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Season guide

Southern Zone seasons and WMUs

78 WMUs across central, western and southeastern New York and Long Island.

Season calendarWMU lookup

78WMUs

48Counties

Nov 21–Dec 13Regular deer

Photo: NPS Photo (Public domain)

Where the Southern Zone lies

The line between the zones starts at the mouth of the Salmon River on Lake Ontario and runs east through Pulaski, Central Square, Rome, Trenton and Middleville to the Vermont border at South Bay. South of it lie 78 WMUs and all or part of 48 counties. The Southern Zone runs from the Lake Ontario plain and Southern Tier to the Catskills, Hudson Valley and Long Island; it has the September antlerless season, the antler restriction units, the bowhunting-only units and the Dec. 26-Jan. 1 holiday segments.

From the north shore of the Salmon River at Lake Ontario east to Pulaski, Route 11 south to Central Square, Route 49 east to Rome, Route 365 to Trenton, Route 28 to Middleville, Route 29 to Route 4, Route 4 north to Route 22, Route 22 north/west to South Bay (Whitehall), then the east shore of South Bay to Vermont.

Southern Zone WMUs

1A,

1C,

2A,

3A,

3C,

3F,

3G,

3H,

3J,

3K,

3M,

3N,

3P,

3R,

3S,

4A,

4B,

4C,

4F,

4G,

4H,

4J,

4K,

4L,

4O,

4P,

4R,

4S,

4T,

4U,

4W,

4Y,

4Z,

5R,

5S,

5T,

6P,

6R,

6S,

7A,

7F,

7H,

7J,

7M,

7P,

7R,

7S,

8A,

8C,

8F,

8G,

8H,

8J,

8M,

8N,

8P,

8R,

8S,

8T,

8W,

8X,

8Y,

9A,

9C,

9F,

9G,

9H,

9J,

9K,

9M,

9N,

9P,

9R,

9S,

9T,

9W,

9X,

Southern Zone counties

Albany · Allegany · Broome · Cattaraugus · Cayuga · Chautauqua · Chemung · Chenango · Columbia · Cortland · Delaware · Dutchess · Erie · Fulton · Genesee · Greene · Herkimer · Livingston · Madison · Monroe · Montgomery · Niagara · Oneida · Onondaga · Ontario · Orange · Orleans · Oswego · Otsego · Putnam · Rensselaer · Rockland · Saratoga · Schenectady · Schoharie · Schuyler · Seneca · Steuben · Suffolk · Sullivan · Tioga · Tompkins · Ulster · Washington · Wayne · Westchester · Wyoming · Yates

Counties on both sides of the line: Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Oswego, Saratoga and Washington.

DEC zone line description, checked October 27, 2026.

Southern Zone deer, bear and turkey dates

The middle column shows how many of the zone's units each row covers; the WMU pages list them.

Species	Season	Zone WMUs covered	Opens	Closes	Days
White-tailed deer	Early Antlerless Season (September)	19 of 78	Sep 12, 2026	Sep 20, 2026	9
White-tailed deer	September antlerless, bow only	4 of 78	Sep 12, 2026	Sep 20, 2026	9
White-tailed deer	Early Bowhunting	74 of 78	Oct 1, 2026	Nov 20, 2026	51
White-tailed deer	Westchester regular, bow only	1 of 78	Oct 1, 2026	Dec 31, 2026	92
White-tailed deer	Suffolk regular, bow only	1 of 78	Oct 1, 2026	Jan 31, 2027	123
White-tailed deer	Youth Firearms Deer Hunt	72 of 78	Oct 10, 2026	Oct 12, 2026	3
White-tailed deer	Regular Season	72 of 78	Nov 21, 2026	Dec 13, 2026	23
White-tailed deer	Regular Season (bowhunting only)	2 of 78	Nov 21, 2026	Dec 13, 2026	23
White-tailed deer	Late Bowhunting	74 of 78	Dec 14, 2026	Dec 22, 2026	9
White-tailed deer	Late Muzzleloading	72 of 78	Dec 14, 2026	Dec 22, 2026	9
White-tailed deer	Late Bowhunting (holiday segment)	74 of 78	Dec 26, 2026	Jan 1, 2027	7
White-tailed deer	Late Muzzleloading (holiday segment)	72 of 78	Dec 26, 2026	Jan 1, 2027	7
White-tailed deer	Suffolk County Special Firearms Season	1 of 78	Jan 3, 2027	Jan 31, 2027	29
Black bear	Early Firearms Season	11 of 78	Sep 12, 2026	Sep 27, 2026	16
Black bear	Early Bowhunting	72 of 78	Oct 1, 2026	Nov 20, 2026	51
Black bear	Bowhunting-only WMUs	3 of 78	Oct 1, 2026	Dec 31, 2026	92
Black bear	Youth Firearms Bear Hunt	72 of 78	Oct 10, 2026	Oct 12, 2026	3
Black bear	Regular Season	72 of 78	Nov 21, 2026	Dec 13, 2026	23
Black bear	Late Bowhunting	72 of 78	Dec 14, 2026	Dec 22, 2026	9
Black bear	Late Muzzleloading	72 of 78	Dec 14, 2026	Dec 22, 2026	9
Wild turkey	Fall Season	75 of 78	Oct 17, 2026	Oct 30, 2026	14
Wild turkey	Fall Season	1 of 78	Nov 21, 2026	Dec 4, 2026	14
Wild turkey	Youth Spring Turkey Hunt	76 of 78	Apr 24, 2027	Apr 25, 2027	2
Wild turkey	Spring Season	76 of 78	May 1, 2027	May 31, 2027	31

deer seasons, bear seasons and turkey seasons, checked October 27, 2026.

Southern Zone small game and trapping dates set by WMU

Squirrel, coyote, raccoon and fox dates are the same across upstate New York and are on the species pages.

Species	Season	Zone WMUs	Dates
Cottontail	Hunting	75 of 78	Oct 1–Feb 28
Cottontail	Hunting	3 of 78	Nov 1–Feb 28
Snowshoe hare	Hunting	41 of 78	Dec 14–Feb 28
Snowshoe hare	Hunting	22 of 78	Jan 1–Jan 31
Ruffed grouse	Hunting	1 of 78	Sep 20–Feb 28
Ruffed grouse	Hunting	74 of 78	Oct 1–Feb 28
Pheasant	Youth Pheasant Hunt	37 of 78	Sep 26–Sep 27
Pheasant	Regular Season (cocks and hens)	37 of 78	Oct 1–Feb 28
Pheasant	Youth Pheasant Hunt	38 of 78	Oct 10–Oct 11
Pheasant	Regular Season (cocks and hens)	26 of 78	Oct 17–Feb 28
Pheasant	Regular Season (cocks only)	12 of 78	Oct 17–Dec 31
Pheasant	Youth Pheasant Hunt	2 of 78	Oct 24–Oct 25
Pheasant	Long Island (cocks and hens)	3 of 78	Nov 1–Dec 31
Pheasant	Eastern Long Island, cocks	1 of 78	Nov 1–Dec 31
Bobcat	Hunting	27 of 78	Oct 25–Feb 15
Bobcat	Hunting	24 of 78	Oct 25–Nov 20
Bobcat	Trapping	27 of 78	Oct 25–Feb 15
Bobcat	Trapping	24 of 78	Oct 25–Nov 20
Mink	Trapping	1 of 78	Nov 1–Apr 15
Mink	Trapping	35 of 78	Nov 10–Apr 7
Mink	Trapping	39 of 78	Nov 10–Feb 15
Mink	Trapping	3 of 78	Dec 15–Feb 25
Muskrat	Trapping	1 of 78	Nov 1–Apr 15
Muskrat	Trapping	35 of 78	Nov 10–Apr 7
Muskrat	Trapping	39 of 78	Nov 10–Feb 15
Muskrat	Trapping	3 of 78	Dec 15–Feb 25
Beaver	Trapping	75 of 78	Nov 10–Apr 7
River Otter	Trapping	23 of 78	Nov 10–Feb 28
Fisher	Trapping	30 of 78	Nov 15–Dec 31
Fisher	Trapping	33 of 78	Nov 26–Dec 10
Fisher	Trapping	9 of 78	Dec 5–Dec 10

guide small game maps and trapping maps, checked October 27, 2026.

DMP classes in the Southern Zone

DMP class	WMUs	Units
Limited	52	3A, 3C, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3N, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4K, 4L, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4W, 4Y, 4Z, 5R, 5S, 5T, 6R, 6S, 7A, 7M, 7P, 7S, 8M, 8P, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X, 9Y
Unlimited and bonus	23	1C, 3M, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4J, 6P, 7F, 7H, 7J, 7R, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8N, 8R, 8S, 9A, 9F, 9G
None by law	0

Limited-unit DMP targets in the Southern Zone add up to 271,873 for 2026. Every DMP unit

DEC 2026 DMP targets, checked October 27, 2026.

Southern Zone harvest

The Southern Zone WMUs produced an estimated 199,319 deer in 2022 and 183,207 in 2007. DEC estimated 1,202 bears taken in the Southern Zone in 2025, of 1,759 statewide.

DEC 2022 deer report and the DEC 2025 bear summary, checked October 27, 2026.

Southern Zone questions

When is the Southern Zone regular deer season?

It opens Nov 21, 2026 and runs through Dec 13, 2026 in every Southern Zone unit with a firearms season.

How many WMUs are in the Southern Zone?

78: 1A, 1C, 2A, 3A, 3C, 3F, 3G, 3H, 3J, 3K, 3M, 3N, 3P, 3R, 3S, 4A, 4B, 4C, 4F, 4G, 4H, 4J, 4K, 4L, 4O, 4P, 4R, 4S, 4T, 4U, 4W, 4Y, 4Z, 5R, 5S, 5T, 6P, 6R, 6S, 7A, 7F, 7H, 7J, 7M, 7P, 7R, 7S, 8A, 8C, 8F, 8G, 8H, 8J, 8M, 8N, 8P, 8R, 8S, 8T, 8W, 8X, 8Y, 9A, 9C, 9F, 9G, 9H, 9J, 9K, 9M, 9N, 9P, 9R, 9S, 9T, 9W, 9X, 9Y.

Which counties are split by the zone line?

Fulton, Herkimer, Oneida, Oswego, Saratoga and Washington.

Where does the zone line run?

Are DMPs issued in the Southern Zone?

Yes; most Southern Zone units have limited DMPs and 23 have unlimited and bonus DMPs; 1A and 2A are closed and 9C has no DMP row.

Other photos on this page: USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0); OhLizz (CC BY-SA 2.0); TonySprezzatura (CC BY-SA 2.0); Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 2.0).