Small Game

Ohio's ring-necked pheasant hunting season runs from Friday, November 6, 2026, through Sunday, January 10, 2027. With a rigid stocking program and dedication to public land access, Ohio is coming into its own as a pheasant hunting state.

Quail season in Arizona for Gambel’s, scaled, and California quail runs from October 16, 2026, to February 7, 2027, while Mearns’ (Montezuma) quail season runs from December 4, 2026, to February 7, 2027.

Colorado pheasant hunting season runs from November 14, 2026, through January 31, 2027, for areas east of I-25. Season dates run from November 14, 2026, through January 3, 2027, for areas west of I-25.

The Wisconsin pheasant hunting season runs from October 17, 2026, to January 3, 2027. The season starts at 9:00 a.m. on opening day.

To find the best dove hunting location near you, scout areas where food, water, gravel, and roosting sites meet, such as harvested grain fields, stock ponds with bare banks, and gravel pits.

South Carolina's mourning dove season for the 2026–2027 term splits into three distinct segments: September 5–October 3, 2026, November 13–28, 2026, and December 18, 2026–January 31, 2027. The daily bag limit is 15 mourning doves. However, there is no limit on Eurasian collared doves.

Upland game is a term for hunting upland birds such as quail, pheasant, grouse, woodcock, prairie chicken, chukar, grey partridge, and others. These birds prefer to live on the ground in heavy cover, which is why dogs are often used to help find them while hunting.

To uncover top dove hunting near you, focus on public dove fields run by state wildlife agencies, private agricultural land (sunflower, milo, wheat stubble), and on USFS/BLM ground in dove-occupied states. Most state seasons open on September 1.

I always write a list the night before a hunting or fishing trip. No matter how many times I've made the same trip, methodically crossing off my essential items with a hot coffee in the morning helps calm the nerves and provide the kind of reassurance I need.

Small game can be a great introduction to hunting and a good way to keep your skills sharp after a big game season has ended. Rabbits in particular are a great quarry to chase—but first, you'll need to know how to find rabbits in the woods.

For many (including myself), rabbit hunting is a formative introduction to hunting. The experience usually forms a lifelong appreciation and development of the sport. The opportunities are plentiful; you can work with both rifles and shotguns, and many states offer year-round hunting. 

From the silence of an early morning sit erupts the crunching sound of leaves and rustling bushes. Your heart drops as your eyes scan the canopy for movement, expecting to catch a subtle glance of the whitetail you've been eyeing all season. Instead, a twitching bushy tail emerges from the brush, and a little gray body bounds out of sight up the tree's trunk.