Skip to content
New Hampshire · 2026-27 season year

New Hampshire Deer Season 2026-27

Archery: September 15, 2026 to December 15, 2026. Firearm: November 11, 2026 to December 6, 2026. Every date below was read from New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’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.
September 15, 2026 to December 15, 2026
Archery
published
November 11, 2026 to December 6, 2026
Firearm
published
October 31, 2026 to November 10, 2026
Muzzleloader
published
2 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

New Hampshire deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department dates white-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

published

Archery is OPEN now in the WMU A, through December 8, 2026, with 2 zone segments open.

New Hampshire archery, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
WMU ASeptember 15, 2026December 8, 2026Archery deer season ends one week early in WMU A per the digest
WMUs B thru MSeptember 15, 2026December 15, 2026

Dates read from Deer Hunting Seasons, New Hampshire Hunting Digest (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-02.

Crossbows are not separately dated; the digest lists a single Archery season.

Firearm

published

Firearm opens in 23 days, on November 11, 2026 (WMU A).

New Hampshire firearm, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
WMU ANovember 11, 2026November 29, 2026
WMUs B thru MNovember 11, 2026December 6, 2026

Dates read from Deer Hunting Seasons, New Hampshire Hunting Digest (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-02.

Within the window the digest staggers by WMU which category of deer may be taken on which days; the inclusive dates above are the full firearm windows. The digest also lists Nov 10, 2027 as the 2027 firearms opening day.

Muzzleloader

published

Muzzleloader opens in 12 days, on October 31, 2026 (All WMUs (A thru M)).

New Hampshire muzzleloader, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUs (A thru M)October 31, 2026November 10, 2026Same inclusive window in every WMU group the digest lists

Dates read from Deer Hunting Seasons, New Hampshire Hunting Digest (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-02.

The digest breaks the window into per WMU day splits for which category of deer may be taken; the inclusive muzzleloader window is Oct 31 to Nov 10, 2026 in every WMU.

Youth Hunt

published

Youth Hunt opens in 5 days, on October 24, 2026.

New Hampshire youth hunt, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 24, 2026October 25, 2026

Dates read from Deer Hunting Seasons, New Hampshire Hunting Digest (eRegulations), accessed 2026-09-02.

Statewide youth deer weekend listed in the 2026 deer season table.

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

2026 Deer Season Dates
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
Advertisement
Zones

New Hampshire deer zones

New Hampshire does not have a deer season. It has 2 of them, and the boundaries between them were drawn by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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.

Alert white-tailed buck standing in bare late fall brush at dusk
A buck on the move in bare November brush at Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota. Photo: Liz Julian/USFWS. “White-tailed Deer, Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota” — Liz Julian / USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain
Rules

New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current New Hampshire regulations

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

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department: 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

New Hampshire deer movement forecastThe next 7 days rated Slow to Prime for deer movement, from the forecast and first light.New Hampshire 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.New Hampshire turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.New Hampshire duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.New Hampshire fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

New Hampshire deer season questions

Advertisement
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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide and the New Hampshire rut timing page.