New York · Pheasant · 2026–27 Edition
New York Pheasant Season 2026–27: Dates, Zones & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Youth pheasant hunt — Zone A | Most Wildlife Management Units (broadest zone, cocks only) | Sep 26 – Sep 27 |
| Regular season — Zone A | Most Wildlife Management Units (broadest zone, cocks only) | Oct 1 – Feb 28 |
| Youth pheasant hunt — Zone B | Wildlife Management Units per DEC's pheasant zone map (cocks only) | Oct 10 – Oct 11 |
| Regular season — Zone B | Wildlife Management Units per DEC's pheasant zone map (cocks only) | Oct 17 – Feb 28 |
| Youth pheasant hunt — Zone C | Wildlife Management Units per DEC's pheasant zone map (cocks only) | Oct 10 – Oct 11 |
| Regular season — Zone C | Wildlife Management Units per DEC's pheasant zone map (cocks only) | Oct 17 – Dec 31 |
| Youth pheasant hunt — Long Island | Nassau and Suffolk Counties, west of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet (cocks & hens) | Oct 24 – Oct 25 |
| Regular season — Long Island | Nassau and Suffolk Counties, west of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet (cocks & hens) | Nov 1 – Dec 31 |
| Youth pheasant hunt — East of Shinnecock | Suffolk County, east of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet (cocks only) | Oct 24 – Oct 25 |
| Regular season — East of Shinnecock | Suffolk County, east of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet (cocks only) | Nov 1 – Dec 31 |
02 — Bag limits
| Zones A/B/C — daily (youth and regular) | 2 (cocks only) |
|---|---|
| Long Island (west of Shinnecock) — daily | 2 in youth hunt / 4 in regular season (cocks & hens) |
| Long Island (west of Shinnecock) — season possession | 30 |
| East of Shinnecock Canal & Inlet — daily | 2 in youth hunt / 4 in regular season (cocks only) |
| East of Shinnecock Canal & Inlet — season possession | 30 |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (September 26, 2026) 06:54 — 18:51
Rule: Sunrise to sunset, per NYSDEC's small game hunting hours (exact local sunrise/sunset times vary through the season — the guide directs hunters to its own Sunrise-Sunset Table). 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
Pheasant hunters in New York need a New York hunting license — a standard New York hunting license — no separate pheasant stamp or permit is required
New York hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in New York — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does pheasant season open in New York?
The earliest 2026–27 opener is September 26, 2026. See the table above for each segment and zone.
When does pheasant season end in New York?
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 York?
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 York State Department of Environmental Conservation before you hunt.
How many pheasants can you shoot in New York per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Zones A/B/C — daily (youth and regular) — 2 (cocks only). Long Island (west of Shinnecock) — daily — 2 in youth hunt / 4 in regular season (cocks & hens). Long Island (west of Shinnecock) — season possession — 30. East of Shinnecock Canal & Inlet — daily — 2 in youth hunt / 4 in regular season (cocks only). East of Shinnecock Canal & Inlet — season possession — 30. 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 York?
On opening day (September 26, 2026) legal light runs 06:54 to 18:51. The rule is: Sunrise to sunset, per NYSDEC's small game hunting hours (exact local sunrise/sunset times vary through the season — the guide directs hunters to its own Sunrise-Sunset Table). Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local New York sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt pheasant 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. Read from NYSDEC's 'Small Game Hunting Information' PDF chapter, confirmed on every page as the '2026-2027 New York Hunting & Trapping Guide' (fetched via r.jina.ai, then re-fetched as raw binary and run through pdftotext -layout locally for an exact table transcription, since jina's HTML rendering of the pheasant table garbled rows on the first pass). The guide's pheasant table lists five opener/closer pairings tied to a color-coded WMU zone map (not spelled out as WMU numbers in the text): (A) Oct. 1, 2026 - Feb. 28, 2027, youth hunt Sept. 26-27, 2026, daily bag 2, cocks only; (B) Oct. 17, 2026 - Feb. 28, 2027, youth hunt Oct. 10-11, 2026, daily bag 2, cocks only; (C) Oct. 17, 2026 - Dec. 31, 2026, youth hunt Oct. 10-11, 2026, daily bag 2, cocks only; (D) Nov. 1, 2026 - Dec. 31, 2026, youth hunt Oct. 24-25, 2026, daily bag 2 (youth) / 4 (regular), season limit 30, cocks and hens, footnoted 'in WMU 2A no youth hunt, hunting is by falconry only'; (E) same Nov. 1, 2026 - Dec. 31, 2026 / Oct. 24-25, 2026 dates but cocks only, for the area east of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet. Because the guide shows the A/B/C zone boundaries only as a map graphic, this file labels them 'Zone A/B/C' as descriptive placeholders, not official DEC zone names — hunters should confirm their own WMU against DEC's interactive pheasant zone map. Rows D and E are confidently identified as Long Island (Nassau/Suffolk) and the Suffolk County area east of the Shinnecock Canal & Inlet respectively, both named explicitly on the season map legend. RE-CHECKED 2026-08-15, still unresolved: tried both dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hunting/small-game/pheasant and dec.ny.gov/things-to-do/hunting/small-game/seasons directly — both confirm DEC genuinely does not publish a text-based WMU list for pheasant Zones A/B/C anywhere on the live site, only the same interactive map graphic. This appears to be a real DEC publishing gap, not something this project's fetch tools are simply failing to reach — the 'Zone A/B/C' placeholder labeling is the most honest representation available short of visually reading the interactive map. The guide also states DEC's propagation program releases 'approximately 50,000 pheasants... annually' and that hunting hours are sunrise to sunset; a standard hunting license is required with no separate pheasant stamp found.