The 2025-26 deer harvest numbers are in and the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) reports they reflect a harvest of about six percent more deer over the 2024-25 seasons.

According to the PGC, the statewide deer harvest was estimated at 505,600 deer (185,310 antlered and 320,290 antlerless). In comparison, the statewide 2024-25 harvest was estimated at 475,880 deer. And notably, the 2025-26 antlered deer harvest was up about nine percent over the most three-year average, and the antlerless harvest was about 17 percent higher.

The objective in most of the state’s 22 Wildlife Management Units (WMUs), was to reduce deer numbers, either because deer were negatively impacting forest health, Chronic Wasting Disease and increasing the harvest might slow the spread, or both, explains the PGC.

To help meet those harvest numbers and expand hunter opportunity, the PGC offered additional antlerless licenses last season.

These harvest numbers, says the PGC, are calculated using antlered and antlerless harvest reports submitted by hunters in combination with data from deer checked at processors across the state. Last season, hunters reported more than 150,000 deer – the most often using the online reporting form while the Game Commission personnel checked more than 25,000 deer at processors.

Statewide, about 29 percent of deer hunters harvested an antlered deer. That’s the highest success rate since at least 2007.

Interestingly, most of the bucks harvested were older ones. Two of every three were at least 2.5 years old. And hunters turned about 25 percent of antlered tags into harvested deer. That’s consistent with past seasons as is the fact about 70 percent of those deer were adult females.

Archers took an estimated 182,190 deer of which 94,290 were antlered and 87,900 were antlerless. Muzzleloader hunters got 24,180 deer of which 1,040 were antlered and 23,140 antlerless. Understandably, the firearms seasons account for the majority of the harvest in most WMUs. Archery harvests make up the majority in more-developed WMUs such as WMUs, 2B, 5C and 5D where the use of firearms might be more restricted.

For the most local WMUs in our area of the Lehigh Valley where many hunters hunt, the following are estimated harvest numbers with 2024-25 seasons in parentheses for comparison, with antlered represented by “A” and antlerless by “AL” abbreviations.

*WMU 3D: 6,000 (5,600) A; 9,600 (7,700) AL

*WMU 4C: 9,400 (8,000) A; 13,900 (12,000) AL

*WMU 5C: 8,100 (7,700) A; 18,000 (17,000) AL

For the archery and muzzleloader seasons, they are as follows:

*WMU 3D: archery, 2,780 (2,570) A; 2,680 (2,260) AL; muzzleloader, 20 (30) A; 620 (340) AL

*WMU 4C: archery, 4,850 (3,960) A; 3,690 (3,770) AL; muzzleloader, 50 (40) A; 910 (530) AL

*WMU 5C: archery, 5,850 (5,520) A; 8,690 (8,330) AL; muzzleloader, 50 (90) A; 610 (370) AL

There were also unknown WMU harvests of archery, 130 (150) A; 30 (50) AL; muzzleloader, 0 (0) A; 10 (20) AL.

The increase is harvest numbers could be because of smarter hunting, or our deer population is exploding in more residential communities.