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2026-27 PGC digest
Pennsylvania Game Species
32 Pennsylvania species and groups with a 2026-27 season or regulated take, each with its own guide to dates, limits, WMU rules, legal arms, harvest figures and public land.
Photo: Carolyn Savell (CC BY 2.0)
Pick a species
Grouped the way hunters plan a year in Pennsylvania: deer, bear, elk and turkey first, then upland birds and small game, furbearers, migratory birds, and the species the PGC files under Other.
Big game (4)
Upland and small game (7)
Furbearers (10)
Migratory birds (8)
Other (3)
Pennsylvania bag limits, 2026-27
Each limit is the PGC wording. Antlerless deer licenses are sold by WMU, and the beaver limit changes by WMU, so those guides carry the unit detail.
| Species | PGC limit |
|---|---|
| White-tailed Deer | One antlered deer per license year (all seasons combined), plus one antlerless deer with each antlerless license, DMAP permit or Ag Tag permit. Flintlock hunters may use the unused antlered tag for an antlerless deer. Personal limit of 6 unfilled antlerless licenses (15 in WMUs 5C and 5D); more may be bought as deer are harvested and reported while licenses remain. Mentored permit holders: 1 antlerless license per year. |
| Black Bear | One bear per license year. |
| Elk | One elk per license year with an elk license (antlered or antlerless as issued). |
| Wild Turkey | One fall turkey (either sex) per license year plus one bearded bird in spring (spring limit reduced to one). |
| Ruffed Grouse | 2 daily, 6 possession. |
| Pheasant | 2 daily, 6 possession (male or female). |
| Bobwhite Quail | No limit. |
| Cottontail Rabbit | 4 daily, 12 possession. |
| Snowshoe Hare | 1 daily, 3 per season. |
| Squirrel | 6 daily, 18 possession. |
| Woodchuck | No limit. |
| Crow | No limit. |
| Coyote | No limit. |
| Red and Gray Fox | No limit. |
| Raccoon | No limit. |
| Opossum, Skunk and Weasel | No limit. |
| Bobcat | 1 per license year with permit. |
| Fisher | 1 per license year with permit. |
| River Otter | 1 per license year with permit. |
| Beaver | By WMU: 1A-1B 20/60; 2A, 2B, 3C 20/40; 2C, 2D, 2E, 2F, 3A, 3B, 3D, 5C, 5D 20/20; 2G, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4D, 4E, 5A, 5B 5/5 (daily/season); 125 statewide maximum. |
| Mink and Muskrat | Trapping Nov. 21-Jan. 10, 2027; no limit. |
| Porcupine | 3 daily, 10 per season. |
| Mourning Dove | 15 daily, 45 possession. |
| American Woodcock | 3 daily, 9 possession. |
| Snipe, Rails and Gallinules | 8 daily, 24 possession. 3 daily, 9 possession. |
| Duck | 6 daily (species limits apply), possession 3x daily. 4 daily, 12 possession (within the 6-duck limit). |
| Canada Goose | RP Zone: 8 daily (Sept.), 5 daily (regular); AP Zone: 8 daily (Sept.), 3 daily (regular); exception areas 1 or 3 daily. |
| Brant | 1 daily, 3 possession. |
| Snow Goose | 25 daily, no possession limit. |
| Mute Swan | Non-native, unprotected; may be harvested and do not count toward the daily bag. |
| Starling and English Sparrow | No limit. |
| Feral Swine | Protection may be removed by executive order; hunt in daylight hours with hunting or furtaker license; report kills within 24 hours. |
Limits from the Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons and bag limits and 2026-27 digest, checked October 12, 2026.
Legal classes and protected species
How the Game and Wildlife Code sorts game, and the birds and mammals that stay off limits.
| Class | Species |
|---|---|
| Big game | White-tailed deer, Black bear, Elk (license by lottery), Wild turkey |
| Small game animals | Cottontail rabbit, Snowshoe hare, Squirrels (red, gray, black, fox), Woodchuck |
| Game birds | Ruffed grouse, Ring-necked pheasant, Bobwhite quail, Wild turkey, Mourning dove, Eurasian collared dove, Woodcock, Wilson's snipe, Rails (Virginia, sora), Gallinules, Coots, Wild ducks, Mergansers, Geese, Brant |
| Furbearers | Beaver, Bobcat (permit), Coyote, Fisher (permit), Mink, Muskrat, Opossum, River otter (permit), Raccoon, Red fox, Gray fox, Striped skunk, Weasel, Porcupine |
| Other | Crow, European starling, English sparrow, Mute swan (non-native, unprotected), Feral swine (where protection removed) |
| Species | Status |
|---|---|
| Protected mammals and birds | Wild mammals not classified as game or furbearers (e.g. chipmunks) and wild birds not classified as game birds are protected. |
| Tundra and trumpeter swans, harlequin duck, clapper and king rails | No open season. |
| Sandhill crane | Protected; likely present in certain areas. |
| Pine marten, sharp-tailed grouse | No open season. |
| Badger | Classified furbearer with no season listed for 2026-27. |
| State endangered species (PGC list) | American bittern, black-crowned night-heron, black tern, blackpoll warbler, common tern, dickcissel, great egret, Indiana bat, king rail, least bittern, least shrew, little brown bat, loggerhead shrike, northern long-eared bat, northern flying squirrel, American goshawk, piping plover, sedge wren, short-eared owl, tri-colored bat, upland sandpiper, yellow-bellied flycatcher, yellow-crowned night-heron. |
| State threatened species (PGC list) | Allegheny woodrat, eastern small-footed bat, long-eared owl, northern harrier, red knot, West Virginia water shrew. |
| Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas | No pheasant season in WPRAs (Central Susquehanna, Franklin) unless authorized by executive order. |
| Bobwhite quail in Letterkenny recovery area | No open season and no release of quail in the Letterkenny Army Depot Bobwhite Quail Recovery Area. |
| Protection removal for property damage | Protection removed from wildlife (except migratory birds, big game, threatened/endangered) when personal property other than crops is being damaged; only owner may take; animal surrendered to PGC. |
From the 2026-27 digest and the PGC endangered and threatened list, checked October 12, 2026.
Pennsylvania game species questions
How many game species can be hunted or trapped in Pennsylvania?
This guide has 32 pages, one for each species or group the PGC lists, from white-tailed deer to starlings.
Which Pennsylvania species need a separate license or permit?
Bear ($16.97 resident), elk (drawing, $11.97 to apply), antlerless deer ($6.97), pheasant for most adults ($26.97), migratory birds ($3.97), and bobcat, fisher and otter permits ($6.97 each).
Which species can be hunted on Sundays?
First license year with all Sundays open within every season except migratory game birds (waterfowl, doves, woodcock etc.; crows excepted).
What did Pennsylvania hunters take last season?
PGC estimates 505,600 deer for 2025-26, 2,890 bears in 2025 and 108 elk.
Are sandhill cranes or tundra swans legal?
No. Sandhill cranes are protected, and tundra and trumpeter swans, harlequin ducks and clapper and king rails have no open season. Mute swans are unprotected.
Which Pennsylvania species stay open all year?
Coyotes, woodchucks (except Christmas Day), opossums, striped skunks and weasels, and starlings and English sparrows outside the rifle deer season.
Which furbearers are permit only?
Bobcat (open in 17 WMUs), fisher (15 WMUs) and river otter (10 WMUs), one each per license year.
What sources are these species guides built from?
The Pennsylvania Game Commission 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Digest, the PGC seasons and bag limits page and PGC harvest reports, checked October 12, 2026.
Keep planning
Every species guide links back to its PGC source. WMU guides add the unit boundary, antlerless allocation and harvest history.
Other photos on this page: USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0); Shenandoah National Park (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Yellowstone National Park (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Michele Dorsey Walfred (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); James Mann (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Headquarters (CC BY 2.0); mbarrison (CC BY-SA 2.0); USFWS Midwest Region (Public Domain Mark 1.0); Charles Patrick Ewing (CC BY 2.0); Benny Mazur (CC BY 2.0); ZionNPS (CC BY 2.0); Don Owens (CC BY 2.0); Charles Patrick Ewing (CC BY 2.0); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0); U.S. Geological Survey (CC0 1.0); Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC BY 2.0); Joseph Gage (CC BY-SA 2.0); Russ (CC BY 2.0); Ryan Poplin (CC BY-SA 2.0); PierreSelim (CC BY 3.0); Renee Grayson (CC BY 2.0); Fyn Kynd (CC BY 2.0); Fyn Kynd (CC BY 2.0); Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife (CC BY-SA 2.0); USFWS/Southeast (Public domain); Sarah Stierch (CC0 1.0); U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Midwest Region (Public domain); born1945 (CC BY 2.0); USFWS/Southeast (Public domain); Kaarina Dillabough (CC BY-SA 2.0); USFWS Mountain-Prairie (Public Domain Mark 1.0).