Minnesota · Pheasant · 2026–27 Edition
Minnesota Pheasant Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Regular season | Statewide | Oct 10 – Jan 3 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily — Oct. 10-Nov. 30 (roosters only) | 2 roosters |
|---|---|
| Daily — Dec. 1, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 (roosters only) | 3 roosters |
| Possession — Oct. 10-Nov. 30 | 6 |
| Possession — Dec. 1, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 | 9 |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal shooting hours 09:00 — 18:38
Rule: 9:00 a.m. to sunset, statewide, for the entire season — a delayed fixed clock-time opener rather than Minnesota's standard half-hour-before-sunrise small-game default, intended to protect early-morning brood movement. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Minnesota sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Pheasant hunters in Minnesota need a Minnesota hunting license — a $7.50 Pheasant Stamp in addition to a Small Game License, required of resident and nonresident hunters ages 18-64 — residents 65+ are exempt from the stamp (small game license still required, at a reduced price); nonresidents 65+ still need both
Minnesota hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Minnesota — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does pheasant season open in Minnesota?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is October 10, 2026. See the table above for each segment and zone.
When does pheasant season end in Minnesota?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is January 3, 2027. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Can I shoot hen pheasants in Minnesota?
See the bag limit table above — most states restrict the daily bag to roosters only, but rules vary and this is worth double-checking against Minnesota Department of Natural Resources before you hunt.
How many pheasants can you shoot in Minnesota per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily — Oct. 10-Nov. 30 (roosters only) — 2 roosters. Daily — Dec. 1, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 (roosters only) — 3 roosters. Possession — Oct. 10-Nov. 30 — 6. Possession — Dec. 1, 2026-Jan. 3, 2027 — 9. Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting pheasant in Minnesota?
On opening day (October 10, 2026) legal light runs 07:28 to 18:38. The rule is: 9:00 a.m. to sunset, statewide, for the entire season — a delayed fixed clock-time opener rather than Minnesota's standard half-hour-before-sunrise small-game default, intended to protect early-morning brood movement. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Minnesota sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt pheasant on my own land in Minnesota without a license?
Minnesota's exemption is narrow: it covers small game only, and only on land that is your actual principal residence — owning land you don't live on doesn't qualify. Deer, bear, and turkey always need a license and tags, even at home.
Verified · Minnesota Department of Natural Resources · Last verified 2026-08-15
Publisher's note. dnr.state.mn.us returned 403 Forbidden to this project's automated fetcher, so the pheasant hunting page was read through the r.jina.ai text-extraction proxy instead (fetched successfully, cross-checked against a plain WebSearch summary of the same page). The page states verbatim: season 'Oct. 10 - Jan. 3, 2027' statewide; shooting hours '9 a.m. to sunset'; daily bag limit '2 roosters' for Oct. 10-Nov. 30 stepping up to '3 roosters' for Dec. 1-Jan. 3, 2027; possession limit '6 roosters' for the first period stepping up to '9 roosters' for the second. Hens are protected year-round. License requirements (small game license for residents/nonresidents 16+, plus a $7.50 Pheasant Stamp for residents and nonresidents ages 18-64; residents 65+ are exempt from the stamp but still need a small game license at a reduced price, nonresidents 65+ still need both) were corroborated via a separate WebSearch of DNR license pages, not re-verified against the raw fee-schedule page directly. No youth-only pheasant day was found. Unlike Michigan and Wisconsin, no evidence was found of a DNR-operated stocked/put-and-take pheasant release program on Minnesota public land — Minnesota's pheasant hunting is described as occurring on wild birds across state Wildlife Management Areas, federal Waterfowl Production Areas, and Walk-In Access land; the 'game farms' and 'hunting preserves' that do stock pheasants in Minnesota are privately operated businesses licensed separately from this public wild season, not a DNR stocking program layered on top of it. This is flagged explicitly because the build brief expected a dual wild/stocked-release track for all three of Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin — for Minnesota specifically, that second public track was not found.