Delta National Wildlife Refuge hunting guide

Delta NWR permits, methods and limits

Refuge seasons sit inside state seasons; 50 CFR 32.37(m) adds the Delta NWR conditions.

Migratory game bird hunting

We allow hunting of duck, merganser, teal, light and dark goose, dove, snipe, rail, gallinule, and coot on designated areas of the refuge subject to the following conditions:

• Each person age 18 and older must possess and carry a valid, signed refuge user brochure while on the refuge.
• We allow migratory bird hunting on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays from 1/2 hour before legal sunrise until 2 p.m. during the State seasons, including the regular waterfowl season, the State teal season, State youth waterfowl season, State veterans waterfowl season, and State light goose special conservation season.
• We only allow temporary blinds. You must remove both blinds and decoys by 2 p.m. each day (see § 27.93 of this chapter).
• When hunting migratory game birds, you may only use dogs to locate, point, and retrieve game.
• We prohibit discharge of firearms (see § 27.42 of this chapter) within 500 feet (152 meters (m)) of any residence or oil and gas infrastructure, or within 200 feet (61 m) of any road, railroad, levee, water control structure, power lines, designated public use trail, building, designated camping area, designated parking area, or other designated public facility.
• All youth hunters age 15 and younger must be supervised by an adult during all hunts. One adult may supervise up to two youths during upland game and migratory game bird hunts, but may supervise only one youth during big game hunts. The supervising adult must maintain visual and voice contact with the youth at all times.
• Migratory bird hunters may enter the refuge no earlier than 4 a.m., and all hunters must exit the refuge no later than 2 hours after legal sunset.

Upland game hunting

We allow hunting of rabbit, and the incidental take of nutria, coyote, raccoon, armadillo, and opossum, on designated areas of the refuge subject to the following conditions:

• The refuge rabbit season opens the day after the State duck season closes and continues through the remainder of the State rabbit season.
• We restrict hunting to shotgun only.
• We allow the use of dogs when rabbit hunting.
• We prohibit upland game hunting on days corresponding with refuge deer gun hunts.

Big game hunting

We allow hunting of white-tailed deer on designated areas of the refuge subject to the following conditions:

• We allow archery deer hunting, bucks only, from October 1 through 15. We allow either-sex archery deer hunting from October 16 through 31, and from the day after the close of the State duck season through the end of the State deer archery season.
• We allow placement of temporary deer stands up to 48 hours prior to the start of deer archery season. Hunters must remove all deer stands within 48 hours after the archery deer season closes (see § 27.93 of this chapter). We allow only one deer stand per hunter on the refuge. Deer stands must have the owner's State license/sportsmen's identification number clearly printed on the stand.
• We prohibit deer drives. We define a deer drive as an organized or planned effort to pursue, drive, chase, or otherwise frighten or cause deer to move in the direction of any person who is part of the organized or planned hunt and known to be waiting for the deer.
• We prohibit the use of deer decoys.
• We allow shotgun deer hunting on Saturday and Sunday during the first split of the regular waterfowl season.
• Deer hunters must display State Wildlife Management Area (WMA) hunter-orange or blaze-pink (as governed by State WMA regulations).

From eCFR 50 CFR 32.37 and the refuge hunting page; text truncated where the record stops; checked November 4, 2026.

Photos for Delta NWR