This is Maryland's published 2026-27 season, the whole state at once. A pin reads its county off the map and cuts this to the seasons, arms and limits that apply there.

Maryland deer seasons

2026-27

2 antlered deer per licence year. Two antlered deer for all seasons combined, and no more than one in any single weapon season. A Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp adds a third — but it may not be used in the October 22-24 portion of the muzzleloader season. Guide, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits.

Deer Archery
Vertical bow or crossbowPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your county.
The long one: mid-September to the end of January, broken only by the firearms and muzzleloader weeks it gives way to.
Region A
Sep 11 – Oct 21Either sex
Oct 25 – Nov 27Either sex
Dec 14–18Either sex
Jan 3–31Either sex
Two antlered and two antlerless for the year, all seasons combined.
Region B
Sep 11 – Oct 21Either sex
Oct 25 – Nov 27Either sex
Dec 14–18Either sex
Jan 3–7Either sex
Jan 11–31Either sex
Two antlered for the year; fifteen antlerless by bow.
- No fluorescent orange is required of an archery hunter, with one exception: an archer hunting deer in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett or Washington County during the open black bear season must wear it. Guide, Hunting Regulations.
- A ground blind must display a solid fluorescent orange or pink cap, or a 250-square-inch panel, on it or within 25 feet of it.
Deer Muzzleloader
Muzzleloading rifle, shotgun or handgunPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your county.
Three days in October and a fortnight over the new year — and in Region B, six extra antlerless-only days at the end of October.
Region A
Oct 22–24Either sex
Dec 19–25Antlered only
Dec 26 – Jan 2Either sex
Counts against two antlered and two antlerless for the year.
Region B
Oct 22–24Either sex
Oct 26–31Antlerless only
Dec 19 – Jan 2Either sex
Two antlered for the year; ten antlerless by muzzleloader.
- The Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp may NOT be used during the October 22-24, 2026 portion of this season, and on those three days only one deer in total, antlered or antlerless, may be taken in Region A. Guide p. 20.
- Fluorescent orange or pink is required: a solid cap, a 250-square-inch vest or jacket, or a camouflage garment above the waist that is at least half fluorescent.
Deer Firearms
Rifle, shotgun or handgunPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your county.
The fortnight from the Saturday after Thanksgiving — and in Region B, three more days in January that Region A does not get.
Region A
Nov 28 – Dec 4Antlered only
Dec 5–12Either sex
Counts against two antlered and two antlerless for the year.
Region B
Nov 28 – Dec 12Either sex
Jan 8–10Either sex
Two antlered for the year; ten antlerless by firearm.
- Fluorescent orange or pink is required: a solid cap, a 250-square-inch vest or jacket, or a camouflage garment above the waist that is at least half fluorescent.
Junior Deer Hunt Days
Rifle, shotgun or handgunPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your county.
One weekend in mid-November set aside for junior hunters, with a bag limit of its own.
Region A
Nov 14–15Either sex
1 antlered or 1 antlerless deer, separate from the regular season limits.
Region B
Nov 14–15Either sex
3 deer, no more than 1 antlered, separate from the regular season limits.
- For hunters age 16 or younger, accompanied by an unarmed licensed adult of 21 or older. Saturday 14 November is statewide; Sunday 15 November is open only in the counties the Sunday chart names. Guide pp. 20 and 24.
- Junior Deer Hunt Days have a separate bag limit: deer taken on them do not count towards the regular archery, muzzleloader or firearms bag limits, and junior hunters are exempt from the antler point restriction. Guide p. 20.
- Fluorescent orange or pink is required on these days.
Primitive Deer Hunt Days
Long bow, recurve bow, or flintlock or sidelock percussion muzzleloaderPrinted in 2 columns — check which covers your county.
Three days at the start of February, with the old arms only.
Region A
Feb 1–3Either sex
Antlered deer count against the archery or muzzleloader limit; one additional antlerless deer on top of Region A's two.
Region B
Feb 1–3Either sex
Every deer counts against the regular archery or muzzleloader limit, by the weapon used.
- Only long bows, recurve bows, and flintlock or sidelock percussion muzzleloading rifles or handguns. Muzzleloading revolvers, draw-locks and telescopic or other electronic aiming devices are prohibited. Guide pp. 20-22.
- Every deer hunter must wear fluorescent colour clothing during the Primitive Deer Hunt Days — there is no archery exemption on these three days. Guide pp. 20-22.

New This Season

What changed since last year, and is therefore easiest to get wrong.

Region B firearms gains three January days, 8-10 January 2027, which Region A does not get.
Region A archery runs unbroken through January, including the 8th to the 10th when Region B archery is shut for the firearms days.
The Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp may not be used in the 22-24 October portion of the muzzleloader season.
Rifles smaller than .30 calibre used for deer must now develop at least 1,200 foot-pounds of muzzle energy (Guide pp. 8, 30).

Legal Arms

Guide to Hunting and Trapping in Maryland 2026-2027 weapon specifications, as the digest prints them.

Archery

Guide, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits

Vertical bow.
Crossbow.

Hunting the archery season without an archery stamp on top of a licence.

Muzzleloader

Guide, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits

Muzzleloading rifle, shotgun or handgun.

Using the Bonus Antlered Deer Stamp during the 22-24 October portion of the season.

Firearms

Guide, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits

Rifle, shotgun or handgun, where the county permits it.
A rifle smaller than .30 calibre must develop at least 1,200 foot-pounds of muzzle energy; .30 calibre and larger has no minimum. New for 2026-27. Guide p. 30.
A handgun must have a barrel of six inches or more and ammunition producing at least 700 foot-pounds. Guide p. 30.

Primitive arms

Seasons Calendar p. 1 and Guide pp. 20-22

Long bow or recurve bow.
Flintlock or sidelock percussion muzzleloading rifle or handgun.

Any modern firearm on the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
Muzzleloading revolvers, draw-locks, and telescopic or other electronic aiming devices.

Hunting Hours and Orange

What the state defines as legal light, and what has to be worn in it.

Legal Shooting Hours

Guide, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits

One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.

Fluorescent Orange

Guide, Hunting Regulations

A solid daylight fluorescent orange or pink cap; or a vest or jacket with back and front panels totalling at least 250 square inches of it; or an outer garment above the waist that is at least 50 per cent camouflage fluorescent orange or pink. Required during the Junior Deer Hunt Days, the firearms season, the muzzleloader season and the Primitive Deer Hunt Days. An archery hunter is exempt, except when hunting deer in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett or Washington County during the open black bear season. A ground blind must display a cap or a 250-square-inch panel on it or within 25 feet of it.

Sundays

Seasons Calendar p. 3, 'Sunday Deer Hunting 2026-2027'

Maryland neither bans Sunday deer hunting nor opens it generally. DNR publishes a chart of exactly which Sundays are open, in which counties, on which land and to which weapon — check it before you plan a Sunday.

Standing Rules

The parts of the digest that are true every day of the season.

Fluorescent colour

Guide, Hunting Regulations

A solid daylight fluorescent orange or pink cap worn as an outer garment on the head at all times.
Or a vest or jacket with back and front panels of at least 250 square inches of solid fluorescent orange or pink, worn as an outer garment at all times.
Or an outer garment of camouflage fluorescent orange or pink worn above the waist containing at least 50 per cent fluorescent colour.
A ground blind must display a solid fluorescent cap or a 250-square-inch panel on it or within 25 feet of it.

Hunting deer without it during the Junior Deer Hunt Days, the firearms season, the muzzleloader season or the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
Archery hunting deer in Allegany, Frederick, Garrett or Washington County during the open black bear season without it.

Antler point restriction

Guide pp. 20-21

One antlered white-tailed deer within the yearly bag limit may be taken without meeting the point restriction.
Any additional antlered white-tailed deer taken within the yearly bag limit must have at least three points on one antler. The two may be taken in either order.
An antler point is any projection one inch or more long; the brow tine counts, and so does the tip of the main beam.
Junior hunters, 16 or younger, are exempt from the restriction in every season.

Sunday deer hunting

Seasons Calendar p. 3

Maryland opens Sunday deer hunting on named Sundays in named counties, on private and designated public land, and the list differs by weapon season. It is neither a general permission nor a general ban, and the chart is the only place the answer lives.

Tagging and Reporting

The clock that starts the moment the deer is down.

Guide, Deer & Turkey Tagging & Checking

Every deer must be reported before midnight on the day of the harvest.

Register online through the Maryland big game registration site at gamecheck.dnr.state.md.us
Or on the Maryland Big Game Registration Phone Line, 1-888-800-0121

Where This App Is Coarser Than the Digest

Said plainly, because an absence is easy to read as a permission.

Washington County is split between Region A and Region B on a line of roads through Clear Spring. This app resolves a pin only as far as the county and places the whole of Washington in Region B, which is the eastern and larger part. Check footnote 3 on the seasons calendar if you hunt its western end.
Sunday deer hunting in Maryland is open only on the dates, in the counties, on the land and to the weapons named in DNR's Sunday deer hunting chart. This app knows the chart exists and links it; it does not carry it, so treat every Sunday here as one to check.
Sika deer run their own seasons on the lower Eastern Shore and are not carried here. The Sika Deer Stamp is listed so the wallet is right, but the dates on this screen are the white-tailed ones.
The Suburban Deer Management Zone lifts the antlerless limit entirely in the parts of Region B it covers. This app carries the Region B limit rather than the zone's, because the zone is drawn inside counties.
Maryland publishes no open statewide parcel service this app can query, so there are no property lines on the map here.

Useful Numbers

The agency, when the app cannot answer it.

Big game registration: 1-888-800-0121, or gamecheck.dnr.state.md.us
Wildlife and Heritage Service: 410-260-8540
Licences: Maryland COMPASS, compass.dnr.maryland.gov

Transcribed from the published 2026-27 Maryland digest. Where this app and the digest disagree, the digest is the law. Read the Maryland DNR Wildlife and Heritage Service digest.