The season continues…

The second half of the Pennsylvania small game season is getting an early start this year, to the joy of my wonderful beagles and me. This year, small-game hunters don’t have to wait until the day after Christmas to stretch their legs.

Small game seasons for rabbits and squirrels will run from December 10 through December 24, and December 26 to February 9. Pheasant season (in designated areas) will run from December 10 through December 24, and December 26 to February 9. Ruffed grouse will run from December 10 through December 24 and December 26 to January 12. Snowshoe hares are in season from December 26 to January 1.

The Game Commission will release pheasants in five of the state’s six designated regions for the late pheasant season.

Our Northeast region will receive a total of 1,600 hen pheasants - Bradford, 250; Lackawanna, 180; Luzerne, 270; Monroe, 200; Pike, 230; Susquehanna, 160; Wayne, 150 and Wyoming, 160.

Dove hunters also will have late-season opportunities when dove season reopens from December 26 to December 30. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise to sunset, and the daily limit is 12.

Waterfowl hunters have out and about in December and January. The regular Canada goose season continues in the Southern James Bay Population Zone through December 31.

In the Atlantic Population Zone, the second leg of the Canada goose season will run from December 20 to January 12. In addition, a Late Canada Goose Season will be held over most of Pennsylvania—except in southeastern counties and the Pymatuning area of Crawford County—from January 15 to February 15. A snow goose season will be held statewide from November 6 to March 9.

The last leg of Pennsylvania’s deer seasons will resume the day after Christmas, when deer hunters head afield to participate in the statewide flintlock muzzleloader and late archery deer seasons from December 26 to January 12.

Hunters who participate in this season must be properly licensed. To carry a sporting arm during these seasons, hunters must have an unused deer harvest tag. All antlerless deer taken by participants in the late archery and special regulations area antlerless seasons must be tagged with an unused county-specific antlerless deer license harvest tag. Flintlock muzzleloader season participants may harvest an antlerless deer with either a county-specific antlerless deer license or general hunting license deer harvest tag. Buck hunting in the late seasons is limited to only bowhunters and flintlock muzzleloader hunters who possess an unused general hunting license deer harvest tag.

During the muzzleloader season, only single-barrel long-guns with a flintlock ignition system are permitted. The firearm must be an original or reproduction of a gun used prior to 1800, which is .44 caliber or larger, with iron, open “V” or notched sights (fiber-optic inserts are permitted). A flintlock ignition system consists of a hammer containing a naturally-occurring stone which is spring-propelled onto an iron or steel frizzen, which, in turn, creates sparks to ignite a gunpowder. Flintlock handguns are not permitted. Flintlock muzzleloader hunters may use “any single projectile,” including sabots, and mini and maxi balls.

After-Christmas bowhunters took about 2,500 deer during their roughly three-week season. About a fifth of their harvest was antlered deer. As a matter of note: the best harvest day of the late bow season was the very last day.

Until next time, be safe and good luck!