Hunting season changes for 2023

Catoperat

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In case anyone didn't know, below are the changes to the 2023 hunting seasons taken from the 2023 Abstracts

NEW FOR 2023

Extended Pheasant and Quail Seasons: The pheasant and quail hunting seasons now
open on the Saturday after Columbus Day and close on December 31. Hunters can
now pursue previously stocked pheasants statewide and quail in Wildlife Manage-
ment Zones 11–14 from the Monday after shotgun deer season to the end of the
year (no pheasant and quail hunting during the shotgun deer season).

Expanded hunting implement use on pheasant and quail-stocked Wildlife Manage-
ment Areas (WMA) for certain game: Hunters can now use all legal methods to hunt
game other than pheasant and quail on pheasant and quail-stocked WMAs. Previ-
ously, all hunters were restricted on WMAs to shotgun and archery equipment only.
See each species’ page for details. In addition, legal hunting implements for pheasant
and quail on all public and private land statewide are now shotgun and archery only.

Expanded hunting hours on pheasant and quail-stocked WMAs for certain game:
Hunters targeting game other than pheasant and quail on pheasant and quail-
stocked WMAs are no longer restricted to hunting from sunrise to sunset. See each
species’ page for details. Pheasant and quail hunting hours on all public and private
land statewide are now from sunrise to sunset.

Simplification and expansion of small game seasons: Gray squirrel, cottontail
rabbit, and snowshoe hare seasons have been simplified and expanded into single,
statewide seasons for each species. There is now a single statewide season for gray
squirrel (beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day and ending on the last day of Febru-
ary), and for cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare (beginning the Saturday after Co-
lumbus Day and ending the last day of February). See each species’ page for specific
season dates. The black-tailed jack rabbit season has been eliminated
 
I wonder if they will stock birds in December ?


Nope:

“ Hunters can now pursue previously stocked pheasants statewide and quail in Wildlife Manage-
ment Zones 11–14 from the Monday after shotgun deer season to the end of the
year (no pheasant and quail hunting during the shotgun deer season).”

I have also heard that they sent this out with a typo. It should be zones 1-14, and not 11-14.
 
Simplification and expansion of small game seasons: Gray squirrel, cottontail
rabbit, and snowshoe hare seasons have been simplified and expanded into single,
statewide seasons for each species. There is now a single statewide season for gray
squirrel (beginning the Tuesday after Labor Day and ending on the last day of Febru-
ary), and for cottontail rabbit and snowshoe hare (beginning the Saturday after Co-
lumbus Day and ending the last day of February). See each species’ page for specific
season dates. The black-tailed jack rabbit season has been eliminated

Only skimmed the 2023 abstracts so far, so I missed that. That is great news. The state actually SIMPLIFIED SOMETHING? What's next, lowering costs?
 
That sucks I know there are some hold over birds but not a lot I think mass wildlife could do a bit better
Of course they did better- better for themselves, LOL. 2023 Pheasant tag $8, double what it was in 2022.

While a longer season is nice to have, it's a pretty hollow benefit. One of the WMA's I frequent is likely the least pressured with the heaviest cover and some forage. If birds had a chance to make it, this would be the place. Despite that, holdovers don't last long between the hunting pressure and predators. I'd be surprised if there was a single bird after deer shotgun season.

WMA's can already be a bit of a shitshow, so I'm not a fan of opening them up to other hunting 'implements' other than shotgun during pheasant and quail season. AFAIK, there is no caliber restriction on coyote so just about anything goes. I think a good compromise would be sunset to sunrise hunting of predators on WMA land during bird season. If this were out west with more land and less pressure, I'd be good with the anything goes rules.

I wonder if stocking clubs will be able to pick up more birds after shotgun deer season and before birds season closes?
 
That sucks I know there are some hold over birds but not a lot I think mass wildlife could do a bit better
Not many when the hawks, owls, fishers, coyotes, bobcats and foxes are done........

We stock a lot of birds and rarely are there holdovers seen after the season.

I'll be pushing my club for one stocking after Thanksgiving, we might have to buy the birds though. I do not think the state will provide them. And when I say provide, our club pays 3K yearly to raise them, they don't come free.

To answer Mountain's question.....very unlikely. More because of the weather, if we get heavy snow the pheasant pens get ruined and the birds die. Happened the time we had that October snowstorm, lot of birds got lost to the weather that year.
 
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