Texas Quail & Squirrel Season 2026-27: Small Game Dates

Q: When does quail season open in Texas in 2026-27?

Quail, Regular: November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 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 squirrel season in Texas?

Squirrel, General Season: September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027, varying by zone across 2 rows in the agency table. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Does Texas have a pheasant season?

Pheasant, Regular: December 5, 2026 to January 3, 2027. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department publishes it under that name, and the zone table on this page was read from its own page on September 19, 2026.

Q: Which small game zone am I in, in Texas?

Texas sets different dates by zone for at least one species, and the boundaries are the agency's own, drawn along interstates, highways and county lines. Your zone is determined from the agency's own map: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department publishes the official zone map and boundary descriptions, linked from this page.

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

At Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, 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 Texas 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 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 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.

December 5, 2026 to January 3, 2027

Pheasant

published

November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027

Quail

published

No open season

Grouse

no season

units open year-round per the agency

Rabbit

published

September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027

Squirrel

published

2 zone rows

Zone structure

as the agency draws it

Five seasons, one state

Texas small game seasons, 2026-27

“When does small game season open” is five questions wearing one coat. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department dates quail (bobwhite, scaled and Gambel's are dated together as quail), ring-necked pheasant in the Panhandle, chachalaca in four Rio Grande Valley counties, squirrel, and rabbits and hares; Texas has no open season on either prairie chicken 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, Regular

published

Pheasant, Regular runs December 5, 2026 to January 3, 2027 across all zones.

Texas pheasant, regular, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Panhandle/South Plains	December 5, 2026	January 3, 2027	37 of 254 counties have pheasant seasons; the Outdoor Annual's pheasant page lists them

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

Texas pheasant is a Panhandle only December season: the Outdoor Annual dates it Dec 5, 2026 to Jan 3, 2027 in 37 Panhandle and South Plains counties, and nowhere else in the state.

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

Quail, Regular

published

Quail, Regular runs November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Texas quail, regular, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	November 1, 2026	February 28, 2027	All 254 counties have quail seasons

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

Texas dates quail statewide, Nov 1, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027, in every county; the season covers bobwhite, scaled and Gambel's quail together. TPWD's game birds page notes there is no open season for Montezuma quail.

Grouse

no season

Texas has no open grouse season for 2026-27. Texas has no ruffed grouse range and dates no grouse season. Its two grouse family birds are the prairie chickens, and TPWD's game birds page states that the species with no open season are the Attwater's prairie chicken, the Montezuma quail, the partridge (includes chukar) and the lesser prairie chicken. Source: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

Rabbits and Hares, Regular

published

Texas rabbits and hares, regular, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Statewide	Open year-round, per the agency

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

The Outdoor Annual lists rabbits and hares statewide with no closed season; its rabbits and hares page says there are no closed seasons and that they may be hunted at any time on private property.

Squirrel, General Season

published

Squirrel, General Season runs September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027 across all zones.

Texas squirrel, general season, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
East Texas (segment 1)	October 1, 2026	February 28, 2027
East Texas (segment 2)	May 1, 2027	May 31, 2027
Other open counties	September 1, 2026	August 31, 2027	The species page labels this row All Other Counties

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

East Texas counties run a fall and winter squirrel season Oct 1, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027 plus a May 2027 spring season, while the rest of the state is open year-round from Sep 1, 2026 to Aug 31, 2027. A youth only East Texas weekend precedes the Oct 1 opener and is listed under other seasons.

Some rows above say “open year-round” rather than carrying a date. That is the agency’s own designation for those units.

Pheasant Regular Panhandle/South Plains Dec. 5, 2026 - Jan. 3, 2027

Texas Parks and Wildlife 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 Texas small game seasons the agency names

Beyond the five main species, Texas Parks and Wildlife 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.

Squirrel, Youth-only

published

Squirrel, Youth-only runs September 25, 2026 to September 27, 2026 across all zones.

Texas squirrel, youth-only, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
East Texas	September 25, 2026	September 27, 2026

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

A three day youth only squirrel weekend in the East Texas counties the weekend before the Oct 1 general opener.

Chachalaca, Regular

published

Chachalaca, Regular runs November 1, 2026 to February 28, 2027 across all zones.

Texas chachalaca, regular, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes	Notes
Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr & Willacy Counties	November 1, 2026	February 28, 2027	4 of 254 counties have chachalaca seasons

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

Chachalaca, an upland game bird found only in the Rio Grande Valley, is dated with quail, Nov 1, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027, in four counties.

Dove, Regular

published

Dove, Regular runs September 1, 2026 to January 21, 2027 across all zones.

Texas dove, regular, as published by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Zone	Opens	Closes
North (segment 1)	September 1, 2026	November 8, 2026
North (segment 2)	December 18, 2026	January 7, 2027
Central (segment 1)	September 1, 2026	October 25, 2026
Central (segment 2)	December 11, 2026	January 14, 2027
South (segment 1)	September 1, 2026	October 25, 2026
South (segment 2)	December 18, 2026	January 21, 2027

Dates read from 2026 - 2027 Hunting Season Dates, TPWD, accessed 2026-09-19.

Listed under Migratory Game Bird on the same TPWD 2026-2027 season dates page; split seasons in the North, Central and South dove zones.

Rules

Texas 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 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Texas regulations

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

Texas Parks and Wildlife 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 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

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

Texas small game season questions

When does quail season open in Texas in 2026-27?

When is squirrel season in Texas?

Does Texas have a pheasant season?

Which small game zone am I in, in Texas?

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

Can these Texas 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 Texas Parks and Wildlife 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 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national small game season guide.