Skip to content
Arkansas · 2026-27 season year

Arkansas Small Game Season 2026-27

Squirrel: May 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Rabbit: September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Every date below was read from Arkansas Game and Fish Commission’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.
No open season
Pheasant
no season
November 1, 2026 to February 7, 2027
Quail
published
No open season
Grouse
no season
September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Rabbit
published
May 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Arkansas small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Arkansas Game and Fish Commission dates northern bobwhite quail, rabbit and squirrel, the small game the Commission dates; Arkansas has no pheasant or grouse season 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

no season

Arkansas has no open pheasant season for 2026-27. The Commission's hunting pages date seasons for quail, rabbit and squirrel among small game, alongside crow, dove and furbearers; pheasant is not among the species AGFC lists or dates, and Arkansas holds no wild pheasant season. Source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Northern Bobwhite Season

published

Northern Bobwhite Season runs November 1, 2026 to February 7, 2027 across all zones.

Arkansas northern bobwhite season, as published by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (private land)November 1, 2026February 7, 2027Statewide season dates apply to private land; wildlife management areas may have different dates

Dates read from Quail Season Dates, AGFC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arkansas's bobwhite season opens Nov 1, 2026 and runs to Feb 7, 2027 on private land statewide; the Commission notes that wildlife management areas may set their own dates.

Grouse

no season

Arkansas has no open grouse season for 2026-27. No grouse season appears anywhere on the Commission's hunting season pages; the small game AGFC dates is quail, rabbit and squirrel. Source: Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.

Rabbit Season

published

Rabbit Season runs September 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Arkansas rabbit season, as published by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideSeptember 1, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Quail Season Dates, AGFC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Rabbit opens statewide Sep 1, 2026 and runs a full six months to Feb 28, 2027.

Squirrel Season

published

Squirrel Season runs May 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Arkansas squirrel season, as published by Arkansas Game and Fish Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideMay 15, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Quail Season Dates, AGFC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Arkansas runs one of the longest squirrel seasons in the country, opening in mid May and closing at the end of February; the Commission's page already prints the following May 15, 2027 to Feb 28, 2028 season as well.

2026-27 Rabbit Season Statewide: Sept. 1, 2026-Feb. 28, 2027
Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, read September 19, 2026. Read it at the source
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
Rules

Arkansas 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 Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Arkansas regulations

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

Arkansas Game and Fish Commission: 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 Southeast states

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

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
Arkansas deer seasonArchery, firearms, muzzleloader and youth deer dates for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Arkansas turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, read from the same agency.Arkansas duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Arkansas fall foliagePeak color and the first grouse and squirrel weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Arkansas 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 Arkansas Game and Fish Commission 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 Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.