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PGC furbearers
Raccoon Hunting in Pennsylvania
Raccoon hunting and trapping run Oct. 24, 2026 to Feb. 21, 2027, no limit. Season rows, limits, legal arms and mapped public land for raccoons.
Photo: Charles Patrick Ewing (CC BY 2.0)
Coon hunters follow the same deer-season rule as fox hunters: night only from Nov. 28 to Dec. 13. Raccoons are the top furbearer in the surveys: 136,839 in 2025, by 13,664 hunters and trappers. Dogs are allowed for raccoons, except during the regular firearms deer and bear seasons.
The PGC raccoon summary
- Hunting and trapping Oct. 24-Feb. 21, 2027; no limit.
Raccoon opening and closing days
Coon hunters get 3 segments in 2026-27. Day counts include the first and last day.
| Season | Zone or WMU | Begins | Ends | Days | Sundays | Today |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting | Statewide | Oct 24, 2026 | Feb 21, 2027 | 121 | 18 | |
| Trapping (coyote, fox, opossum, raccoon, striped skunk and weasel) | Statewide | Oct 24, 2026 | Feb 21, 2027 | 121 | 18 | |
| Falconry (mink, muskrat, fox, opossum, raccoon, striped skunk and weasel) | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | 212 | 30 |
What the season notes say
- No limit. Same day/night restrictions as fox during the regular firearms deer season. Furtaker license.
- No limit. Furtaker license.
- No limit.
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons and bag limits and the 2026-27 digest, checked October 12, 2026.
How many raccoons you may take
What a game warden will check: the raccoon limits.
Bag: coyote, fox, raccoon, opossum, skunk, weasel
No limit.
Best public tracts for raccoons
174 public tracts list furbearers, led by 85 State Parks; the biggest is Rothrock State Forest at 96,000 acres. Tracts with a star have raccoons in their PGC description.
| Public land | Type | County | WMU | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rothrock State Forest | State Forest | Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin | 4A/4D | 96,000 |
| Delaware State Forest | State Forest | Pike, Monroe | 3D | 83,519 |
| Forbes State Forest | State Forest | Somerset, Fayette, Westmoreland | 2C | 59,000 |
| Pinchot State Forest★ | State Forest | Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe | 3B/3C/3D/4E | 54,000 |
| State Game Lands 12 | State Game Lands | Bradford, Sullivan | 3B | 24,598 |
| Ohiopyle State Park | State Park | Fayette | 2C | 20,000 |
| State Game Lands 36★ | State Game Lands | Bradford | 3B | 18,972 |
| State Game Lands 42 | State Game Lands | Westmoreland, Cambria, Somerset | 2C | 18,041 |
| State Game Lands 141★ | State Game Lands | Carbon | 4C | 17,227 |
| State Game Lands 86 | State Game Lands | Warren | 2F | 14,320 |
| Moraine State Park | State Park | Butler | 1A | 14,000 |
| State Game Lands 37★ | State Game Lands | Tioga | 3A | 13,136 |
| Hickory Run State Park | State Park | Carbon | 3D/4C | 13,000 |
| Laurel Ridge State Park | State Park | Somerset, Westmoreland, Cambria | 2C | 13,000 |
| State Game Lands 180 | State Game Lands | Pike | 3D | 12,506 |
More public land naming raccoons
Cook Forest State Park (11,000 ac) · State Game Lands 95 (10,626 ac) · Pymatuning State Park (10,300 ac) · Ricketts Glen State Park (10,287 ac) · State Game Lands 106 (9,857 ac) · State Game Lands 29 (9,830 ac) · Erie National Wildlife Refuge (8,959 ac) · State Game Lands 208 (8,833 ac) · State Game Lands 24 (8,585 ac) · State Game Lands 64 (8,100 ac) · State Game Lands 168 (7,814 ac) · State Game Lands 120 (7,398 ac) · Raccoon Creek State Park (7,000 ac) · Oil Creek State Park (6,800 ac) · State Game Lands 74 (6,568 ac) · French Creek State Park (6,000 ac) · Lehigh Gorge State Park (6,000 ac) · State Game Lands 65 (6,000 ac) · State Game Lands 156 (5,894 ac) · State Game Lands 38 (5,818 ac) · Prince Gallitzin State Park (5,600 ac) · Tobyhanna State Park (5,200 ac) · State Game Lands 31 (5,157 ac) · State Game Lands 101 (5,058 ac) · Blue Knob State Park (5,000 ac) · Bald Eagle State Park (4,910 ac) · State Game Lands 244 (4,872 ac) · State Game Lands 69 (4,476 ac) · State Game Lands 228 (4,226 ac) · Hillman State Park (3,650 ac) · State Game Lands 314 (3,550 ac) · State Game Lands 135 (3,540 ac) · Nescopeck State Park (3,500 ac) · Nockamixon State Park (3,500 ac) · Swatara State Park (3,500 ac) · State Game Lands 195 (3,460 ac) · Elk State Park (3,150 ac) · State Game Lands 105 (3,112 ac) · State Game Lands 283 (3,061 ac) · Black Moshannon State Park (3,000 ac) · Shawnee State Park (3,000 ac) · State Game Lands 145 (2,987 ac) · State Game Lands 117 (2,895 ac) · State Game Lands 138 (2,879 ac) · State Game Lands 285 (2,841 ac) · Codorus State Park (2,800 ac) · Gouldsboro State Park (2,700 ac) · State Game Lands 55 (2,651 ac) · State Game Lands 299 (2,646 ac) · State Game Lands 207 (2,573 ac) · Kings Gap Environmental Education Center (2,500 ac) · State Game Lands 330 (2,479 ac) · State Game Lands 52 (2,432 ac) · State Game Lands 222 (2,377 ac) · Yellow Creek State Park (2,300 ac) · Laurel Hill State Park (2,200 ac) · McConnells Mill State Park (2,200 ac) · State Game Lands 157 (2,102 ac) · Mahoning Creek Lake (2,019 ac) · Gifford Pinchot State Park (1,945 ac) · and another 99
Raccoon counties
- Jefferson County9 tracts
- Monroe County8 tracts
- Somerset County7 tracts
- Warren County7 tracts
- Wayne County7 tracts
- Crawford County6 tracts
- Erie County6 tracts
- Fayette County6 tracts
- Lancaster County6 tracts
- Lawrence County6 tracts
- Luzerne County6 tracts
- Potter County6 tracts
- Beaver County5 tracts
- Berks County5 tracts
- Butler County5 tracts
PGC State Game Lands GIS, DCNR forest and park hunting pages and federal managers (PGC layers), retrieved 2026-10-12. Species lists are what each manager names; area rules still apply.
PGC harvest figures for raccoons
These are Game Commission survey estimates, statewide only.
Harvest data: furbearer harvest, hunters and trappers. Estimates as published by the PGC.
Rules for raccoons: licenses, hours, orange
These cards cover the paperwork and field rules for raccoons.
What to buy
Fees that apply to raccoons.
Legal light
Night hunting is legal for raccoons; the regular firearms deer season limits several furbearers to the hours after dark.
Blaze orange
Coon hunters are exempt from the orange requirement. Non-hunters on State Game Lands wear orange from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31 and April 20 to May 31.
Sundays
Sunday hunting is legal for raccoons throughout the season. All Sunday rules
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission 2026-27 digest, license types and harvest reporting, checked October 12, 2026. Pennsylvania hunting laws · License guide.
Raccoon: legal arms
From the digest’s sporting arms pages and the general rules, the rows that apply to raccoons.
| Season | Permitted | Not permitted |
|---|---|---|
| Furbearer hunting | Semiautomatic and manual rifles, manual handguns of any caliber, manual or semiautomatic shotguns, bows, crossbows, single-projectile muzzleloaders, air guns .22+; gun-mounted lights without laser beams; handheld and mounted night-vision and thermal optics for coyote, fox, bobcat, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel. | Shotgun shot larger than No. 4 buckshot; laser-beam lights. |
| Trapping (dispatch during deer season) | .22 rimfire or smaller rifles (semi or manual) and manual .22 rimfire handguns; air rifles/handguns .177-.22. | Other firearms while trapping during deer season. |
How raccoons may be hunted
Dogs
Unlawful to use dogs to hunt elk, bears, deer or spring turkeys; dogs allowed for fall turkey, small game and furbearers (not during regular firearms deer and bear seasons for furbearers). Leashed tracking dogs may recover deer, bear or elk with no permit.
Electronic calls and devices
Electronic devices prohibited except: electronic callers for bobcat, coyote, fox, raccoon, crow and conservation-season snow geese; non-beam lighted pins and reticles; arrow/bolt tracking lights; two-way radios for general communication only; hearing-protection amplifiers; electronic-ignition firearms; rangefinders; dog-locating collars; heated scent dispensers and ozone devices; ice-eaters.
Trapping rules
No traps before 7 a.m. opening day; not within 5 ft of a den (except underwater); jaw spread max 6.5 in; body-grip traps only in water (cubby exceptions); trap ID tags; check every 36 hours; remove by sunset closing day; no bait visible from the air. Beaver/otter device limits and 15-ft dam/house setback.
2026-27 digest, sporting arms and unlawful acts pages, checked October 12, 2026.
Raccoon: what hunters ask
Can I run coon dogs during deer season?
Unlawful to use dogs to hunt elk, bears, deer or spring turkeys; dogs allowed for fall turkey, small game and furbearers (not during regular firearms deer and bear seasons for furbearers). Leashed tracking dogs may recover deer, bear or elk with no permit.
What orange rules apply to raccoons?
Coon hunters are exempt from the orange requirement. Non-hunters on State Game Lands wear orange from Oct. 1 to Jan. 31 and April 20 to May 31.
What are legal shooting hours for raccoons?
Night hunting is legal for raccoons; the regular firearms deer season limits several furbearers to the hours after dark.
What arms does the PGC allow for raccoons?
Furbearer hunting: Semiautomatic and manual rifles, manual handguns of any caliber, manual or semiautomatic shotguns, bows, crossbows, single-projectile muzzleloaders, air guns .22+; gun-mounted lights without laser beams; handheld and mounted night-vision and thermal optics for coyote, fox, bobcat, raccoon, skunk, opossum, weasel.
Can I hunt raccoons on Sunday?
Sunday hunting is legal for raccoons throughout the season.
Is there a bag limit on raccoons?
No limit.
When is raccoon season in Pennsylvania for 2026-27?
Raccoons run hunting Oct 24, 2026 to Feb 21, 2027; trapping Oct 24, 2026 to Feb 21, 2027.
Which public lands list raccoons?
Start with Rothrock State Forest, Delaware State Forest and Forbes State Forest, the biggest of 174 tracts.
Which licenses cover raccoons?
The raccoon list: Resident Adult Furtaker License ($20.97); Nonresident Adult Furtaker License ($81.97); Resident Junior Furtaker License ($6.97).
Packing for Raccoon country
Four items chosen for this ground and its seasons.
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Raccoon checklist
For raccoons on public ground, read the tract’s own notes as well as the statewide rules.
Other photos on this page: TheTurducken (CC BY 2.0); Peter Sheik (CC BY 2.0); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0); Don Owens (CC BY 2.0); USFWS Mountain-Prairie (Public Domain Mark 1.0); U.S. Geological Survey (CC0 1.0).