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North Carolina › Hunting seasons › Deer zones › Southeastern

Deer season zone

Southeastern deer zone, 2026-27

Weapon dates and county harvest, 2026-27.

Deer zonesDeer pageDeer gear
Sep 12–Oct 2Archery
Oct 3–Oct 16Blackpowder
Oct 17–Jan 1Gun
41,4122025-26 harvest

Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain)

The Southeastern zone at a glance

Deer dates in the Southeastern counties open with archery on Sept. 12 and move to gun on Oct 17, 2026; 41,412 deer were reported here in 2025-26.

Beaufort · Bladen · Brunswick · Carteret · Columbus · Craven · Dare · Duplin · Harnett · Hoke · Hyde · Jones · Lenoir · Moore · New Hanover · Onslow · Pamlico · Pender · Richmond · Robeson · Scotland · Tyrrell · Washington

NCWRC deer seasons, checked October 25, 2026.

Southeastern deer calendar

SeasonOpensClosesDays
ArcherySep 12, 2026Oct 2, 202621
BlackpowderOct 3, 2026Oct 16, 202614
GunOct 17, 2026Jan 1, 202777
Youth Deer Hunting DaysSep 26, 2026Sep 27, 20262

Southeastern: when antlerless deer are legal

Weapon seasonAntlerless days
ArcheryAll open days
BlackpowderAll open days
GunAll open days

NCWRC deer seasons and Season Dates at a Glance, checked October 25, 2026.

Southeastern county harvest table

The Southeastern counties reported 41,412 deer in 2025-26, 36,946 of them with guns.

CountyTotalAntlered bucksDoesGunBow and crossbowGame lands
Moore3,3601,7331,4752,82935930
Pender3,2711,6891,4402,969212320
Craven3,0341,4401,4472,650219288
Columbus2,9211,3811,4182,71110858
Duplin2,8211,4431,2622,6081437
Beaufort2,7461,2771,3172,48413677
Bladen2,5971,3221,1672,44687169
Onslow2,3781,1081,1261,911346110
Richmond2,2701,2329492,08886165
Brunswick2,1411,0051,0221,835210171
Robeson2,0041,1168301,8827711
Jones1,8829028971,76435193
Harnett1,8719928041,6031933
Lenoir1,5948017341,4351060
Scotland1,2156775111,0938286
Pamlico1,0635364779744015
Hyde9553595348213554
Carteret94444744781765291
Washington9344054428623562
Hoke6463712435606842
Tyrrell4791822684071790
New Hanover1839683132457
Dare1035047652920
Southeastern reported deer by season012,50025,00037,50050,00019-20: 33,61933,61919-2020-21: 33,88333,88320-2121-22: 35,48435,48421-2222-23: 34,42134,42122-2323-24: 38,47438,47423-2424-25: 39,71439,71424-2525-26: 41,41241,41225-26deer registered

NCWRC 2025-26 deer harvest by county; earlier seasons from the Harvest Statistics page, checked October 25, 2026.

Southeastern local deer notes

CountyLocal deer notesBear unit
Beaufortlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 3
Bladenlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 5
Brunswicklights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 5
Carteret–Coastal BMU Zone 5
Columbus–Coastal BMU Zone 5
Cravenurban archery: Trent WoodsCoastal BMU Zone 3
Dareurban archery: Nags Head/Kill Devil HillsCoastal BMU Zone 1
Duplinlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 5
Harnettlights restricted from a half hour after sunsetPiedmont BMU
Hokelights restricted from a half hour after sunsetPiedmont BMU
Hydelights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 1
Joneslights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 3
Lenoirlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 4
Mooreurban archery: CarthagePiedmont BMU
New Hanover–Coastal BMU Zone 5
Onslow–Coastal BMU Zone 5
Pamlicolights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 5
Penderlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 5
Richmond–Piedmont BMU
Robesonlights restricted from a half hour after sunsetCoastal BMU Zone 5
Scotland–Piedmont BMU
Tyrrelllights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 1
Washingtonlights restricted from 11 p.m.Coastal BMU Zone 3

Dog hunters in the Southeastern group should check the digest dog line and the 11 named eastern exceptions.

NCWRC deer regulations, NCWRC CWD pages and 15A NCAC 10B .0115, checked October 25, 2026.

Game lands across Southeastern

36 game lands listing deer reach the Southeastern counties; the largest are shown.

Game landDaysAcresCounties in zone
Croatan7 days166,267Craven · Carteret +1
Sandhills3 days65,235Richmond · Scotland +1
Holly Shelter6 days65,139Pender
Dare7 days46,055Dare · Hyde
Angola Bay7 days34,148Pender · Duplin
Bladen Lakes State Forest3 days33,672Bladen
Gull Rock7 days31,336Hyde
Alligator River7 days24,439Tyrrell
Juniper Creek7 days20,481Brunswick · Columbus
Green Swamp6 days18,577Brunswick
Buckridge3 days17,966Tyrrell
Suggs Mill PondPermit only11,117Bladen

Game land records from NCWRC, checked October 25, 2026. Game land hunting days.

Nearby deer zones

Southeastern CWD Management Area2 counties, gun Oct 17Northeastern22 counties, gun Oct 17Central19 counties, gun Nov 14Northwestern CWD Management Area5 counties, gun Nov 14
Deer zone datesLicense costsPermit hunt drawings
White-tailed deer fawn in tall grass
White-tailed deer fawn in tall grassPhoto: USFWS Mountain Prairie (Public domain)
White-tailed deer buck in the trees
White-tailed deer buck in the treesPhoto: USFWS/Southeast (CC BY 2.0)
White-tailed doe standing in light snow
White-tailed doe standing in light snowPhoto: YellowstoneNPS (Public domain)

Southeastern answers

What are Southeastern antlerless gun days?

All open days

What counties use the Southeastern dates?

Beaufort, Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Craven, Dare, Duplin, Harnett, Hoke, Hyde, Jones, Lenoir, Moore, New Hanover, Onslow, Pamlico, Pender, Richmond, Robeson, Scotland, Tyrrell and Washington.

When is Southeastern deer gun season?

Gun opens Oct 17, 2026 and closes Jan 1, 2027.

How many deer were taken in Southeastern?

41,412 in 2025-26.