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North Dakota · 2026-27 season year

North Dakota Deer Season 2026-27

Gun season opens Nov 6, as the rut builds toward its peak around Nov 17. Deer Bow: September 4, 2026 to January 3, 2027. Deer Gun: November 6, 2026 to November 22, 2026. Every date below comes from North Dakota Game and Fish Department, linked beside it. See the best days to hunt this week.

This page covers the 2026-27 season year. Dates were read from the agency sources linked below, last checked September 2, 2026. Seasons change annually and agencies correct their own pages; confirm against the linked agency page before you hunt.
September 4, 2026 to January 3, 2027
Deer Bow
published
November 6, 2026 to November 22, 2026
Deer Gun
published
November 27, 2026 to December 13, 2026
Muzzleloader
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

North Dakota deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. North Dakota Game and Fish Department dates white-tailed and mule deer seasons separately by weapon, so each one is below under the agency’s own name for it, with the zone rows exactly as the agency lists them.

Deer Bow

published

Deer Bow runs September 4, 2026 to January 3, 2027 across all zones.

North Dakota deer bow, as published by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideSeptember 4, 2026January 3, 2027Opens at noon Central Time

Dates read from 2026-2027 Deer Hunting Proclamation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Four months of statewide bow season, opening at noon on the first Friday of September and closing in the first days of January.

Deer Gun

published

Deer Gun runs November 6, 2026 to November 22, 2026 across all zones.

North Dakota deer gun, as published by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
All UnitsNovember 6, 2026November 22, 2026The proclamation calls it a 16 and a half day season, opening at noon

Dates read from 2026-2027 Deer Hunting Proclamation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

North Dakota runs a single sixteen and a half day gun season across all units, opening at noon Central Time on the Friday. Which unit a licence is valid in is set by the lottery, not by the calendar.

Muzzleloader

published

Muzzleloader runs November 27, 2026 to December 13, 2026 across all zones.

North Dakota muzzleloader, as published by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 27, 2026December 13, 2026Opens at noon Central Time

Dates read from 2026-2027 Deer Hunting Proclamation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

A seventeen day statewide muzzleloader season opening the day after the gun season closes.

Youth Deer

published

Youth Deer runs September 18, 2026 to September 27, 2026 across all zones.

North Dakota youth deer, as published by North Dakota Game and Fish Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideSeptember 18, 2026September 27, 2026Opens at noon Central Time

Dates read from 2026-2027 Deer Hunting Proclamation, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

A ten day statewide youth season in the second half of September, well ahead of the gun opener.

Which days to sit, this week

Bismarck, ND · peak breeding about Nov 17

Rated Slow to Prime from the rut stage, the National Weather Service forecast and first light. See the full North Dakota deer movement forecast, with the hour to be in the stand, why each day rates as it does, and a week for your own ZIP.

Pursuant to North Dakota law and the recommendation of the Game and Fish Director, I hereby declare open seasons for the taking of deer with bow (Deer Bow), firearms (Deer Gun), Muzzleloader and Youth Deer season.
North Dakota Game and Fish Department, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
Zones

One calendar, one state

North Dakota is one of the states that keeps it simple: North Dakota Game and Fish Department publishes these windows as listed above rather than splitting the state into zones with different openers. That makes the calendar easy and the sourcing no less important, because the dates still change every year.

Which unit or county you hunt can still change what you may take, even where it does not change when the season runs. That is the agency’s to tell you, and its regulations page is linked below.

Heavy antlered mule deer buck standing shoulder deep in snowy sagebrush in Wyoming
A mule deer buck in Wyoming sagebrush. Western general seasons run by unit and draw. Photo: Tom Koerner/USFWS. “Mule Deer Buck in Southwest Wyoming (23007137314)” — Tom Koerner / USFWS Mountain-Prairie — Public domain
Rules

North Dakota deer hunting regulations

Season windows are carried here with their source and read date attached. Everything else a hunter is bound by is set by North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current North Dakota regulations

Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours, tagging and reporting, and license and permit requirements for North Dakota are set by North Dakota Game and Fish Department, are legally binding and change annually. Its current regulations page is linked here.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department: current regulations
Two hunters in blaze orange and camouflage beside a wheelchair at the edge of bare winter woods, one helping the other with gear
Getting ready at the edge of the winter woods on a mobility assisted deer hunt. Many states date a season specifically for hunters with disabilities, and those windows are on the state pages. Photo: U.S. Marine Corps. “USMC-11410” — U.S. Marine Corps (official photo, marines.mil) — Public domain

Deer season dates in other states

North Dakota deer movement forecastThe next 7 days rated Slow to Prime for deer movement, from the forecast and first light.North Dakota deer rutThe biology beside the calendar: when deer actually breed here, from the agency conception studies. Dates are this page; the rut is that one.North Dakota turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.North Dakota duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.North Dakota fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

North Dakota deer season questions

Buck with antlers in velvet standing in tall summer grass in golden light
A buck still in velvet in late summer. The earliest archery openers land within weeks of antlers hardening. “White-tailed Deer Buck in Velvet (48804848567)” — USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain

This page covers the 2026-27 season year with data as of September 2, 2026. Every season window is republished from the North Dakota Game and Fish Department page linked beside it, read on September 2, 2026; windows the agency had not yet published are labelled not yet published. Harvest limits, antler restrictions, permitted arms, shooting hours and license rules are set by North Dakota Game and Fish Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide and the North Dakota rut timing page.