California · Today · September 15, 2026
What's in Season Right Now in California
7
seasons are open in California today
Closing next: Deer, Nov 29.
Open right now
- Deer General · Archery Through Nov 29 · 75 days left
- Bear General Through Dec 27 · 103 days left
- Dove Mourning & White-winged Dove · Segment 1 · Eurasian Collared-dove & Spotted Dove Through Dec 31 · 107 days left
- Elk Archery · Apprentice (junior hunters, all methods) · +4 more Through Jan 3 · 110 days left
- Squirrel Tree squirrel — general season Through Jan 31 · 138 days left
- Pheasant Falconry Through Feb 28 · 166 days left
- Rabbit Jackrabbit (black- or white-tailed) · Brush, cottontail & pigmy rabbit + varying hare — general season Through Mar 21 · 187 days left
Opening next
No further dates on record
Our California record holds no open dates after these. That usually means the season year is done and California Department of Fish and Wildlife has yet to publish the next one — but where a state runs a later season we have not recorded yet, the season page is the place it will show first. Check there before treating a species as finished for the year.
Today’s sun in California
Sunrise 06:40 Sunset 19:04
Sunrise and sunset for the centre of California — astronomy, not a legal shooting hour. Legal light is set per species and is often half an hour either side of these times, but not always: some seasons run sunrise to sunset, and a few open at a fixed clock time. Each season page carries its own rule.
How this page is worked out
Every season on this page is checked against its own open windows, not the outer span of the licence year. That matters: many seasons close and reopen — a two-day gap for a deer opener, a Christmas Day closure, or a gap of months between a fall and a spring hunt. A page that only looked at the first and last date of the year would call all of those open.
The status is recalculated in your browser when the page loads, so it stays right between updates. Dates come from California Department of Fish and Wildlife and carry a Last verified stamp on each season page.
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