Maine Pheasant Season 2026: Opener, Limits, License

Q: What license do I need to hunt pheasants in Maine?

Residents: Res Hunt ($26) or Res Small Game Hunt ($15). Nonresidents: NR Hunt ($115) or NR Small Game Hunt ($75) or 3-Day NR Small Game ($50). Stamp or permit: Pheasant Permit, required when hunting in York and Cumberland Counties. Prices are as the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife lists them.

Q: Where can I hunt pheasants on public land in Maine?

Pheasant release sites on private land.

Q: Does Maine stock pheasants?

Yes. The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife releases about 2000 pheasants on +/- 20 sites in York and Cumberland Counties. Release timing: Sept. 24 (prior to opening day), Sunday October 4, and a third stocking on October 18.

Sep 26

Opening day

Saturday

Dec 31

Last day

Thursday, 2026

2 birds a day

Daily limit

4 in possession

Dates and limits

Maine pheasant season dates and bag limit

Maine's pheasant season opens Saturday, September 26, 2026, and closes December 31, 2026. The daily limit is 2 pheasants and 4 in possession.

MaineSep 26
Season, Sep 26 to Dec 31

General seasonMaine, Sep 26 to Dec 31

General season: Saturday, September 26, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Daily limit: 2 birds a day
Possession: 4 in possession
Which birds: Either sex

The 2026 pheasant season runs from September 26 – December 31. There is a daily bag limit of 2 birds, either sex.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife regulations, read October 8, 2026.

Where to hunt

Public land and walk-in access in Maine

Pheasant release sites on private land
“This program would not exist without the many generous landowners that agree to provide release sites and share their property with pheasant hunters every fall.”
Open the atlas Program page

Wild and released birds

Maine pheasant stocking

The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife releases about 2000 pheasants on +/- 20 sites in York and Cumberland Counties. Release timing: Sept. 24 (prior to opening day), Sunday October 4, and a third stocking on October 18.

Pheasants have not established a breeding population in Maine due to several limiting factors, most notably, predation, occasional harsh winters and a scarcity of standing grain crops for winter forage.

Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, read October 8, 2026. Read it at the source

License

What it takes to hunt pheasants in Maine

Residents: Res Hunt ($26) or Res Small Game Hunt ($15)
Nonresidents: NR Hunt ($115) or NR Small Game Hunt ($75) or 3-Day NR Small Game ($50)
Stamp or permit: Pheasant Permit, required when hunting in York and Cumberland Counties

Every Maine license, resident and nonresident, with what each costs, is on the Maine hunting license page.

Maine pheasant questions

When does pheasant season open in Maine?

What is the pheasant limit in Maine?

What license do I need to hunt pheasants in Maine?

Where can I hunt pheasants on public land in Maine?

Does Maine stock pheasants?

A rooster ring-necked pheasant with a red face, green head and white neck ring standing on disced soil and broken straw — A rooster feeding in a disced crop field beside LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge in South Dakota. Birds feed in the open early and late and sit in grass and cattails through the middle of the day. “Ring-necked pheasant at LaCreek National Wildlife Refuge (51154749494)”, Tom Koerner, USFWS Mountain Prairie, Public domain

Maine read October 8, 2026 from Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife, every source linked above. An agency can move a date or close an area between the printed regulations and opening day, so its page is the one that governs. Every state is on the pheasant season calendar.