In the near future, they might also be able to hire a thermal drone operator to help locate their buck or bruin.
Introduced last week by state Sen. Jarrett Coleman, R-Bucks/Lehigh, Senate Bill 303 would amend the Pennsylvania Game Code to legalize the use of “small unmanned aircraft” weighing less than 55 pounds in the recovery of game. Right now, the use of drones is prohibited because they are not specifically listed as an exception to the Game Code section that makes it unlawful for hunters to use electronic devices to hunt or pursue game or wildlife.
“Every hunter I know wants to recover the game that they’re attempting to harvest,” said Coleman, who introduced similar legislation in 2024. “Drones are one more tool to make that possible.
“I introduced this legislation last (legislative) session in response to a sting operation undertaken by the [Pennsylvania] Game Commission targeting a drone recovery service. We need to make clear that drones are a tool available to hunters in the recovery of game that they’ve legally taken.”
Coleman was referencing the 2023 case of a Chester County man who was cited after a Game Commission sting operation for allegedly using electronic devices to try and recover a deer. The man responded to a request to help find a wounded deer purportedly from a hunter, who turned out to be an undercover investigator, the suspect’s attorney wrote on his law firm’s blog.
The man was found guilty in a summary trial. However, the charges were later dismissed on appeal in the Lancaster County Court of Common Pleas, and the drone was returned to the man. His attorney attributed the dismissal to an evidence violation.
The charges, upon conviction, carried a maximum of $2,500 in fines and up to three months in jail, according to Coleman’s sponsorship memo on his proposal.
Interest in Drone Deer Recovery Grows
Since 2018, Keystone State hunters have been allowed to use tracking dogs to help recover deer, bear and elk that they have hit. However, drones remain illegal. That said, interest in using the technology to aid in the retrieval of deer has grown in the past couple of years, both in Pennsylvania and other states as well.
In the Buckeye State drones have been legal for the past few years. Mike Yoder founded Winesburg, Ohio-based Drone Deer Recovery as a drone deer recovery operation and now focuses on helping train others who want to start their own deer recovery businesses. He said more and more states are adopting the technology.
“The amount of calls that we take from our office here in Winesburg (to help find whitetails) is anywhere between 150-250 calls (annually),” Yoder said. “Our success rates of finding a deer that we have been hired for is 98%.”
Yoder said he thinks it’s great that Coleman is reintroducing his legislation in Pennsylvania.
“I believe it can really help benefit Pennsylvania hunters with finding their lost game,” Yoder added. “When this technology is put into the right hands, it can be an exceptional tool for recovering game.”
Coleman’s bill, as currently worded, states a drone operator would need a wildlife recovery permit granted by the Pennsylvania Game Commission and the small unmanned aircraft system can only be operated by the permittee for the recovery of harvested wildlife. In addition, no firearm or implement of taking can be possessed by any participant involved in the recovery, and a hunter may not go after any live deer found through drone search efforts until at least 24 hours have passed.
“The legislation makes it very clear that drones may only be used when a hunter is trying to recover downed game,” said Coleman, a hunter himself. “Hunters and those engaged in a drone recovery effort are not permitted to have a firearm or bow during the recovery process.”
As for the next steps with the bill, the legislation has a long way to go before it becomes law and is considered by the PGC.
“The lawmakers I’ve spoken to have been open to the idea and I think are generally supportive,” Coleman said. “I’ve worked to address the concerns I’ve heard from hunters who are concerned about maintaining the ‘fair chase’ standard. My hope is that we will have a hearing on the legislation in the near future to work through any additional details.”
Game Commission spokesman Travis Lau notes that allowing drones for big-game recovery would require both statutory and regulatory changes, so it’s not something that will likely come up before the state Board of Commissioners in the near future.
That said, Coleman and the agency have collaborated to develop a piece of legislation that would clearly specify if and how drones could be used in the future.
“The Game Commission and I worked closely together in putting together a piece of legislation that balances the use of drones for recovery purposes and maintaining a fair chase,” Coleman said. “It’s important to give hunters another tool they can use to recover downed game.”
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