 As we approach Thanksgiving, we want to thank our Pennsylvania hunters. We are thankful for you! May this holiday season bring you good health, time with family, safety afield, and successful days ahead.
It's The Final Countdown!
 Pennsylvania’s statewide firearms deer season kicks off this SATURDAY, Nov. 25, 2023.
Here are six reminders before hitting the woods Saturday:
- Sight in your rifle. The Pennsylvania Game Commission has several shooting ranges across the state. Find one near you here.
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E-scout your hunting area one more time with our online mapping center here, or with a mapping program on your phone. Look at aerial imagery to determine habitat diversity. Looking for escape routes and cover and food trails may be helpful. Select your spot accordingly.
- Prepare your bag for the day with the essentials. In addition to your hunting gear, which includes your firearm, harvest tag, zip tie, and field dressing equipment, here are a few suggestions to include in your pack: first aid kit (with two-day supply of your medicine), whistle, food, water, binos, gloves, hand warmers, backup battery pack for cell phone, headlamp, GPS and extra batteries, lighter/matches, and foil blanket. If a misadventure happens, be prepared to stay where you are for a few days.
- Refresh your memory of hunting and firearm safety rules here.
- Look at the weather for the day you are hunting and plan to dress accordingly.
- Planning a deer drive? Watch this video.
On opening day, don’t forget to let someone know where you are hunting, (give specific directions of your route and alternative routes), with whom you are hunting, and when you expect to return.
 Sunday, Nov. 26, is the final Sunday hunting opportunity of 2023, and hunting will be open for deer, bears (only in WMUs with extended seasons), raccoons, foxes, and coyotes.
If you support opening more Sundays to hunt, contact your state representative and/or senator and ask him or her to support Senate Bill 67. This bill would give the Pennsylvania Game Commission full authority to regulate hunting on Sundays. Learn more here and find your legislators here.
Are you planning to hunt on Sundays on PRIVATE LAND? If so, reach out to the landowner in advance and ask them to fill out the Sunday Hunting Landowner Permission Slip so you are all set for SUNDAY HUNTING! Find the permission slip on pg. 4 of the Hunting & Trapping Digest or here.
Share your Sunday hunting memories and harvest photos with us! Tag @PAGameComm, use the hashtag #IhuntedSundayinPA, or email our social media team at pgcsocialmedia@pa.gov.
How To Get Your Deer Tested For Chronic Wasting Disease
 Attention deer hunters: The Pennsylvania Game Commission offers free Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) testing to hunters who harvest a deer inside a Disease Management Area (DMA) or Established Area (EA). Check the map.
Hunters may submit their deer for testing by placing their deer head – double bagged and with harvest tag completed and firmly affixed to the ear – into any Game Commission provided head collection bin. See bin locations here.
Antlers won’t be returned. For antlered deer, hunters should remove the antlers and/or skull cap prior to submitting for testing.
Hunters are encouraged to check their test results online.
Learn more about CWD in Pennsylvania online.
Your Hunting Success Can Help Others This Holiday Season!
 With the statewide firearms deer season - AND the holidays - both right around the corner, the Pennsylvania Game Commission reminds hunters of Hunters Sharing the Harvest (HSH), our state’s premiere venison donation program.
Hunters can donate extra venison by taking their deer to a participating HSH processor. Thanks to generous supporters, hunters pay nothing to ensure their venison helps to provide a warm meal to someone in need in their community.
Visit www.sharedeer.org to find a participating processor and other ways to get involved.
Thank you for being a Pennsylvania hunter and remembering this meaningful program this hunting and holiday season!
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