Pennsylvania Outdoors Columnist
April 14, 2026, 9:03 a.m. ET
Elk hunting changes include an additional season, more tags in Pa.
- The number of bull elk tags for the 2026 season has been increased to manage the herd’s bull-to-cow ratio.
- A new, fourth elk hunting season will be introduced from October 3-11.
- Applicants for an elk tag must now hold a valid Pennsylvania general hunting license.
Hunters will have a simplified process to apply for a Pennsylvania elk tag, and the number of bull elk tags has been increased for 2026.
The Pennsylvania Game Commission approved a new less expensive application process, a fourth elk hunting season and hunt zones in northcentral Pennsylvania during its April 11 meeting in Harrisburg.
Jeremy Banfield, the agency’s wildlife biologist since 2013, spoke to the board on April 10 about the size of the herd and the upcoming changes for hunters.
Based on the aerial surveys this winter with radio-collared elk, he said there are roughly 1,500 elk in Pennsylvania.
“The point I want to make with, is that we have a steady to increasing positive upward trend, which is one of the objectives established in our current elk management plan and we are meeting that goal,” he said.Need a news break? Check out the all new PLAY hub with puzzles, games and more!
One of the things the researchers noticed is the large number of bulls to cows. The ratio counts the number of bull elks with branched antlers per 100 cows in the population.
“The most recent number from the aerial survey is 59 branched-bulls per 100 cows and obviously that’s over our objective,” he said.More: Pennsylvania’s 2026-27 hunting seasons bring changes for deer, elk
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To keep the herd ratios in check, the agency adjusts the number of elk licenses each year. For 2026, the agency will offer 15 more licenses than in each of the past two years, and they will be for bulls.
There will be a total of 155 licenses, including 80 for bulls and 75 for females.
“The main motivation is that bull-to-cow ratio that’s above objective. By increasing the bull licenses, we’re trying to drive that ratio downward,” Banfield said.
Commissioner Kristen Koppenhafer of Warren County asked about the significance of reducing the number of bulls because the large animals are a tourist attraction.
“People go to the elk range and what they want to see are big bulls. So can you explain biologically why it’s important to reduce that bull-to-cow ratio,” she asked.
Banfield said in some western states the ratio is 10 bulls per 100 cows. Below that ratio, there can be a reproductive decline.
“Our management plan calls for a minimum of 25 (bulls to 100 cows) to try and stay away from that 10 (ratio), but then to also provide that viewing opportunity as well. If you look at most national parks where there is no hunting, it’s usually in that 50 to 60 range, which is kind of where we are now. So, point being, we can offer more bull hunting opportunity, and I think we have an obligation to do so if we can do that.”
The projected bull-to-cow ratio is expected to drop to 57 bulls to 100 cows in 2027 and be down to 43 bulls per 100 cows in 2031. The number of licenses being allocated will allow the population to grow and Banfield estimated the population could exceed 1,700 animals by 2032 in northcentral Pennsylvania.
With the larger number of elk licenses, the agency approved an additional fourth season of hunting. There will be a new Oct. 3-11 season when hunters can use rifles or other weapons like muzzleloaders and archery gear.
“The goal of this is to reduce crowding,” he said about hunters being in the same zones.
The timing of the new season will also allow the hunters to pursue elk when they are active during the latter part of the mating season known as the rut, where the bulls bugle more often.
“Obviously, that’s an exciting time to hunt,” Banfield said.
The seasons this year will include archery from Sept. 12-27 with 15 bull and seven cow licenses. The first regular season will run Oct. 3-11 and include 15 bull and 15 cow tags. The second regular season is Oct. 31-Nov. 8 and includes 26 bull and 25 cow tags. The final regular season runs Jan. 9-17 and includes 24 bull and 28 cow tags.
The tags are allocated by zones in northcentral Pennsylvania. The agency created new zones with boundaries like named roads, rivers and streams.
“We developed a model that used seven years’ worth of GPS collar data to come up these. There are 11 separate hunt zones that loosely encompass our 9 to 10 subpopulations,” he said.
There are additional zones to protect the elk in places like the Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette and in places where there aren’t enough elk to allow hunting.
Applying for an elk tag
Since 2019, hunters could purchase up to three chances each year to hunt the different seasons at a cost of $11.97 each for a lottery-style drawing.
This year, hunters will pay $11.97 and can select up to five choices for the different seasons for that one fee. They will decide on bull or cow and which zones.
The other change on the application process involves the bonus points hunters have accumulated from the years their name didn’t get drawn. In the past, hunters had bonus points based on each of the three seasons. Now, the bonus points will be totaled together with a maximum number of 37 bonus points.
The applications will go on sale starting May 1 through July 12. They can be purchased online at huntfishpa.gov or wherever hunting licenses are sold such as at sports shops and county treasurer offices. The winners will be announced on July 25 during the Elk Expo at the Elk Country Visitor Center.
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Elk license drawing changes
Changes have been made to benefit residents of Pennsylvania in applying for an elk tag. The first change is that everyone who applies must have a Pennsylvania general hunting license. That cost is $20.97 for residents and $101.97 for nonresidents.
For people applying for an elk tag before the 2026-27 general licenses go on sale in June, they must have a Pennsylvania license for the 2025-26 year to apply.
“You have to have a valid hunting license in hand during the time of your application. If you are a non-resident and you bought a non-resident hunting last year and as long as you apply between May 1 and the next license year, that works,” Banfield said.
Otherwise, hunters need to wait until they get their new hunting license before applying by the July 12 deadline.
Also, the number of tags awarded to nonresidents is capped at 10% per season. Another change that takes place is that the bull tag is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In the past, hunters who won a bull tag had to wait five years before applying again.
Board President Haley Sankey of Blair County is interested in seeing how the changes impact the interest in elk hunting.
“I’m a little disappointed that these changes are all going into effect at the same time because I would have liked to have seen the effect of having to buy the license separate from the new structure. We’re not going to be able to parse out what caused what down the road, but it is what it is,” she said.
Banfield responded, “We might still see some interesting trends.”
For the 2025 elk license drawing, 52,156 hunters from across the country purchased 104,992 applications for 65 bull and 75 cow tags.