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Wisconsin ring-necked pheasant regulations, 2026
Last updated 2026-09-24 · from WDNR data · 2026 season year
Wisconsin's 2026 ring-necked pheasant season runs October 17, 2026 to January 3, 2027 — 79 days afield. No single bag limit is shown for it here — read the notes below and check the current WDNR regulations before you go. Hunter orange is required. Stamps: Pheasant stamp. Read against the 2026 season year, from WDNR.
Season and limits
- Season
- Ring-necked pheasant — October 17, 2026 to January 3, 2027
- Bag limit
- not shown No single bag limit is shown for it here. Where WDNR publishes one that changes by zone or partway through the season, the figures are in the notes below and this page will not pick one of them; where it publishes none at all, this page leaves it empty rather than guess — a wrong limit is worse than a missing one, because it looks researched. Check the Wisconsin Small Game Hunting Regulations.
- Hunter orange
- required At least 50% of clothing above the waist, and any head covering, must be blaze orange or fluorescent pink any time a firearm deer season is in progress. This applies to small game and archery hunters, not only to deer hunters. Waterfowl hunters are exempt.
- Stamps
- Pheasant stamp
- Wisconsin requires blaze orange or fluorescent pink only while a firearm deer season is in progress — but then it applies to small game hunters too. This app flags orange as required for the whole season because missing it during gun deer season is the dangerous error. Check the gun deer dates.
- One rooster a day on the opening Saturday and Sunday, then two a day for the rest of the season. Possession is three times the daily bag. The figure is left empty above because it changes partway through the season and a single number would be wrong at one end or the other.
- Opening day starts at 9:00 a.m., not at first light.
- Roosters only. A pheasant stamp is required to hunt on land stocked by WDNR.
Licences
- Small game licence
Everyone hunting small game — Bought through Go Wild, WDNR's licence system. - Hunter education certificate
Anyone born on or after 1 January 1973 — Or a mentored hunting licence, which requires a qualified mentor within arm's reach. - Federal HIP registration
Woodcock and every other migratory bird — Free registration with the federal harvest survey. - Pheasant stamp
Pheasant hunters on WDNR-stocked land — Required in addition to the small game licence to hunt land the state stocks.
The other questions
- How to hunt ring-necked pheasant in Wisconsin
- When does Wisconsin's 2026 ring-necked pheasant season open?
- Where to hunt ring-necked pheasant in Wisconsin
- Wisconsin ring-necked pheasant hunting report
- Ring-necked pheasant hunting in Wisconsin — the whole picture
- Ring-necked pheasant — biology, range and how it is hunted