Seasons and Limits

For most of Pennsylvania the antlered deer season for rifles is the first Monday after Thanksgiving and continues for about two weeks and always ends on a Saturday. You are only allowed one antlered deer per year and that combines with archery season. So if you got a buck in archery you cannot shoot one for the rifle season but most areas have antlerless deer coincide with antlered season. You may take one antlerless deer for every tag that you have purchased. In a few of the Wildlife Management Units there will be an extended antlerless deer season that starts after Christmas and usually lasts about one month. Check with your Hunting and Trapping Digest magazine for exact seasons in your area. During these seasons you may not shoot before the official sun-up time or after the official sun-down time.

Antler Restrictions

In Pennsylvania there is a restriction on the number and size of points that are required on an antlered deer. In most of the eastern WMUs you are allowed to take an antlered deer that has three points on one side that are at least one inch in length and that can include the brow tine ( the point immediately above the antler burr ). In the western WMUs the deer must have three points that originate off the main beam on one side. In these WMUs the brow tine is not included in your three points that are required. An antlerless deer will be considered a deer without antlers or a deer with antlers both of which are less than three inches in length.