Fall hunting guide 2026: The best places to hunt, when seasons begin and what animals are in season
Here are the best locations to hunt this fall and what animals and regulations apply to various states in the Northeast U.S.
Watch: Truffle hunting dog
Elfie, truffle hunting dog, went home with the top prize Saturday after winning the 10th Annual Joriad NA Truffle Dog Competition during the Oregon Truffle Festival.
As fall officially begins, it brings beautiful colors, cooler temperatures and changing environments as many animals respond to the shift in seasons.
With astronomical fall beginning, a new hunting season starts in various states in the Northeast, where many animals are easier to spot as leaves fall and colors change.
The Northeast is known for its unique, beautiful environments, which is why so many people flock outdoors to hunt for a chance to score big and small game.
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Here are the best locations to hunt this fall and what animals and regulations apply to various states in the Northeast U.S.
New York
The Big Apple offers a variety of public hunting opportunities in state parks and recreation areas.
The state is divided into regions by animal type, when you can hunt them and what methods you can use.
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Hunting zones are divided into the northern and southern sections of the state, each with different start times for certain animals.
New York hunting zone map.
Ideal locations in search of a good hunt throughout the state include Minnewaska State Park Preserve in Ulster County, Roosa Gap State Forest in Sullivan County and Pawling Nature Reserve in Dutchess County.
If you plan to pursue deer, bowhunting in the northern zones runs from Sept. 27 to Oct. 23, after which you may use regular legal hunting methods until Dec. 6.
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Times Union staff photo by John Carl D'Annibale: Herbert Spalding,at right, and his son Josh Spalding, both of Ballston Spa, deer hunt in Middlegrove Tuesday afternoon October 23, 2007. Deer hunting season in the Northern Zone opened October 20. (John Carl D'Annibale /Albany Times Union / Getty Images)
You can only hunt antlered deer for a brief period, from Oct. 17 to Oct. 23.
Regular black bear hunting stretches from Sept. 19 to Dec. 6.
FILE: Black Bear. (Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks / FOX Weather)
Hunting for cottontail rabbits and various hare stretches from Oct. 1 to Mar. 21.
In the southern zones, bowhunting begins a bit later for deer, Oct. 1 to Nov. 20, before normal hunting methods such as firearms are allowed, Nov. 21 to Dec. 13.
The black bear pursuit began on Sept. 19 and will end Dec. 6. Turkey hunting begins Oct. 1 to Oct. 14, and hunters may take only one bird of either gender for the fall.
New Jersey
The Garden State is home to more than 300,000 acres of land managed by the New Jersey State Park Service and offers public hunting opportunities across the state, including Long Pond Ironworks State Park in Passaic County and Hainesville Wildlife Management Area in Sussex County.
Deer hunting season begins on different dates in different zones, but generally starts on Sept. 12 (with early fall bow season) and ends on Feb. 20.
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The state permits hunting a wide variety of animals during fall, including black bears, coyotes, foxes, upland game birds and furbearers (beavers, otters, muskrats, raccoons, skunks and weasels).
THOUSAND OAKS, CALIFORNIA - AUGUST 23: A coyote walks on a sidewalk in a residential neighborhood on August 23, 2026 in Thousand Oaks, California. (Kevin Carter / Getty Images)
Black bear season dates:
- Option A: Oct. 12 to 17; archery Oct. 15 to 17 (9 a.m. to 9 p.m.); archery or muzzleloader (muzzleloader rifle legal during the last three days of option A, plus all of option B).
- Option B: Dec. 7 to 12 (noon to 7 p.m.), shotgun/muzzleloader only.
Coyote and Fox hunting
- Daytime hunting for coyotes and foxes begins on Sept. 8 and ends on Mar. 15.
- The nighttime season will run Jan. 1 to Mar. 15, 2027.
New Jersey hunting zone map. (NJFishandWildlife.nj.gov )
The following weapon types will be allowed during the daytime season (Sept. 8 to March 15):
- Bow
- Shotgun (10-20 gauge, loaded with #4 fine to #3 buckshot)
- Centerfire rifle
- Rimfire rifle
- Muzzleloader rifle
- Air gun (.25 cal. only)
Connecticut
Connecticut offers a variety of public hunting areas managed by wildlife officials, including Algonquin State Forest, American Legion State Forest and Centennial Watershed State Forest (archery deer hunting allowed by permit when the shotgun deer lottery season is closed).
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Hunting deer on state land with weapons such as 12, 16 or 20-gauge shotguns loaded with single soft alloy projectile ammunition, with rifled or smoothbore barrels, is allowed and runs from Nov. 18 to Dec. 8.
BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 26: A wild turkey spreads its wings near the Berkeley Marina in Berkeley, Calif., on Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024. (Jane Tyska/Digital First Media/East Bay Times / Getty Images)
Turkey hunting by way of firearms on state and private land begins on Oct. 3 and ends Oct. 31.
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Garrett Zagurski 14, of Terriville takes aim as a pheasant pops into the air from a spring loaded launcher while also being mindful of the location of Penny the hunting dog. The Department of Energy and Environmental Protection's wildlife division held a junior hunting training day' for 12-15 year olds to learn how to hunt pheasants with members of the Harwinton Rod and Gun Club in Colebrook, Connecticut October 11th 2025. ((Joe Amon/Connecticut Public )
The legal firearms allowed to hunt turkeys are shotguns; 20 gauge or larger is permitted. Hunting bears is illegal in Connecticut.
Other animals that are legal to hunt include small game such as ducks, geese, cottontale, pheasant, ruffed grouse, quail, chukar, hungarian partridge and crows.
Massachusetts
The Bay State offers numerous opportunities to hunt a wide variety of animals in the fall.
If you're looking for a hunting location with easy-to-understand regulations, officials suggest considering one of the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife (MassWildlife) properties, with more than 200,000 acres of land open to hunting, fishing and trapping.
Government officials offer the MassWildlife Lands Viewer to help you find the best place to hunt under the correct seasonal regulations.
NORTON, MA - OCTOBER 21: A hunter walks through the Erwin Wilder Wildlife Management Area as drones capture footage in order to monitor illegal hunting practices at on October 21, 2013 in Norton, Massachusetts. (Leigh Vogel / Getty Images)
Early deer hunting season in the fall begins on Sept. 21 and ends Oct. 1, followed by archery hunting from Oct. 5 to Nov. 28.
Finally, the deer hunting season wraps up with legal use of firearms, including shotguns, from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. Other primitive firearms are allowed from Dec. 14 until the start of the new year.
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You may hunt black bears in Massachusetts, with the fall hunting season running from Sept. 7 to Dec. 12.
FILE - A whitetail deer looks for food in the woods in the Wyomissing Parklands Thursday afternoon November 19, 2020. (Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group / Reading Eagle / Getty Images)
Hunting wild turkeys is legal from Oct. 5 to Nov. 28.
You may hunt cotton rabbits, coyotes, snowshoe hares, quail and ruffed grouse from Oct. 17 to Feb. 27.
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Maine
Maine offers some of the best hunting opportunities in the U.S., with over 17 million acres of land and waterways to explore and enjoy the skill of hunting in the great outdoors.
About 94% of Maine's forest land is privately owned, but more than half is open to the public.
Unless otherwise noted, wildlife management areas are open to hunting and trapping of all game under certain regulations.
Staff Photo by John Patriquin, Wednesday, September 28, 2005: Maine guide Dave Drexel (right) scans a clear cut for moose with 14 year old Buckley Parker during the first day of the moose hunt in northern Maine. Parker has one of two moose permits in Maine from the non-profit Hunt of a Lifetime. ( John Patriquin/Portland Press Herald / Getty Images)
Locations such as Bradbury Mountain State Park, Camden Hills State Park and Mount Blue State Park are open to the public for hunting.
The state offers hunting opportunities for deer, moose, black bear, wild turkeys and many other small game.
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NAHKELA, TUUSULA, FINLAND - 2016/10/15: Few meters inside the forest the hit moose is spotted by the hunters laying dead on the ground Hunting, in Finland, is much more than a simple Sunday hobby. The Finns have always been hunters, it was the only way to provide food for the winter and to control dangerous animals like bears. Spread in the vast Finnish forests, villages had always to care about their own subsistence. Even todays hunters have the same spirit, inherited from their fathers and grandfathers. (Alessandro Rampazzo/SOPA Images/LightRocket / Getty Images)
Fall bear hunting season begins Aug. 31 and ends Nov. 28.
If you plan on hunting moose, the fall season is extremely brief and requires a permit.
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ACTON, ME - OCTOBER 27: Christine Barnes hunts for deer with her 7-month-old son Connor on Saturday, Oct. 27, 2018 in Acton. Barnes, who shot and killed a 130-pound doe on opening day last year, while hunting 5-months pregnant with Connor, wants him to have the same opportunities to experience hunting and other outdoors activities. (Derek Davis/Portland Portland Press Herald / Getty Images)
If you pursue moose without antlers, the season starts Oct. 26 and ends Oct. 31.
You may hunt wild turkey with archery and shotguns, with the season starting Sept. 14 and ending Nov. 7.
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Other species, such as snowshoe hare and gray squirrel, begin on Sept. 26 with a limit of four kills per day and run through the new year, along with various other animals that are legal to pursue.