New York Hunting Seasons Quick Guide (2025 – 26 Schedules)

*The New York season dates have been updated on Sept. 23, 2025

Welcome to our detailed guide on the Hunting Season in New York! All hunters need to familiarize themselves with the hunting dates and regulations for the upcoming hunting seasons.

The purpose of this article is to give you the essential information and the latest updates to help you prepare for the hunting season around the corner.

In addition to deer hunting, New York provides opportunities to hunt a variety of other game animals. Let’s now explore the various Hunting Seasons in New York.

Deer Season in New York

Deer season in New York is divided into different zones, as specific hunting seasons can vary based on location. The New York deer season starts on September 27 and ends on January 1, 2026. The following are the exact details:

Northern Zone

• Early Bowhunting: September 27 – October 24, and October 8 – October 14 (WMUs 5A, 5G, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6G, 6H only)
• Muzzleloading: October 8 – October 24; and Dec. 8 – Dec. 14 (WMUs 5A, 5G, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6G, 6H only)
• Regular Season: October 25 – December 7
• Youth Firearms: October 11 – 13

Southern Zone

• Early Antlerless (some WMUs): September 13 – 21
• Bowhunting: October 1 – November 14; December  8 – 16 and December  26 – January 1, 2026
• Regular: November 15 – December 7
• Muzzleloading: December 8 – December 16; December 26 – January 1, 2026
• Youth Firearms: October 11 – 13 (does not include WMUs 4J or 8C)

Westchester County (WMU 3S)

• Early Antlerless: September 13 – September 21
• Regular: October 1 – December 31

Suffolk County (WMU 1C)

• Early Antlerless: September 13 – September 21
• Regular: October 1 – January 31, 2026
• Special Firearms Season: January 4 – January 31, 2026

Except for the popular deer season, we also summarized all the NY hunting seasons for small game and waterfowl for your quick reference. Check the following scheduled dates if you have plans to hunt more game animals.

New York Bear Seasons

Northern Zone

The bear season dates vary from zone to zone.

Season opens at Unit 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, and 6J:

• Regular Season: September 17 – December 7
• Youth Firearms: October 11 – 13

Season opens at Unit 6A, 6G, 6K, 6N:

• Bowhunting: September 13 – 24
• Muzzleloading: October 18 – 24
• Regular Season: October 25 – December 7
• Youth Firearms: October 11 – 13

Southern Zone

• Firearms (some WMUs): September 7 to September 22
• Bowhunting: October 1 to November 14; and December 8 – 16
• Regular: November 15 – December 7
• Bow and Muzzleloading: December 8 – December 16
• Youth Firearms: October 11 – 13

Westchester County (WMU 3S)

• Regular (bowhunting only): October 1 – December 31

New York State Waterfowl Seasons

Migratory game birds, known as “migratory waterfowl”, include wild ducks, geese, and brant. Additional migratory waterfowl species are coot, Virginia rails, sora rails, gallinules, American woodcock, and snipe.

Western Zone:

• Youth Days: Sept. 27 – 28
• Military Days: Nov. 8 – 9
• Ducks and Coots: Oct. 12 – Nov. 2 and Dec. 6 – Jan. 11, 2026
• Scaup: Dec. 23 – Jan. 11
• Snow Goose: Oct. 3 – Apr. 15, 2026
• Brant: Oct. 11 – Nov. 9

Southeast Zone:

• Youth Days: Sept. 27 – 28
• Military Days: Sept. 27 – 28
• Ducks and Coots: Oct. 11 – 19 and Nov. 8 – Dec. 28
• Scaup: Dec. 9 – 28
• Snow Goose: Oct. 3 – Apr. 15, 2026
• Brant: Oct. 11 – Nov. 9

Northeast Zone:

• Youth Days: Sept. 27 – 28
• Military Days: Sept. 27 – 28
• Ducks and Coots: Oct. 11 – Nov. 30 and Dec. 13 – 21
• Scaup: Nov. 20 – 30 and Dec. 13 – 21
• Snow Goose: Oct. 3 – Apr. 15, 2026
• Brant: Oct. 11 – Nov. 9

Long Island Zone:

• Youth Days: Nov. 8 – 9
• Military Days: Nov. 8 – 9
• Ducks and Coots: Nov. 22 – 30 and Dec. 6 – Jan. 25, 2026
• Scaup: Jan. 6 – 25
• Snow Goose: Nov. 24 – Mar. 10, 2026
• Brant: Dec. 27 – Jan. 25

Some information that hunters should know:

1. Legal hunting hours begin half an hour before sunrise and end at sunset.
2. Every year, all waterfowl hunters in New York must sign up for the Harvest Information Program (HIP).
3. Using a rifle or handgun to hunt pheasant or migratory game birds is prohibited.

Turkey Season In New York

2025 Turkey Seasons

Spring: May 1 – 31, 2025

Youth: April 26 – 27, 2025

Fall: 

• Oct. 1 – 14 (Zone 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6F, 6J, 6H, 6G, 6N, 6K )
• Oct. 18 – 31 (Rest zones)
• Nov. 15 – 28 (Zone 1C)

Hunting hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to noon.

2026 Turkey Seasons

• Spring: May 1 0 31, 2026
• Youth: April 25 -26, 2026

Hunting hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to noon.

The bag limit for the Spring season is that each hunter can take one bearded turkey each day and two in total. For the Youth season, you can only take one bearded turkey in total.

When hunting turkey, it is crucial to follow all rules and regulations for a secure and legal hunt. Hunters are required to have their hunting license and turkey permit with them at the time of hunting.

Turkey hunting is allowed with a bow, crossbow (excluding Northern Zone in the fall with dogs and WMU 1C), shotgun, handgun, and muzzleloading shotgun.

When hunting with a shotgun or handgun, only shot sizes between #2 and #9 are permitted.

Dogs are only allowed in the Fall season. And, decoys and scopes of any kind are allowed. However, using bait or electronic calling devices is not allowed.

Right after harvesting a turkey, the hunters must tag it with the date of the kill, and then fasten it safely to the carcass.

New York Small Game Seasons

Bobwhite Quail

Areas	Dates	Daily Limits	Total Limits
Orange, Putnam	Oct. 1 – Feb. 28	4	10
Nassau, Suffolk	Nov. 1 – Dec. 31	6	40

The seasons are closed in other areas.

Cottontail Rabbit Seasons

• Oct. 1 – Mar. 15 (Zones 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6F, 6J, 6H, 6G, 6N, 6K)
• Oct. 1 – Feb. 28 (Rest Zones)
• Nov. 1 – Feb. 28 (Zones 1A, 1C and 2A)

The bag limit is 6 for each season. Make sure to hunt in the designated zones you plan to.

Pheasant Seasons

Zones	Seasons	Dates	Daily Limits	Total Limits	Species Limits
Rest Zones	Regular	Oct. 1 – Feb. 28	2	/	Cooks and Hens
7F, 7J, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8N, 8R, 8P, 8T, 8W, 8Y, 8X, 9K, 9J, 9G, 9H, 9N, 9P, 9Y, 9W, 9X, 9T, 9S, 9R		Oct. 18 – Feb. 28	2	/	Cooks and Hens
7H, 8A, 8F, 8J, 8S, 8C, 8H, 8G, 8M, 9A, 9F, 9C		Oct. 18 – Dec. 31	2	/	Cooks Only
1A, 1C, 2A		Nov. 1 – Dec. 31	4	30	Cooks and Hens
1C		Nov. 1 – Dec. 31	4	30	Cooks Only
Rest Zones	Youth	Sept. 27 – 28	2	/	Cooks and Hens
7F, 7J, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8N, 8R, 8P, 8T, 8W, 8Y, 8X, 9K, 9J, 9G, 9H, 9N, 9P, 9Y, 9W, 9X, 9T, 9S, 9R		Oct. 11 – 12	2	/	Cooks and Hens
7H, 8A, 8F, 8J, 8S, 8C, 8H, 8G, 8M, 9A, 9F, 9C		Oct. 11 – 12	2	/	Cooks Only
1A, 1C, 2A		Oct. 25 – 26	2	30	Cooks and Hens
1C		Oct. 25 – 26	2	30	Cooks Only

Ruffed Grouse Seasons

• Sept. 20 – Feb. 28 (Zones 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6A, 6C, 6F, 6J, 6H, 6G, 6N, 6K, 7A)
• Oct. 1 – Feb. 28 (All other zones except 1A, 1C and 2A)

The bag limit is 4 daily. You can hunt from sunrise to sunset.

Varying Hare Seasons

• Oct. 1 – Mar. 15 (daily limit 6)
• Dec. 8 – Feb. 28 (daily limit 2)
• Jan. 1 – 31 (daily limit 2)

The seasons are closed on the following zones: 1A, 1C, 2A, 3R, 3S, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8J, 8H, 8G, 9A, 9C, and 9F.

New York Furbearer Seasons

Raccoon, Fox, Skunk, Opossum & Weasel Seasons

Hunting:

• Long Island and NYC: Nov. 1 – Feb.25
• Other areas: Oct. 25 – Feb. 15

Trapping:

• Oct. 25 – Feb. 15
• Nov. 1 – Feb. 25

No bag limits for the above species. Weasels can only be hunted from sunrise to sunset, while others are allowed to be hunted all day.

Bobcat Seasons

• Oct. 25 – Feb. 15
• Oct. 25 – Nov. 14

The seasons are different in different zones. Make sure to check the areas you’re planning to hunt in. No bag limits on hunting.

Muskrat and Mink Seasons

Mink:

• Eastern Southern Zones: Nov. 10 – Apr. 7
• Western Southern Zones: Nov. 10 – Feb. 15
• 1A, 1C, and 2A Zones: Dec. 15 – Feb. 25
• Northern Zones: Nov. 1 – Apr. 15

Muskrat: Nov. 1 – Apr. 15

There are no bag limits for these game animals, but there is a restriction on weapons: you cannot hunt them with firearms larger than .22 caliber.

Coyote Season

Oct. 1 – Mar. 29, 2026

The season is closed in Long Island and NYC zones. No bag limits for coyotes, and you can hunt them during the day or night.

New York Hunting Regulations

Big Game Hunting Regulations

Hunting Hours:

Big game hunting is permitted in New York State from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Hunting on Sundays is allowed statewide.

Bag Limits:

Resident and nonresident hunters can each hunt one bear per license year. While for deer hunting, there are various types of tags available for purchase, and each licensed hunter can shoot multiple deer in one day if they have the proper tags.

Legal Methods:

Hunters pursuing large game in New York can have a .22 caliber rim-fire pistol with them during deer or bear hunting seasons if they have a valid New York State pistol permit. Nevertheless, a .22 caliber rim-fire is not suitable as a primary or secondary firearm for hunting deer or bears.

Illegal Methods:

Big game hunting is not allowed with automatic guns, guns that can hold more than six shells (except short-barreled pistols), guns with silencers, air guns, or air bows.

Hunters cannot hunt big game, like deer with dogs, aircraft or bait.

Hunter Safety

Big game hunters must have at least 250 square inches of bright hunter orange or pink material above the waist that can be seen from every direction. On the other hand, you can also wear an equal amount of patterned material in these colors, with at least 50% being fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink. An alternative choice is a hat or cap with 50% or more solid fluorescent orange or pink fabric.

Field Dressing:

A legal deer must have at least one antler that is a minimum of three inches long, measured from the base of the burr.

Hunters should not bring the whole dead deer into New York. Hunters need to field dressing the deer and correctly label those allowed parts. This tag must contain the type of animal, the location where it was captured, and the hunter’s name and address.

The Allowed Parts include:

• Deboned meat
• Cleaned skull cap
• Antlers with no flesh
• Raw or processed cape or hide
• Cleaned teeth or lower jaw
• Finished taxidermy products

Small Game Hunting Regulations

1. Bobcat, coyote, red fox, grey fox, raccoon, opossum, and skunk can be hunted at any hour, whether at day or at night.
2. Hunters are allowed to pursue furbearer animals with a handgun, shotgun, rifle, bow, or crossbow.
3. Hunters can hunt furbearers with a shotgun that is loaded with shots (of any size).
4. Air guns can be used for hunting
5. Hunters can utilize a call, including an electronic call for small game hunting.
6. Mandatory harvest reporting is required only for bobcats.

Where To Hunt In New York State?

In New York, there are many public and private lands open for hunting.

Public lands such as Wildlife Management Areas, State Forests, Forest Preserve, and State Parks. These lands are available for hunting and trapping within the designated seasons.

Private land makes up 85% of the state, and more than 90% of hunters will hunt on private lands during hunting seasons.

When preparing to hunt on private property, it is crucial to request permission, regardless of whether or not the land is marked as private.

Keep in mind that trees and plants located on private property are considered private assets. Without the landowner’s permission, it is illegal to damage anything on the property.

Aside from state-owned lands, hunting is also allowed in different locations, like New York City Watershed Lands, Wertheim National Wildlife Refuge, Fort Drum Military Base, Finger Lakes National Forest, Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge, and Iroquois National Wildlife Refuge.

Conclusion

As we wrap up this 2024 Deer Season guide in New York, we hope that you have found the information useful for your hunting plans.

Safety and following hunting rules are essential for a successful hunting trip. Make sure to be familiar with the rules and requirements of the location, whether you are hunting on public or private land. Enjoy your hunt and stay safe!

Interested In Hunting in More states? Check Here:

• United States Hunting Season Overview
• Pennsylvania Hunting Seasons
• Vermont Hunting Seasons
• Mass Hunting Seasons
• Connecticut Hunting Seasons