As many hunting seasons are in high gear right now with small game open including ducks and geese plus archery bear still ongoing in 2B, 5C and 5D until Nov. 27, it’s also open in WMUs 3D and 5B until Nov. 20. The black bear firearms season doesn’t kick off statewide until Nov. 21-24.

While this is going on, the archery deer season continues in WMU 2B, 5C, and 5D until Nov. 27 and statewide until Nov. 20. It reopens again Dec. 26 – Jan. 24, 2027.

But the latest season to open is fall turkey in WMUs 1A, 2G, 3A, 4A, 4B and 4D until Nov. 15. In WMUs 1B, 3D, 4C and 4E until Nov. 8. For hunters hunting in WMUs 2B, 2C, 2D and 2E, you have a split season that’s underway and continues until Nov. 20 and again from Nov. 25-27. In WMUs 5A and 5B, the season ends Nov. 3. Fall turkey unfortunately is closed locally in WMU 5C and 5D.

According to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, the fall turkey season looks promising and when any turkey can be harvested with females accounting for more than 50 percent of the fall harvest.

The PGC says the statewide turkey recruitment was up this year from 2025, and all but one WMU had a recruitment ratio greater that 2.0 poults per hen as estimated from turkey summer sighting survey reports. Fall turkey hunters in most WMUs may find more or larger brood-flocks compared to last season.

These finding are the result of the annual turkey sighting surveys conducted during July and August which found the number of turkey sightings were up slightly from last year with 10,888 reported compared to 10,674 in 2025, for example.

The statewide reproductive index for 2026 came in at 2.83 poults per all hens observed, which was greater than the 2025 index of 2.67. However, the PGC points out that this was still below the previous five-year average of 2.94 poults per hen. At the WMU level, only one WMU had a reproductive index below 2.0 poults per hen (1.78 in WMU 4D), indicating reasonably good reproductive success in most parts of the state.

Reproductive success, says the PGC, varies annually due to many factors, particularly spring and summer rainfall, temperature, habitat conditions, predation, insect abundance and hen condition. The condition a hen enters the reproductive season is often influenced by fall and winter food availability and weather severity.

The PGC reminds successful hunters that turkey harvest reports can be reported online at www.pgc.pa.gov, by calling 800-838-4431, or by mailing in a prepaid post card. Hunters are also asked to identify the WMU, county and township the bird was taken as well as sex and approximate age of the turkey. And if a hunter bags a turkey with a leg band or transmitter for research purposes, they need to follow the reporting instructions on the band or transmitter. The PGC leg-banded more than 450 turkeys while more than 500 turkeys, both male and female, were fitted with backpack style transmitters from 2022-2025. It should be noted that these turkeys are no longer being monitored, but some may still be alive and available for harvest.