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Upland and small game · 2026-27
Cottontail Rabbit Hunting in Pennsylvania
Juniors and mentored youth start early, Oct 3 to Oct 18, 2026; everyone else opens Oct 17, 2026. Dates, limits, land, rules and harvest numbers for cottontails, all from the Game Commission.
Photo: mbarrison (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The regular cottontail season closes for Christmas Day and reopens Dec. 26 through Feb. 28, 2027. Survey estimates put the 2025 rabbit harvest at 66,555 by 29,948 hunters. Rabbit is listed on 71 public tracts, most of them State Game Lands with farm edges and brush.
Cottontail Rabbit at a glance
- Junior hunt Oct. 3-18; regular Oct. 17-Dec. 24 and Dec. 26-Feb. 28, 2027; 4 daily, 12 possession.
Cottontail Rabbit dates by WMU and zone
The table lists 4 rows from the PGC season table and digest; the last column checks each one against today.
| Segment | Where | Opening | Closing | Days | Sundays | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Junior hunt | Statewide | Oct 3, 2026 | Oct 18, 2026 | 16 | 3 | |
| Regular season | Statewide | Oct 17, 2026 | Dec 24, 2026 | 69 | 10 | |
| Regular season | Statewide | Dec 26, 2026 | Feb 28, 2027 | 65 | 10 | |
| Falconry | Statewide | Sep 1, 2026 | Mar 31, 2027 | 212 | 30 |
Rules attached to the dates
- Eligible junior hunters and mentored hunters under 17. 4 daily, 12 possession.
- 4 daily, 12 possession.
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission seasons and bag limits and the 2026-27 digest, checked October 12, 2026.
Cottontail Rabbit bag and possession limits
These rabbit limits apply statewide unless a WMU row says otherwise.
Limit for cottontail rabbit
4 daily, 12 possession.
Cottontail Rabbit on State Game Lands and forests
71 areas list rabbit, from Bald Eagle State Forest (194,602 acres) down.
| Public area | Kind | County | Unit | Acres |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Eagle State Forest | State Forest | Union, Centre, Mifflin | 4D | 194,602 |
| Moshannon State Forest | State Forest | Clearfield, Centre, Elk | 2E/2G/4D | 190,031 |
| Rothrock State Forest | State Forest | Huntingdon, Centre, Mifflin | 4A/4D | 96,000 |
| Delaware State Forest | State Forest | Pike, Monroe | 3D | 83,519 |
| Forbes State Forest | State Forest | Somerset, Fayette, Westmoreland | 2C | 59,000 |
| Pinchot State Forest | State Forest | Lackawanna, Luzerne, Monroe | 3B/3C/3D/4E | 54,000 |
| State Game Lands 57 | State Game Lands | Wyoming, Luzerne | 3B | 46,676 |
| Gallitzin State Forest | State Forest | Somerset, Cambria, Indiana | 2C/4D | 24,370 |
| Clear Creek State Forest | State Forest | Jefferson, Venango, Clarion | 2D/2F | 16,716 |
| State Game Lands 210 | State Game Lands | Dauphin | 4C | 11,131 |
| State Game Lands 106 | State Game Lands | Berks, Schuylkill, Lehigh | 4C | 9,857 |
| State Game Lands 29 | State Game Lands | Warren | 2F | 9,830 |
| State Game Lands 159 | State Game Lands | Wayne | 3C | 9,448 |
| Erie National Wildlife Refuge | National Wildlife Refuge | Crawford | 1B | 8,959 |
| State Game Lands 119 | State Game Lands | Luzerne | 3D | 8,375 |
The rest of the list
State Game Lands 223 (8,063 ac) · State Game Lands 35 (7,772 ac) · State Game Lands 176 (6,501 ac) · State Game Lands 40 (6,200 ac) · State Game Lands 38 (5,818 ac) · State Game Lands 262 (5,476 ac) · State Game Lands 221 (4,684 ac) · State Game Lands 209 (4,383 ac) · State Game Lands 314 (3,550 ac) · State Game Lands 257 (3,441 ac) · State Game Lands 145 (2,987 ac) · State Game Lands 138 (2,879 ac) · State Game Lands 122 (2,735 ac) · State Game Lands 55 (2,651 ac) · State Game Lands 43 (2,571 ac) · State Game Lands 280 (2,552 ac) · State Game Lands 52 (2,432 ac) · State Game Lands 222 (2,377 ac) · State Game Lands 47 (2,215 ac) · State Game Lands 115 (1,686 ac) · State Game Lands 284 (1,590 ac) · State Game Lands 203 (1,541 ac) · State Game Lands 154 (1,418 ac) · State Game Lands 140 (1,346 ac) · State Game Lands 165 (1,267 ac) · State Game Lands 191 (1,223 ac) · State Game Lands 243 (1,167 ac) · State Game Lands 273 (1,146 ac) · State Game Lands 298 (1,140 ac) · State Game Lands 199 (1,129 ac) · State Game Lands 317 (1,103 ac) · State Game Lands 162 (1,072 ac) · State Game Lands 290 (1,042 ac) · State Game Lands 318 (858 ac) · State Game Lands 258 (852 ac) · State Game Lands 248 (825 ac) · State Game Lands 83 (789 ac) · State Game Lands 78 (777 ac) · State Game Lands 175 (733 ac) · State Game Lands 263 (671 ac) · State Game Lands 144 (648 ac) · State Game Lands 297 (634 ac) · State Game Lands 167 (628 ac) · State Game Lands 181 (554 ac) · State Game Lands 146 (526 ac) · State Game Lands 212 (504 ac) · State Game Lands 303 (487 ac) · State Game Lands 202 (469 ac) · State Game Lands 274 (457 ac) · State Game Lands 246 (424 ac) · State Game Lands 190 (395 ac) · State Game Lands 201 (271 ac) · State Game Lands 327 (244 ac) · State Game Lands 161 (232 ac) · State Game Lands 200 (154 ac) · State Game Lands 220 (96 ac)
Counties to start with for cottontails
- Erie County9 tracts
- Crawford County7 tracts
- Berks County5 tracts
- Monroe County5 tracts
- Centre County4 tracts
- Dauphin County4 tracts
- Indiana County4 tracts
- Lancaster County4 tracts
- York County4 tracts
- Luzerne County3 tracts
- Northumberland County3 tracts
- Schuylkill County3 tracts
- Susquehanna County3 tracts
- Union County3 tracts
- Clearfield County2 tracts
PGC State Game Lands GIS, DCNR forest and park hunting pages and federal managers (PGC layers), retrieved 2026-10-12. Species lists are what each manager names; area rules still apply.
How many cottontails hunters take
Statewide survey estimates for cottontails; the PGC publishes no county or WMU breakdown for this group.
| Year | Harvest | Hunters | Hunter days | Per 100 days |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 66,555 | 29,948 | 139,932 | 47.56 |
| 2024 | 96,750 | 30,393 | 183,293 | 52.78 |
| 2023 | 62,244 | 30,920 | 158,476 | 39.28 |
| 2022 | 67,672 | 34,764 | 184,511 | 36.68 |
| 2021 | 82,663 | 38,325 | 174,799 | 47.29 |
| 2020 | 127,369 | 40,886 | 212,841 | 59.84 |
| 2019 | 108,452 | 40,425 | 206,488 | 52.52 |
| 2018 | 121,710 | 45,333 | 246,356 | 49.4 |
Harvest data: harvest, hunters, hunter days. Estimates as published by the PGC.
Cottontail Rabbit rules in Pennsylvania
Before going after cottontails, check these license, hour and orange rules.
Licenses and fees
Prices as the PGC lists them for cottontails.
Shooting hours
Shooting hours for cottontails begin one-half hour before sunrise and end one-half hour after sunset.
Orange rule
Cottontails are on the orange list, so 250 square inches of fluorescent orange it is.
Sunday hunting
Rabbit hunters may hunt Sundays this year; written landowner permission on private land is recommended rather than required. Sunday hunting guide
From the Pennsylvania Game Commission 2026-27 digest, license types and harvest reporting, checked October 12, 2026. Pennsylvania hunting laws · License guide.
Legal arms and methods: cottontails
What you can carry after cottontails, and what the PGC bans.
| Group | What is legal | What is not |
|---|---|---|
| Small game | Manual and semiautomatic shotguns 10 gauge or less, 3-shell capacity; manual and semiautomatic rifles and manual handguns .22 rimfire or less; air guns .177-.22 (woodchucks at least .22) with single projectile; muzzleloading rifles/handguns .40 or less and shotguns 10 gauge or less; bows and crossbows. No magazine limit on semiautomatic rifles. | BB ammunition; shot larger than No. 4 lead/No. 2 steel. Rifle/handgun caliber limits (except air guns) do not apply to woodchucks. |
| Air guns | Air or gas rifles and manual air handguns .177-.22 for small game; at least .22 for woodchucks and furbearers. | Big game; BB ammunition. |
Cottontail Rabbit methods and restrictions
Dogs
Unlawful to use dogs to hunt elk, bears, deer or spring turkeys; dogs allowed for fall turkey, small game and furbearers (not during regular firearms deer and bear seasons for furbearers). Leashed tracking dogs may recover deer, bear or elk with no permit.
Hunting parties
Max 25 for deer, elk or bears; max 6 for small game (not waterfowl/dove hunters in blinds or stationary).
Field possession limits
Opening day: no more than the daily limit; afterward no more than three days' limit.
2026-27 digest, sporting arms and unlawful acts pages, checked October 12, 2026.
Common rabbit questions
Do juniors need a license for the youth rabbit hunt?
Hunting license not required to hunt squirrels or rabbits in the junior hunts for participants who completed Hunter-Trapper Education. License and fee exemptions under Game and Wildlife Code section 2706 (e.g., certain landowners) are referenced; persons hunting without a license use a homemade tag. Furtaker license not needed to hunt coyotes and porcupines (hunting license suffices); dog training needs no license.
Is fluorescent orange required for cottontails?
Cottontails are on the orange list, so 250 square inches of fluorescent orange it is.
Are cottontails open on Sundays this year?
Rabbit hunters may hunt Sundays this year; written landowner permission on private land is recommended rather than required.
Which weapons are legal for cottontails?
Small game: Manual and semiautomatic shotguns 10 gauge or less, 3-shell capacity; manual and semiautomatic rifles and manual handguns .22 rimfire or less; air guns .177-.22 (woodchucks at least .22) with single projectile; muzzleloading rifles/handguns .40 or less and shotguns 10 gauge or less; bows and crossbows. No magazine limit on semiautomatic rifles.
When does the rabbit season start?
The PGC sets cottontails at junior hunt Oct 3 to Oct 18, 2026; regular season Oct 17 to Dec 24, 2026; regular season Dec 26, 2026 to Feb 28, 2027.
What is the limit on cottontails?
4 daily, 12 possession.
What license do I need for cottontails?
Required or relevant: Resident Adult Hunting License ($20.97); Resident Junior Hunting License ($6.97); Nonresident 7-Day Small Game License ($31.97).
How many public tracts list cottontails?
71 public tracts, including Bald Eagle State Forest, Moshannon State Forest and Rothrock State Forest.
Are there hour limits on cottontails?
Shooting hours for cottontails begin one-half hour before sunrise and end one-half hour after sunset.
Cottontail Rabbit country: what to bring along
Picked for the game hunted here; prices load when you click.
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Last word on cottontails
Before the rabbit trip, confirm your WMU, your license and the orange rule for the segment you hunt.
Other photos on this page: TheTurducken (CC BY 2.0); Wesley Fryer (CC BY 2.0); Dave Doe (CC BY 2.0); Don Faulkner (CC BY-SA 2.0); PierreSelim (CC BY 3.0); Gregory "Slobirdr" Smith (CC BY-SA 2.0).