Hunting & Trapping Digest 2008-2009 - (Page 103) Elk Season, Bag Limit & Regulations Elk (In Designated Elk Hunt Zones): September 1-27, 2008 (licenses have been drawn and issued). November 3-8, 2008. Requires Elk Hunting License. Limit of one antlered or one antlerless elk, depending on license, during the hunting license year. Regulations Arms & Ammunition: Manually operated centerfire rifles and handguns at least 27 caliber. Manually operated shotguns at least 12-gauge firing a single projectile. Muzzleloading firearms at least 50 caliber propelling a single projectile weighing at least 210 grains. All lead projectile, or projectile designed to expand on impact, of at least 130 grains. A bow with a minimum draw weight of 45 pounds. Any arrow with a broadhead with an outside diameter or width of at least 1 inch and at least two fixed, steel cutting edges with each cutting edge on the same plane throughout the length of the cutting surface, and legal crossbows. Driving Elk: It is unlawful to drive or herd elk. Fluorescent Orange Requirements: All elk hunters and those accompanying them must wear at least 250 square inches of fluorescent orange, visible 360 degrees, on the head, chest and back combined. Camouflage-fluorescent orange may satisfy this regulation if the total orange content is at least 250 square inches. Tagging, Reporting Requirements: A successful hunter must tag the elk immediately after harvest and before the carcass is moved. In addition, within 24 hours each hunter who harvests an elk must take it, along with their hunting license and elk license, to a Game Commission check station for examination. The location of the elk check station will be announced at a later date. After lawfully killing an elk, the successful hunter must mark the kill site as per instructions provided during an orientation program as prescribed by the Game Commission Executive Director. Elk Hunt Information Elk are large animals. An adult bull may weigh 600-1,000 pounds and an adult cow may weigh 400-600 pounds. Part of your hunt plan should include how to field-dress and move the animal from the kill site to your vehicle and on to the check station. Regulations prohibit the use of motorized vehicles, including ATVs on state-owned property, with few exceptions. The animal may be skinned and quartered and packed out by horses or mules or on pack boards. Hunters should bring plenty of help. Any number of unlicensed persons may accompany hunters as long as they wear the required fluorescent orange and do not participate in the hunt itself or carry a firearm. Persons just accompanying an elk hunter are not required to have an elk guide permit. Elk Guides: Elk Guides are regulated by the Game Commission and the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and offer various services to the hunter. Those individuals drawn for elk licenses will be provided a list of permitted guides before the hunt. ELK HUNT ZONES Elk Hunt Zone Descriptions Elk hunt zones, management objectives and harvest strategies are described on the following pages. This information is based on current knowledge and may change prior to the elk season as additional information (elk movements and behavior) becomes available. The elk hunt is designed to accomplish the following: Stabilize the range-wide elk population; permit hunting in all elk management hunt zones when the population warrants it; and target elk-human conflict areas with hunting pressure. Hunters are advised to secure written permission from private landowners prior to hunting. As part of the state’s seventh modern-day elk season, which ran from Nov. 5-10, 2007, 40 licensed elk hunters harvested 33 elk: 14 antlered and 19 antlerless. This is in addition to two elk harvested by 10 hunters drawn for the September season. LICENSE ALLOCATION BY ELK HUNT ZONES — SEASON DATES NOVEMBER 3-8, 2008 (45 LICENSES AVAILABLE — 17 ANTLERED, 28 ANTLERLESS) ZONES 1, 2, 3, 10 (COMBINED) — AVAILABLE: 7 ANTLERED; 16 ANTLERLESS ZONE 4 — AVAILABLE: 1 ANTLERED; 1 ANTLERLESS ZONE 5 — CLOSED ZONE 6 — CLOSED ZONES 7, 8 (COMBINED) — AVAILABLE: 5 ANTLERED; 7 ANTLERLESS ZONE 9 — AVAILABLE: 4 ANTLERED; 4 ANTLERLESS
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