2nd round of doe license sales runs more smoothly
Deer hunters spent less time in line at the county treasurer’s office, and waiting online for the second round of antlerless license sales that began Monday took less time than did the first round of license sales.
The first round, which began June 26, marked the dawn of the Pennsylvania Game Commission’s new license sales system that allows hunters to buy general hunting licenses and antlerless, or doe, licenses at the same time online or anywhere licenses are sold — including retail stores and county treasurer offices.
Online sales through huntfish.pa.gov and sales at other locations went slowly when they started at 8 a.m. on June 26 and then came to a two-hour halt around 9:15 a.m. due to system errors.
Round two, which is open to out-of-state hunters, seemed to go much more smoothly.
Butler County Treasurer Diane Marburger said the number of hunters in line at her office Monday consisted of no more than four or five at a time — a marked improvement over round one, when 40 to 45 hunters waited in line.
When the sales system went offline in the treasurer’s office June 26, Marburger offered the waiting hunters an option of telling her staff which licenses they wanted and leaving the payment. When their licenses were ready, staff would call them or send the licenses by mail. The treasurer’s office covered the postage costs, she said.
“We did not experience any of those lines because the system didn’t struggle like it did that first day,” Marburger said Tuesday. “It was very light. I think they went online or bought elsewhere.”
Her office sold 185 doe licenses on June 26 and 178 on Monday, she said.
“They’re our loyal base and they come see us,” Marburger said about those who bought licenses at her office.
Game commission spokesman Travis Lau said second round sales were heavy Monday morning.
“Things went pretty smoothly; the online waiting room cleared around lunchtime,” Lau said. It was “wait-free buying online after that,” he added.
Bryan Burhans, game commission executive director, emailed apologies to hunters who experienced long wait times in the first round of license sales.
“I’m glad you got your 2023-24 hunting license, and your antlerless deer license, for the upcoming seasons last week,” Burhans wrote. “But I’m not at all happy with the frustrating process you went through to get that license. I apologize to you. I hope you will forgive us.”
The third round begins at 8 a.m. on Aug. 14.
In the first round of antlerless license sales, a hunter could buy one antlerless license. In the second round, that hunter can purchase a second antlerless license. A hunter who does not purchase an antlerless license in the first round is eligible to buy two in the second round, but no hunter can get a third license until the third round.
