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Illinois · 2026-27 season year

Illinois Small Game Season 2026-27

Squirrel: August 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027. Rabbit: November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027. Every date below was read from Illinois Department of Natural Resources’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.
November 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027
Pheasant
published
November 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027
Quail
published
No open season
Grouse
no season
November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027
Rabbit
published
August 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027
Squirrel
published
2 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Illinois small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Illinois Department of Natural Resources dates ring-necked pheasant, bobwhite quail and Hungarian partridge as upland birds, eastern cottontail and swamp rabbit, and fox and gray 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.

Pheasants (roosters only)

published

Pheasants (roosters only) runs November 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois pheasants (roosters only), as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
North ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 8, 2027
South ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 15, 2027The Hunt Illinois web table prints this opener as 7 Nov 2025, a typo; the 2026-2027 digest prints 7 Nov 2026

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Illinois opens pheasant, quail and Hungarian partridge together on the first Saturday of November, Nov 7 in 2026, with the South Zone running a week longer. The upland bird zones split along U.S. Route 36 from the Indiana line to Springfield, Illinois Route 29 to Pekin and Illinois Route 9 to Dallas City, then due west to the Mississippi River.

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

Quail (Bobwhite)

published

Quail (Bobwhite) runs November 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois quail (bobwhite), as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
North ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 8, 2027
South ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 15, 2027The Hunt Illinois web table prints this opener as 7 Nov 2025, a typo; the 2026-2027 digest prints 7 Nov 2026

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Bobwhite quail uses the same two upland bird zones and the same Nov 7, 2026 opener as pheasant, closing Jan 8, 2027 in the North Zone and Jan 15, 2027 in the South Zone.

Ruffed grouse

no season

Illinois has no open grouse season for 2026-27. Illinois holds no grouse season. The 2026-2027 Hunting and Trapping Digest defines the state's game birds as bobwhite quail, Hungarian partridge, chukar partridge, ring-necked pheasant and wild turkey, and says all other wild birds are protected. Source: Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

Rabbits (Cottontail and Swamp)

published

Rabbits (Cottontail and Swamp) runs November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois rabbits (cottontail and swamp), as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 7, 2026February 15, 2027Some public land sites have more restrictive dates

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Cottontail and swamp rabbit open statewide with the upland birds on Nov 7, 2026 and run to Feb 15, 2027. The DNR notes some public hunting sites keep more restrictive dates.

Squirrels (Fox and Gray)

published

Squirrels (Fox and Gray) runs August 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois squirrels (fox and gray), as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideAugust 1, 2026February 15, 2027Closed Nov 20 to 22 and Dec 3 to 6, 2026 in counties open for firearm deer hunting

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Squirrel is the first Illinois small game opener, Aug 1, 2026, and runs to Feb 15, 2027, except that it closes during the two firearm deer weekends in counties open to firearm deer hunting.

Rabbits (Cottontail and Swamp) Statewide 7 Nov 2026 - 15 Feb 2027
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, 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 Illinois small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Illinois Department of Natural Resources dates 2 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.

Hungarian Partridge

published

Hungarian Partridge runs November 7, 2026 to January 15, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois hungarian partridge, as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
North ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 8, 2027
South ZoneNovember 7, 2026January 15, 2027

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Hungarian (gray) partridge is dated with pheasant and quail in the same two upland bird zones.

Doves (mourning and white-winged)

published

Doves (mourning and white-winged) runs September 1, 2026 to January 9, 2027 across all zones.

Illinois doves (mourning and white-winged), as published by Illinois Department of Natural Resources
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)September 1, 2026November 14, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)December 26, 2026January 9, 2027

Dates read from Upland & Small Game, Hunt Illinois (Illinois DNR), accessed 2026-09-19.

Listed in the same upland and small game table as the other species; a split season with a late December reopening.

Rules

Illinois 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 Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Illinois regulations

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

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

Illinois 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 Illinois Department of Natural Resources 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 Illinois Department of Natural Resources, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.