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Arizona · 2026-27 season year

Arizona Small Game Season 2026-27

Quail: October 16, 2026 to February 7, 2027. Squirrel: July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027. Every date below was read from Arizona Game and Fish Department’s own published page, linked beside it, on September 19, 2026.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 19, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
September 1, 2026 to February 7, 2027
Pheasant
published
October 16, 2026 to February 7, 2027
Quail
published
September 1, 2026 to November 8, 2026
Grouse
published
July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
Rabbit
published
July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027
Squirrel
published
6 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Arizona small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Arizona Game and Fish Department dates Gambel's, scaled, California and Mearns' quail, dusky grouse, chukar partridge, pheasant, cottontail rabbit and tree squirrel separately, so each species is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Pheasant: Commission Order 15

published

Pheasant: Commission Order 15 runs September 1, 2026 to February 7, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona pheasant: commission order 15, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Unit 40B (Limited Weapon-Shotgun Shooting Shot Pheasant season)September 1, 2026September 15, 2026
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges), Archery-Only Pheasant seasonOctober 16, 2026February 7, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arizona has no general pheasant season. Commission Order 15 dates a two week early September season in Unit 40B in the Yuma area and a statewide archery only season that runs with the quail season from October 16 to February 7; a falconry only season is also listed. Pheasants are feral birds in Arizona and the department manages no statewide wild pheasant hunt.

Opening day, the daily limit and the full season calendar are on the Arizona pheasant season page.

Quail: Commission Order 16, General Quail

published

Quail: Commission Order 16, General Quail runs October 16, 2026 to February 7, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona quail: commission order 16, general quail, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges), Gambel's, Scaled and California quailOctober 16, 2026February 7, 2027
Bill Williams River, Cabeza Prieta, Cibola, Havasu, Imperial, Kofa, Leslie Canyon and San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuges, Gambel's, Scaled and California quailOctober 16, 2026February 7, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arizona's main quail season covers Gambel's, scaled and California quail together and opens statewide on the third Friday of October, running to February 7, with the same dates on the listed national wildlife refuges. Mearns' (Montezuma) quail opens seven weeks later under the same order and is under other seasons. The department warns quail hunters in Units 36A, 36B and 36C that endangered masked bobwhites may be present outside Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge.

Dusky Grouse: Commission Order 18, General Dusky Grouse

published

Dusky Grouse: Commission Order 18, General Dusky Grouse runs September 1, 2026 to November 8, 2026 across all zones.

Arizona dusky grouse: commission order 18, general dusky grouse, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges and Unit 31)September 1, 2026November 8, 2026

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Dusky grouse is Arizona's only grouse, hunted in the high country from September 1 through November 8 under a single statewide order that excludes Unit 31. Arizona has no ruffed grouse, sage-grouse or sharp-tailed grouse season.

Cottontail Rabbit: Commission Order 12, General Cottontail Rabbit

published

Cottontail Rabbit: Commission Order 12, General Cottontail Rabbit runs July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona cottontail rabbit: commission order 12, general cottontail rabbit, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges, Units 11M, 25M, 26M, 38M, and portions of Units 20B and 42)July 1, 2026June 30, 2027
Buenos Aires and Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife RefugesJuly 1, 2026June 30, 2027
Cibola and Imperial National Wildlife RefugesSeptember 1, 2026February 7, 2027
Kofa National Wildlife RefugeOctober 16, 2026February 7, 2027
Leslie Canyon National Wildlife RefugeAugust 21, 2026February 25, 2027
Havasu National Wildlife RefugeSeptember 1, 2026March 15, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arizona's general cottontail season runs the full license year, July 1 through June 30, across the state, with shorter windows on five national wildlife refuges. The urban units 11M, 25M, 26M and 38M and parts of Units 20B and 42 are dated under a separate season in the same order.

Tree Squirrel: Commission Order 11, General Tree Squirrel

published

Tree Squirrel: Commission Order 11, General Tree Squirrel runs July 1, 2026 to June 30, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona tree squirrel: commission order 11, general tree squirrel, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges and Unit 11M)October 2, 2026January 31, 2027Any tree squirrel except the Mount Graham red squirrel
Unit 31July 1, 2026June 30, 2027Tassel-eared tree squirrel
Unit 33September 1, 2026May 31, 2027Tassel-eared tree squirrel

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arizona's general tree squirrel season opens the first Friday of October and runs through January statewide, excluding the Mount Graham red squirrel. Units 31 and 33 carry much longer seasons for tassel-eared squirrels only, and Unit 11M is dated separately in the order. A statewide archery only squirrel season in late summer is under other seasons.

Oct 16, 2026 – Feb 7, 2027
Arizona Game and Fish Department, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
A rooster ring-necked pheasant with a red face, iridescent green head and white neck ring striding through dry pale crop stubble
A rooster in harvested crop stubble in North Dakota. Most pheasant openers land in October and November, once the fields are cut. Photo: Courtney Celley, USFWS. “Ring-necked pheasant (54120901581)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain
The rest of the calendar

Other Arizona small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Arizona Game and Fish Department dates 3 further seasons on the same small game pages. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a licence or stamp actually covers.

Mearns' quail (Quail: Commission Order 16, General Quail)

published

Mearns' quail (Quail: Commission Order 16, General Quail) runs December 4, 2026 to February 7, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona mearns' quail (quail: commission order 16, general quail), as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide, including San Bernardino National Wildlife Refuge (excluding all other National Wildlife Refuges)December 4, 2026February 7, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Mearns' (Montezuma) quail opens the first Friday of December, seven weeks after the other quail, and closes with them on February 7.

Chukar Partridge: Commission Order 17, General Chukar Partridge

published

Chukar Partridge: Commission Order 17, General Chukar Partridge runs September 1, 2026 to February 7, 2027 across all zones.

Arizona chukar partridge: commission order 17, general chukar partridge, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Wildlife Refuges)September 1, 2026February 7, 2027

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chukar is open statewide from September 1 through February 7; Arizona's chukar range is the Arizona Strip country in the far northwest.

Archery-Only Tree Squirrel

published

Archery-Only Tree Squirrel runs August 21, 2026 to October 1, 2026 across all zones.

Arizona archery-only tree squirrel, as published by Arizona Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areas Statewide (excluding National Refuges and Units 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13B)August 21, 2026October 1, 2026Any tree squirrel except the Mount Graham red squirrel
Units 12A, 12B, 13A, and 13BAugust 21, 2026September 10, 2026

Dates read from 2026-2027 Arizona Hunting Regulations, Small Game Commission Orders 11 to 18, Arizona Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-19.

An archery only tree squirrel season that opens August 21 statewide and ends the day before the general opener, closing three weeks earlier on the Kaibab and Arizona Strip units.

Rules

Arizona small game hunting regulations

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

Current Arizona regulations

Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and stamp requirements, and youth or special season rules for Arizona are set by Arizona Game and Fish Department, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

Arizona Game and Fish Department: current regulations
Close view of an eastern cottontail rabbit in green grass, ears up, dark round eye and white chin catching the light
An eastern cottontail. Rabbit is usually the last small game season to close, running into February in most of the East and Midwest. Photo: Grayson Smith, USFWS. “Eastern Cottontail Rabbit (48935527872)”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service - Midwest Region, Public domain

Small game season dates in other Southwest states

Every state’s pheasant, quail, grouse, rabbit and squirrel dates are on the national small game season page.

A pair of northern bobwhite quail standing together in a carpet of purple violets, the male with a bold white throat and eye stripe, the female buff faced
A bobwhite pair. Quail seasons run from late autumn into winter across the South and Midwest; several western states date scaled, Gambel's and California quail on the same row. Photo: Steve Maslowski, USFWS. “Colinus virginianus USFWS”, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Headquarters, Public domain
Arizona pheasant seasonOpening day, the daily limit and the full Arizona pheasant calendar, read from the same agency.Arizona deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer dates for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Arizona turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, read from the same agency.Arizona duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Arizona fall foliagePeak color and the first grouse and squirrel weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Arizona small game season questions

A fox squirrel with a grey back and rust orange belly crouched on a lichen covered branch against bare winter trees and blue sky
A fox squirrel in bare winter woods in Ohio. Squirrel is the earliest small game opener in many states, from mid August or September, and runs to January or February. “Eastern Fox Squirrel (Sciurus niger vulpinus) (13255025953)” by Andrew C, CC BY 2.0

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 19, 2026. Every season window is republished from the Arizona Game and Fish Department page linked beside it, read on September 19, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours and licence rules are set by Arizona Game and Fish Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.