Pennsylvania’s archery deer season opens Saturday and about 350,000 hunters are expected to take to the woods in the weeks ahead.

part this year in pursuit of a deer with a bow and arrow.

The Archery Trade Association earlier this year put out its first-ever estimate of bowhunter numbers nationwide. It credits Pennsylvania with more bowhunters than any other state, and 10% or so of all the bowhunters in the country.

That’s a big change from 1951, when Pennsylvania held its first-ever archery deer season. Then, a little more than 5,500 Pennsylvania hunters bought the $2 license needed to participate and took 33 bucks.

The 2022-23 archery harvest, by comparison, was 145,640: 75,770 antlered deer and 69,870 antlerless.

“It’s no wonder Pennsylvania’s archery deer season is so popular,” said Game Commission Executive Director Bryan Burhans. “Hunters can pursue whitetails across multiple weeks, before, during and after the peak of the rut, against a backdrop of vibrant autumn colors and increasingly cooler temperatures.

“It’s where opportunity meets demand. Hunters appreciate what’s available and take advantage of it.”

Archery season runs from Sept. 30 through Nov. 11, continues on Sunday, Nov. 12, then goes from Nov. 13 to 17. It comes back from Dec. 26 to Jan. 15, 2024.

Archers pursuing whitetails in Wildlife Management Units (WMUs) 2B and 5C and 5D, around Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, respectively, can start hunting two weeks sooner, get an additional Sunday and can go later into 2024. Archery season in those WMUs runs from Sept. 16 to Nov. 11, continues on Sunday, Nov. 12, goes Nov. 13 to 18, continues on a second Sunday, Nov. 19, and goes from Nov. 20 to 24. It comes back in on Dec. 26 and goes through Jan. 27, 2024.

That’s a lot of time to be in the woods. Hunters who want to fill a tag and bring home some healthy venison for the table should use as much of it as possible, said David Stainbrook, the Game Commission’s Deer and Elk Section Supervisor.

“Harvest is tied to effort,” Stainbrook said. “One extra day in the woods can mean the difference between harvesting a deer and not getting one. So put yourself where the deer want to be, around food and cover, and then be patient and persistent.”

The Game Commission has a number of videos offering additional information on how to successfully hunt deer on its YouTube page at https://www.youtube.com/@PAGameCommissionHDQTRS. Search “deer hunting.”

Of course, bowhunters should also practice with their equipment before the season starts, shooting from the ground and/or an elevated stand. In all cases, hunters should only take responsible shots at deer to ensure a quick, clean kill. That means limiting themselves to broadside or quartering-away shots at deer within their personal maximum effective shooting range.

As for equipment, archery hunters may use long, recurve or compound bows, or crossbows. Bows must have a draw weight of at least 35 pounds; crossbows must have a minimum draw weight of 125 pounds.

Illuminated nocks that aid in tracking or locating the arrow or bolt after being launched are legal, but transmitter-tracking arrows are not.

Tree stands and climbing devices that cause damage to trees are unlawful to use or occupy unless the user has permission from the landowner. Tree stands - or tree steps - penetrating a tree’s cambium layer cause damage, and it is unlawful to build or occupy tree stands screwed or nailed to trees on state game lands, state forests or state parks.

Portable hunting tree stands and blinds are allowed on state game lands, but not until two weeks before the opening of the archery deer season. Hunters must remove them no later than two weeks after the close of the flintlock and late archery deer seasons in the WMU being hunted.

In all cases, tree stands on state game lands also must be conspicuously marked with a durable identification tag that identifies the stand owner. Those tags must include the hunter’s first and last name and legal home address, the nine-digit CID number that appears on their hunting license, or their unique Sportsman’s Equipment ID number. Hunters can find their number in their HuntFishPA online profile or on their printed license.

Hunters who plan to be afield on private property on the Sundays open to archers must carry with them written permission from the landowner to be there.