Pennsylvania · 2026-27
Shooting hours in Pennsylvania
For all small game and big game, Pennsylvania legal shooting hours run 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset — the PGC rule is quoted below. Sunrise and sunset shift every day and with every county, so the lookup here turns the rule into your exact minutes.
Legal light for
All small game and big game
Dauphin County · Aug 21, 2026
Legal start
—
sunrise − 30 min
Legal end
—
sunset + 30 min
Hunting from exact coordinates instead
These minutes apply the statewide rule at your chosen spot — they can’t see zone, season, or species exceptions. Always verify in the current PGC regulations before you hunt — rules change annually. Rule checked against PGC Aug 20, 2026.
The rule, straight from the regs
“Legal hunting hours for all small and big game are from one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset.”
— 2026–27 Pennsylvania Hunting & Trapping Digest — Hunting Hours Table (p. 10), checked Aug 20, 2026
The digest's printed table is keyed to the 75th meridian, with hours beginning and ending 4 minutes later for each meridian west of it. The county lookup on this page uses sunrise and sunset at your county directly, so expect the printed table to land within a minute or two; when they differ, the digest wins.
The official times
Exceptions the regs call out
The window above — 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset — is the rule for all small game and big game. These run on different clocks:
- Spring gobbler
- During the youth hunt and from the statewide opener through May 15, hours run one-half hour before sunrise until noon. From May 16 on, they run one-half hour before sunrise to one-half hour after sunset (2026–27 digest).
- Waterfowl and migratory birds
- Waterfowl, doves, woodcock, snipe, rails and gallinules run one-half hour before sunrise until sunset — except the September resident Canada goose season and the snow goose conservation season, when geese run to one-half hour after sunset (2026–27 digest).
- Furbearers
- Raccoons, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, striped skunks, opossums and weasels may be hunted any hour, day or night, outside the restricted periods the digest notes.
Opening day, worked out
Regular Firearms opens Nov 28, 2026 in Pennsylvania. In Dauphin County that morning, sunrise is 7:07 AM — so legal light starts at 7:07 AM − 30 min = 6:37 AM EST. Sunset is 4:42 PM, so the day ends at 4:42 PM + 30 min = 5:12 PM EST. A county line east or west moves those minutes, and the PGC official times are the ones that count — check them before you go.
More Pennsylvania, more states
The whole Pennsylvania board · Deer season in Pennsylvania · Straight-wall cartridge states
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