Deer, bear, owl, songbirds: Pa. game wardens share fall hunting insights, violations
Rifle black bear season in Pennsylvania starts Nov. 18 and rifle deer season starts Nov. 25, so I reached out to game wardens across the state to hear about their insights ― and unusual encounters they've had this fall.
Here's a four-corners tour of what Pennsylvania Game Commission game wardens are seeing and saying:
Northwestern Pennsylvania
Joshua Ross, a game warden cadet in training, and Cody Jones, a game warden in Erie County, have been seeing large deer in the Erie area.
“Seasons for deer started out kind of slow with the warmer weather. But as it got colder and the rut started kicking in, people are starting to see more deer,” Ross said.
Erie is part of the western fringe of Pennsylvania that has more restrictive antler point regulations. Bucks need to have three up points, not counting the brow tine for adult hunters. In other parts of state, adult hunters are permitted to shoot a buck with three points on an antler including the brow tine.
“With those restrictions, it seems like there are more bigger deer in the area,” Ross said. The two wardens have seen a bumper crop of acorns, apples and grapes.
Jones said they have been receiving complaints about deer eating corn and soybeans in farmers’ fields. “The deer population is not hurting whatsoever here in the northwest,” he said.
For the start of rifle season, Ross said he enjoys hunting on properties that have other hunters who end up moving deer toward each other. “Definitely take advantage of our state game lands."
Regarding black bears, Ross said there aren’t many found in Erie County, but there are transient bears there. Jones said there is some hunter success, and a few are hit on the roads by motorists.
“We just had one that was present in the city of Erie last week. They are trying to fatten up and hibernate for the year and they are looking for easy food sources in people's backyards,” Jones said.
The bear in Erie was seen on a doorbell video and is believed to have moved on.
As far as unusual encounters, one hunter was cited for illegally shooting eight bucks at night from his vehicle with a crossbow. He removed the heads from the deer and left the carcasses in the fields.
Jones said they also cited hunters from Ohio who shot 17 songbirds in North East, near the New York state line. “They were shooting everything that flew by them,” including several protected species, he said.
With the busy hunting seasons getting underway, Jones reminds hunters to be courteous to their fellow sportsmen and women. “We get so many people out here who want to gain ownership over the wildlife and the property that they are hunting on, and it's public property. Be courteous to your fellow hunters and take the high road,” he said.
If you make a mistake such as shooting a buck when you thought you were shooting a doe, Jones said it’s important that you notify the Game Commission so you don’t get a fine. When hunters alert the agency of a mistake kill, the deer can be used by another family and the hunter can pay $25 restitution for a new deer tag. “We understand people make mistakes,” he said.
Northeastern Pennsylvania
Game Wardens Travis O’Neill and Kevin Moran cover Wayne County, where they expect rifle deer and bear hunters to have a great year.
“Getting in to the (archery) season itself, it seemed like a lot more hunters were out than I expected there to be,” said O’Neill, who covers northern Wayne County.
Moran, who covers southern Wayne County, said the buck-to-doe ratio has improved with hunters finding more antlered deer. “I think it’s the best it’s ever been. I've seen more bucks than in years in the past,” he said.
Both wardens have seen bucks fighting and chasing does. O’Neill was called to a home in early November where two bucks had entangled their antlers with a hammock. “When I walked into his backyard, I saw two of the biggest bucks I’ve ever seen in Wayne County and close to the biggest buck I’ve ever seen in Pennsylvania,” he said. One was a massive 9-point. “The other was an unbelievably large 12-point, it was record class by far,” he said.
Unfortunately the larger buck had fatally gored the smaller buck. O’Neill was able to free the live buck from the hammock. “It popped up on its feet and just stared at me for about five minutes before running off,” he said.
The antlers from the deer that didn’t survive will be used during educational programs to show people how large deer antlers can grow.
For the start of rifle deer season, O’Neill said, “It should be a banner season for most people in rifle season. I think in the Northeast we have a very healthy deer and bear population.”
Moran agreed. “The outlook is phenomenal this year. If you put in the time and effort into getting to the interior of the big woods, you’re probably going to be successful. I would say this year’s outlook is better than years in the past based on the number of deer that we’ve been seeing."
Fifty hunters had killed bears in Wayne County so far. “The amount of bears we are seeing, the weight of the bear we are seeing, is definitely tremendous,” Moran said. He recommends hunting near crops for bears that are looking for food to build up their fat reserves before they hibernate.
Southwestern Pennsylvania
Game Warden Andy Harvey and Cadet Alex Purdy have seen hunters with nice-sized deer and bear in Somerset County during the early seasons.
Purdy said there are plentiful food sources like acorns, apples and hickory nuts. “I think we are seeing a little less movement than in other years when the food supply wasn’t as great. If you have a spot where there’s a good food source, you’re going to be seeing deer,” he said.
Harvey has been working in southwestern Pennsylvania for about nine years. “Normally I see a few deer, a few nice bucks killed the very beginning of archery. You’re catching deer with their summer movements, before they realize they are getting (hunting) pressure,” he said.
The harvests slow down in the middle of the season, but in the beginning of November hunters have been having success. “A lot more deer have been harvested in past two weeks than the entire beginning of the season. But that’s on course with what’s typical,” he said.
They have been seeing deer along the roadways including some that have been hit by vehicles. One deer actually ran into the side of Harvey’s patrol vehicle.
With rifle deer season starting the Saturday after Thanksgiving, Purdy said hunters should look for oak, hickory and beech trees to during scouting.
Regarding black bears, Harvey said, “The early season has been slower than normal,” The county had nine bears checked in early this week. Last year the county had 17 before rifle season.
The Game Commission is trying to reduce the deer herd through extra antlerless deer licenses in parts of the state where Chronic Wasting Disease is prevalent. “Hunters can hold on to six antlerless licenses at a time. It’s important that we try to fill those (doe tags) that way we can meet the goal and we don’t have to look at other avenues of reducing the herd,” Harvey said.
“The bear population from the past couple years is down a little bit, but that was the intention," Harvey said. "That’s why we saw a few years back (in 2019) when the bear season basically doubled in length with the incorporation of a longer archery season and the introduction of the muzzleloader season. That certainly plays a big part of it."
Purdy said one of the interesting things he’s had to do during his training is examine a more than 600-pound bear that was found dead in the woods near Mount Davis.
A hunter reported finding the large bruin and Purdy was able to determine it was shot during archery season with a crossbow, but apparently the hunter was not able to find it.
The two men also helped to release barn owls that were rescued from a silo. The birds were treated at a wildlife rehabilitation center and then released back into the wild. “Fun fact that the five of them eat 50 mice a day,” Harvey said about each owl catching about 10 mice every day. “Apparently they have some big appetites.”
“I like to wish everyone good luck out there, there’s a lot of game and wildlife and we want everyone to be safe,” Harvey said. They did have one dove hunter survive being shot by a fellow hunter with a shotgun, and they have responded to several hunters falling from tree stands.
Southeastern Pennsylvania
Kolton Boyer, cadet in training, and Game Warden Daniel Gibble have been working in in Lancaster County.
Over the early archery and special deer seasons, Boyer said, “there are a lot of happy hunters and a lot of healthy deer. We’re seeing some big deer being taken. It’s been a good season so far. There are some big ones out there for sure. We’ve even seen some really big four-points and things like that," he said.
He credits vast planted fields with providing abundant food sources.
Looking ahead to the first day of rifle deer season, Boyer reminds people to think about other hunters in the same area. “The biggest thing when it comes to hunting is picking a safe location and prioritize safety. Make sure you’re going to be in an area where you can take a clean, safe shot and be away from putting anyone else in danger," he said.
With numerous hunters entering the woods during the opening of rifle season, deer will travel in more places than usual. “They will be getting the deer moving, and that’s going to push them all around. There’s plenty of room for people to spread out and have a safe, enjoyable hunt,” Boyer said.
As for interesting experiences, he was involved in an anonymous call about a farmer shooting a great horned owl, which is a protected animal. “Upon investigation we were able to find the farmer and he fully admitted shooting the owl,” he said. The owl had been eating some of the chickens on the farm.
“Instead of just shooting the thing that’s causing you problems, there’s better avenues to take. We prefer that you call the Game Commission first and we can work on a solution for that,” Boyer said.
With questions about wildlife, call the 24-hour dispatch number at 833-742-4868.
Brian Whipkey is the outdoors columnist for USA TODAY Network sites in Pennsylvania. Contact him at bwhipkey@gannett.com and sign up for our weekly Go Outdoors PA newsletter email on this website's homepage under your login name. Follow him on Facebook @whipkeyoutdoors, and Instagram at whipkeyoutdoors.
This article originally appeared on The Daily American: Deer, bear rifle hunting seasons in PA start in November
