Furbearers
2026-27 New York Weasels hunting guide
Every 2026-27 New York row for weasels, with sources.
Photo: Tony Webster (CC BY-SA 2.0)
Everything a New York weasel hunter needs for 2026-27 is gathered here: 4 segments starting Oct 25, 2026, each linked to its source.
Weasels: the short version
- Bag in short: No limit
- Methods and dates: Same; hunting sunrise-sunset only.
DEC guide page (as of Aug 24, 2026), checked October 27, 2026.
GearHeading out for a hunt? Hunting gear checklists by season →
Weasels opening and closing days
The weasel calendar below has 4 lines; zone links lead to the guides where dates change by WMU.
| Row | Zone | WMU count | Methods | Begins | Through | Days | Right now |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting | All areas except Long Island and NYC | 89 WMUs | Handgun, shotgun, rifle (by area), bow, crossbow, air gun; calls incl. electronic | Oct 25, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | 114 | |
| Trapping | Upstate (all WMUs except Long Island/NYC) | 89 WMUs | Legal traps (trapping license) | Oct 25, 2026 | Feb 15, 2027 | 114 | |
| Hunting | Long Island and NYC | 3 WMUs | No rifles on Long Island | Nov 1, 2026 | Feb 25, 2027 | 117 | |
| Trapping | Long Island and NYC | 3 WMUs | Legal traps | Nov 1, 2026 | Feb 25, 2027 | 117 |
Weasel season footnotes
- After sunrise on opening day, then any hour day or night (weasel: sunrise to sunset only). No bag limit.
- No bag limit. Adirondack bait restriction for land body-gripping traps when fisher/marten closed. No traps set before 7:00 AM on opening day.
From DEC guide page, DEC guide page, checked October 27, 2026.
Which WMUs open for weasels, and when
Every WMU appears below with its weasel dates; the unit pages add DMP odds, bear and turkey rules and land in the unit.
| Hunting dates | Trapping dates | WMUs | Units |
|---|---|---|---|
Oct 25–Feb 15 | Oct 25–Feb 15 | 89 | 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, 5A, 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 5R, 5S, 5T, 6A, 6C, 6F, 6G, 6H, 6J, 6K, 6N, 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, |
Nov 1–Feb 25 | Nov 1–Feb 25 | 3 | 1A, 1C, |
WMU lists read from the 2026-27 guide season maps and DEC WMU layer, checked October 27, 2026. All 92 WMUs.
Weasels areas and WMU groups
The weasel rules change by area; this table shows which WMUs fall in each.
In the Southern Zone, visit traps for weasels every 24 hours; the Northern Zone rule depends on WMU and set.
Southern Zone: once every 24 h. Northern Zone WMUs 5C, 5F, 5G, 5H, 5J, 6F, 6J, 6N: every 48 h. WMUs 5A, 6A, 6C, 6G, 6H, 6K: water sets and land body-grippers 48 h, restraining traps 24 h.
guide trapping maps, checked October 27, 2026.
Public land for weasels in New York
Use the filter to find weasel ground near you among 145 public tracts.
| Tract | Type | Acres | Counties | Units | Listed as |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ferris Lake | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 147,936 | Hamilton · +1 | furbearers | |
| Wilcox Lake | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 127,860 | Warren · +2 | furbearers | |
| Vanderwhacker Mountain | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 96,577 | Essex · +1 | furbearers | |
| Debar Mountain | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 88,354 | furbearers | ||
| Lake George | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 76,871 | Warren · | furbearers | |
| Allegany | State Park | 64,160 | furbearers | ||
| Slide Mountain | Forest Preserve Wilderness | 50,718 | furbearers | ||
| Jessup River | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 48,456 | furbearers | ||
| Sargent Ponds | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 43,793 | furbearers | ||
| Hoffman Notch | Forest Preserve Wilderness | 38,529 | furbearers | ||
| Sundown | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 30,768 | Sullivan · | 3A, | furbearers |
| Delaware | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 29,590 | Delaware · +1 | furbearers | |
| Aldrich Pond | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 26,586 | Herkimer · +1 | furbearers | |
| Raquette Boreal | Forest Preserve Unit | 25,638 | 6F, | furbearers | |
| Hunter-West Kill | Forest Preserve Wilderness | 24,549 | Greene · | furbearers | |
| Sterling Forest | State Park | 19,487 | furbearers | ||
| Indian Head | Forest Preserve Wilderness | 17,439 | Greene · | furbearers | |
| Bog River | Forest Preserve Unit | 17,058 | Franklin · +1 | 5F, | furbearers |
| Windham-Blackhead Range | Forest Preserve Wilderness | 17,024 | furbearers | ||
| Willowemoc | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 15,534 | Sullivan · | 3A, | furbearers |
| Grass River | Forest Preserve Unit | 14,179 | furbearers | ||
| Watson's East Triangle | Forest Preserve Unit | 13,461 | Herkimer · | furbearers | |
| Iroquois | National Wildlife Refuge | 10,810 | Genesee · | furbearers | |
| Dry Brook Ridge | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 9,539 | furbearers | ||
| Kaaterskill | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 8,099 | Greene · | furbearers | |
| High Tor | Wildlife Management Area | 6,937 | Ontario · | furbearers | |
| Stewart | State Forest | 6,653 | furbearers | ||
| Moreau Lake | State Park | 6,640 | Saratoga · | furbearers | |
| Neversink River | Unique Area | 6,583 | furbearers | ||
| Mongaup Valley | Wildlife Management Area | 6,416 | Orange · | furbearers | |
| Taconic | State Park | 6,183 | Columbia · | furbearers | |
| Shandaken | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 6,114 | Greene · | 3A, | furbearers |
| Rattlesnake Hill | Wildlife Management Area | 5,138 | Allegany · | furbearers | |
| Halcott Mountain | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 4,934 | furbearers | ||
| Partridge Run | Wildlife Management Area | 4,592 | furbearers | ||
| Fish Creek | Wildlife Management Area | 4,556 | furbearers | ||
| Beebe Hill & Harvey Mt. | State Forest | 4,012 | 4U, | furbearers | |
| Rusk Mountain | Forest Preserve Wild Forest | 3,907 | furbearers | ||
| Vernooy Kill | State Forest | 3,721 | furbearers | ||
| Lakeview | Wildlife Management Area | 3,444 | furbearers | ||
| Leonard Hill & High Knob | State Forest | 2,981 | furbearers | ||
| Erwin | Wildlife Management Area | 2,770 | furbearers | ||
| Honeoye Inlet | Wildlife Management Area | 2,763 | furbearers | ||
| Grafton Lakes | State Park | 2,612 | furbearers | ||
| John Boyd Thacher | State Park | 2,475 | furbearers | ||
| Canadaway Creek | Wildlife Management Area | 2,190 | furbearers | ||
| Hall Island | State Forest | 2,120 | furbearers | ||
| Sampson | State Park | 2,047 | furbearers | ||
| Huckleberry Ridge | State Forest | 1,948 | furbearers | ||
| Whetstone Gulf | State Park | 1,903 | furbearers | ||
| West Osceola | State Forest | 1,897 | 6K, | furbearers | |
| Plainfield | State Forest | 1,862 | furbearers | ||
| Darien Lakes | State Park | 1,844 | furbearers | ||
| Lutheranville | State Forest | 1,803 | Otsego · | furbearers | |
| Bear Swamp | State Forest | 1,748 | furbearers | ||
| Coles Creek | State Park | 1,731 | furbearers | ||
| Mount Tom | State Forest | 1,725 | furbearers | ||
| Hither Hills | State Park | 1,665 | furbearers | ||
| Wagner Farm & General Jacob Morris | State Forest | 1,649 | furbearers | ||
| Gilbert Lake | State Park | 1,590 | furbearers |
Game lists from DEC, USFWS, USFS, State Parks and NYC DEP pages in our land data, retrieved 2026-10-27. All public land · Wildlife Management Areas.
How many weasels you may take
Limits first, then costs, for weasels.
| Category | Limit as printed |
|---|---|
| Coyote, raccoon, foxes, skunk, opossum, weasel, bobcat | No bag limits (hunting or trapping). |
Weasels: licenses and stamps
| License | Who | Category | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunting License | resident | Annual, ages 16-69 | $22 |
| Hunting License | nonresident | Annual, ages 16+ | $100 |
| Trapping License | resident | Ages 16-69 | $20 |
| Trapping License | nonresident | Ages 16+ | $275 |
DEC guide bag limits and the license fee table, checked October 27, 2026. New York hunting license guide.
How to hunt weasels legally
Weasel hunting hours
On opening day weasels may be hunted only after sunrise; after that, any hour of the day or night is legal, with lights, night vision and thermal optics allowed. For weasels the guide limits hunting to daylight, sunrise to sunset.
Weasels on Sundays
Weasels may be hunted on Sundays in every part of the state.
Do weasel hunters wear orange?
The guide lists small game among the groups for which orange or pink is recommended only, and that includes weasels.
Baiting weasels
Bait rules for weasels are trap rules: covered carcass bait at foothold sets, and no baited land body-grippers in the Adirondacks while fisher and marten are closed.
Weasels tags and reports
DEC asks for no harvest report on weasels.
Where dogs fit with weasels
Dog work on weasels is allowed in season, and training follows the July or August to April 15 windows.
shooting hours, orange and pink rule, Sunday hunting, baiting rules, tagging and reporting, checked October 27, 2026. Legal shooting hours · Hunting laws.
Gear rules for weasels
| Weapons rule | Allowed | Not allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Furbearer hunting | Handgun, shotgun, muzzleloading rifle, bow, crossbow, air gun; rifles per deer-season rule; spotlights, night vision, thermal, lasers. | Hunting from any motor vehicle incl. ATV/snowmobile. |
| Rifle restrictions | Rifles allowed where the legal implements map shows orange. | Any rifle afield in Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk; rifles larger than .22 rimfire during deer seasons in shotgun-only areas; Northern Zone: rifles over .22 rimfire, slug/buckshot loads or crossbows when hunting with a dog (except coyote). |
Weasels: how you may take them
- Spotlighting: Lights may be used to observe wildlife only if no implement is ready (cased, taken down, locked in trunk, or a handgun) and not within 500 ft of a home or farm building without permission when looking for deer/bear.
From the DEC guide and ECL Articles 11 and 71 on the NY Senate site, checked October 27, 2026. New York hunting laws.
Answers on weasels
Must you wear orange while hunting weasels?
The guide lists small game among the groups for which orange or pink is recommended only, and that includes weasels.
Can weasel hunters go out on Sundays?
Weasels may be hunted on Sundays in every part of the state.
What reporting applies to weasels?
DEC asks for no harvest report on weasels.
Is baiting legal for weasels?
Bait rules for weasels are trap rules: covered carcass bait at foothold sets, and no baited land body-grippers in the Adirondacks while fisher and marten are closed.
Can you hunt weasels on state forests and WMAs?
145 public properties list furbearers in our New York land data; the largest are Ferris Lake Wild Forest, Wilcox Lake Wild Forest, Vanderwhacker Mountain Wild Forest and Debar Mountain Wild Forest.
What is the visit rule for weasel traps?
In the Southern Zone, visit traps for weasels every 24 hours; the Northern Zone rule depends on WMU and set.
What are the 2026-27 weasel season dates in New York?
From Oct 25, 2026 through Feb 25, 2027, in 4 rows set by WMU, zone or area.
Which implements may be used on weasels?
Furbearer hunting: Handgun, shotgun, muzzleloading rifle, bow, crossbow, air gun; rifles per deer-season rule; spotlights, night vision, thermal, lasers. Not legal: Hunting from any motor vehicle incl. ATV/snowmobile.
What licenses and privileges apply to weasels?
Expect Hunting License (resident) $22; Hunting License (nonresident) $100; Trapping License (resident) $20; Trapping License (nonresident) $275, valid Sept. 1, 2026 to Aug. 31, 2027.
How many weasels may one hunter keep?
No bag limits (hunting or trapping).
What time can you start hunting weasels?
On opening day weasels may be hunted only after sunrise; after that, any hour of the day or night is legal, with lights, night vision and thermal optics allowed. For weasels the guide limits hunting to daylight, sunrise to sunset.
Other photos on this page: greenebriar (Public domain); Under the same moon… (CC BY 2.0); tuchodi (CC BY 2.0); Bobolink (CC BY 2.0).