Hunting on Big Stone National Wildlife Refuge in 2026-27

Big Stone NWR regulations in short

Read these before a first trip to Big Stone NWR; they come from the agency page.

50 CFR 32.42 text for this unit (excerpt): —(1) Migratory game bird hunting. We allow hunting of migratory game bird species authorized by the State, except for hunting of sandhill crane, on designated areas of the refuge subject to the following conditions: (i) We allow access for hunting from 1 hour before legal sunrise until 1 hour after legal sunset. (ii) We allow the use of dogs, provided the dog is under the immediate control of the hunter at all times. (iii) Hunters must dismantle all blinds and platforms made from natural vegetation at the end of each day. Hunters may not bring vegetation onto the refuge from offsite. (iv) Hunters and anglers must remove all personal property, including but not limited to boats, decoys, blind materials, stands, platforms, and cameras, brought onto the refuge at the end of each day's hunt (see §§ 27.93 and 27.94 of this chapter). (v) Only non-motorized boats are permitted for access on refuge waters. (vi) During the waterfowl season, the use of non-motorized boats is prohibited in the West Pool unit. The East Pool unit will remain open for non-motorized boats during waterfowl season for hunting and fishing. (vii) We allow hunting from September 1 through the last day of February. …

Sources: record; booklet: 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked October 28, 2026.

Hunting seasons at Big Stone NWR

41 season windows for 21 species reach Big Stone NWR, filtered by its game species list.

Blaze orange or pink is required during the firearms deer seasons, including for most small game hunters.

From the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations booklet (Minnesota Department of Natural Resources); checked October 28, 2026. All Minnesota seasons.

Other places to hunt near Big Stone NWR

The closest other public land to Big Stone NWR is Menzel WPA, 3.0 mi to the north; the table lists 8 neighbors with 1,718 acres between them.

Points: USFWS Interest layer (fee-title refuge land in Minnesota) (polygon centroid of the largest part). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.

Big Stone NWR area deer harvest by year

DPA 278 totals, which include all the land around Big Stone NWR: 639 deer in 2025 against 624 in 2024.

2019-2025 from Table 3 (total harvest per permit area; 2024-2025 exclude special hunts); 2017-2018 from Table 9 (all seasons, special hunts reallocated to the surrounding DPA). DPA boundaries changed over time (e.g. 103/108 in 2018), so older DPAs may not match 2026 polygons.

DNR 2025 deer harvest report; earlier years from the DNR yearly reports. Checked October 28, 2026.

Big Stone NWR: first legal light and last

Calculated for the exact spot of Big Stone NWR, so the minutes differ a little from the county tables.

Spring turkey uses the bird column.

Hours rule from the DNR booklet shooting hours page; sun times calculated for the unit point (NOAA method, Central Time); checked October 28, 2026. Legal hours for every county.

Big Stone NWR and country like it, in photos

Four more like Big Stone NWR

Before a trip to Big Stone NWR

Plan with this page, then check the agency page for Big Stone NWR the week you go.

Sources: source · source · source · source · source; regulations from the 2026-2027 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations. Checked October 28, 2026.