With the archery hunting season about to get underway on October 3, I’ve been putting as much practice time in as possible with my compound; hopefully, the practice pays off. As we move into the fall hunting seasons, I also like to make it a point to review the Hunting and Trapping Digest that you get when you acquire your licenses — not exactly exciting reading but essential, nevertheless.

Regulations regarding baiting have been around for some time; sometimes misunderstood and other times just ignored. Except for a few rare exceptions in the Southeast part of the state, baiting is illegal in Pennsylvania. The use of certain scents is legal, and it’s pretty clearly explained in the regulation booklet. Of course, many hunters never bother to read or check the regulations, and I’m sure there are a number of hunters who just choose to ignore the rules regarding baiting and try to get away with it. It is unlawful to hunt in or around any area where artificial or natural bait, food, hay, grain, fruit, nuts, salt, chemicals, or minerals, including their residues-regardless, the type or quantity has been placed to lure game. This restriction does not pertain to hunting near areas where accepted farming or habitat management practices are taking place. Estrous scents and lures and non-food cover scents are legal. For example, I use fox urine on my archery hunting boots to cover human scent, and I use doe-in-heat in a scrape to attract a buck. Sorry-no apple scent permitted.

Moving on to some new regulations, there will be three Sundays permitted for hunting this year. November 15 for archery deer season, November 22 for bear hunting, and November 29 for deer hunting. Hunters utilizing private land to hunt on any of the three selected Sundays must carry written permission from the landowner — something tells me that’s going to be interesting.

Another new regulation to be aware of is the “purple paint law.” Landowners now have the option of using purple paint rather than signs to post their property. These are vertical purple paint lines that are at least eight inches long and one inch wide, and lines are not to be more than 100 feet apart. They should be no less than three feet or no more than five feet from the ground. The purple is essentially a no trespassing sign.

Remember, too, while not a new law, you cannot place your tree stand on state land sooner than two weeks before the start of the season, and they must be removed within two weeks of the close of the deer season. Stands must also be conspicuously marked with an identification tag that includes the owner’s first and last name and legal home address or the CID number that appears on the owner’s hunting license or a number issued by the Game Commission.

Finally, another new law is in regard to the use of fluorescent orange; fluorescent orange is no longer required while archery hunting for deer. Remember, archers in the past had to wear fluorescent orange while moving or post orange while in a fixed position during all overlap seasons. Even though it’s no longer required, it is still highly recommended; I think I will continue to use the fluorescent orange for my own safety.

Much of what I’ve outlined here has to do with the upcoming archery season, but much of it also applies to other seasons. Be sure to check your hunting digest for regulations regarding other seasons.