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Oklahoma · 2026-27 season year

Oklahoma Small Game Season 2026-27

Quail: November 14, 2026 to February 15, 2027. Rabbit: October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027. Every date below was read from Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’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.
December 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027
Pheasant
published
November 14, 2026 to February 15, 2027
Quail
published
No open season
Grouse
no season
October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027
Rabbit
published
May 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027
Squirrel
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
Five seasons, one state

Oklahoma small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation dates quail (bobwhite and scaled), pheasant, rabbit (cottontail, swamp and jackrabbit) and squirrel (fox and gray) 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 December 1, 2026 to January 31, 2027 across all zones.

Oklahoma pheasant, as published by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Open areasDecember 1, 2026January 31, 2027Alfalfa, Beaver, Cimarron, Garfield, Grant, Harper, Kay, Major, Noble, Osage, Texas, Woods and Woodward counties, and the portions of Blaine, Dewey, Ellis, Kingfisher and Logan counties north of State Highway 51

Dates read from Hunting Seasons, ODWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Oklahoma's pheasant season is a two month December and January window that is open only in the agency's listed northwestern and north central counties, not statewide. No youth pheasant days are dated on the agency's pheasant page.

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

Quail

published

Quail runs November 14, 2026 to February 15, 2027 across all zones.

Oklahoma quail, as published by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 14, 2026February 15, 2027

Dates read from Hunting Seasons, ODWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

One statewide quail season covering both bobwhite and scaled quail, opening the second Saturday of November and running to mid February. The agency notes that seasons on public lands may vary from the statewide season.

Prairie-chicken

no season

Oklahoma has no open grouse season for 2026-27. Its native grouse family birds are the greater and lesser prairie-chicken, and the Department states that both prairie-chicken species, considered species of greatest conservation need and game birds, have a closed season. Source: Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

Rabbit (Cottontail, Swamp & Jackrabbit)

published

Rabbit (Cottontail, Swamp & Jackrabbit) runs October 1, 2026 to March 15, 2027 across all zones.

Oklahoma rabbit (cottontail, swamp & jackrabbit), as published by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 1, 2026March 15, 2027No open season on jackrabbits east of Interstate 35

Dates read from Hunting Seasons, ODWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

The agency dates cottontail, swamp rabbit and jackrabbit together in one rabbit season from October 1 to mid March, with the jackrabbit portion open only west of Interstate 35.

Squirrel (Fox & Gray)

published

Squirrel (Fox & Gray) runs May 15, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Oklahoma squirrel (fox & gray), as published by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideMay 15, 2026February 28, 2027

Dates read from Hunting Seasons, ODWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Oklahoma's squirrel season is one of the longest small game windows in the state, opening in mid May and running through the end of February for fox and gray squirrels statewide.

Pheasant Dec 1, 2026 - Jan 31, 2027
Oklahoma Department of Wildlife 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 Oklahoma small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation 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.

Dove

published

Dove runs September 1, 2026 to December 29, 2026 across all zones.

Oklahoma dove, as published by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (segment 1)September 1, 2026October 31, 2026
Statewide (segment 2)December 1, 2026December 29, 2026

Dates read from Hunting Seasons, ODWC, accessed 2026-09-19.

Dove sits on the same agency seasons page as the small game rows, as a two segment season with a September and October opener and a December reopening.

Rules

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

Current Oklahoma regulations

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

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

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