Alabama Deer Season 2026-27: Dates, Zones & What to Know

Alabama's 2026-27 deer seasons are officially set: archery opens October 15, 2026 in Zones A, B, C and the CWD Management Zone (October 1 in Zones D and E), and gun season opens November 21, 2026 in Zones A, B, C and the CMZ (November 7 in D and E), running through February 10, 2027 in most of the state. The dates below come from the adopted 2026-2027 hunting seasons rule (Alabama Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.01, effective June 5, 2026), and are confirmed against Outdoor Alabama's published "Deer Season 2026-2027" page.

012026-27 season dates by zone

Alabama runs six deer zones — A, B, C, D, E, and the CWD Management Zone (CMZ — all of Lauderdale and Colbert counties, plus a portion of Franklin County). Zone A covers most of the state.

Zones A, B, C and CMZ

On open-permit public land in Zones A and B, gun season runs bucks-only Nov. 21 – Dec. 11, either sex Dec. 12 – Jan. 3, then bucks-only again to Feb. 10. Zone C splits differently (either sex Nov. 21-29 and Dec. 12 – Jan. 1 on private land, buck-only between and after).

Zones D and E (portions of west-central and east Alabama)

If you hunt near a zone line — especially the detailed boundaries in DeKalb, Etowah, Jackson, and Marshall counties — pull up the official zone map before the opener.

02Bag limits and key rules

• Three bucks per hunter across all seasons, one per day. One of the three must have at least 4 antler points an inch or longer (Barbour County has its own 3-points-on-one-side rule).
• Unantlered: two per day (or one plus a buck) in Zones A, B, D, E, and CMZ during the applicable seasons; Zone C allows one unantlered plus one buck per day.
• Game Check is mandatory: every deer must be reported within 48 hours via the Outdoor AL app, outdooralabama.com, or 1-800-888-7690 — even license-exempt hunters need a harvest record.
• New for 2026-27: dog-deer hunting on Talladega National Forest land in Talladega County moves to a special permit system with GPS collar requirements.

03License basics

Residents 16-64 need an Alabama hunting license (the all-game license covers deer); non-residents need the all-game or trip license. Game Check reporting is free. Details: Outdoor Alabama hunting licenses.

04Check the official source

Alabama sets its deer seasons by administrative rule, and that rule gets amended — zone lines, either-sex segments and CWD Management Zone boundaries all get revisited between seasons. Confirm your zone, your land type and your dates before you hunt:

• Deer season — Outdoor Alabama
• Adopted rule: Alabama Administrative Code Rule 220-2-.01, "2026-2027 Hunting Seasons"

The adopted rule and Outdoor Alabama's own page are the source of record. Where either disagrees with this post, they are right and this post is wrong. Sitting on a day your zone is closed is a citation, not a misunderstanding.

Accessed August 16, 2026. Zone boundaries and either-sex segments carry exceptions — verify your county and land type before hunting.

05Plan the season

Alabama's rut is famously late and staggered — some counties peak in January, which is exactly why the season runs to February 10:

• Alabama Rut Prediction 2026 — county-level rut timing
• Alabama Solunar Calendar — daily feeding windows
• Best Time to Hunt Today in Alabama — today's hourly outlook
• Trail Pro Intel's free Hunt Forecast rolls weather, wind, and solunar peaks into one score — handy for picking which January weekend deserves a vacation day.