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PA Has Opened Up Its Game Scene: Here’s What You Need To Join The Hunt 

June 14th saw the great news that Pennsylvania would once again start selling game licenses for the new season. As the PA press room note, additional Sunday hunt days are being opened up to a far greater range of wildlife this season, making the state’s game scene a hot one, both for experienced and novice hunters. New species being made available in the hunting inventory is exciting, but it can expose a lack of experience too. Being fully equipped for a day out hunting in the Keystone State isn’t too different from elsewhere, but knowing what kit is mandatory will keep you safe and productive in the field.

Furbearing hunts

PA is expanding the number of species that can now be hunted on Sundays. In the 20-21 season, hunters took record numbers of bucks according to PA Live, with Sunday an ever-popular day for deer and bear hunts. The new season will see fur hunting opened up, with foxes and coyotes fair game on Sundays. This is undoubtedly one of the most skilled and exciting hunts, but one which requires skill and equipment to boot. Bringing a top quality knife for hunting or camping is going to be essential for Sunday hunts, both for securing your camp and for properly harvesting anything you would like to from your kill. For coyotes, raccoon, foxes, opossums, striped skunks and weasels, the PA hunter digest states no limits on the number of kills this season.

The turkey hunt

Turkey hunting is another great part of the Pennsylvania hunting scene – but there are new caveats this year. As outlined by Fox News, turkey populations are declining in the state. That means rifles have been banned this year, and hunters will need to go back to basics with shotguns, muzzle-loaders, crossbows or archery. This is a great opportunity to try out some manual hunting methods without losing out on rifle hunting, which can still be taken in the two-week deer hunting period.

Deer hunting

The white-tail deer season is synonymous with PA as a whole – never mind just hunting. A new state senate bill is, according to Go Erie, raising the prospect of the game commission being able to self-determine the number of Sundays per year deer hunting is opened for. This is great news for hunters, given the pro-hunting tilt of the game commission. Being ready for this is important as it might increase the number of hunt days you can take – though hunters may only take one antlered and one non-antlered animal per season. Make sure you stock up on ammo in particular; there’s somewhat of a shortage on that and it could impact your plans.

Get down to PA – the hunting scene is getting bigger and better. Just be aware of the rules and regulations surrounding the new terms. More crucially, ensure your toolkit is up to scratch with the new range of animals you can legally hunt.

Kevin Paulson

Kevin Paulson is the Founder and CEO of HuntingLife.com. His passion for Hunting began at the age of 5 hunting alongside of his father. Kevin has followed his dreams through outfitting, conservation work, videography and hunting trips around the world.

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