Skip to content
New Hampshire · 2026-27 season year

New Hampshire Small Game Season 2026-27

Grouse: October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026. Rabbit: October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027. Every date below was read from New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’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 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Pheasant
published
October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Quail
published
October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026
Grouse
published
October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027
Rabbit
published
September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

New Hampshire small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. New Hampshire Fish and Game Department dates ruffed grouse, pheasant, quail, Hungarian/European partridge, chukar, cottontail rabbit, snowshoe hare and gray squirrel, the department's own list of small game and upland bird species 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 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

New Hampshire pheasant, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsOctober 1, 2026December 31, 2026

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

New Hampshire's pheasant season is a stocked season that opens October 1 and runs through December 31 in every WMU. A youth pheasant weekend on the last weekend of September is recorded under otherSeasons.

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

Quail, Chukar, Hungarian/European Partridge

published

Quail, Chukar, Hungarian/European Partridge runs October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

New Hampshire quail, chukar, hungarian/european partridge, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsOctober 1, 2026December 31, 2026

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

The department dates quail together with chukar and Hungarian or European partridge in one row, October 1 through December 31 in all WMUs. The same window is recorded under the partridge key in otherSeasons.

Ruffed Grouse (Partridge)

published

Ruffed Grouse (Partridge) runs October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

New Hampshire ruffed grouse (partridge), as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsOctober 1, 2026December 31, 2026

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

Ruffed grouse, which the department also calls partridge, opens October 1 and runs through December 31 in all WMUs.

Cottontail Rabbit Hunting and/or Falconry

published

Cottontail Rabbit Hunting and/or Falconry runs October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027 across all zones.

New Hampshire cottontail rabbit hunting and/or falconry, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
WMUs H2, K, L and M (except closed areas)October 1, 2026March 15, 2027The department closes mapped areas that hold New England cottontails, which are endangered in New Hampshire, to all cottontail hunting

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

Cottontail rabbit is open only in the four southeastern WMUs the department lists, October 1 to March 15, and inside those units mapped New England cottontail areas are closed. Snowshoe hare, open in every WMU, is recorded under otherSeasons.

Gray Squirrel

published

Gray Squirrel runs September 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

New Hampshire gray squirrel, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsSeptember 1, 2026January 31, 2027

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

Gray squirrel is New Hampshire's first small game opener at September 1 and runs to the end of January in all WMUs.

Gray Squirrel | Sept. 1, 2026–Jan. 31, 2027
New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, 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 New Hampshire small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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.

Youth Pheasant

published

Youth Pheasant runs September 26, 2026 to September 27, 2026 across all zones.

New Hampshire youth pheasant, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsSeptember 26, 2026September 27, 2026

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

A two day youth pheasant weekend on the last weekend of September, ahead of the October 1 regular opener.

Quail, Chukar, Hungarian/European Partridge

published

Quail, Chukar, Hungarian/European Partridge runs October 1, 2026 to December 31, 2026 across all zones.

New Hampshire quail, chukar, hungarian/european partridge, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All WMUsOctober 1, 2026December 31, 2026

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chukar and Hungarian or European partridge share the department's quail row, October 1 through December 31.

Snowshoe Hare

published

Snowshoe Hare runs October 1, 2026 to March 31, 2027 across all zones.

New Hampshire snowshoe hare, as published by New Hampshire Fish and Game Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
WMUs A, B, C1, C2, D1, D2, E, F, G and J1October 1, 2026March 31, 2027
WMUs H1, H2, I1, I2, J2, K, L and MOctober 1, 2026March 31, 2027

Dates read from Small Game Hunting Seasons, 2026-2027 New Hampshire Hunting and Trapping Digest, NH Fish and Game, accessed 2026-09-19.

Snowshoe hare runs October 1 to March 31 in every WMU; the department prints it as two rows of WMU groups with the same dates.

Rules

New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current New Hampshire regulations

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

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

New Hampshire 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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department 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 New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.