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New Jersey · 2026-27 season year

New Jersey Small Game Season 2026-27

Pheasant: November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027. Squirrel: September 26, 2026 to February 20, 2027. Every date below was read from New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife’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 February 15, 2027
Pheasant
published
November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Quail
published
No open season
Grouse
no season
September 26, 2026 to February 20, 2027
Rabbit
published
September 26, 2026 to February 20, 2027
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

New Jersey small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife dates pheasant dated with chukar and Hungarian partridge, stocked bobwhite quail at two WMAs, and gray squirrel, rabbit, jackrabbit and hare dated together; wild quail and ruffed grouse seasons are closed statewide separately, so each species is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Chukar partridge, Hungarian partridge, Pheasant

published

Chukar partridge, Hungarian partridge, Pheasant runs November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

New Jersey chukar partridge, hungarian partridge, pheasant, as published by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)November 7, 2026December 6, 2026The digest prints one Nov. 7, 2026 to Feb. 15, 2027 season closed Dec. 7 to 12 and Dec. 16, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)December 13, 2026December 15, 2026
Statewide (segment 3)December 17, 2026February 15, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Seasons 2026-27, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest, NJ Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

New Jersey's pheasant season opens the first Saturday of November together with chukar and Hungarian partridge and runs to mid February, with a closure in the second week of December. A youth day and a youth week precede the opener and are recorded under otherSeasons.

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

Bobwhite quail (stocked)

published

Bobwhite quail (stocked) runs November 7, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

New Jersey bobwhite quail (stocked), as published by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Greenwood Forest WMA and Peaslee WMA (segment 1)November 7, 2026December 6, 2026The digest prints Nov. 7, 2026 to Jan. 31, 2027 closed Dec. 7 to 12 and Dec. 16, 2026, and says stocked quail may be taken only at these two WMAs
Greenwood Forest WMA and Peaslee WMA (segment 2)December 13, 2026December 15, 2026
Greenwood Forest WMA and Peaslee WMA (segment 3)December 17, 2026January 31, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Seasons 2026-27, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest, NJ Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

The season for wild bobwhite quail is closed statewide. Fish and Wildlife dates a stocked quail season at Greenwood Forest WMA and Peaslee WMA only, opening with pheasant on November 7 and closing at the end of January.

Ruffed grouse

no season

New Jersey has no open grouse season for 2026-27. The 2026-27 digest lists ruffed grouse as closed statewide alongside wild bobwhite quail, and asks anyone who encounters a grouse to file a sighting report. Source: New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife.

Gray Squirrel, Rabbit, Jackrabbit, and Hare

published

Gray Squirrel, Rabbit, Jackrabbit, and Hare runs September 26, 2026 to February 20, 2027 across all zones.

New Jersey gray squirrel, rabbit, jackrabbit, and hare, as published by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)September 26, 2026December 6, 2026The digest prints one Sept. 26, 2026 to Feb. 20, 2027 season closed Dec. 7 to 12 and Dec. 16, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)December 13, 2026December 15, 2026
Statewide (segment 3)December 17, 2026February 20, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Seasons 2026-27, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest, NJ Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

New Jersey dates cottontail rabbit, jackrabbit, hare and gray squirrel together in one small game mammal season that opens the last Saturday of September and runs to February 20, with a closure in the second week of December. The same rows sit under the squirrel key.

Gray squirrel shares New Jersey's combined small game mammal season with rabbit, jackrabbit and hare, September 26 to February 20 with the December closure. The same rows sit under the rabbit key.

The season for hunting ruffed grouse is closed statewide.
New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife, 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 Jersey small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife 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 Upland Bird Day and Youth Pheasant Days

published

Youth Upland Bird Day and Youth Pheasant Days runs October 31, 2026 to November 6, 2026 across all zones.

New Jersey youth upland bird day and youth pheasant days, as published by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)October 31, 2026October 31, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)November 2, 2026November 6, 2026

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Seasons 2026-27, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest, NJ Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

A youth pheasant Saturday on October 31 followed by five youth pheasant weekdays, all before the November 7 regular opener.

Chukar partridge, Hungarian partridge, Pheasant

published

Chukar partridge, Hungarian partridge, Pheasant runs November 7, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

New Jersey chukar partridge, hungarian partridge, pheasant, as published by New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)November 7, 2026December 6, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)December 13, 2026December 15, 2026
Statewide (segment 3)December 17, 2026February 15, 2027

Dates read from Upland Game Bird Seasons 2026-27, New Jersey Hunting and Trapping Digest, NJ Fish and Wildlife, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chukar and Hungarian partridge share the pheasant row in the digest's upland game bird table.

Rules

New Jersey 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 Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current New Jersey regulations

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

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

New Jersey 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 Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife 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 Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, Fish and Wildlife, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.