Written by Justin Park|
Last updated
Spring is turkey season, but it’s also rule-making season for many state wildlife agencies. These changes to state hunting rules and regulations can have massive impacts on your fall hunting experience.
The changes can also influence your planning for fall hunts, especially if you take part in point-based applications common in Western states or if you hunt out-of-state often.
We’ve summarized some of the big changes coming to different states below on a state-by-state basis, with links to learn more. In many cases, these changes are still in the proposal stage, so state agencies are requesting public input.
Michigan
Michigan is proposing some fairly major changes to its deer hunting framework, most notably a one-buck limit. This limit wouldn’t be imposed until the 2027 deer hunting season, but is likely to receive pushback. Visit the Michigan Natural Resources Commission site to find in-person meetings if you want to share your opinion on the changes.
Missouri
Like many states, Missouri is considering increasing the costs and hassles for non-resident hunters. Out-of-state hunters are an easy scapegoat and locals tend to want them banned or severely restricted, forgetting that they contribute outsized amounts to local economies and wildlife conservation.
Missouri is considering buck quota restrictions for non-residents starting this fall as well as implementing a special $165 public land hunting license for non-residents only. You can read more about the proposed changes and leave a comment on the Missouri Department of Conservation site here.
New York
Like many states facing whitetail deer overpopulation, the Empire State is still trying to figure out how to convince hunters to kill more does. The proposed “Earn a 2nd Buck” framework would require hunters to harvest a female deer before being able to get a second male tag. Last year, only 15% of hunters in New York harvested a female deer despite an already very liberal offering of doe deer licenses. Complete details on the NY Department of Environmental Conservation website.
Colorado
After a rough 2022-23 winter which killed off half of the elk in certain areas, Colorado Parks and Wildlife severely curtailed elk and deer tags in many regions while assuring hunters the numbers (and tag quotas) would bounce back. It appears that time has come with CPW announcing quota increases in Northern Colorado due to affected populations successfully rebounding. The only problem for hunters is that this announcement came just as the April 7th application deadline passed, so many may have submitted their applications based on lower, previous-year quotas and projected draw odds.
The biggest changes to hunting in Colorado, however, are coming in 2028, with a long-overdue attempt to address the "point creep" disaster affecting the state's application system. Read about the changes and likely effects over at Huntin' Fool.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts, like New York, is facing whitetail deer overpopulation which increases disease risk and vehicle collisions. The proposed hunting changes are significant, with the Governor stumping to get rid of the longstanding ban on Sunday hunting and to legalize crossbow hunting in an effort to get more hunters out during the early seasons. Read details on the proposed changes here.
Maryland
While the comment period for the proposed changes has closed, Maryland is considering a number of hunting law tweaks to season dates and regulatory details such as legal calibers for deer hunting. The big proposed change, however, is putting restrictions on using drones for deer recovery. The state has noted that, with no current restrictions on the books, people are using drones to locate deer and turkey, a practice most hunters recognize as an unfair advantage. Read about all the proposed changes here.
Almost all states experience small changes to their hunting rules and the following are summaries of the relatively minor changes in several other states:
Summary of Texas deer and bird hunting changes.
Montana Votes to Reduce non-resident deer licenses.
Changes to Arkansas hunting and fishing regulations.
Summary of proposed changes to Ohio hunting and fishing regs.
Changes to Sunday hunting and bag limits in Pennsylvania.
Justin Park is a Colorado-based writer, editor, and avid hunter with a passion for the outdoors. He contributes to leading publications such as GearJunkie, Popular Mechanics, Powder, and Men's Journal, and serves as Editor of Wild Snow. Park is deeply involved in conservation and recreation advocacy, serving as Chapter Chair of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) in Summit County. He also represents RMEF on a state recreation committee focused on proactively addressing land use conflicts.