Season dates, Sunday hunting, baiting, draws, and CWD — that is the stuff that changes by state and is easy to get wrong. Use this table to find your state, then confirm the current rules on the official wildlife-agency page before you buy a tag. Last checked September 7, 2026.
New to deer hunting? Start at the deer hunting hub. Population context lives on deer population by state. After you pick a state, planning an out-of-state deer hunt is the packing list. Calculators and games sit on Tools.
How to read the table
State is our guide. Species is what you can actually tag here. License is OTC (walk-up), draw (lottery or limited), or both — not a fee table. Sunday is deer hunting: yes, no, or limited. CWD is yes if USGS lists a free-ranging or captive detection as of June 2026; the link is the agency CWD page when we have one. Official is the wildlife agency. If a cell is not confirmed, it says see guide — we do not invent a date or a fee.
| State | Species | License | Sunday | CWD | Official |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | Outdoor Alabama |
| Alaska | Sitka blacktail | OTC | Y | N | ADF&G deer |
| Arizona | Mule, Coues | Draw | Y | N | AZGFD regs |
| Arkansas | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | AGFC deer |
| California | Blacktail, mule | OTC / draw | Y | Y | CDFW deer |
| Colorado | Mule, plains whitetail | Draw | Y | Y | CPW brochure |
| Connecticut | Whitetail | OTC / lottery | Limited | N | CT DEEP deer |
| Delaware | Whitetail | OTC | Limited | Y | DNREC deer |
| Florida | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | FWC seasons |
| Georgia | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | WRD deer |
| Hawaii | Axis | OTC / lottery | Y | N | DOFAW mammals |
| Idaho | Mule, whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | IDFG big game |
| Illinois | Whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | Hunt Illinois deer |
| Indiana | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | IN DNR deer |
| Iowa | Whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | Iowa DNR deer |
| Kansas | Whitetail, mule | OTC / draw | Y | Y | KDWP deer |
| Kentucky | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | KDFWR deer |
| Louisiana | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | LDWF seasons |
| Maine | Whitetail | OTC / lottery | N | N | Maine IFW deer |
| Maryland | Whitetail, sika | OTC | Limited | Y | MD DNR deer |
| Massachusetts | Whitetail | OTC | N | N | MassWildlife deer |
| Michigan | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | MI DNR deer |
| Minnesota | Whitetail | see guide | Y | Y | MN DNR deer |
| Mississippi | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | MDWFP seasons |
| Missouri | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | MDC deer |
| Montana | Mule, whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | FWP deer |
| Nebraska | Whitetail, mule | see guide | Y | Y | NGPC hunt |
| Nevada | Mule | Draw | Y | N | NDOW hunting |
| New Hampshire | Whitetail | OTC | Y | N | NHFG deer |
| New Jersey | Whitetail | OTC | Limited | N | NJFW deer |
| New Mexico | Mule, Coues | Draw | Y | Y | NMDGF deer |
| New York | Whitetail | OTC / lottery | Y | Y | DEC deer |
| North Carolina | Whitetail | OTC | Limited | Y | NCWRC hunting |
| North Dakota | Whitetail, mule | OTC / draw | Y | Y | NDGF deer |
| Ohio | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | ODNR licenses |
| Oklahoma | Whitetail, mule | OTC | Y | Y | ODWC deer |
| Oregon | Blacktail, mule | OTC / draw | Y | N | ODFW hunting |
| Pennsylvania | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | PGC Go Hunt |
| Rhode Island | Whitetail | OTC | Limited | N | RIDEM deer |
| South Carolina | Whitetail | OTC | Limited | N | SCDNR deer |
| South Dakota | Whitetail, mule | OTC / draw | Y | Y | GFP deer |
| Tennessee | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | TWRA deer |
| Texas | Whitetail, mule, axis | OTC | Y | Y | TPWD whitetail |
| Utah | Mule | Draw | Y | Y | Utah DWR big game |
| Vermont | Whitetail | OTC | Y | N | VT F&W hunt |
| Virginia | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | DWR deer |
| Washington | Blacktail, mule, whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | WDFW big game |
| West Virginia | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | WVDNR hunting |
| Wisconsin | Whitetail | OTC | Y | Y | WI DNR deer |
| Wyoming | Mule, whitetail | OTC / draw | Y | Y | WGFD |
| Alberta | Mule, whitetail | see guide | Y | Y | My Wild Alberta |
| Ontario | Whitetail | see guide | Y | N | Ontario hunting |
| Saskatchewan | Whitetail, mule | see guide | Y | Y | Saskatchewan hunting |
Sunday notes that do not fit a cell: Maine and Massachusetts still ban Sunday hunting statewide. Connecticut is private land. Delaware is open in season except state forests and state parks. Maryland is a county chart. New Jersey is archery Sundays on WMAs and private land — not firearms, not state parks. North Carolina has a Sunday firearm blackout (9:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m.) and game-land exceptions. South Carolina is legal on private land; most WMAs stay closed unless the brochure says otherwise. Rhode Island is open in most places; a few towns close private land on Sunday. Pennsylvania’s 2026–27 seasons include the Sundays that fall inside the listed dates (waterfowl is the leftover exception). Confirm on the agency page.
CWD status follows the USGS National Wildlife Health Center June 2026 North America table (37 U.S. states; Alberta and Saskatchewan in the wild; Ontario still surveillance-only). Sick, skinny, or oddly tame deer: CWD symptoms.
Regional and public land
Some hunts ignore state lines. The Ozarks public-land guide covers Missouri and Arkansas oak ridges together. The public land deer hunting hub is the land-type index (national forest, BLM, WMA, walk-in). Destination pages — forests, mountains, gateway towns — live under Places.
After you pick a state
Feeding windows: deer feeding times. After a hit: after the shot (shot placement, field care, yield). Tools and calculators: Tools. There is no separate season-dates finder URL yet; this table and the agency column are the working version of that job.
Parent: Deer hunting.
Updated on September 7, 2026.