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New York deer and bear hunting: WMUs, seasons and wildlife management areas

DEC estimates New York hunters took 227,032 deer in 2025 and 1,759 bears in 2025, adding up its WMU tables. The 2026 regular firearms deer season runs October 24 to December 6 in the Northern Zone and from November 21 in the Southern Zone. This page links all 89 WMUs with DEC harvest figures and 110 Wildlife Management Areas.

Data updated October 2026. Seasons: DEC's September and October 2026 releases. Harvest: DEC 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; DEC 2025 Bear Harvest Summary.

Map of New York's Wildlife Management Units with the Wildlife Management Areas shaded
Orange: the Northern Zone. Green: Wildlife Management Areas. Each WMU's page has its own map.

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New York sets deer and bear hunting by Wildlife Management Unit and by zone. The Northern Zone covers the Adirondacks and Tug Hill, where the regular firearms season opens in October; the Southern Zone covers the rest of upstate, where it opens in late November. DEC publishes its deer and bear harvest estimates for every WMU each year.

When are New York's 2026 deer and bear seasons?

SeasonZone or WMUsDates, 2026
Deer, early bowhuntingNorthern ZoneSeptember 27 to October 23
Deer, early muzzleloadingNorthern ZoneOctober 17 to 23
Deer, regular firearmsNorthern ZoneOctober 24 to December 6
Youth firearms big game hunt (ages 12 to 15)Northern ZoneOctober 10 to 12
Deer, early bowhunting (most of the zone)Southern ZoneOctober 1 to November 20
Deer, regular firearmsSouthern ZoneNovember 21 to December 13
Youth firearms big game hunt (ages 12 to 15)Southern ZoneOctober 10 to 12
Bear, early bowhunting (most of the zone)Southern ZoneOctober 1 to November 20
Deer, early antlerless season (DMP or DMAP tags only)1C, 3M, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4J, 6P, 7F, 7J, 7H, 7R, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8N, 8R, 8S, 9A, 9F, 9GSeptember 12 to 20
Bear, early season3A, 3C, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3P, 3R, 4P, 4R, 4WSeptember 12 to 27
Bear, regular firearms5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6C, 6F, 6H, 6JSeptember 19 to December 6
Bear, early bowhunting6A, 6G, 6K, 6NSeptember 19 to October 23
Bear, early muzzleloading6A, 6G, 6K, 6NOctober 17 to 23
Bear, regular firearms6A, 6G, 6K, 6NOctober 24 to December 6

Sources: DEC, 2026-27 early big game hunting seasons in September; DEC, 2026 big game hunting seasons in October. The Southern Zone regular season follows DEC's rule: the third Saturday of November for 23 days. DEC's 2026-27 Hunting and Trapping Guide lists every late season.

What changed for New York deer hunters in 2026?

From 2026, every hunting license comes with a first antlered deer tag. A hunter who takes and reports an antlerless deer on an antlerless tag (a Deer Management Permit, a bow or muzzleloader antlerless tag, or a DMAP tag) earns a second antlered deer tag, which DEC calls Earn-a-2nd-Buck.

In 23 WMUs Deer Management Permits are unlimited for 2026: anyone who applies gets one, and each reported antlerless deer brings a bonus permit. The same 23 WMUs have an early antlerless season, September 12 to 20, in which only antlerless deer may be taken on DMPs or DMAP tags.

Hunters using firearms, muzzleloaders included, must wear a solid or patterned fluorescent orange or pink hat, vest or jacket. Legal hunting hours for deer and bear run from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. Rifles may not be used in Rockland County in any season.

New York's WMUs

The most deer in 2025 came from WMU 9H (8,177), WMU 8G (7,080) and WMU 7M (6,939). The most bears in 2025: WMU 6C (106), WMU 3A (95) and WMU 3M (93).

WMUZoneSquare milesPublic landDeer, 2025Adult bucks, 2025Bears, 2025
WMU 1CSouthern9197.9%3,7651,761
WMU 3ASouthern69150.4%97481895
WMU 3CSouthern32914.4%1,10065966
WMU 3FSouthern3373.1%7354625
WMU 3GSouthern4643.6%1,13366918
WMU 3HSouthern5490.9%3,1441,79552
WMU 3JSouthern36811.5%1,41577423
WMU 3KSouthern3816.7%1,39486960
WMU 3MSouthern7426.7%4,8622,43593
WMU 3NSouthern23819.4%5013271
WMU 3PSouthern13133.4%4272549
WMU 3RSouthern23236.6%3642552
WMU 3SSouthern4751.5%8595071
WMU 4ASouthern4263.1%1,8651,1443
WMU 4BSouthern1621.8%8904641
WMU 4CSouthern1640.6%9405209
WMU 4FSouthern1,1574.1%5,4393,14316
WMU 4GSouthern36612%1,7681,01822
WMU 4HSouthern2837.3%1,7811,13920
WMU 4JSouthern1463.5%5442962
WMU 4KSouthern2540.1%1,21865115
WMU 4LSouthern21916.4%58139012
WMU 4OSouthern7524.8%2,7051,77858
WMU 4PSouthern3672%1,33883730
WMU 4RSouthern2909.4%1,08366857
WMU 4SSouthern2181.7%1,07459010
WMU 4TSouthern1325%6883291
WMU 4USouthern1264.3%42428411
WMU 4WSouthern43415.3%1,47194960
WMU 4YSouthern1751.6%7343964
WMU 4ZSouthern2527.8%1,08057221
WMU 5ANorthern6452.3%1,4151,01014
WMU 5CNorthern1,12126.1%1,2521,01646
WMU 5FNorthern1,33058.1%97283815
WMU 5GNorthern1,24223.2%1,6041,19443
WMU 5HNorthern3,08660.5%2,5172,15493
WMU 5JNorthern71110.7%1,4681,09720
WMU 5RSouthern3793.3%1,7458500
WMU 5SSouthern4261.8%1,9491,14616
WMU 5TSouthern2261.6%5083302
WMU 6ANorthern1,5166.7%4,5683,13210
WMU 6CNorthern9676.5%3,5432,106106
WMU 6FNorthern1,21418.1%1,1711,03564
WMU 6GNorthern9114.7%5,7152,7375
WMU 6HNorthern1690.3%29013517
WMU 6JNorthern1,63250.6%1,3901,16091
WMU 6KNorthern1,14913.2%4,2822,41318
WMU 6NNorthern48718.8%78062715
WMU 6PSouthern2025.7%1,0604550
WMU 6RSouthern5290.7%1,9241,11019
WMU 6SSouthern5792%2,2391,2150
WMU 7ASouthern5441.5%2,9491,5890
WMU 7FSouthern7724.1%3,3371,6260
WMU 7HSouthern4180.2%1,9519600
WMU 7JSouthern8592.1%5,4382,4810
WMU 7MSouthern1,23215.3%6,9393,4941
WMU 7PSouthern4775.2%2,3731,45911
WMU 7RSouthern72912.1%5,1142,4384
WMU 7SSouthern6600.7%4,6112,43832
WMU 8ASouthern4151.3%4,0351,7810
WMU 8CSouthern1453.6%2901610
WMU 8FSouthern7363.9%5,8932,6100
WMU 8GSouthern6964.9%7,0803,1990
WMU 8HSouthern5690.6%5,8502,5940
WMU 8JSouthern7353.4%4,9102,2691
WMU 8MSouthern3078.4%3,2091,3532
WMU 8NSouthern3339.3%4,1211,9424
WMU 8PSouthern3511.9%3,1631,73311
WMU 8RSouthern2871.4%4,6292,0003
WMU 8SSouthern28011%2,6931,2361
WMU 8TSouthern3752.8%4,4012,14837
WMU 8WSouthern43610.7%3,8782,01616
WMU 8XSouthern3932.2%5,6962,52440
WMU 8YSouthern3520.8%2,8101,41529
WMU 9ASouthern4661.7%3,5301,6870
WMU 9FSouthern2750.7%2,6311,3330
WMU 9GSouthern2440.7%1,8438061
WMU 9HSouthern9810.9%8,1774,1364
WMU 9JSouthern7173.1%6,9093,27843
WMU 9KSouthern4453.5%3,9531,93914
WMU 9MSouthern3294.9%2,8401,46415
WMU 9NSouthern2052.8%1,6147617
WMU 9PSouthern57412.6%4,9122,68924
WMU 9RSouthern2379.6%1,33783422
WMU 9SSouthern10494.6%64341614
WMU 9TSouthern2574.7%1,54289414
WMU 9WSouthern2499.1%1,66399610
WMU 9XSouthern2180.3%1,7521,01015
WMU 9YSouthern1251.6%1,62868713

Harvest: DEC 2025 Deer Harvest Summary; DEC 2025 Bear Harvest Summary. Public land measured by FilledTag from USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US 4.1).

How much of New York is public hunting ground?

14.4% of New York's land inside its WMUs is public by PAD-US 4.1: DEC land 4,006,191 acres, state park 341,268 acres, other state land 57,570 acres, national wildlife refuge 24,726 acres, National Park Service 21,389 acres and national forest 16,391 acres.

Wildlife Management Areas with their own page

110 of DEC's Wildlife Management Areas have a page with DEC's acres, habitat, parking and the WMU's harvest.

Questions hunters ask

When does deer season open in New York in 2026?

In the Northern Zone the regular firearms season runs October 24 to December 6, 2026. In the Southern Zone early bowhunting runs October 1 to November 20 and the regular firearms season follows from November 21. An early antlerless season runs September 12 to 20 in 23 Southern Zone WMUs (DEC, September and October 2026).

How many deer were harvested in New York in 2025?

DEC estimates hunters took 227,032 deer in the 2025 seasons: 120,909 antlered bucks and 106,123 antlerless deer (DEC's 2025 Deer Harvest Summary).

How many bears were harvested in New York in 2025?

DEC estimates 1,759 bears: 557 in the Northern Zone and 1,202 in the Southern Zone (DEC's 2025 Bear Harvest Summary).

What is Earn-a-2nd-Buck in New York?

From 2026, a hunter who takes and reports an antlerless deer on an antlerless tag earns a second antlered deer tag for the same seasons. Every license already carries one antlered tag.

Which New York WMUs have unlimited DMPs in 2026?

1C, 3M, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4J, 6P, 7F, 7J, 7H, 7R, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8N, 8R, 8S, 9A, 9F and 9G, by DEC's October 2026 release.

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Where these numbers come from

FilledTag is not part of the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation. DEC's hunting pages are the final word on every rule.

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