The Pennsylvania Board of Game Commissions gave its preliminary approval for three Sunday hunting dates during its meeting Saturday in Harrisburg.

Sunday hunting would be allowed on Nov. 15 for archery deer hunting, Nov. 22 for bear hunting during the bear firearms season, and Nov. 29 for deer hunting during the firearms deer season.

The legislation permitting hunting on three Sundays - one during rifle deer season, one during the statewide archery deer season and one on a Sunday determined by the Game Commission - was signed into law by Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf in mid-December.

State Sen. Dan Laughlin, who represents the Erie area, co-sponsored the legislation.

For the second year in a row, the rifle deer season would start on a Saturday, Nov. 28.

The 2020-21 hunting/trapping seasons will be finalized during the Game Commission board's next meeting in early April.

Other proposed changes include:

  • allowing concurrent hunting of antlered and antlerless deer statewide for the duration of the 14-day firearms deer season
  • shifting the statewide general bear season to run from Saturday through Tuesday
  • bringing back a three-day Thanksgiving turkey season, running Wednesday through Friday, in many Wildlife Management Units (WMUs)
  • adding a week to the archery bear season, creating an overlap in the first week with the muzzleloader deer and bear seasons
  • opening squirrel season statewide on Sept. 12
  • permitting either-sex pheasant hunting statewide, outside of Wild Pheasant Recovery Areas