Missouri Rabbit & Quail Season 2026-27: Small Game Dates

Q: When does rabbit season open in Missouri in 2026-27?

Rabbit: Hunting: October 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027. Missouri Department of Conservation 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 quail season in Missouri?

Quail: Hunting: November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Missouri Department of Conservation publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Does Missouri have a pheasant season?

Pheasant: Hunting: November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027. Missouri Department of Conservation publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Do small game dates vary by zone in Missouri?

Not for the 2026-27 seasons shown here: Missouri Department of Conservation publishes these windows statewide rather than splitting the state into zones with different openers, so the dates in the tables above apply as listed. Which county or public area you hunt can still change what is open there, and the agency's regulations page linked below is where that lives.

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

At Missouri Department of Conservation, 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 Missouri 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 Missouri Department of Conservation 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 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027

Pheasant

published

November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027

Quail

published

No open season

Grouse

no season

October 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027

Rabbit

published

May 23, 2026 to February 15, 2027

Squirrel

published

Statewide

Zone structure

as the agency draws it

Five seasons, one state

Missouri small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Missouri Department of Conservation dates pheasant, quail, rabbit and squirrel, with youth pheasant and quail weekends 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: Hunting

published

Pheasant: Hunting runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 across all zones.

Missouri pheasant: hunting, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 1, 2026	January 15, 2027

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Missouri's pheasant season opens November 1 and runs to mid January as a single statewide season on the agency's seasons list, with a separate youth pheasant weekend the last weekend of October.

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

Quail: Hunting

published

Quail: Hunting runs November 1, 2026 to January 15, 2027 across all zones.

Missouri quail: hunting, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 1, 2026	January 15, 2027

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Bobwhite quail share the pheasant calendar exactly: a November 1 opener, a January 15 close, and a youth quail weekend the last weekend of October.

Ruffed grouse

no season

Missouri has no open grouse season for 2026-27. The Department's 2026-27 seasons list carries no ruffed grouse season, and its species filter does not offer grouse. The Conservation Commission closed the grouse season by emergency action in 2010, citing low grouse population numbers, and the Department's field guide notes that in Missouri habitat loss is a primary reason grouse numbers have declined. Source: Missouri Department of Conservation.

Rabbit: Hunting

published

Rabbit: Hunting runs October 1, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Missouri rabbit: hunting, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	October 1, 2026	February 15, 2027

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Rabbit season opens October 1 and runs to mid February statewide. The agency also dates a separate rabbit trapping season, which is not a hunting window and is not recorded here.

Squirrel: Hunting

published

Squirrel: Hunting runs May 23, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Missouri squirrel: hunting, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	May 23, 2026	February 15, 2027

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Missouri's squirrel season is the longest small game window in the state, opening the Saturday before Memorial Day weekend and running to mid February statewide.

November 1, 2026 - January 15, 2027

Missouri Department of Conservation, 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 Missouri small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Missouri Department of Conservation dates 3 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.

Pheasant: Hunting: Youth

published

Pheasant: Hunting: Youth runs October 24, 2026 to October 25, 2026 across all zones.

Missouri pheasant: hunting: youth, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	October 24, 2026	October 25, 2026	Open to youths age 6 through 15

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

A two day statewide youth pheasant weekend the last weekend of October, a week before the regular opener.

Quail: Hunting: Youth

published

Quail: Hunting: Youth runs October 24, 2026 to October 25, 2026 across all zones.

Missouri quail: hunting: youth, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	October 24, 2026	October 25, 2026	Open to youths age 6 through 15

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

The youth quail weekend runs on the same two October days as the youth pheasant weekend.

Dove: Hunting

published

Dove: Hunting runs September 1, 2026 to November 29, 2026 across all zones.

Missouri dove: hunting, as published by Missouri Department of Conservation
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	September 1, 2026	November 29, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, MDC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Dove sits on the same agency seasons list as the small game rows, opening September 1 and running to the end of November.

Rules

Missouri 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 Missouri Department of Conservation, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Missouri regulations

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

Missouri Department of Conservation: 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

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

Missouri small game season questions

When does rabbit season open in Missouri in 2026-27?

When is quail season in Missouri?

Does Missouri have a pheasant season?

Do small game dates vary by zone in Missouri?

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

Can these Missouri 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 Missouri Department of Conservation 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 Missouri Department of Conservation, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.