Guaranteed doe licenses in most hunting areas expected to thwart repeat of 2023 system shutdown

Luke Wasilowski isn’t looking forward to June — when state hunting licenses go on sale.

At least, he isn’t looking forward to a repeat of last year, when the state’s computer system ground to a halt on the first day of sales, leaving hunters waiting in lines, sometimes for hours.

“It was a mess,” said the employee at Arnold Hardware in Harrison. “The line was never-ending.”

He, like other hunting license retailers, are hoping changes this year will prevent an overload of the state’s sales system.

The problem was doe licenses. Unlike the general hunting license, doe licenses are sold by region, known as Wildlife Management Units, and there is a limited number of them for each region. The licenses are valid only in their designated region, and doe are off-limits to hunters who don’t have one.

Most of the regions will sell out, often on the first day they are available. It’s a first-come, first-served system, prompting many hunters to buy licenses on the first day available to avoid being shut out of their favorite hunting region.

Last year, according to the Pennsylvania Game Commission, 166,000 licenses were sold the first day — so many that the state’s system couldn’t handle the volume. Overall last year, 850,000 licenses were sold.

This year, the state is taking steps to alleviate first-day traffic jams.

State residents seeking doe licenses in 19 of the 22 management units, including those that comprise Allegheny, Westmoreland and Armstrong counties, will be guaranteed purchases during the first round of sales from 8 a.m. June 27 to 7 a.m. July 8.

“That should spread out demand considerably,” said Travis Lau, game commission spokesman.

“That’s not to say hunters wouldn’t do that on their own. After the first day of sales last year, things ran smoothly, including during busy times on the days subsequent antlerless rounds opened. But, for me as a hunter, there’s a whole other level of comfort in having 11 days to find a convenient time to buy my license without worrying they will sell out.”

Changes to the process were announced this month. Wasilowski hasn’t yet received information detailing the new process, but Pennsylvania Game Commission officials think the changes will do the trick.

Bonnie Jackson is hoping for smoother sales, too.

Her family’s store, Jackson Hardware in Penn Hills, has sold hunting licenses since the early 1900s. If not for that history, she would reconsider the service after last year’s debacle.

“It was good — until it was a nightmare,” Jackson said. “I’d really think twice this year if I didn’t think the ghost of my grandpap would come back and haunt us.”

Lau said sales will open three days earlier for people looking to hunt in some northern counties.

Beginning June 24, people can buy licenses for three specific hunting regions that include units 1B, 2G and 3A. Those include portions of Crawford, Erie, Lycoming, McKean, Potter, Tioga and Warren counties, among others. Those are among the most popular regions for doe license sales.

“We are not able to guarantee antlerless licenses in every WMU because, in those WMUs that sell out the fastest, a guarantee would risk selling far more licenses than needed and possibly sustaining too much harvest,” he said.

Hunting doe is the main tool the game commission uses to manage the state’s deer herd.

Lau said the huge turnout last year was largely because of the newness of being able to buy doe licenses in stores and online. Historically, doe licenses were sold by mailing applications to county treasurers. The new system last year, for the first time, allowed hunters to buy doe licenses at retailers when they purchased their general hunting license.

“It wasn’t known how quickly antlerless licenses — which always are available in limited quantities — would sell out,” Lau said. “Some waited all day to buy their licenses. But, at the end of the day, there were still antlerless licenses available in every Wildlife Management Unit in the state. That was true all day the next day, too.”

The Game Commission will alert hunters this spring by mailing postcards with the changes. New hunters are encouraged to create a profile on the website before June 24 to streamline the process.

Lau said there was positive feedback about in-store and online sales and said the game commission wants that to be the norm.

“Starting sales first in (three) WMUs might not eliminate lines, but it will limit the lines to the people with the most pressing needs,” Lau said. “Those customers will already have been served when the guaranteed period begins, which should reduce demand in that phase when hunters absolutely don’t need to feel pressed to get their license.

“Even after this guaranteed period ends, most WMUs will have licenses available.”