Small Game & Other Seasons
North Carolina
Hunting & Fishing
Season Dates | Limits |
Oct. 12 – Feb. 28 | Opossum: No bag limits Raccoon daily limit 3: No possession or season limits |
General Restrictions
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Gray and Red (statewide): Oct. 12 – Feb. 28 | Daily limit 8; No possession or season limits |
Fox Squirrel (statewide): Oct. 12 – Jan. 31 | Daily limit 1; Possession 2; Season 10 |
Oct. 12 – Feb. 28 (hunting and box-trapping*) | Daily limit 5; No possession or season limits |
* A trapping license is not required to box-trap rabbits, but a valid hunting license is necessary. The sale of live rabbits is prohibited. | |
Nov. 21 – Feb. 28 | Daily limit 6; Possession 12; No season limit |
Oct. 12 – Feb. 28 | Daily limit 3; Possession 6; Season 30 |
Oct. 12 – Feb. 28 | No limits |
GROUNDHOG, NUTRIA, COYOTE, SKUNK (striped), ARMADILLO and FERAL SWINE (HOGS) | |
There is no closed hunting season on private lands. See Game Lands Section for Game Lands regulations. | There is no bag limit |
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Nov. 21 – Feb. 1 (male pheasant only) | Daily limit 3; Possession 6; Season 30 |
Year Round (including Sundays) |
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Nov. 21 – Jan. 1 | Daily limit 2; Season 10 |
This season applies as follows:
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Jan. 2 – 23 | Daily limit 2; Season 10 |
There is no open weapons hunting season in any other county except where provided by local laws. To see if your county has a hunting season on foxes, visit ncwildlife.org/FoxSeasons, or call 919-707-0050 to request a copy. | |
Beaver may be taken year-round with firearms or bow and arrow, provided that permission has been obtained from the owner or lessee of the land on which beaver is being taken. | |
Oct. 1 – Mar. 31 | No limits. |
This applies to domestically raised birds (mallard ducks, chukars, Hungarian partridges, and upland game birds) only. No wild turkey may be taken. |