California Quail & Pheasant Season 2026-27: Small Game Dates

Q: When does quail season open in California in 2026-27?

Quail: September 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027, varying by zone across 4 rows in the agency table. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: When is pheasant season in California?

Pheasant, General / Statewide: November 14, 2026 to December 27, 2026. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Does California have a grouse season?

Sooty (Blue) / Ruffed Grouse: September 12, 2026 to October 12, 2026. California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Which small game zone am I in, in California?

California sets different dates by zone for at least one species, and the boundaries are the agency's own, drawn along interstates, highways and county lines. Your zone is determined from the agency's own map: California Department of Fish and Wildlife publishes the official zone map and boundary descriptions, linked from this page.

Q: Where are the bag limits, legal methods and licence rules for California small game?

At California Department of Fish and Wildlife, whose regulations page is linked on this page. Those rules are legally binding, change annually and vary by species, by zone and by land ownership. This page carries the season windows themselves, with source and read date attached.

Q: Can these California small game dates change?

Yes. Agencies amend season orders, add or drop zones, and occasionally correct their own published tables mid season. This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 19, 2026, says so in the copy, and links the exact California Department of Fish and Wildlife page it read on September 19, 2026. Treat the agency page as the final word on the morning you hunt.

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.

November 14, 2026 to December 27, 2026

Pheasant

published

September 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Quail

published

September 12, 2026 to October 12, 2026

Grouse

published

July 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Rabbit

published

September 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027

Squirrel

published

4 zone rows

Zone structure

as the agency draws it

Five seasons, one state

California small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. California Department of Fish and Wildlife dates pheasant, quail (California, Gambel's and mountain quail, with mountain quail dated separately in Zone Q1), sooty (blue) and ruffed grouse, chukar, white-tailed ptarmigan, greater sage-grouse (closed for 2026-27), tree squirrel, rabbits and varying hare, and jackrabbit 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, General / Statewide

published

Pheasant, General / Statewide runs November 14, 2026 to December 27, 2026 across all zones.

California pheasant, general / statewide, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General / Statewide	November 14, 2026	December 27, 2026

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

California's general pheasant season opens the second Saturday of November statewide and runs into the last week of December. The department also dates a separate archery only pheasant season in two segments, which is under other seasons.

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

Quail

published

Quail runs September 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

California quail, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Zone Q1 (Mountain Quail Only)	September 12, 2026	October 16, 2026	Early mountain quail window before the all quail season opens in Zone Q1
Zone Q1 (All Quail)	October 17, 2026	January 31, 2027
Zone Q2 (All Quail)	September 26, 2026	January 31, 2027
Zone Q3 (All Quail)	October 17, 2026	January 31, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

California dates quail by three zones drawn on the department's quail zone map. Zone Q1 opens early for mountain quail only in mid September, Zone Q2 opens for all quail in late September, and all three zones are open to all quail from October 17 through the end of January. A two day early season for junior license holders in the Mojave National Preserve is under other seasons.

Sooty (Blue) / Ruffed Grouse

published

Sooty (Blue) / Ruffed Grouse runs September 12, 2026 to October 12, 2026 across all zones.

California sooty (blue) / ruffed grouse, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General	September 12, 2026	October 12, 2026	Open area is the department's grouse zone map

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

California's grouse season covers sooty (blue) and ruffed grouse together in a single month long general season that opens the second Saturday of September, inside the area shown on the department's grouse zone map. An archery only window runs August 15 through September 4 ahead of it.

Rabbits & Varying Hare, General

published

Rabbits & Varying Hare, General runs July 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

California rabbits & varying hare, general, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General	July 1, 2026	January 31, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

California's rabbit season, which the department's small game mammal table titles Rabbits & Varying Hare, opens July 1 and runs seven months to the end of January statewide. Jackrabbit is dated separately as open all year and is under other seasons.

Tree Squirrel, General

published

Tree Squirrel, General runs September 12, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

California tree squirrel, general, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General	September 12, 2026	January 31, 2027	Open area is the department's tree squirrel zone map

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

The general tree squirrel season opens the second Saturday of September and runs through January within the area on the department's tree squirrel zone map. An archery and falconry only window runs August 1 through September 11 ahead of it.

General / Statewide Nov 14 - Dec 27

California Department of Fish and Wildlife, 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 California small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, California Department of Fish and Wildlife dates 6 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.

Chukar, General / Statewide

published

Chukar, General / Statewide runs October 17, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

California chukar, general / statewide, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General / Statewide	October 17, 2026	January 31, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chukar opens statewide on the same October 17 date as the all quail season in Zones Q1 and Q3 and closes with it at the end of January.

Greater Sage-grouse

no season

California has no open greater sage-grouse for 2026-27. The department's 2026 - 2027 table lists greater sage-grouse as Closed, with 0 permits adopted for all four hunt zones; sage-grouse hunting in California is by permit only and no permits were issued for this season. Source: California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

White-tailed Ptarmigan, General & Archery / Statewide

published

White-tailed Ptarmigan, General & Archery / Statewide runs September 12, 2026 to September 20, 2026 across all zones.

California white-tailed ptarmigan, general & archery / statewide, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General & Archery / Statewide	September 12, 2026	September 20, 2026

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

A nine day statewide white-tailed ptarmigan season in mid September.

Jackrabbit, General

published

California jackrabbit, general, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
General	Open year-round, per the agency		The department's table reads Open all year

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

The small game mammal table lists the general jackrabbit season as Open all year, which is why this row carries no dates.

Early Season for Hunters with Junior Hunting Licenses in Mojave National Preserve

published

Early Season for Hunters with Junior Hunting Licenses in Mojave National Preserve runs October 3, 2026 to October 4, 2026 across all zones.

California early season for hunters with junior hunting licenses in mojave national preserve, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Mojave National Preserve	October 3, 2026	October 4, 2026

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

A two day early quail season inside the Mojave National Preserve for hunters holding junior hunting licenses, ahead of the Zone Q3 opener.

Pheasant, Archery Only

published

Pheasant, Archery Only runs October 10, 2026 to January 24, 2027 across all zones.

California pheasant, archery only, as published by California Department of Fish and Wildlife
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Archery Only (segment 1)	October 10, 2026	November 1, 2026
Archery Only (segment 2)	December 28, 2026	January 24, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Hunting, CDFW, accessed 2026-09-19.

California's archery only pheasant season runs in two segments, one before the general season and one after it into late January.

Rules

California 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 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current California regulations

Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and stamp requirements, and youth or special season rules 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

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 West 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

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

California small game season questions

When does quail season open in California in 2026-27?

When is pheasant season in California?

Does California have a grouse season?

Which small game zone am I in, in California?

Where are the bag limits, legal methods and licence rules for California small game?

Can these California small game dates change?

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 California Department of Fish and Wildlife 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 California Department of Fish and Wildlife, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.