New York · Bear · 2026 Edition
New York Bear Season 2026: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Zone early season (all legal weapons: bow, crossbow, muzzleloader, handgun, shotgun, or rifle where allowed) | WMUs 3A, 3C, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3P, 3R, 4P, 4R, 4W | Sep 12 – Sep 27 |
| Northern Zone regular season (Adirondacks core — any legal implement) | WMUs 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6J | Sep 19 – Dec 6 |
| Northern Zone — early bowhunting (Western Periphery) | WMUs 6A, 6G, 6K, 6N | Sep 19 – Oct 23 |
| Northern Zone — early muzzleloading (Western Periphery) | WMUs 6A, 6G, 6K, 6N | Oct 17 – Oct 23 |
| Northern Zone — youth firearms (Western Periphery) | WMUs 6A, 6G, 6K, 6N | Oct 10 – Oct 12 |
| Northern Zone — regular firearms (Western Periphery) | WMUs 6A, 6G, 6K, 6N | Oct 24 – Dec 6 |
| Southern Zone bowhunting — early segment | Southern Zone (excluding Westchester WMU 3S, which has its own bow-only season) | Oct 1 – Nov 20 |
| Southern Zone youth firearms | Southern Zone, excluding WMUs 1C, 3S, 4J, 8C | Oct 10 – Oct 12 |
| Southern Zone regular firearms | Southern Zone (excluding Westchester WMU 3S) | Nov 21 – Dec 13 |
| Southern Zone late bowhunting and muzzleloading | Southern Zone (excluding Westchester WMU 3S) | Dec 14 – Dec 22 |
| Westchester County — bow-only regular season | WMU 3S | Oct 1 – Dec 31 |
02 — Bag limits & check-in
| Statewide | 1 bear per hunter per license year (Sept 1-Aug 31), by gun or bow |
|---|---|
| Southern Zone | May not shoot a cub or a bear that should be known to be a cub, may not shoot any bear from a group of bears, and may not shoot or take a bear from its den |
| Northern Zone | No cub/group/den restriction — DEC's regulations text states this rule only for the Southern Zone and is silent on the Northern Zone, confirmed directly on DEC's own regulations page |
| Statewide | Hunting bear with the aid of bait/salt licks or with dogs is prohibited |
| Harvest reporting | Report the harvest within 48 hours via the DECALS phone line (1-866-GAMERPT), the mobile app, or the online Harvest Reporting System; DEC treats an unreported bear as illegally taken |
| Tagging | Tag the carcass immediately upon harvest; e-tag users need no physical tag while the carcass stays in their possession, but must attach a self-made tag with name, DEC ID number, and reporting confirmation number if the carcass is left elsewhere (e.g. a processor) |
| Biological sample | Successful hunters are sent a tooth-collection packet and must submit a premolar for aging; hunters may also be contacted by a DEC biologist to extract the tooth directly |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 12, 2026) 06:09 — 19:46
Rule: 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset — DEC states this for deer and bear together on its deer and bear regulations page. Exact clock times come from the sunrise-sunset table at the back of DEC's annual Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local New York sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Bear hunters in New York need a New York hunting license — no separate bear license or stamp — the bear carcass tag is included with the general hunting license (resident $22, non-resident $100); a lost tag set can be replaced for $10 Check-in or reporting a harvest is typically mandatory; see the row above for New York's specific rule.
New York hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in New York — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — Scouting gear
Patterning bear activity before New York's opener usually means glassing feeding areas and running a trail camera through summer — check the state's own rules on baiting before you set one over bait.
- Hunting binoculars on Amazon →
- Trail cameras on Amazon →
- Trail camera SD cards — class, capacity & format explained →
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. These are category links, not a single named pick — we run no product tests of our own.
06 — FAQ
When does bear season open in New York?
The earliest 2026 opener is September 12, 2026. See the table above for each method and zone.
When does bear season end in New York?
The latest 2026 closing date is December 31, 2026. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Do I need a separate bear license or tag in New York?
no separate bear license or stamp — the bear carcass tag is included with the general hunting license (resident $22, non-resident $100); a lost tag set can be replaced for $10
How many bears can you shoot in New York?
2026 bag limits: Statewide — 1 bear per hunter per license year (Sept 1-Aug 31), by gun or bow. Southern Zone — May not shoot a cub or a bear that should be known to be a cub, may not shoot any bear from a group of bears, and may not shoot or take a bear from its den. Northern Zone — No cub/group/den restriction — DEC's regulations text states this rule only for the Southern Zone and is silent on the Northern Zone, confirmed directly on DEC's own regulations page. Statewide — Hunting bear with the aid of bait/salt licks or with dogs is prohibited. Harvest reporting — Report the harvest within 48 hours via the DECALS phone line (1-866-GAMERPT), the mobile app, or the online Harvest Reporting System; DEC treats an unreported bear as illegally taken. Tagging — Tag the carcass immediately upon harvest; e-tag users need no physical tag while the carcass stays in their possession, but must attach a self-made tag with name, DEC ID number, and reporting confirmation number if the carcass is left elsewhere (e.g. a processor). Biological sample — Successful hunters are sent a tooth-collection packet and must submit a premolar for aging; hunters may also be contacted by a DEC biologist to extract the tooth directly. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting bear in New York?
On opening day (September 12, 2026) legal light runs 06:09 to 19:46. The rule is: 30 minutes before sunrise until 30 minutes after sunset — DEC states this for deer and bear together on its deer and bear regulations page. Exact clock times come from the sunrise-sunset table at the back of DEC's annual Hunting and Trapping Regulations Guide. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local New York sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt bear on my own land in New York without a license?
New York resident owners, lessees, and their immediate family — while actually occupying and farming that land — may hunt it without a license. Deer and bear are explicitly excluded.
Verified · New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) · Last verified 2026-08-15
Publisher's note. Zone/method structure and the formula-based season rules (e.g. 'Regular: 1st Saturday after the 2nd Monday in September through the Sunday immediately following the 1st Saturday in December') read directly from DEC's official Deer and Bear Hunting Seasons page. Those formulas were hand-computed for calendar 2026 and cross-checked against DEC's own 'DEC Announces Opening of Early Bear Hunting Seasons' bulletin (content.govdelivery.com/accounts/NYSDEC/bulletins/29f42f8, WMU-level detail for the Southern Zone early season and the Adirondack core) and against a third-party aggregator (huntingseason.com) that lists the same computed calendar dates independently — all three agree. Bag-limit, cub/sow, bait/dog-prohibition and harvest-reporting rules read from DEC's official Deer and Bear Hunting Regulations page. Reporting-deadline shortened from 7 days to 48 hours starting 2025 per DEC's carcass-tag/e-tag change notice; this is treated as still current for 2026-27. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-15: the Northern Zone question is now resolved directly on a primary page. dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hunting/deer-bear/regulations (fetchable this round, unlike an earlier guessed URL that 404'd) states verbatim: 'In the Southern Zone, you may not shoot a cub or a bear that should be known to be a cub, shoot any bear from a group of bears, or shoot or take a bear from its den.' The rule text names only the Southern Zone and does not mention the Northern Zone at all — confirming the Northern Zone genuinely carries no such restriction, rather than DEC simply omitting an existing statewide rule from this particular page. New York issues no separate bear tag or stamp — the bear carcass tag comes with the general hunting license.