Craven County Hunting

What is open around Craven County this year

Dove, squirrel, rabbit and quail run statewide, while the deer zone, bear unit, I-95 duck line and goose zone set the rest for Craven County.

Game lands can set their own antlerless and gun dates; check the game land page before you go.

From the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission 2026-27 regulations digest and the 2026-2027 Season Dates at a Glance, checked October 25, 2026.

Craven County local laws and county rules

15 county-specific prohibitions from the local laws section of the digest apply in Craven County.

• Unless a person owns or possesses a leasehold, it is unlawful to hunt, take, kill or to shoot from, on, or across a road right-of-way on S.R. 1611, S.R. 1613, S.R. 1614, S.R. 1615, S.R. 1617, S.R. 1619 or on S.R. 1401 from Washington Post Road to N.C. 55.
• Hunt on or from a public road within an area posted against such by the Wildlife Resources Commission.
• Hunt on land within 100 yards of Trent River between the U.S. 70 bridge and a straight line from Haywards Creek to Ready Branch.
• Hunt on land within 100 yards of Brices Creek between Trent River and the S.R. 1004 bridge.
• Hunt from or shoot across S.R. 1600 (Broad Creek Road) east of N.C. 55 to its terminus near Broad Creek.
• Hunt on or from N.C. 306, S.R. 1004, U.S. 70 from S.R. 1225 to .6 mile east, or S.R. 1225 from S.R. 1226 to .6 mile south.
• Take any animal or bird on or from the right-of-way of S.R. 1144.
• Hunt, take or kill any animal or bird on or from the right-of-way of S.R. 1101 from S.R. 1004 to the U.S. Forestry Service boundary.
• Hunt, take or kill any bird or animal on, from or across the right-of-way of S.R. 1258 from its intersection with N.C. 55 to the intersection of S.R. 1251.
• Hunt, take or kill any bird or animal on, from or across the right-of-ways of S.R. 1230, S.R. 1229 and S.R. 1620.
• Unless a person owns or possesses a leasehold, it is unlawful to hunt, take or kill any animal or bird on or from the right-of-way of S.R. 1633, known as Brown Farm Road, S.R. 1637, known as Alligator Road, and state roads 1638 and 1639 known as Maul Swamp Road.
• Hunt, take or kill any wild animal or wild bird on, from or across the right-of-way of S.R. 1477.
• Hunt, take or kill any wild animal or bird on or from the right-of-way of S.R. 1459 from Riverside Church north to S.R. 1460.
• Hunt, take or kill any wild animal or bird on or from the right-of-way of S.R. 1460 from its intersection with S.R. 1459 west to the Pitt County line.
• Unless a person owns or possesses a leasehold interest in the real property adjacent to the portion of the road on which the person is located, it is unlawful for that person to discharge a firearm from, on or across the right-of-way of S.R. 1862 from Adams Creek Road to the end of the state-maintained portion of the road.

Sunday rules: no firearm hunting within 500 yards of a place of worship and no deer chased by dogs with guns. Archers in an archery-only season may skip orange, except on youth days and gun-season Sundays. County fox seasons are set by local acts and are in a separate NCWRC fox seasons book. Alligators live in Craven County (Unit 1); hunts are limited to municipal population-reduction permits and none are posted.

Compare local acts · Sunday law · Hunting laws

Local acts from the digest local laws by county; Sunday rules from G.S. 103-2; hunter orange from G.S. 113-291.8; zone lists from the 2026-27 digest. Checked October 25, 2026.

Craven County seat, towns and next-door counties

Pick a base in Craven County: every town below links to a page with nearby game lands and services.

• New Berncounty seat · 34,218 people in 2024 · 24,857 acres open to hunters within 10 miles
• Brices Creek56,913 acres open to hunters within 10 miles
• Bridgeton349 people in 2024 · 10,102 acres open to hunters within 10 miles
• Cove City384 people in 2024 · 4,690 acres open to hunters within 10 miles
• Dover347 people in 2024 · 2,888 acres open to hunters within 10 miles
• Fairfield Harbour24,547 acres open to hunters within 10 miles

6 North Carolina counties touch Craven County.

Towns from the Census 2024 Gazetteer and Vintage 2024 estimates; adjacency from the Census county adjacency file.

Burning rules in Craven County

• Permit season: Year-round.
• NC high hazard counties (G.S. 106-942(a)), stricter year-round permit and land-clearing rules: Craven County is on this list.
• Who sets a ban: The Commissioner of Agriculture, during hazardous forest fire conditions or declared air pollution episodes, may prohibit all open burning regardless of whether a permit is required (G.S.
• Warming fires: NC Wildlife Resources Commission game lands (15A NCAC 10D .0102(i)): no camping except on areas posted by the landowner for camping.

Craven County questions, short answers

Answers from the 2026-27 NCWRC digest, the Season Dates at a Glance, harvest reporting rules, NCWRC harvest and CWD data and the sources above. Checked October 25, 2026.