennsylvania Game Commission. 2025 PGC License Year Catalog
For any doe, you need an antlerless deer license tied to a specific WMU. Residents pay $6.97 per license, nonresidents $26.97. By the fourth round of sales you can hold up to six unfilled antlerless licenses across the state, with WMUs 5C and 5D allowing up to nine additional for a total of 15. Popular units sell out in early rounds, so apply as soon as your round opens.6Pennsylvania Game Commission. Antlerless Deer License
DMAP permits unlock the late antlerless season on enrolled properties. Each permit costs $10.97 for residents and $35.97 for nonresidents and authorizes one antlerless deer on the specific property it was issued for. You can obtain up to four permits using landowner coupons or up to two by looking up a DMAP unit number and purchasing directly. DMAP sales begin during the third round of antlerless sales, which starts the second Monday of August. All DMAP permit holders must report their results whether they harvested a deer or not.7Pennsylvania Game Commission. Purchase Deer Management Assistance Program Permits (DMAP)
Licenses and permits are sold at HuntFish.PA.gov and through authorized issuing agents across the state.
Fluorescent Orange During Firearms Dates
During deer, bear, and elk firearms seasons, Pennsylvania requires a minimum of 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on your head, chest, and back combined, visible from all directions. Camo-pattern fluorescent orange counts as long as the total meets the 250-square-inch minimum. The requirement applies to all firearms seasons, including the special October antlerless days and the extended late-season hunts. Archery hunters are not required to wear orange, though it is a sensible precaution when nearby land is open to firearms.
Confirm Dates Before Opening Day
Season dates and Sunday hunting schedules can shift year to year, and some of the extended antlerless rules depend on where you plan to hunt. The Pennsylvania Game Commission posts current dates and any mid-season changes at pgc.pa.gov, and the annual Hunting and Trapping Digest, available electronically and in print with your license, covers the WMU-specific details.8Pennsylvania Game Commission. Pennsylvania Game Commission