What are the 2026 sharp-tailed grouse hunting regulations in Minnesota?

Minnesota sharp-tailed grouse regulations, 2026

Last updated 2026-09-24 · from MN DNR data · 2026 season year

Minnesota's 2026 sharp-tailed grouse season runs September 19, 2026 to November 30, 2026, on dates that depend on the zone. No single bag limit is shown for it here — read the notes below and check the current MN DNR regulations before you go. Hunter orange is required. Read against the 2026 season year, from MN DNR.

Season and limits

Season: Sharp-tailed grouse — September 19, 2026 to November 30, 2026
Bag limit: not shown No single bag limit is shown for it here. Where MN DNR 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 Minnesota Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
Hunter orange: required

Minnesota requires blaze orange or blaze pink while a firearms deer season is in progress, and it applies to small game hunters too. Treat orange as required for the whole season: missing it during gun deer season is the dangerous error. We have not been able to confirm the exact wording against MN DNR — read the regulations before relying on the detail.
MN DNR publishes no bag limit we could confirm for this season, so none is shown.
Open in the northwest zone only. The east-central zone has been closed since 2021 on low population and is not open in 2026.
The zone boundary is not mapped in this app — the dates are per zone, the zone you are standing in is not yet answered.

Zones

Zone	Opens	Closes	Days
Northwest zone	September 19, 2026	November 30, 2026	73
East-central zone	Closed season

Licences

Small game licence
Everyone hunting small game — Bought through MN DNR's licence system, and what the stamps below are added to.
Firearms safety certificate
Anyone born after 31 December 1979 — Or an apprentice hunter validation, which Minnesota limits to a small number of seasons in a lifetime rather than allowing indefinitely.
Federal HIP registration
Woodcock and every other migratory bird — Free registration with the federal harvest survey, and it lapses every season.
Small game surcharge and stamps
Varies by bird — Minnesota attaches its own validations to some birds — the pheasant stamp is the one an upland hunter meets first. Which ones your licence needs is on MN DNR's licence page; this app does not carry the ladder.

The other questions

Open the hunting map →Public land and bird cover, drawn for the bird you are after.