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Florida · 2026-27 season year

Florida Small Game Season 2026-27

Quail: November 14, 2026 to March 7, 2027. Squirrel: units open year-round per the agency. Every date below was read from Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 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 14, 2026 to March 7, 2027
Quail
published
No open season
Grouse
no season
units open year-round per the agency
Rabbit
published
units open year-round per the agency
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Florida small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission dates bobwhite quail, gray squirrel and rabbit 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

Florida has no open pheasant season for 2026-27. FWC's 2026-2027 resident game season table carries no pheasant row; pheasant is not among Florida's resident game species and the state holds no wild pheasant season. Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Quail

published

Quail runs November 14, 2026 to March 7, 2027 across all zones.

Florida quail, as published by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 14, 2026March 7, 2027

Dates read from Season Dates, 2026-2027 Florida Resident Game and Furbearer Hunting Season Dates, FWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Florida's quail season is set statewide rather than by hunting zone and runs from the second Saturday in November to the first Sunday in March. Seasons on wildlife management areas differ from these dates.

Grouse

no season

Florida has no open grouse season for 2026-27. FWC's resident game season table carries no grouse row; Florida holds no grouse season. Source: Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Rabbits

published
Florida rabbits, as published by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOpen year-round, per the agency

Dates read from Season Dates, 2026-2027 Florida Resident Game and Furbearer Hunting Season Dates, FWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

FWC lists rabbits on a shared row with gray squirrels, wild hogs, raccoons, opossums, skunks, beaver and coyotes that may be taken year round; there is no closed season. Seasons on wildlife management areas differ.

Gray Squirrels

published
Florida gray squirrels, as published by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOpen year-round, per the agency

Dates read from Season Dates, 2026-2027 Florida Resident Game and Furbearer Hunting Season Dates, FWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Gray squirrels share the year round row with rabbits; there is no closed season. Gray squirrel is the only squirrel FWC lists as a game species on this table.

Some rows above say “open year-round” rather than carrying a date. That is the agency’s own designation for those units.

QUAIL Statewide Nov. 14 – March 7
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation 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

Florida 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 Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Florida regulations

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

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

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