Two large bull elk are seen along a road near Driftwood on the first day of the elk hunt in Pennsylvania recently. 140 elk were allowed to be hunted during this year’s season in Pennsylvania. DAVE KENNEDY/Sun-Gazette

Once native to Pennsylvania, elk were extirpated from the state by the late 1800s.

A move to reintroduce the elk was born in 1912 by the state game commission.

“In 1913, Pennsylvania’s first shipment of Yellowstone elk arrived by train. The 50 elk cost about $30 each. Half of the shipment went to Clinton County, the other half to Clearfield County. An additional 22 elk were bought from a Monroe County preserve that year. Twelve were released on state lands in Monroe County and the remainder on a Centre County preserve, according to the game commission.”

“To ensure the preservation of elk being released, the General Assembly in 1913 enacted a law protecting them until November 15, 1921, when a two-week elk season would be held. Bulls with at least four points to one antler were identified in the law as legal game for the distant season,” according to the state.

How do you get an elk hunting license to harvest one of the 1,400 elks that span 3,000 Pennsylvania square miles today?

The elk hunting season is split over three separate categories: archery, general and late.

Elk inhabit portions of Elk, Cameron, Clinton, Clearfield and Centre counties.

The general season is the most popular.

A hunter can apply for one, two or all three seasons and each season is its own unique pool of applicants.

The application fee for each season is $11.97 or $35.91 for all three.

Hunters gain one bonus point for each year they enter and their name is not drawn. The points then multiply your chances in the next year’s drawing. Bonus points are season-specific.

Bonus points are removed if you draw a license.

When applying hunters can select bull, cow or either sex along with a specific hunt zone of the 14 zones, for a maximum of five choices.

The 14 zones in which to hunt are a mix of state game land, public and private land.

If a hunter pulls a bull tag and harvests a bull, they are excluded from the drawing for five years, according to the game commission.

Hunters can apply for an elk tag from February through mid-July. A video on how to apply by the state game commission can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1NDohdqE-w

The elk tags are drawn during the annual Elk Expo at the grounds of the Elk Country Visitor Center in Benezette, July 25 and July 26, 2025.

“We have some of the finest elk in the world. We’ve had an opportunity to guide a lot of hunters that have hunted the globe, hunted all across the country, all across North America and the Pennsylvania experience is a standout,” said Armstrong.