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North Carolina · 2026-27 season year

North Carolina Small Game Season 2026-27

Squirrel: October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Rabbit: October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Every date below was read from North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission’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.
September 5, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Pheasant
published
November 21, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Quail
published
October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Grouse
published
October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Rabbit
published
October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Squirrel
published
2 zone rows
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

North Carolina small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission dates gray, red and fox squirrel, rabbit, quail, grouse and pheasant 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 September 5, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina pheasant, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Remainder of stateSeptember 5, 2026February 28, 2027All counties outside the barrier island row
Barrier Islands of Carteret, Dare, and Hyde CountiesNovember 21, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

The Commission dates pheasant in two rows: the barrier islands of Carteret, Dare and Hyde counties open the Saturday before Thanksgiving, and the remainder of the state opens Sep 5 and runs through the end of February.

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

Quail

published

Quail runs November 21, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina quail, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 21, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Bobwhite quail opens the Saturday before Thanksgiving and runs through the end of February statewide.

Grouse

published

Grouse runs October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina grouse, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 12, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Ruffed grouse shares the Monday, Oct 12, 2026 opener with squirrel and rabbit and runs through the end of February.

Rabbit

published

Rabbit runs October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina rabbit, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 12, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Rabbit opens Monday, Oct 12, 2026 with the rest of the fall small game seasons and runs through the end of February.

Squirrel

published

Squirrel runs October 12, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina squirrel, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Gray and Red, statewideOctober 12, 2026February 28, 2027
Fox Squirrel, statewideOctober 12, 2026January 31, 2027

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Gray and red squirrel run from the Oct 12 opener through February; fox squirrel closes a month earlier at the end of January. A spring gray squirrel season in May is listed in otherSeasons.

Quail: Nov. 21, 2026 – Feb. 28, 2027
North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, 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 North Carolina small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission dates one further season 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.

Gray squirrel spring season

published

Gray squirrel spring season runs May 17, 2027 to May 31, 2027 across all zones.

North Carolina gray squirrel spring season, as published by North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideMay 17, 2027May 31, 2027Now includes Game Lands

Dates read from Small Game and Other Seasons, 2026-2027 North Carolina Inland Fishing, Hunting and Trapping Regulations Digest, NCWRC, accessed 2026-09-19.

New for 2026-27, the spring gray squirrel season includes Game Lands and was moved later in May so it no longer overlaps the spring turkey season, per the digest's regulation change table.

Rules

North Carolina 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current North Carolina regulations

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

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

North Carolina 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 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 North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.