new to PA, where to hunt?

[ca2pa]

hows it going
im new to PA from california, i have all my hunting stuff in line in CA (no good for me now), and was wondering what one needs to do here in Pennsylvania to legally hunt (hunter safety course, license, tags,)? oh and what to people hunt in PA? and where are the most common or good areas?
thx in advance.

[novice]

If you want to get a License to Carry Firearms, check out this thread.


Uniform Firearms Act.

Pa Game Commission Laws & Regulations.

[mike1894]

Welcome aboard,

Though not mandatory, being you have held a hunting license from another state.
I would highly recommend taking a PA. hunter safety course.
Very worthwhile IMHO. It is indeed a great way to get started.

Again welcome to PA.

[knight0334]

As mentioned above, a PA Hunter Safety Course should be considered. ...different laws and rules than Cali. Fortunately for you, now is the time of year that those classes are being held more often. They cover the basics that every state covers, but also rules and regs pertaining to PA - which you really should be familiar with. ...some of our Game Commission Officers are very over-zealous.

As for where, there are hundreds, if not thousands of square miles of State Game Lands, National and State Forrests in PA to hunt in. Just about every county has area to hunt in. If I remember correctly, Bucks County is kinda urbanized now. However a 1 hour drive north to west will put you in good hunting lands.

Game= squirrels on up to elk(lottery draw). Whitetail deer is the most popular thing to hunt, and in the right areas you'd be hard pressed to not get one. Right now dove is in, which you'll need a Fed. Migratory Stamp for.

[revo]

Hi ca2pa. Welcome to PA! Funny, I made the same move 4 years ago. You'll find you're in MUCH better gun-company here in PA. Good folks here.

As to your questions, start here with the PA Game Commission.

If you took the required hunter safety out in CA, you do not need to take it here. I did take my CA safety certificate with me when buying my first PA license though.

Only big thing you're missing in PA is pigs, although there are reports that some are popping up. Not quite the "buck-a-piece" they are in CA...which may be a good thing though, eh?

Again, welcome to PA.

[revo]

Quick update -- knight has a good point about the hunter ed as things are a bit different here in PA. Maybe it would be a good idea to take the class here.

[bluetick]

Yes, go to the PA Game Commission Site. Right off the home page there is a wealth of information.

For starters :

County information:

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=492&q=154374

Regional Information:

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=463&q=150174


Public hunting locations can be found on these two links. This includes maps.


For Hunter Education Training (HTE) courses:

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=461&q=167457

Word of advise - If you see a course near you that you want to attend - sign up fast. There is a student limit on these courses. They fill up very fast!

For hunting discussion, questions, and maybe finding a hunting partner I suggest HuntingPA.Com. There are other websites devoted to hunting in PA as well. HuntingPA is just the most active.

[aubie515]

Around Mongomery, Chester, Delaware, Bucks CO...it's tough to find places to hunt. You must go "door to door" to ask for permission...I live in Chester Co and my gun club allows me to hunt on the property. The gun club property borders French Creek Gameland, so I can hunt there too.

Your best bet is to hunt on State Gamelands until you meet folks that own property and are willing to allow you to hunt on their property.

[JIMMYC308]

Around Mongomery, Chester, Delaware, Bucks CO...it's tough to find places to hunt. You must go "door to door" to ask for permission...I live in Chester Co and my gun club allows me to hunt on the property. The gun club property borders French Creek Gameland, so I can hunt there too.

Your best bet is to hunt on State Gamelands until you meet folks that own property and are willing to allow you to hunt on their property.

I totally agree with Aubie. I've been hunting in the special regs areas of SEPA for 17 years and have managed to take over 30 deer in that time! If you do some door to door legwork there are some people who will be glad to have you remove some deer for them. My advice would be offer to share your venison with them if the are meat eaters and I always give all my landowners a basket of goodies around the holidays.

[JIMMYC308]

Try this it's the PA game commissions LINK program. This is landowners who want people on their property to hunt certain species.

http://www.pgc.state.pa.us/pgc/cwp/v...a=483&q=151469