When is small game season in ny

Junior firearms and bow hunting permits are also available for resident and nonresident youth. Hunters can report their harvests online or over the phone. Hunters can also scope out designated public and private hunting lands through the state conservation website. New York implements hunting zones for take method, and many zones have differing season start and end dates.

Rule changes include extending hunting hours and dress code requirements when afield to improve hunter safety. New this year, and year-old hunters may join and year-olds participating in Upstate counties that have passed a local law for these juniors to hunt deer with firearms. During this time, youth ages 12 to 15 may use a firearm to hunt big game while accompanied by an experienced, licensed hunter.

All eligible junior hunters may take one deer of either sex, and and year-olds may also take one bear. Junior hunters may only take one deer with a firearm during the Youth Big Game Hunt, even if they have multiple deer tags.

Late Bowhunting Season: December 6 - December 12 only applies in some areas. New York has five waterfowl zones and nine Canada goose zones that help to maximize hunting opportunity across diverse habitats. Most waterfowl zones also have special hunting days for youth and members of the military both active duty and veterans that often begin prior to the regular hunting season, giving these hunters the opportunity to hunt with less competition and hunting pressure.

Ruffed grouse hunting season runs from Oct. In Northern New York, the season opens on Sept. Ruffed grouse hunters in the Northern Zone are reminded to positively identify quarry before shooting. Loss of a single spruce grouse , particularly a female, could be a significant setback for a small local population. DEC encourages ruffed grouse hunters to take part in the grouse hunting log program and submit feathers from harvested birds to assess recruitment number of young produced per adult female grouse for different parts of the state.

Interested hunters should visit the DEC website. DEC will release approximately 30, adult pheasants on lands open to public hunting for the upcoming fall pheasant hunting season. The pheasant hunting season begins:. Since , DEC has offered a special youth-only season to provide junior hunters the opportunity to hunt pheasants during the weekend prior to the regular pheasant hunting season.

In Western New York, the youth pheasant hunt weekend is Oct. In northern and eastern New York, the youth pheasant hunt weekend is Sept. Both the junior hunter and their adult mentor must have a hunting license.

Only the junior hunter can carry a firearm and harvest birds on these dates. All release sites for pheasants provided by State-funded programs are open to public hunting. Pheasants will be released on State-owned lands prior to and during the fall hunting season and at several sites on New York City Watershed lands thanks to a partnership with New York City Department of Environmental Protection.

Pheasant hunting opportunities have also been augmented by private landowners who have opened their land to public hunting. Opportunities to pursue squirrels and rabbits can be found throughout the state, including on many public lands.

Squirrel seasons started Sept. Rabbit hunting begins on Oct.