Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge: 2026-27 seasons, rules and map
ADCNR's 2026-27 AREA Permit for Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge sets these deer seasons: archery Oct. 15-Feb. 10; there is no turkey season. The area is 1,051 acres of public hunting land in Lauderdale County, run by ADCNR in cooperation with the US Fish & Wildlife Service and TVA. Around it, hunters took an estimated 4,786 deer in Lauderdale County in the 2024-25 season, by ADCNR's hunter harvest survey.
Data updated October 2026. Seasons and rules: ADCNR's 2026-27 AREA Permit for the area. County harvest: ADCNR's hunter harvest survey, 2019-20 to 2024-25.
Key Cave National Wildlife RefugeOther ADCNR WMAsNational wildlife refugeLake or riverHighwayCounty line
| Size | 1,051 acres (measured on ADCNR's WMA boundary) |
|---|---|
| County | Lauderdale County |
| Deer hunts | Archery |
| Archery deer | Oct. 15-Feb. 10 |
| Turkey | No open season |
| Dogs for deer | No dog deer hunting |
| Deer check station | No mandatory check days; record every hunt in the app or on the daily permit |
| Contact | Biologist – Michael Nelson (334) 893-5989 |
| Nearest towns | Sheffield (4 mi), Tuscumbia (4 mi) and Muscle Shoals (8 mi) |
On Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge, inside Seven-Mile Island WMA, ADCNR allows hunting only for the species listed below and only on Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays within those seasons.
When are the 2026-27 deer hunts on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
No dog deer hunting and no buckshot on the area.
| Hunt | Dates, 2026-27 | Daily limit and rules |
|---|---|---|
| Archery | Oct. 15-Feb. 10 | Two deer a day, two unantlered deer or one unantlered deer and one antlered buck |
Deer check station
The results of all hunts must be recorded using the Outdoor Alabama App or Daily Permit and submitted at kiosk at the conclusion of every hunt day.
Source: ADCNR, Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge 2026-27 AREA Permit, read October 2026. The permit and Regulation 220-2-.55 are the final word.
When is turkey season on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
No open turkey season on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge in 2026-27.
What else can you hunt on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
| Game | 2026-27 season on the area |
|---|---|
| Turkey, waterfowl, rail, sandhill crane, furbearer trapping | No Open Season |
| Dove | State season. (Opening day 12:00 noon to sunset; remainder of season: 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset). Bag limit: 15 per day. |
| Rabbit and squirrel | Sept. 12-Feb. 28 – Fox squirrel season closed during February. Bag limit: 8 squirrels per day. 8 rabbits per day. |
| Feral swine (special season) | Sept. 5-Oct. 13 and Feb. 10-14 – Shotguns using slugs only, primitive weapons, bow and arrow, and crossbows. No dogs allowed. Daylight hours only. No bag limit. |
| Crow | Sept. 1-Feb. 28 – No bag limit. |
| Quail | Nov. 7-Feb. 28 – Bag limit: 8 per day. |
| Woodcock and snipe | State season. No hunting on days of primitive weapons deer hunts. Bag limit 3 woodcock per day. 8 snipe per day. |
| Raccoon and opossum | Sept. 1-Feb. 28 – Nighttime hours only. No bag limit. |
| Bobcat, coyote, opossum, feral swine, raccoon, fox | Open during any other scheduled WMA Hunting Season using weapons and ammunition approved for those hunts. No dogs allowed. Daylight hours only. No bag limit. |
What else should you know before hunting Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
- Hunters shall submit deer heads for CWD testing from all deer harvested at the WMA check station or drop-off sampling freezer locations or a scheduled DCNR mobile sampling location.
- No whole deer body parts shall be transported outside of high-risk zone (all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties and north of Hwy. 24/west of Hwy. 43 in Franklin County). Only meat that has been completely deboned; cleaned skull plates with attached antlers, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; unattached bare antlers or sheds; raw capes, if no visible brain or spinal cord tissue is present; upper canine teeth, if no root structure of other soft tissue is present; and finished taxidermy products or tanned hides can be transported outside of the high-risk zone.
Which county is Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge in, and what do hunters take there?
| County | Acres of the area in it | County deer, 2024-25 (estimate) | County turkeys, 2024-25 (estimate) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lauderdale County | 1,051 | 4,786 | 1,193 |
Acres measured by FilledTag on ADCNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, 2026-27 and the U.S. Census Bureau 2024 county boundaries. County estimates: ADCNR Alabama Hunter Harvest 2024-2025 annual report, for the whole county, not the WMA; ADCNR does not publish harvest by WMA.
How do you get to Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
Highways within 5 miles: AL 2, US 72, AL 20 and AL 247. Nearest towns: Sheffield (4 miles), Tuscumbia (4 miles), Muscle Shoals (8 miles) and Florence (8 miles).
The closest other Alabama WMAs with a page here: Seven-Mile Island WMA (next to it), Freedom Hills WMA (5.9 miles), Riverton Community Hunting Area (12.7 miles) and Lauderdale WMA (18.2 miles).
Questions hunters ask
When is deer season on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge in 2026-27?
ADCNR's 2026-27 AREA Permit for Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge sets these deer seasons: archery Oct. 15-Feb. 10.
How many deer can you take a day on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
Two deer a day, two unantlered deer or one unantlered deer and one antlered buck: archery Oct. 15-Feb. 10.
What county is Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge in?
All of it is in Lauderdale County (1,051 acres), measured on ADCNR's boundary.
Do you have to check deer at a check station on Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge?
No mandatory check station days are set for Key Cave National Wildlife Refuge. The results of all hunts must be recorded using the Outdoor Alabama App or Daily Permit and submitted at kiosk at the conclusion of every hunt day.
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What you need to hunt an Alabama WMA
For deer or turkey, ADCNR asks for a Wildlife Management Area License and the right resident or nonresident all-game hunting license, and for every hunt a paper AREA Permit and daily permit unless you check in and out with the Outdoor Alabama WMA Check-In app. Hunters must wear hunter orange or fluorescent pink during gun deer hunts. Full rules: ADCNR WMA Regulation 220-2-.55.
Where these numbers come from
- Seasons, limits, check days and area notes: ADCNR's 2026-27 AREA Permit for each WMA (ADCNR Wildlife Management Areas and 2026-27 AREA Permits).
- Boundary and acres: ADCNR Wildlife Management Area boundaries, 2026-27. County harvest: ADCNR Alabama Hunter Harvest 2024-2025 annual report.
- Counties, highways and towns: U.S. Census Bureau 2024 county boundaries; U.S. Census Bureau TIGER/Line 2024 roads; U.S. Census Bureau 2024 Gazetteer. National forest and refuges: U.S. Forest Service land ownership; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundaries.
FilledTag is not part of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. Numbers are copied from ADCNR or measured from public maps; nothing on this page is estimated by FilledTag.
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