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Vermont · 2026-27 season year

Vermont Deer Season 2026-27

Gun season opens Nov 14, right as the rut peaks. Archery: October 1, 2026 to December 15, 2026. 16-Day Regular Season: November 14, 2026 to November 29, 2026. Every date below comes from Vermont Fish and Wildlife 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.
October 1, 2026 to December 15, 2026
Archery
published
November 14, 2026 to November 29, 2026
16-Day Regular Season
published
November 30, 2026 to December 13, 2026
Dec. Muzzleloader
published
Statewide
Zone structure
as the agency draws it
The four questions in one

Vermont deer seasons, 2026-27

“When does deer season open” is four questions wearing one coat. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department dates white-tailed 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.

Archery

published

Archery runs October 1, 2026 to December 15, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont archery, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideOctober 1, 2026December 15, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

A separately dated Expanded Archery window in designated areas runs earlier in September; see otherSeasons.

16-Day Regular Season

published

16-Day Regular Season runs November 14, 2026 to November 29, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont 16-day regular season, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 14, 2026November 29, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Vermont's November rifle season, named the 16-Day Regular Season in the agency table.

Dec. Muzzleloader

published

Dec. Muzzleloader runs November 30, 2026 to December 13, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont dec. muzzleloader, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 30, 2026December 13, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Follows the regular season. A separate October muzzleloader antlerless window by permit only is listed under otherSeasons.

Youth Weekend and Novice Weekend

published

Youth Weekend and Novice Weekend runs November 7, 2026 to November 8, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont youth weekend and novice weekend, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
StatewideNovember 7, 2026November 8, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

The agency lists the Youth Weekend and the Novice Weekend on the same dates, the weekend before the regular season.

Which days to sit, this week

Rutland, VT · peak breeding about Nov 15

Rated Slow to Prime from the rut stage, the National Weather Service forecast and first light. See the full Vermont 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.

Deer: 16-Day Regular Season
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, read September 2, 2026. Read it at the source
The rest of the calendar

Other Vermont deer seasons the agency names

Beyond the four main windows, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department dates 2 further seasons for deer. They are reproduced here under the agency’s own names, because a hunter reading a calendar needs to know which window a tag actually covers.

Expanded Archery in designated areas

published

Expanded Archery in designated areas runs September 15, 2026 to September 30, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont expanded archery in designated areas, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Designated areasSeptember 15, 2026September 30, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

September archery window limited to the designated areas the agency maps.

Oct. Muzzleloader Antlerless Deer Season by permit only

published

Oct. Muzzleloader Antlerless Deer Season by permit only runs October 29, 2026 to November 1, 2026 across all zones.

Vermont oct. muzzleloader antlerless deer season by permit only, as published by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department
ZoneOpensClosesNotes
Statewide (by permit)October 29, 2026November 1, 2026

Dates read from Hunting and Trapping Seasons, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, accessed 2026-09-02.

Permit only antlerless muzzleloader window ahead of the youth and novice weekend.

Zones

One calendar, one state

Vermont is one of the states that keeps it simple: Vermont Fish and Wildlife 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.

Alert white-tailed buck standing in bare late fall brush at dusk
A buck on the move in bare November brush at Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota. Photo: Liz Julian/USFWS. “White-tailed Deer, Karl E. Mundt National Wildlife Refuge, South Dakota” — Liz Julian / USFWS Mountain Prairie — Public domain
Rules

Vermont 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 Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, and its regulations page is linked below.

Current Vermont regulations

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

Vermont Fish and Wildlife 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

Vermont deer movement forecastThe next 7 days rated Slow to Prime for deer movement, from the forecast and first light.Vermont 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.Vermont turkey seasonSpring and fall wild turkey windows for 2026-27, under the same sourcing rules.Vermont duck seasonDuck and goose season dates by zone and flyway, read from the same agency.Vermont fall foliagePeak color and the archery weeks overlap. Plan the same trip.

Vermont 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 Vermont Fish and Wildlife 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 Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, whose page is the final word on the day you hunt. See also the national deer season guide and the Vermont rut timing page.