Kansas pheasant and quail season opens today
The regular Kansas pheasant and quail hunting season opens today, Nov. 14, and runs through Jan. 31, 2027, the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks said.
The season is statewide. Shooting hours are one-half hour before sunrise until sunset.
Hunters may take four rooster pheasants a day and may have 16 in possession. Only male pheasants may be taken. Birds being transported must keep a foot, plumage or another part that shows the bird's sex.
The daily bag limit for quail is eight birds, bobwhite or scaled quail or a combination of the two, with a possession limit of 32.
A youth pheasant and quail season was held Nov. 7-8 for hunters 17 or younger, who had to be supervised by a non-hunting adult 18 or older.
A general hunting license is required to hunt pheasant or quail, unless an exemption applies. Kansas residents 16 through 74 must have a resident hunting license. Residents 15 and younger and residents 75 and older are not required to buy a hunting license. Nonresident hunters must have a nonresident license regardless of age. Owners of farm or ranch land, tenants of land leased for agriculture, and immediate family members living with them are not required to have a license while hunting on that land.
Anyone born on or after July 1, 1957, must complete an approved hunter education course before hunting in Kansas. Anyone younger than 27 must carry their hunter education certificate while hunting. Licenses are sold online at GoOutdoorsKansas.gov, through licensed vendors and by calling 1-833-587-2164.
The department's 2026 Upland Bird Forecast says pheasant densities decreased across all regions after heavy rain during the peak hatch limited production. Hunting will be tougher this season and harvest will likely be down, the forecast says, with the best areas in the Smoky Hills and the Southern High Plains.
In the Smoky Hills of north-central Kansas, which includes the Salina area, pheasant numbers trended down after last year's improvements, but the region maintained the highest regional density, with the best densities in the western portion. The forecast says quality hunting opportunities still exist across much of the Smoky Hills.
Statewide quail populations improved again this summer, the forecast says, and Kansas harvest is again expected to be among the highest in the country. The best opportunities are across the southern half of the state, extending up through north-central Kansas. In the Smoky Hills, quail improved on all survey routes. Densities are described as good and are best in the southern half of the region, with lower densities in the northeast portion.
Kansas has almost 1.7 million acres open to public hunting when wildlife areas, federal properties and Walk-In Hunting Access land are combined. The WIHA program has just under 1 million acres enrolled for 2026, including 261,269 acres in the Smoky Hills, along with 106,720 acres of public land in that region.
WIHA and Interactive WIHA tracts are private land enrolled for public hunting only during each property's posted access period. Fall access begins Sept. 1 or Nov. 1 and ends Jan. 31, March 31 or May 31, depending on the tract. Hunters must check the 2026-27 Hunting Atlas or posted signs for dates and boundaries. Entering a tract outside its access period is prohibited. On iWIHA properties, hunters must check in and out with a Go Outdoors Kansas account, and daily hunter numbers are capped.
The atlas is available at ksoutdoors.gov and at license vendors. Hunters should stay on the marked tract, keep roads, gates and driveways clear, and stay out of areas marked as Safety Zones. Hunting on other private land requires the landowner's permission. It is illegal to hunt from state or federal highways. Land posted with "Written Permission Only" signs or with purple-painted trees or fence posts requires written permission to enter.
Legal methods for pheasant and quail are shotguns and muzzleloading shotguns no larger than 10 gauge using shot only, bow and arrow, and falconry. Game birds may be taken only while they are in flight. Hunters must attempt to find any game they cripple or kill.
The Kansas Hunting and Furharvesting Regulations Summary for fall 2026-spring 2027 is available at ksoutdoors.gov. The department's Pratt Operations Office can be reached at 620-672-5911.
