FALL FIREARMS ANTLERLESS DEER SEASONS APPROACH

HARRISBURG - More and more Pennsylvanians seem to be participating in the early muzzleloader antlerless season - Oct. 14-21 - and special firearms antlerless season - Oct. 19-21, according to Pennsylvania Game Commission officials. The seasons have appeal, offering warmer hunting weather, less crowded conditions, splendid autumn scenery and a chance to take a whitetail before hunter pressure forces many of them to adjust their movements.

Hunters who wish to participate in the early muzzleloader season must have a general hunting license, muzzleloader stamp and an unused antlerless deer license or Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) antlerless deer permit.

Last year, the Game Commission removed the deadline for purchasing muzzleloader stamps, which may be purchased from any issuing agent or on-line through "The Outdoor Shop" on the agency's website (www.pgc.state.pa.us).  If purchased through "The Outdoor Shop," hunters will be given a web order number at the end of the transaction, which they are instructed to write in the appropriate box and then sign on the line for muzzleloader stamp.

To participate in the special firearms antlerless season, hunters must have a general hunting license and unused antlerless deer license and qualify in one of the following license categories: resident junior and senior license holders; nonresident junior license holder; nonresident adult license holders age 65 and older; persons who hold a disabled person permit to use a vehicle as a blind; residents who are serving on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces; and those who qualify for license and fee exceptions under section 2706.

"Interest in Pennsylvania muzzleloader hunting - particularly the fall antlerless season - continues to grow," said Cal DuBrock, agency Bureau of Wildlife Management director. "Over the past two years, more than a quarter million hunters bought muzzleloader or combination hunting licenses. It's a popular pursuit and one that seems to have developed quite a following in the Commonwealth.

"This fall, we expect tens of thousands of hunters to head afield to participate in the week-long muzzleloader season. Scouting - both preseason and in-season - will surely help hunters get closer to deer activity centers. Stand hunters tend to be most effective early and late in the day when deer move between feeding and bedding areas. Still hunting and small drives seem best suited for late morning and midday, when deer are bedded in cover."

Based on the 2005 Game-Take Survey, fall muzzleloader hunters took about 12,200 deer. In 2003, hunters took about 18,500 deer in the early muzzleloader season. 

Also based on the recent Game-Take Survey, hunters took about 6,400 antlerless deer in the special firearms season in 2005. In 2003, the special firearms season harvest was 12,000.  (Due to budget constraints, the Game-Take Survey was not conducted for the 2004-05 license year.)

Hunters may use in-line, percussion and flintlock muzzleloaders during the early muzzleloader season. They also may use scopes, peep-sights and other lawful sighting devices on muzzleloaders during the October hunt.

Hunters are advised that they may take only antlerless deer in the early muzzleloader and special firearms seasons and that they may hunt only in the Wildlife Management Units or Deer Management Assistance Program (DMAP) areas for which they have obtained antlerless deer licenses.  An antlerless deer is defined as a deer without antlers, or a deer with antlers, both of which are less than three inches in length.

Muzzleloader and special firearms season hunters are reminded that when multiple harvests of deer per day are permitted, only one deer at a time may be taken. Before attempting to take an additional deer, the first deer must be lawfully tagged.  Deer must be tagged immediately after they are harvested and before the carcass is moved. The tag must be attached to the ear and remain attached until the deer is processed for consumption or prepared for mounting.

Any hunter who by accident or mistake kills a deer is required to deliver the carcass - entrails removed - within 12 hours of the kill to any Game Commission officer in the county where the deer was killed. A written statement also must be provided to the officer explaining when, where and how the accident or mistake occurred. The deer must be tagged with the appropriate deer harvest tag.

Hunters may purchase muzzleloader licenses at any time. The license entitles them to hunt in both the fall antlerless muzzleloader season and the traditional flintlock season (Dec. 27-Jan. 15). Regulations for the after-Christmas muzzleloader season remain unchanged: hunters may use only primitive type muzzle-loading long guns .44-caliber or larger with flintlock ignition systems and primitive sighting devices. Fiber-optic inserts are permitted in sighting devices.

Hunters in either October firearms season are required to wear 250 square inches of fluorescent orange clothing on the head, chest and back combined at all times. Bowhunters afield during the overlap of the archery and October antlerless firearms seasons also must wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange while moving and display an orange alert band while on stand.

Created in 1895 as an independent state agency, the Game Commission is responsible for conserving and managing all wild birds and mammals in the Commonwealth, establishing hunting seasons and bag limits, enforcing hunting and trapping laws, and managing habitat on the 1.4 million acres of State Game Lands it has purchased over the years with hunting and furtaking license dollars to safeguard wildlife habitat.  The agency also conducts numerous wildlife conservation programs for schools, civic organizations and sportsmen's clubs. 

The Game Commission does not receive any general state taxpayer dollars for its annual operating budget.  The agency is funded by license sales revenues; the state's share of the federal Pittman-Robertson program, which is an excise tax collected through the sale of sporting arms and ammunition; and monies from the sale of oil, gas, coal, timber and minerals derived from State Game Lands.