Tennessee · Rabbit · 2026–27 Edition
Tennessee Rabbit Season 2026–27: Dates & Bag Limits
01 — Seasons
| Season | Zone | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Rabbit | Statewide | Nov 7 – Feb 28 |
02 — Bag limits
| Daily | 5 |
|---|---|
| Possession | 10 (twice the daily bag, per TWRA's small-game regulations page — pending a final visual check against the printed guide) |
03 — Shooting hours
Legal light on opening day (November 7, 2026) 05:45 — 17:15
Rule: 30 minutes before legal sunrise to 30 minutes after legal sunset — TWRA's general rule. Note the distinction TWRA draws for rabbit: CHASING rabbits with dogs is permitted day or night, but rabbits may not be SHOT at night, so these hours are the ones that govern taking one. Sunrise/sunset shift daily — the times above are computed for opening day; use your local Tennessee sun times for any other date.
04 — License
Rabbit hunters in Tennessee need a Tennessee hunting license.
Tennessee hunting license cost →
Where to hunt public land in Tennessee — WMAs by county & access rules →
05 — FAQ
When does rabbit season start in Tennessee?
The 2026–27 opener is November 7, 2026. See the table above for the full window.
When does rabbit season end in Tennessee?
The 2026–27 closing date is February 28, 2027.
Is there a closed season on rabbit in Tennessee?
Yes — see the dates above. Outside that window, taking rabbit is closed in Tennessee.
How many rabbits can you shoot in Tennessee per day?
2026–27 bag limits: Daily — 5. Possession — 10 (twice the daily bag, per TWRA's small-game regulations page — pending a final visual check against the printed guide). Limits are set per zone and per permit — check the agency's own regulations before you hunt.
What time can you start shooting rabbit in Tennessee?
On opening day (November 7, 2026) legal light runs 05:45 to 17:15. The rule is: 30 minutes before legal sunrise to 30 minutes after legal sunset — TWRA's general rule. Note the distinction TWRA draws for rabbit: CHASING rabbits with dogs is permitted day or night, but rabbits may not be SHOT at night, so these hours are the ones that govern taking one. Sunrise and sunset shift daily, so work the offset against your local Tennessee sun times for any other date.
Can I hunt rabbits on my own land in Tennessee without a license?
Tennessee landowners, their spouse and children (and children's spouses), may hunt and fish their own farmland without a license — they don't have to live there. Tenants get the same right, but only while actually living on the land with the owner's permission. Deer, bear, and boar permits and the Duck Stamp still apply, and a signed exemption statement must be carried while hunting.
Verified · Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency · Last verified 2026-08-14
Publisher's note. Official TWRA hunting-seasons summary page, fetched directly — confirmed twice against the same page. Rabbit runs one simple statewide season with no zone or unit split (unlike deer) and no youth-only day of its own. The possession limit (10, stated as twice the daily bag) comes from the TWRA small-game regulations page (https://www.tn.gov/twra/hunting/small-game-regulations.html) via automated summarization rather than a directly quoted table cell — worth a visual double-check against the printed 2026-27 Hunting & Trapping Guide once it's live. A rabbit-specific shooting-hours rule was not found on an official page this round; the general statewide default is used as fallback (see shootingHours omitted here — page falls back to the state registry rule), unconfirmed as rabbit-specific.