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Michigan northern bobwhite regulations, 2025–26
Last updated 2026-09-24 · from MDNR data · 2025–26 licence year
Michigan's 2025–26 northern bobwhite season runs October 20, 2025 to November 14, 2025, on dates that depend on the zone. The bag is 5 per day, 10 in possession. Hunter orange is required. Read against the 2025–26 licence year, from MDNR.
Season and limits
- Season
- Northern bobwhite — October 20, 2025 to November 14, 2025
- Bag limit
- 5 per day, 10 in possession
- Hunter orange
- required Small game hunters must wear a hunter-orange cap, hat, vest, jacket or rain gear as the outermost garment, visible from all sides. Camouflage counts if it is at least 50% orange.
- Sundays
- No statewide Sunday closure for small game. A few counties restrict firearm hunting on private land under PA 319 of 1994 — not mapped here.
- The Department of Natural Resources opens quail in 27 counties — Branch, Calhoun, Clinton, Eaton, Genesee, Gratiot, Hillsdale, Huron, Ingham, Ionia, Jackson, Kent, Lapeer, Lenawee, Livingston, Macomb, Monroe, Montcalm, Oakland, Saginaw, St. Clair, St. Joseph, Sanilac, Shiawassee, Tuscola, Washtenaw and Wayne — and states that quail may be taken in those counties only. Wildlife Conservation Order 3.504(2), read August 2026.
- Section 3.504(3) lets the Department's director close any or all of those counties by interim order on the June breeding quail survey. An interim order is not carried in this app — check the digest for the county you are hunting.
- Effectively gone from Michigan outside a few southern counties — 1,769 recorded observations statewide against the grouse's 36,948.
Zones
| Zone | Opens | Closes | Days |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open counties | October 20, 2025 | November 14, 2025 | 26 |
| Closed to quail | Closed season | ||
Licences
- Base licence
Everyone, before any other licence — Required to hunt small game in Michigan, and it is what every other tag is added to. - Hunter safety certificate
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1960 — Or an apprentice licence, which lets an uncertified hunter hunt under supervision. - Federal HIP registration
Woodcock and every other migratory bird — Free, but not optional — it registers you with the federal harvest survey. - Free woodcock stamp
Woodcock hunters — Free and separate from HIP. Both are required.
The other questions
- How to hunt northern bobwhite in Michigan
- When does Michigan's 2025–26 northern bobwhite season open?
- Where to hunt northern bobwhite in Michigan
- Michigan northern bobwhite hunting report
- Northern bobwhite hunting in Michigan — the whole picture
- Northern bobwhite — biology, range and how it is hunted