What hunters need to know

Although its not officially hunting and trapping season quite yet, those licenses go on sale Monday and this year there's a change on how you can purchase your antlerless deer license.

6 News spoke with an official from the Pennsylvania Game Commission who says hunters can purchase their antlerless license through the mail like usual or they can now go to a hunting store as well as online.

“This year there’s been a change in the antlerless license process,” said Travis Lau, the Communications Director with the PA Game Commission.

Lau says the biggest change to this hunting and trapping season is exactly how and when hunters can purchase their antlerless deer licenses.

“There was a change in the law in the previous year that allows for antlerless license sales to be sold not only by County Treasures, but anywhere that hunting licenses are sold including online,” Lau added. “Previously antlerless license sales began a couple weeks after general license sales and the application for antlerless licenses was through the mail.”

Lau tells Channel 6 the change has overall received positive feedback, but still there is some uncertainty.

“This is a new process for selling antlerless licenses there’s no preexisting sales pattern to lean on,” said Lau.

Lau also says no matter if a hunter chooses to go into a hunting store or online for their antlerless deer license, all of those licenses come from the same system - a shared network.

“So, the more people trying to access that system at once the slower it will operate," said Lau. "Now, we built in some safeguards that are intended to prevent the system from crashing, but the more people that are trying to buy licenses the slower it will go, and we know that going in.”

Although going through the mail for your antlerless deer license may seem ‘old fashioned’ - it might just save you more time and money as Lau predicts hunting stores to be busy and he says there are shipping fees online.

“Were encouraging hunters to do what’s best for them," Lau added. "If that’s going to a license issuing agent and waiting in line, going to their home computer early on, on the first day of sales waiting in a cue to get a license. If they feel that’s the best decision for them, that’s the decision they need to make.”

Lau tells 6 News there will be adequate staff on duty for the first day of these license sales incase anything does go wrong.

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