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California · 2026-27 season year

California Deer Season 2026-27

Archery Season: July 11, 2026 to October 25, 2026. General Season: August 8, 2026 to November 29, 2026. Every date below was read from California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s own published page, linked beside it, on September 2, 2026.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
July 11, 2026 to October 25, 2026
Archery Season
published
August 8, 2026 to November 29, 2026
General Season
published
No separate season
Muzzleloader season
no season
19 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

California deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. California Department of Fish and Wildlife dates mule deer, black-tailed deer and Columbian black-tailed deer seasons separately by weapon, so each one is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Archery Season

published

Archery Season is OPEN now in the D-12 zone, through October 25, 2026.

California archery season, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
A zoneJuly 11, 2026August 2, 2026The earliest deer opener in the United States
B-1, B-2, B-3, B-5 and B-6 zonesAugust 15, 2026September 6, 2026
B-4 zoneJuly 25, 2026August 16, 2026
D-3, D-4, D-5, D-6, D-7, D-8, D-9 and D-10 zonesAugust 15, 2026September 6, 2026
D-11, D-13, D-14, D-15, D-16, D-17 and D-19 zonesSeptember 5, 2026September 27, 2026
D-12 zoneOctober 3, 2026October 25, 2026

Dates read from Approved 2026 Deer Seasons by Zone, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-02.

California opens deer season earlier than any other state: the A zone archery opener falls in the second week of July. The C zones and every X zone have no zone archery season at all; the department runs area specific archery hunts there instead, each with its own hunt number and dates in its Area-Specific Archery Hunts table.

General Season

published

General Season is OPEN now in the B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-5 zones, through October 25, 2026, with 9 zone segments open.

California general season, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
A zoneAugust 8, 2026September 20, 2026
B-1, B-2, B-3 and B-5 zonesSeptember 19, 2026October 25, 2026
B-4 zoneAugust 22, 2026September 27, 2026
B-6 zoneSeptember 19, 2026October 18, 2026
C-1 zoneSeptember 19, 2026October 18, 2026
C-2 and C-3 zonesSeptember 19, 2026October 25, 2026
C-4 zoneSeptember 19, 2026October 4, 2026
D-3, D-4 and D-5 zonesSeptember 26, 2026November 1, 2026
D-6 and D-7 zonesSeptember 19, 2026November 1, 2026
D-8, D-9 and D-10 zonesSeptember 26, 2026October 25, 2026
D-11, D-13, D-14 and D-15 zonesOctober 10, 2026November 8, 2026
D-12 zoneNovember 7, 2026November 29, 2026The latest general deer season in the state
D-16 zoneOctober 24, 2026November 22, 2026
D-17 zoneOctober 10, 2026November 1, 2026
D-19 zoneOctober 3, 2026November 1, 2026
X-1, X-2, X-3a, X-3b, X-4, X-5a, X-5b, X-6a, X-6b, X-7a and X-7b zonesOctober 3, 2026October 18, 2026
X-8 and X-10 zonesSeptember 26, 2026October 11, 2026
X-9a, X-9b and X-12 zonesSeptember 19, 2026October 12, 2026
X-9c zoneOctober 17, 2026November 8, 2026

Dates read from Approved 2026 Deer Seasons by Zone, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-02.

California draws more than thirty deer zones and dates almost all of them differently. The rows above are the department's own approved 2026 zone table, with zones sharing an identical window listed together; the tag validity rules that let one B zone or D3-5 tag be used across a group of zones are on the same agency table.

Muzzleloader season

no season

California holds no separate muzzleloader deer season. California holds no statewide or zone level muzzleloader deer season. Its muzzleloading rifle deer hunts are area specific hunts, numbered M-3 to M-11 plus MA-1 and MA-3 in the department's Approved 2026 Deer Seasons Additional Hunts table, each with its own place, dates and tag quota. Source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Youth deer season

no season

California holds no separate youth deer season. California holds no statewide youth deer season. Its junior and apprentice deer hunts are area specific hunts, numbered J-1 upward in the department's Approved 2026 Deer Seasons Additional Hunts table, each with its own place and dates. Source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

For which days to sit, the California deer movement forecast rates the next 7 days Slow to Prime from the weather and first light.

Approved 2026 Deer Seasons by Zone
California Department of Fish and Wildlife, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
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The rest of the calendar

Other California deer seasons the agency names

Beyond the four main windows, California Department of Fish and Wildlife dates one further season for deer. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a tag actually covers.

Additional hunts (G, M and J series)

on the agency page

California additional hunts (g, m and j series): read them on the agency’s own page

Beyond the zone seasons California approves dozens of individually numbered hunts each year: late season hunts, military base hunts, muzzleloading rifle hunts and junior hunts, each with its own place, dates and tag quota. They are too many to publish as one season window, and they are listed in full in the department's Approved 2026 Deer Seasons Additional Hunts table. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes the current dates on its own page, linked below.

Read the dates at California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zones

California deer zones

California does not have a deer season. It has 19 of them, and the boundaries between them were drawn by California Department of Fish and Wildlife along highways, rivers and county fragments rather than anything you can see from a stand. In several states those boundaries are not even the same from one weapon season to the next.

This page publishes the agency’s zone names and links the agency’s own zone map, which is where a hunter’s zone is determined. A wrong zone answer is a wrong season date.

Heavy antlered mule deer buck standing shoulder deep in snowy sagebrush in Wyoming
A mule deer buck in Wyoming sagebrush. Western general seasons run by unit and draw. Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS. “Mule Deer Buck in Southwest Wyoming (23007137314)” — Tom Koerner / USFWS Mountain-Prairie — Public domain
Rules

California deer hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current California regulations

Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours, tagging and reporting, and license and permit requirements for California are set by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

California Department of Fish and Wildlife: current regulations
Two hunters in blaze orange and camouflage beside a wheelchair at the edge of bare winter woods, one helping the other with gear
Getting ready at the edge of the winter woods on a mobility assisted deer hunt. Many states date a season specifically for hunters with disabilities, and those windows are on the state pages. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps. “USMC-11410” — U.S. Marine Corps (official photo, marines.mil) — Public domain

Deer season dates in other states

California deer movement forecastThe next 7 days rated Slow to Prime for deer movement, from the forecast and first light.California deer rutThe biology beside the calendar: when deer actually breed here, from the agency conception studies. Dates are this page; the rut is that one.California turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.California duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.California fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

California deer season questions

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Buck with antlers in velvet standing in tall summer grass in golden light
A buck still in velvet in late summer. The earliest archery openers land within weeks of antlers hardening. “White-tailed Deer Buck in Velvet (48804848567)” — USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife page linked beside it, read on September 2, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours and license rules are set by California Department of Fish and Wildlife, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide and the California rut timing page.