July 29, 2025
Nabil K. Mark/SIPA USA
The Pennsylvania Game Commission on Monday unveiled 13 Sunday hunting dates for this upcoming season. Above, two hunters in Rothrock State Forest outside State College.
More opportunities are coming for Pennsylvania's 850,000 licensed hunters, the second most in the country behind only Texas. After Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a law on July 9 repealing a longtime ban on Sunday hunting, the state's Game Commission on Monday announced 13 new dates for the upcoming season.
House Bill 1431, which was introduced by state Rep. Mandy Steele (D-Allegheny), had bipartisan support in both chambers. Any in-season game, except migratory birds, will be able to be hunted every Sunday from Sept. 14 to Dec. 7.
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“This new law is about real freedom: the freedom to hunt, the freedom for families to pass down traditions to the next generation, and the freedom for the Pa. Game Commission — the experts who know our hunters and our wildlife best — to set hunting seasons that work for today’s Pennsylvania,” Shapiro (D) said in a press release when he signed the bill into law. “By repealing this outdated ban on Sunday hunting, Pennsylvanians can spend more time outdoors, with more chances to share traditions and a stronger future for conservation. I’m proud we came together to bring Pennsylvania’s hunting laws into the 21st century and honor the traditions that make our Commonwealth special.”
In 2019, Gov. Tom Wolfe (D) signed legislation allowing three Sunday hunting days per year: one each for archery and rifle season, and one selected by the Game Commission. Before that, Sunday hunting was mostly banned in the state except for crows, foxes and coyotes.
