The question Pennsylvania deer hunters may want to pose to the Pennsylvania Game Commission (PGC) and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a simple one: What took you so long?

We’re talking about the machinations Keystone State hunters were forced to endure for countless years in pursuit of those coveted doe (aka antlerless deer) licenses. A welcome change is coming and the way hunters apply for Pennsylvania antlerless deer licenses is about to be totally revised for the first time in decades.

That’s because Senate Bill 431, which would allow hunters to buy antlerless licenses through the HuntFishPA automated licensing service, was signed into law last week. When it takes effect in the 2023-24 license year, antlerless licenses will be available for purchase online or in person at any license issuing agent.

The PGC, hunting organizations including the National Deer Association, Pennsylvania Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers, Pennsylvania Federation of Sportsmen and Conservationists, the United Bowhunters of Pennsylvania and others, and everyday hunters supported the bill, championing it as the final step to fully modernizing license sales.

While a few of the PGC’s recent moves such as changing opening day from Monday to Saturday for the firearms deer season and legalizing some limited Sunday hunting opportunities have met with controversy and criticism from some circles in the hunting fraternity, it’s unlikely that anyone will complain about the change in how antlerless licenses are distributed.

The last significant change in the distribution of antlerless licenses took place some twenty years ago when, in 2003, Pennsylvania changed its Wildlife Management Units from 67 county units to 22 more extensive Wildlife Management Units (WMU). It was a move questioned by more than a few PGC critics who felt that antlerless quotas established for the larger WMUs would be less accurate in terms of management effectiveness than those now in place.

“Allowing for the sale of antlerless deer hunting licenses through other means such as online or through issuing agents will make it far more convenient for hunters,” said Dan Laughlin, the Erie County Senator and Chairman of the Senate Game and Fisheries Committee who sponsored Senate Bill 431.

PGC Executive Director Bryan Burhans agreed.

“We thank Pennsylvania’s legislators, and in particular Chairman Laughlin, for tackling this issue and look forward to implementing a system that provides great customer service to our hunters,” Burhans said. “Our mission here at the Game Commission is twofold, to manage and protect wildlife and their habitats, but also to promote hunting and trapping for current and future generations. Modernizing how we sell antlerless licenses helps us achieve both.”

Until now, hunters applied for antlerless licenses via mail, sending those familiar pink envelopes to county treasurers, the only entity permitted to sell them. They had to do so according to a set schedule with various deadlines based on state residency and rounds of sales, using a self-addressed stamped envelope and paper checks, something increasingly foreign to some hunters. It was a lengthy, tedious, sometimes confusing process.

There were, in short, a lot of variables in play, and that occasionally led to problems with hunters getting licenses or not. Given all that, the pink envelope system was seen by many as a barrier to hunting participation, especially when it comes to recruiting new hunters. Allowing for antlerless license sales through HuntFishPA will address those issues.

However, I’ll add that my personal experience with purchasing licenses through that website has not been encouraging. I offer this cautionary tale after I attempted to buy my own hunting licenses and federal duck stamp online from HuntFishPA way back on July 12.

While I received my duck stamp through the mail a few days later, the other licenses and tags failed to show up in the weeks that followed. I then called the phone number listed on the website and ended up chatting with a very polite and professional HuntFishPA representative who was working out of Austin, Texas.

I explained my concerns and he promised to take care of the problem. Another license-less week passed before I emailed a complaint to some folks I know at the Pennsylvania Game Commission who told me they would follow up on it. Finally, later that same afternoon, the licenses miraculously appeared in my mailbox more than a month after I first applied for them.

I again emailed my contacts at the PGC and told them I had received my licenses at last, but hardly in a timely fashion. The delay was significant enough that I missed the first round of antlerless deer license sales and, for the first time ever, I went without having any antlerless permit at all. I pointed out that it shouldn’t take a month along with a phone call to Texas to purchase a license online.

Prior to the start of next license year on July 1, 2023, the Game Commission will notify hunters on the process for applying for an antlerless license under the new system. Let’s hope those online bugs are all worked out by the time the 2023-2024 seasons roll around. Stay tuned.