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Massachusetts · 2026-27 season year

Massachusetts Small Game Season 2026-27

Pheasant: October 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026. Squirrel: September 8, 2026 to February 27, 2027. Every date below was read from Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)’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.
October 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Pheasant
published
October 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Quail
published
October 17, 2026 to November 28, 2026
Grouse
published
October 17, 2026 to February 27, 2027
Rabbit
published
September 8, 2026 to February 27, 2027
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Massachusetts small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) dates pheasant, quail, ruffed grouse, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare 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.

Pheasant

published

Pheasant runs October 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

Massachusetts pheasant, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14October 17, 2026December 31, 2026MassWildlife closes this season during the shotgun deer season, Nov 30 to Dec 12, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Pheasant opens the third Saturday of October in all 14 Wildlife Management Zones and runs through December 31, closing during the shotgun deer season. MassWildlife runs a Youth Pheasant Hunt on five Saturdays before the opener, recorded under otherSeasons.

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

Quail

published

Quail runs October 17, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

Massachusetts quail, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14October 17, 2026December 31, 2026MassWildlife closes this season during the shotgun deer season, Nov 30 to Dec 12, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Quail shares the pheasant calendar, October 17 through December 31 in Zones 1 to 14, and like pheasant closes during the shotgun deer season.

Ruffed grouse

published

Ruffed grouse runs October 17, 2026 to November 28, 2026 across all zones.

Massachusetts ruffed grouse, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14October 17, 2026November 28, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Ruffed grouse opens with pheasant on October 17 and closes November 28, the Saturday before the shotgun deer season, in all zones.

Cottontail rabbit

published

Cottontail rabbit runs October 17, 2026 to February 27, 2027 across all zones.

Massachusetts cottontail rabbit, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14October 17, 2026February 27, 2027MassWildlife closes this season during the shotgun deer season, Nov 30 to Dec 12, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Cottontail rabbit opens October 17 and runs to February 27, 2027 in all zones, closing during the shotgun deer season. MassWildlife's calendar year summary also shows the January 1 to February 28, 2026 tail of the previous season, which is not republished here.

Gray squirrel

published

Gray squirrel runs September 8, 2026 to February 27, 2027 across all zones.

Massachusetts gray squirrel, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14September 8, 2026February 27, 2027MassWildlife closes this season during the shotgun deer season, Nov 30 to Dec 12, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Gray squirrel opens the first Tuesday after Labor Day, September 8 in 2026, and runs to the end of February in all zones, closing during the shotgun deer season.

Pheasant | Zones 1-14 | Oct. 17 – Dec. 31, 2026
Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), 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 Massachusetts small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) 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.

Youth Pheasant Hunt

published

Youth Pheasant Hunt runs September 5, 2026 to October 10, 2026 across all zones.

Massachusetts youth pheasant hunt, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)September 5, 2026September 5, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)September 12, 2026September 12, 2026
Statewide (segment 3)September 19, 2026September 19, 2026
Statewide (segment 4)October 3, 2026October 3, 2026
Statewide (segment 5)October 10, 2026October 10, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Five Saturdays in September and early October before the regular pheasant opener, run through MassWildlife's Youth Pheasant Hunt Program with participating sporting clubs.

Snowshoe hare

published

Snowshoe hare runs October 17, 2026 to February 27, 2027 across all zones.

Massachusetts snowshoe hare, as published by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife)
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Zones 1-14October 17, 2026February 27, 2027MassWildlife closes this season during the shotgun deer season, Nov 30 to Dec 12, 2026

Dates read from 2026 Hunting and Freshwater Fishing Season Summary, MassWildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Snowshoe hare runs on the same calendar as cottontail rabbit in all zones.

Rules

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Massachusetts regulations

Bag and possession limits, legal methods, shooting hours, license and stamp requirements, and youth or special season rules for Massachusetts are set by Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

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

Massachusetts 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 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) 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 Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife), whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.