Proposed changes by the Pennsylvania Game Commission Board of Game Commissioners — which are expected to be finalized at its quarterly meeting on April 11 — will have a dramatic impact on Pennsylvania elk hunters.
This year application sales open May 1 for the drawing that will be held July 26 in Benezette on the final day of the Elk Expo. Among the changes going into effect is the Once-in-a-Lifetime Bull Tag, meaning anyone who draws a bull tag in 2026 or later can never draw another bull tag in Pennsylvania.
This year nonresident applicants are capped at 10% of the total tags, and all applicants must possess a valid Pennsylvania general hunting license. A new, single application will allow for choosing up to five preferred seasons during archery, Sept. 12-27; regular, Oct. 3-11 and Oct. 31-Nov. 8; and late, Jan. 9-17, 2027.
Additionally, the Keystone Elk Country Alliance offers a separate raffle for a 2026 bull tag, with the winner drawn July 26. KECA also sells a fund-raisinf raffle calendar featuring daily prize drawings that began New Year’s Day.
During the 2025-26 elk seasons hunters took 57 bulls and 51 cows between Sept. 13 and Jan. 3. There were 140 elk tags awarded by the PGC through a lottery drawing in July, with the successful hunters were chosen for an archery season, a general season or the late season all in Northcentral Pennsylvania.
According to the PGC elk harvest webpage on Nov. 7, 108 hunters harvested an elk in the 2025-26 seasons. During the archery season, Sept. 13-27, 15 of the 16 bull hunters and 6 of the 11 antlerless archers got an elk.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission is expected to make some changes for the 2026027 elk seasons. (FILE)
In the general season, Nov. 3-8, 26 of the 30 bull hunters and 25 of the 38 antlerless elk hunters got their animal. In the late season, Dec. 27-Jan. 3, 16 of the 19 bull elk tag recipients and 20 of the 26 antlerless elk license winners were successful.
The heaviest bull weighed 867 pounds and had a 7×6 rack. The heaviest cow weighed 538 pounds. According to the PGC more than 1,400 elk live in Northcentral Pennsylvania.
Hunting licenses are awarded to manage the elk population where there are conflicts with humans, agricultural fields and motorists. Every successful hunter has their elk examined out by the PGC to check for diseases and to monitor the health of the overall herd.
For the 2025-26 seasons, the PGC estimated the elk population at approximately 1,342 individuals. A total of 140 licenses were issued for the 2025-26 seasons, resulting in 108 elk harvested by hunters (57 bulls and 51 cows). The herd remains primarily in the Northcentral region.
Elk data for the population estimate of 1,342 ranges from 1,193 to 1,558, with the herd structure at 61 branched bulls per 100 cows, with 27 calves per 100 cows. Primarily herd location is Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield, and Centre counties.
The 2025-26 season included 140 tags across archery, general, and late seasons. The population, which is surveyed using aerial and, for the first time in 2025, added a
There is a new early October firearms season proposed to limit crowding and maintain hunter satisfaction under current and potential future increased license allocations. The late firearms elk season is proposed to be moved later in January to avoid conflicts with major holidays.
Preliminary approval has been given to changes that would provide for a simplified elk license application structure, which would consolidate any bonus points hunters have accumulated since 2003. Pennsylvania elk licenses are awarded through a random drawing of applicants.
A hunter can submit an application, and if not drawn for a license, will receive a bonus point. Then, the next time the hunter submits an application, they not only have one chance to draw a license, but an additional chance for each bonus point they’ve received.
Under the proposal, hunters would retain the bonus points they’ve collected over the years. Hunters would submit only one application per year, instead of one application for every elk season in which they want to participate, so all bonus points would be consolidated.
Applicants would then select up to five options covering the elk season and hunt zone for which they’re seeking a license, and whether they want to hunt antlered or antlerless elk.
If an applicant is drawn for a license, their bonus points automatically would reset to zero.
A previously adopted regulation that will be in effect for the first time in the coming license year also will ensure that applicants who are drawn for antlered elk licenses are never again eligible for an antlered elk license. All the changes preliminarily approved by the BOGC will be brought back to the April meeting for a final vote.
Proposed 2026-27 Elk Seasons
Only one elk may be taken during the license year.
ARCHERY (Antlered or Antlerless): Sept. 12-27. REGULAR – FIRST (Antlered or Antlerless): Oct. 3-11. REGULAR – SECOND (Antlered or Antlerless): Oct. 31-Nov. 8. REGULAR – THIRD (Antlered or Antlerless): Jan. 9-17, 2027.