By Walt Young

For the Mirror

The autumn season is synonymous with the most popular hunting seasons for a majority of hunters. But for those intrepid folks willing to brave some winter weather, the next several weeks will serve up a wide range of opportunities to extend their hunting time well into the wintertime.

These post-Christmas hunting seasons include just about every category of game available in Pennsylvania from deer to ducks.

The late archery and flintlock seasons have long been popular for a dedicated segment of deer hunters. Like so many changes to the hunting traditions of Pennsylvania, both started experimentally and expanded to their current status. Bows and arrows were first legalized for deer hunting in Pennsylvania in 1929.

The first archery season for deer in Pennsylvania occurred in the fall of 1951. The first winter archery season came in 1964 and was restricted to certain areas of the state. In 1967, the late archery season was expanded statewide and has been a fixture ever since. The inclusion of crossbows in 2009 for general use during any archery season statewide further increased the popularity of the winter archery season.

The first flintlock deer season was held in 1974 and was restricted to just 37 designated state game lands around the state. Hunting was permitted only with antique-style flintlock rifles with open, iron sights during the three-day season.

Despite all those limitations, four bucks and 61 does were taken during that initial season. The season was expanded to five days in 1975 and resulted in a harvest of 174 deer. By 1977, the season included 60 state game lands, and the harvest was 866 deer. The flintlock season finally became a statewide event in 1979 with flintlock hunters bagging 2,459 deer.

Both the late archery and flintlock seasons got underway on Dec. 26 and will continue through Jan. 20. Both bucks and does are fair game if a hunter has the appropriate unfilled tag. Of course, a valid archery or muzzleloader license is also required.

Here in our region this winter, another special extended firearms deer season is available in Wildlife Management Units 4A and 4D. This season is for antlerless deer only and runs from Jan 2-20. Hunters will need a valid WMU 4A or WMU 4D antlerless tag to participate in this hunt.

The seasons for most species of small game restarted the week after deer season and ran through Dec. 24, with all except ruffed grouse resuming on December 26 after a one-day break for Christmas. The winter seasons for squirrels, rabbits and pheasants continue until February 28 for small-game fans.

I know some of my favorite hunting memories of my first few hunting seasons involve trying to find a rabbit or two by looking for fresh tracks the morning after a fresh snow.

The late duck seasons around the state vary by special zones established specifically for waterfowl management. Most of our region is part of the South Zone where duck season opened back in mid-November and continues through January 19.

Most of our region is within the Resident Population Goose Hunting Zone, which has a three-part Canada goose season for 2024-25. The Canada geese reopened on Dec.16 and will run through Jan. 18. followed by another three weeks of goose hunting from Jan. 31 to Feb. 22.

During both of the late goose seasons, the daily limit is five geese. In addition to a general hunting license, duck and goose hunters must also have a federal duck stamp and a Pennsylvania migratory bird game bird license. For specific information on the various waterfowl seasons, hunting zones and bag limits around the state, consult the Pennsylvania Hunting and Trapping Digest that comes with your hunting license or check the Game Commission website, www.pgc.pa.gov.

Winter varmint hunting is always a popular activity. Calling coyotes, foxes or crows this time of year using either mouth-operated or electronic predator calls is a special challenge. Crows may be hunted on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays until March 23.

There is no closed season for coyotes, and foxes may be hunted until Feb. 22. Both coyotes and foxes can be hunted any hour of the day or night, including Sundays. A general hunting license is sufficient for hunting crows and coyotes, but a furtaker license is also necessary to hunt foxes.