Pennsylvania’s pheasant hunting season is fast approaching, bringing with it more Sunday hunting opportunities and thousands of stocked birds across the state. The junior pheasant season begins Saturday, Oct. 11 and runs through Oct. 18, including Sunday, Oct. 12. The general statewide season follows on Saturday, Oct. 25 and runs through Nov. 28, with Sunday hunting permitted on Oct. 26 and every Sunday in November. Additional late-season opportunities run from Dec. 15–24 and Dec. 26–Feb. 28, though no Sunday hunting is permitted during those periods.
This year, the Pennsylvania Game Commission will release an estimated 215,000 pheasants, with about 16,000 birds going out for the junior season. The birds will be stocked weekly through late November, with additional releases in mid-December and after Christmas to support late-season hunters.
“Pheasant releases will occur weekly from late October through late November,” said Ian Gregg, chief of the Game Commission’s Wildlife Operations Division. “A mid-December release will bolster hunting opportunity prior to the holidays.”
Pheasant hunting is allowed statewide except in the two Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas in Northumberland, Montour, and Franklin counties. In all other areas, hunters may harvest either male or female birds, with a daily limit of two and a possession limit of six.
Hunters 17 and older must have a valid general hunting license and a pheasant permit, which costs $26.97. Permits are free for junior hunters and those holding senior lifetime licenses issued before May 2017. Permit revenue, which exceeded $1.5 million last license year, helps support the stocking program and other Game Commission operations.
Roughly 8,000 pheasants stocked this season will be banded for a Game Commission study to monitor harvest rates and evaluate stocking strategies. Hunters who harvest or find banded pheasants are urged to report the date and location of the find using the toll-free number printed on each band.
“We rely on hunters in conducting many of our studies,” said Game Commission wildlife biometrician Josh Johnson. “And year after year they step up.”
Hunters can find stocking information and interactive maps at http://www.pa.gov/pgc
, which show stocking locations and highlight high-quality hunting habitat. The Game Commission also offers online “Learn to Hunt” materials for new hunters.
Hunters are reminded to wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange on their head, chest, and back, and to observe firearm safety at all times. It is unlawful to fire a weapon within 150 yards of Game Commission vehicles releasing pheasants.
The Game Commission advises hunters to take precautions due to the presence of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) in wild birds. Recommendations include wearing gloves, using dedicated clothing and tools for bird handling, and cleaning equipment with a bleach solution.
Hunters who encounter sick or dead birds are urged to contact the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture or the Game Commission at 1-833-PGC-WILD.
For more information on pheasant hunting seasons, permits, and resources, visit http://www.pa.gov/pgc
.
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