This is Hawaii's published 2026 season, the whole state at once. A pin reads its hunting unit off the map and cuts this to the seasons, arms and limits that apply there.
Hawaii deer seasons
2026
1 antlered deer per licence year. This number is Kauaʻi's and Lānaʻi's, and it does not hold on Maui or Molokaʻi, where there is no deer limit at all: "Any deer encountered while hunting on a public hunting area may be taken by the hunter regardless of number or sex of deer taken." On Kauaʻi it is one deer per permit-tag per licence year — one antlered buck of fork horn or better in unit A, one deer of either sex everywhere else — and a hunter may hold more than one tag across the archery, muzzleloader and rifle hunts. On Lānaʻi it is one axis deer per hunt drawn, and a youth may take one in the youth hunt and one in a general hunt. Exhibits 1, 5, 7 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR.
General Deer
Rifle, shotgun, muzzleloader, handgun or archery, as the unit allowsPrinted in 8 columns — check which covers your hunting unit.On Maui and Molokaʻi this is the pig and goat season, and deer may be taken during it. On Kauaʻi and Lānaʻi it is a season of its own.
20 March to 31 May
Mar 20 – May 31Either sexOne either-sex axis deer per hunt drawn for.
5 September to 6 September, then 12 September to 25 October
Sep 5–6Antlered onlySep 12 – Oct 25Antlered onlyOne antlered buck, fork horn or better, per hunter per licence year.
5 September to 6 September, then 11 September to 26 October
Sep 5–6Either sexSep 11 – Oct 26Either sexOne deer of either sex per tag per licence year.
All year
Jan 1 – Dec 31Either sexTwo animals per hunter per day in any combination of goats, pigs and deer.
All year
Jan 1 – Dec 31Either sexTwo animals per hunter per day in any combination.
All year
Jan 1 – Jul 31Either sexAug 1 – Nov 30Either sexDec 1–31Either sexTwo animals per hunter per day in any combination.
All year
Jan 1 – Dec 31Either sexNo deer limit. The pig and goat limits are two of each per hunter per day.
1 February to 31 October
Feb 1 – Oct 31Either sexNo deer limit.
- Open hunting days are the real constraint. Most units are open only on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays; Kauaʻi units B, C, E1 and H run Friday through Monday; Kauaʻi unit E2, Kauaʻi unit F's 2026 deer archery season and Maui units A, C, D and E are open daily. Each variant below says which.
- On Maui and Molokaʻi the exhibits carry no deer row at all — they carry a footnote: "Any deer encountered while hunting on a public hunting area may be taken by the hunter regardless of number or sex of deer taken." The blocks for those islands are therefore the unit's own open period for pigs and goats.
- A Hawaiʻi hunting licence is needed everywhere, and most deer units also need a permit or a permit-tag. Kauaʻi's rifle and muzzleloader deer hunts assign hunting dates by public lottery.
- The Lānaʻi rifle hunt runs over eleven consecutive weekends, Friday through Sunday, from 20 March to 31 May 2026. It is drawn, and the block below is the span rather than the weekends inside it.
Archery Deer
Archery equipmentPrinted in 5 columns — check which covers your hunting unit.Most of Kauaʻi's deer hunting and one Maui unit are archery only, and firearms are prohibited outright in several of them.
4 February to 8 February, 11 to 15 February, 18 to 22 February, then 25 February to 1 March
Feb 4–8Either sexFeb 11–15Either sexFeb 18–22Either sexFeb 25 – Mar 1Either sexOne either-sex axis deer per hunt drawn for.
1 June to 31 August, then 1 September to 31 December
Jun 1 – Aug 31Either sexSep 1 – Dec 31Either sexOne deer of either sex, and two pigs per hunter per day.
1 September to 31 December, daily
Sep 1 – Dec 31Either sexOne deer of either sex per archery tag per licence year.
1 September to 31 December, weekends
Sep 1 – Dec 31Either sexOne deer of either sex per archery tag per licence year.
All year
Jan 1 – Dec 31Either sexNo deer limit; two pigs per hunter per day.
- In Kauaʻi units D, F, J and K and Maui unit E firearms are not permitted at all — these are state parks and recreational areas, and the archery restriction is about where you are, not about what season it is. Kauaʻi unit L, archery and muzzleloader ground in Exhibit 1, is closed until further notice in 2026.
- Kauaʻi's archery deer units run September through December, which is the four months after the goat and pig archery seasons end.
- The Lānaʻi archery hunt is four separate five-day draws in February 2026, and a hunter drawn for it may also apply for the muzzleloader or the rifle lottery.
- Open hunting days apply here as everywhere: Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays in most units. Kauaʻi F is open daily for the 2026 deer archery season, where Exhibit 1 says Fridays through Mondays; the 2026 Kauaʻi deer announcement is what runs.
Muzzleloader Deer
MuzzleloaderPrinted in 1 column — check which covers your hunting unit.A single weekend on Lānaʻi in March. Kauaʻi's muzzleloader weekend in units A and B opens the general season there and is shown with it.
13 March to 15 March
Mar 13–15Either sexOne either-sex axis deer.
- The Kauaʻi muzzleloader hunts in units A and B are the first full weekend in September, which is a fortnight before the rifle season opens there. Unit A's is a no-lottery permit; the rifle season's dates are drawn.
- Kauaʻi unit L's September-October muzzleloader hunt does not run in 2026: DLNR's 2026 Kauaʻi deer announcement says unit L "is closed until further notice".
- The Lānaʻi muzzleloader hunt is one weekend, 13 to 15 March 2026, drawn by lottery.
Youth Deer
Any legal weaponPrinted in 1 column — check which covers your hunting unit.One weekend on Lānaʻi in March, for 175 drawn youth hunters.
6 March to 8 March
Mar 6–8Either sexOne either-sex axis deer, and one more in a general hunt.
- A youth hunter is 15 or younger up to the hunt date, must hold a valid Hawaiʻi hunting licence, and must be accompanied by a non-hunting adult who also holds one.
- A total of 175 youth hunters are drawn for the weekend, and tag fees are waived for them.
- "Youth hunters are allowed to harvest one (1) animal during the youth hunt and one (1) animal during general public hunts."
New This Season
What changed since last year, and is therefore easiest to get wrong.
- The 2026 Lānaʻi axis deer season runs four hunts: archery over four February draws, a youth weekend on 6-8 March, a muzzleloader weekend on 13-15 March, and eleven rifle weekends from 20 March to 31 May.
- The OuterSpatial online check-in and check-out app has been temporarily discontinued for the Lānaʻi hunt; hunters check in and out at the Lānaʻi hunter check station.
- Kauaʻi's 2026 deer season: muzzleloader 5-6 September in units A and B; rifle on seven weekends, 12 September to 25 October in unit A (Saturdays and Sundays) and 11 September to 26 October in unit B (Fridays through Mondays); archery 1 September to 31 December, daily in unit F. Unit L is closed until further notice.
- Adaptive management temporary rule changes are in force on Hawaiʻi Island (effective 18 May 2026) and were executed for Kauaʻi in 2025 and Maui in 2024. The Land Board acted on 14 August 2026 to continue Maui units C, D and E daily, year-round and with no limit from 21 October 2026, when the 2024 change expires.
Legal Arms
Chapter 13-123 HAR game mammal exhibits, the 2026 Lānaʻi Axis Deer and Kauaʻi Black-tailed Deer season announcements, and the Maui adaptive management rules weapon specifications, as the digest prints them.
Archery equipment
Exhibits 1, 7 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR
- A bow in Kauaʻi units D, F, J and K and Maui unit E, where it is the only legal means of take.
- A bow in the Lānaʻi February archery draws.
- A bow in any unit whose means of take include archery.
- Firearms of any kind in Kauaʻi units D, F, J, K, G and L, Maui unit E and Lānaʻi unit 3 — state parks, recreational areas and safety zones.
Muzzleloader
Exhibits 1 and 7 from Chapter 13-123, HAR, and the 2026 Kauaʻi deer announcement
- A muzzleloader on the Kauaʻi unit A and unit B deer hunts of 5-6 September 2026. Unit L's September-October hunt is not running: the unit is closed until further notice.
- A muzzleloader on the Lānaʻi weekend of 13-15 March.
- A muzzleloader where firearms are prohibited, which is most of Kauaʻi's archery units.
Rifle, shotgun or handgun
Exhibits 1, 5, 7 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR
- Rifles, shotguns, muzzleloaders and handguns where the unit's means of take allow them — Kauaʻi units A, B, E1, E2 and H, Maui units A to D and F, Molokaʻi units A to E, and the Lānaʻi rifle hunt.
- Dogs where the unit permits them, kept under physical restraint except when actively pursuing game.
- Any firearm in a state park or state recreational area unit.
- Any firearm in Lānaʻi unit 3.
Hunting Hours and Orange
What the state defines as legal light, and what has to be worn in it.
Legal Shooting Hours
Chapter 13-123, HAR
Hawaiʻi's game mammal rules set hunting hours from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. What actually governs a Hawaiʻi hunt is the open hunting day rather than the hour: most units are open only on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays, and no season here runs seven days a week except Kauaʻi unit E2, Kauaʻi unit F's 2026 archery season and Maui units A, C, D and E.
Fluorescent Orange
No hunter orange requirement appears in Chapter 13-123, HAR
Hawaiʻi requires no hunter orange of a game mammal hunter. Wearing it is still sensible in the units where pig hunters run dogs.
Sundays
Exhibits 1, 5, 7 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR
Sunday is one of the two days most Hawaiʻi hunting units are open at all. The restriction runs the other way round from the mainland's: it is Monday to Friday that is closed in most units, not the weekend.
Standing Rules
The parts of the digest that are true every day of the season.
Open hunting days
Exhibits 1, 5, 7 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR, the Maui adaptive management rules, and the 2026 Kauaʻi deer announcement
Hawaiʻi restricts hunting by day of the week more than by date, and it is the rule most likely to catch a visitor out.
Most units are open on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays only. Kauaʻi units B, C, E1 and H run Fridays through Mondays and State holidays. Kauaʻi unit E2 and Maui units A, D and E are open daily, and so is Kauaʻi unit F for the 2026 deer archery season; Maui unit C is open daily except on legal bird hunting days.
- State holidays count as open days wherever they are named.
- The app shows a unit's season as a continuous span; the open days inside it are on the block.
Deer on Maui and Molokaʻi
Exhibits 5 and 9 from Chapter 13-123, HAR
Neither island's exhibit has a deer row. Both carry a footnote instead: "Any deer encountered while hunting on a public hunting area may be taken by the hunter regardless of number or sex of deer taken."
So the deer season on those islands is exactly the pig and goat season, and there is no deer bag limit at all.
Lānaʻi is leased ground
Exhibit 7 from Chapter 13-123, HAR, and the 2026 announcement
"All hunting units on Lanai are owned by cooperating landowner. Access, conditions for the hunt, and public use conditions are subject to the terms of the lease agreement."
Every Lānaʻi hunt is drawn, applications close in the November before the season, and non-Lānaʻi residents face limited participation in all four hunts.
- The 2026 application fee was $10 per person per hunt, non-refundable.
- One hunter assistant is allowed for a hunter who is 65 or over or disabled, with documentation.
- Hunters check in and out at the Lānaʻi hunter check station and provide harvest data on the way out.
Tagging and Reporting
The clock that starts the moment the deer is down.
2026 Lānaʻi Axis Deer Hunting Season Announcement
Every deer must be reported at the check station on the way out, for a Lānaʻi hunt; as the unit permit directs elsewhere.
- On Lānaʻi, check in at the hunter check station to validate the permit and collect tags, and check out by handing in the permit card with harvest data.
- On Kauaʻi, Maui and Molokaʻi, follow the reporting condition on the unit's permit.
- Permits and tags are bought and printed at gohunthawaii.ehawaii.gov.
Where This App Is Coarser Than the Digest
Said plainly, because an absence is easy to read as a permission.
- Open hunting days are not modelled. Most Hawaiʻi units are open only on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays, and some run Fridays through Mondays; the app draws a season as a continuous span and states the open days on the block instead. On a Wednesday in a Saturday-Sunday unit the app will show the season open and the unit will not be.
- The bag limit is not modelled either. Maui and Molokaʻi set no deer limit at all, Kauaʻi sets one deer per permit-tag per licence year, and the state-level figure carried here is Kauaʻi's.
- Several Kauaʻi hunts and every Lānaʻi hunt assign specific hunting dates by public lottery. The blocks are the season the lottery draws from, not the days your permit will name.
- The Kauaʻi rule says "see annual deer season instructions for specific hunting days" for units K and L. The 2026 instructions — DLNR's 2026 Kauaʻi deer announcement — were read: units J and K are archery on Saturdays, Sundays and State holidays, and unit L is closed until further notice.
- Maui units C, D and E are carried under the adaptive management rule effective 21 October 2024 and its continuation from 21 October 2026, acted on by the Land Board on 14 August 2026; DOFAW's hunting page still labelled the 2026 exhibit "proposed" when it was read on 23 September 2026. Both say daily, year-round and no limit, so the two agree on everything this app draws.
- The rut date is an estimate and a poor one. Axis deer breed year-round in Hawaiʻi with a broad reported peak in early summer, and Kauaʻi's black-tailed deer follow a mainland autumn rut instead. One date cannot describe both.
- Hawaiʻi Island and Oʻahu units are carried so that a pin resolves, but they hold no deer and the app shows no season for them.
Useful Numbers
The agency, when the app cannot answer it.
- DOFAW Wailuku office (Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi)
- (808) 984-8100.
- Applications, permits and tags
- gohunthawaii.ehawaii.gov
- Hunting programme calendar
- dlnr.hawaii.gov/recreation/hunting/
Transcribed from the published 2026 Hawaii digest. Where this app and the digest disagree, the digest is the law. Read the Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife digest.