New Mexico · Pheasant · 2026–27 Edition
New Mexico Pheasant Season 2026–27: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Falconry — combined with grouse | Statewide | Sep 1 – Feb 28 |
| Bernardo WMA — youth-only draw hunt | Bernardo WMA | Oct 17 – Oct 17 |
| W.S. Huey WMA — youth-only draw hunt | W.S. Huey WMA | Dec 5 – Dec 5 |
| Jackson Lake WMA — youth-only draw hunt | Jackson Lake WMA | Dec 5 – Dec 5 |
| General (over-the-counter) season | Statewide | Dec 10 – Dec 13 |
| W.S. Huey WMA — open draw hunt (all applicants) | W.S. Huey WMA | Dec 12 – Dec 12 |
02 — Bag limits
| General (over-the-counter) — daily | 3 males |
|---|---|
| General (over-the-counter) — possession | 6 |
| Falconry — daily | 3, singly or in aggregate with grouse |
| Falconry — possession | 6 |
| Bernardo WMA youth draw hunt | 3 males (20 permits issued) |
| W.S. Huey WMA youth draw hunt | 3 males (40 permits issued) |
| Jackson Lake WMA youth draw hunt | 3 males (10 permits issued) |
| W.S. Huey WMA open draw hunt | 3 males (40 permits issued) |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 1, 2026) 06:08 — 19:59
Rule: One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset — the standard upland-game shooting-hours rule, explicitly restated for the W.S. Huey/Jackson Lake special-permit pheasant hunts and applying to the four-day general season as well. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local New Mexico sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Pheasant hunters in New Mexico need a New Mexico hunting license — The four-day general (over-the-counter) season needs only a standard Game-Hunting License — no draw, no extra permit. The four WMA draw hunts need no license to apply, but successful applicants must purchase a Game-Hunting License once drawn; applications for all of them were due August 12, 2026. Falconry pheasant hunting requires a valid falconry license/permit in addition to standard licensing.
New Mexico hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in New Mexico — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does pheasant season open in New Mexico?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is September 1, 2026. See the table above for each segment and zone.
When does pheasant season end in New Mexico?
The latest 2026–27 closing date is February 28, 2027. Individual segments and zones can close earlier — see the table above.
Can I shoot hen pheasants in New Mexico?
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 New Mexico Department of Game and Fish before you hunt.
How many pheasants can you shoot in New Mexico per day?
2026–27 bag limits: General (over-the-counter) — daily — 3 males. General (over-the-counter) — possession — 6. Falconry — daily — 3, singly or in aggregate with grouse. Falconry — possession — 6. Bernardo WMA youth draw hunt — 3 males (20 permits issued). W.S. Huey WMA youth draw hunt — 3 males (40 permits issued). Jackson Lake WMA youth draw hunt — 3 males (10 permits issued). W.S. Huey WMA open draw hunt — 3 males (40 permits issued). 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 New Mexico?
On opening day (September 1, 2026) legal light runs 06:08 to 19:59. The rule is: One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset — the standard upland-game shooting-hours rule, explicitly restated for the W.S. Huey/Jackson Lake special-permit pheasant hunts and applying to the four-day general season as well. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local New Mexico sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt pheasant on my own land in New Mexico without a license?
No — New Mexico requires a license for every game species regardless of land ownership. What's sometimes called a 'landowner' program is a separate elk-tag authorization system granted through the landowner, not a license waiver.
Verified · New Mexico Department of Game and Fish · Last verified 2026-08-15
Publisher's note. Official '2026-2027 New Mexico Hunting Rules and Information' booklet PDF, downloaded and read directly with pdftotext (Upland Game chapter, p.141-144). CONFIRMED: the genuinely short season flagged by this project's prior scoping is real and precise — the statewide, over-the-counter, license-only pheasant season open to the general public is exactly FOUR DAYS long: December 10-13, 2026, with a 3-male daily bag and 6-in-possession limit, per the 'Over-the-Counter Seasons' table on p.142. That table's column layout is visually confusing in the source PDF (species/area/date/limit columns from several rows interleave), so this was cross-checked by extracting the same page in a second, non-columnized text mode, which resolved the row unambiguously as 'Pheasant / Statewide / Dec. 10-13 / 3 males per day, 6 in possession.' Beyond that four-day general season, three other legal ways to take pheasant exist in New Mexico, all far more restricted or narrower in practice: (1) a statewide falconry season for licensed falconers, Sept 1, 2026-Feb 28, 2027, with a 3-bird (combined with grouse) daily/6 possession limit — because this project's convention spans the outer window across every documented method, this wide falconry window is what actually drives this file's opener/seasonCloses fields, NOT the four-day general season, so readers should look at the methods table (not the top-line dates) to see the tiny public window; (2) three resident-only, youth-only draw-permit hunts at Bernardo WMA (Oct 17, 2026, 20 permits), W.S. Huey WMA (Dec 5, 2026, 40 permits) and Jackson Lake WMA (Dec 5, 2026, 10 permits), each a 3-male bag, requiring only a Game-Hunting License if drawn (no license needed to apply); and (3) one draw-permit hunt at W.S. Huey WMA open to all applicants, not just youth (Dec 12, 2026, 40 permits, 3-male bag). Shooting hours for the four-day general season and the draw hunts are the standard statewide half-hour-before-sunrise-to-half-hour-after-sunset rule, EXCEPT the special-permit pheasant hunts at W.S. Huey and Jackson Lake WMAs, which the booklet states run 'one half hour before sunrise to half hour after sunset' (i.e. the same as the standard rule, explicitly restated) — distinct from several other NM WMAs (Bernardo, Casa Colorada, La Joya) that close at 1:00 p.m. for other species.