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Coyote Hunting in Pennsylvania
Coyotes have no closed season and no limit in Pennsylvania. This guide gathers the coyote calendar, limits, licenses, legal arms and public land.
Photo: ZionNPS (CC BY 2.0)
Outside the big game seasons, a hunting or furtaker license covers them and no orange is needed. Night hunting is legal, and coyote hunters may use gun-mounted lights without lasers and night-vision or thermal optics. PGC surveys estimated 33,682 coyotes taken in 2025 by 26,375 hunters and trappers.
What the Game Commission highlights
- No closed season, no limit; hunting or furtaker license outside big-game seasons.
When coyotes are open
3 dated segments for coyotes, each with its length and the Sundays it contains. WMU codes link to the unit guides.
| Season | Unit | From | Through | Days | Sundays in | Open? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting | Statewide | Jul 1, 2026 | Jun 30, 2027 | 365 | 52 | |
| Trapping (coyote, fox, opossum, raccoon, striped skunk and weasel) | Statewide | Oct 24, 2026 | Feb 21, 2027 | 121 | 18 | |
| Trapping with cable restraints (coyote and fox) | Statewide | Dec 26, 2026 | Feb 21, 2027 | 58 | 9 |
Notes printed with the dates
- No closed season, no limit. Outside big-game seasons: hunting or furtaker license, no orange. During big-game seasons: while lawfully hunting big game (orange rules apply) or with a furtaker license.
- No limit. Furtaker license.
- No limit. Cable restraint certification required.
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons and bag limits and the 2026-27 digest, checked October 12, 2026.
Coyote take, day and season
Limits for coyotes as quick figures and as the PGC prints them.
Limit for coyote, fox, raccoon, opossum, skunk, weasel
No limit.
Where coyote hunters find public ground
Public ground for coyotes: 37 tracts, mostly State Game Lands, listed largest first. Starred tracts mention coyotes in the PGC write-up.
| Tract | Type | Counties | WMU | Size, acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Delaware State Forest★ | State Forest | Pike, Monroe | 3D | 83,519 |
| Pinchot State Forest★ | State Forest | Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe | 3B/3C/3D/4E | 54,000 |
| State Game Lands 36★ | State Game Lands | Bradford | 3B | 18,972 |
| State Game Lands 141★ | State Game Lands | Carbon | 4C | 17,227 |
| State Game Lands 37★ | State Game Lands | Tioga | 3A | 13,136 |
| State Game Lands 210★ | State Game Lands | Dauphin | 4C | 11,131 |
| State Game Lands 95★ | State Game Lands | Butler | 2D | 10,626 |
| State Game Lands 89★ | State Game Lands | Clinton | 2G | 10,571 |
| State Game Lands 29★ | State Game Lands | Warren | 2F | 9,830 |
| Erie National Wildlife Refuge | National Wildlife Refuge | Crawford | 1B | 8,959 |
| State Game Lands 208★ | State Game Lands | Tioga | 2G/3A | 8,833 |
| State Game Lands 64★ | State Game Lands | Potter | 2G/3A | 8,100 |
| State Game Lands 168★ | State Game Lands | Northampton, Monroe, Carbon | 3D | 7,814 |
| State Game Lands 74★ | State Game Lands | Clarion, Jefferson | 2F | 6,568 |
| State Game Lands 38★ | State Game Lands | Monroe | 3D | 5,818 |
Other coyote ground, by size
State Game Lands 314 (3,550 ac) · State Game Lands 135 (3,540 ac) · State Game Lands 195 (3,460 ac) · State Game Lands 138 (2,879 ac) · State Game Lands 55 (2,651 ac) · State Game Lands 330 (2,479 ac) · State Game Lands 157 (2,102 ac) · State Game Lands 115 (1,686 ac) · State Game Lands 151 (1,584 ac) · State Game Lands 140 (1,346 ac) · State Game Lands 273 (1,146 ac) · State Game Lands 173 (1,058 ac) · State Game Lands 318 (858 ac) · State Game Lands 238 (776 ac) · State Game Lands 150 (594 ac) · State Game Lands 265 (524 ac) · State Game Lands 216 (491 ac) · State Game Lands 164 (455 ac) · State Game Lands 231 (428 ac) · State Game Lands 189 (411 ac) · State Game Lands 155 (393 ac) · State Game Lands 193 (325 ac)
Coyote by county
- Monroe County5 tracts
- Fayette County3 tracts
- Lawrence County3 tracts
- Beaver County2 tracts
- Butler County2 tracts
- Carbon County2 tracts
- Clarion County2 tracts
- Erie County2 tracts
- Jefferson County2 tracts
- Lackawanna County2 tracts
- Tioga County2 tracts
- Bradford County1 tracts
- Bucks County1 tracts
- Clinton County1 tracts
- Columbia County1 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.
Coyote harvest in Pennsylvania
The trend for coyotes from the annual PGC surveys.
Harvest data: furbearer harvest, hunters and trappers. Estimates as published by the PGC.
Legal requirements for coyotes
The coyote rules below come from the digest, the license page and the reporting page.
Licenses
License costs for coyotes this year.
Daily hours
Any hour is legal for coyotes, subject to the rifle deer season restriction on most furbearers.
Fluorescent orange
Outside big game seasons, no orange. During a big game season that requires orange, coyote hunters wear it too.
Sunday status
Sundays count: all Sundays within the coyote dates are legal hunting days. How Sundays work
During big game seasons
No closed season, no limit. Outside big-game seasons: hunting or furtaker license, no orange. During big-game seasons: while lawfully hunting big game (orange rules apply) or with a furtaker license.
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission 2026-27 digest, license types and harvest reporting, checked October 12, 2026. Pennsylvania hunting laws · License guide.
Coyote weapons and methods
Read the arms table with the season table above: the legal gun depends on the segment.
| Season | Legal arms | Off limits |
|---|---|---|
| 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. |
Field rules for coyotes
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.
Spotlighting
Unlawful while possessing a firearm/bow/device, during the regular firearms deer season (closes 11 p.m. day before, reopens a full day after), or after 11 p.m.; recreational spotlighting lawful sunrise-11 p.m. Furbearer hunters on foot may use handheld or gun-mounted lights (no laser).
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.
2026-27 digest, sporting arms and unlawful acts pages, checked October 12, 2026.
Coyote questions, answered from the PGC
Can I hunt coyotes at night in Pennsylvania?
Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, striped skunks, opossums and weasels may be hunted any hour, day or night, except during the regular firearms deer season (Nov. 28-Dec. 13) when fox, raccoon, opossum, skunk and weasel hunting is limited to one-half hour after sunset to one-half hour before sunrise.
Do I need a furtaker license for coyotes?
No. A hunting license or a furtaker license both work for coyote hunting outside the big game seasons.
What public ground holds coyotes?
37 tracts on our list qualify; the largest are Delaware State Forest, Pinchot State Forest and State Game Lands 36.
Which permits apply to coyotes?
Coyote hunters need: Resident Adult Hunting License ($20.97); Resident Adult Furtaker License ($20.97); Nonresident Adult Hunting License ($101.97); Nonresident Adult Furtaker License ($81.97).
Do coyote hunters have to wear orange?
Outside big game seasons, no orange. During a big game season that requires orange, coyote hunters wear it too.
What time does legal light end for coyotes?
Any hour is legal for coyotes, subject to the rifle deer season restriction on most furbearers.
What can I hunt coyotes with?
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.
May coyote hunters go out on Sundays?
Sundays count: all Sundays within the coyote dates are legal hunting days.
How many coyotes can one hunter take in Pennsylvania?
No limit.
Which days are coyotes legal in 2026-27?
The coyote dates are trapping Oct 24, 2026 to Feb 21, 2027; trapping with cable restraints Dec 26, 2026 to Feb 21, 2027.
Kit for hunting Coyote country
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Before the coyote trip
The Game Commission’s season page is the final word on coyotes; this guide was checked against it on October 12, 2026.
Other photos on this page: TheTurducken (CC BY 2.0); USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0); Andy Reago & Chrissy McClarren (CC BY 2.0); Don Owens (CC BY 2.0); Juliana Chong (CC BY 2.0); USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0).