General Deer Hunting Rules

Deer hunting regulations are divided by regions. There are two Deer Management Regions whose dividing line is in Washington County (see map, Deer Seasons & Bag Limits page). There are also rules and seasons for archery, firearms (including air guns) and muzzleloader deer hunting.

Junior Deer Hunt Days

Antlered White-tailed Deer, Statewide Seasons

Antlerless White-tailed Deer Seasons, Region A

Antlerless White-tailed Deer Seasons, Region B

Sika Deer Seasons

Sunday Deer Hunting

Archery Deer Hunting Regulations

Muzzleloader Deer Hunting Regulations

Firearms and Air Gun Deer Hunting Regulations

Chronic Wasting Disease in Maryland

Managed Deer Hunting Programs

Deer Processors

General Deer Hunting Rules

• A hunter must carry personal photo identification (such as a driver’s license) or a secondary form of positive identification while hunting.
• Written permission is required to hunt on private land.
• A hunting license is required to hunt deer (with exceptions). See Hunting Licenses, Stamps and Permits for Armed Forces information and hunting license costs, exceptions, purchasing, requirements and types.
• An Archery Stamp is required for Archery Deer Season and when using bows during the Primitive Deer Hunt Days. A Muzzleloader Stamp is required for Muzzleloader Deer Season and when using a muzzleloader during the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
• A Sika Stamp is required to take sika deer.
• There are tagging and checking requirements for all deer harvested. See Deer and Turkey Tagging and Checking for instructions.
• There are daylight fluorescent color clothing requirements to hunt deer. See Fluorescent Color Clothing Requirements and Exceptions.
• Archery equipment may be used to hunt deer during all of the deer hunting seasons. This includes the Junior Deer Hunt Days. During the Primitive Deer Hunt Days, hunters may only use long bows and recurve bows.
• Muzzleloading firearms may only be used to hunt deer during the Muzzleloader Season, Firearms Season, Junior Deer Hunt Days and Primitive Deer Hunt Days. During the Primitive Deer Hunt Days, hunters may only use flintlock or sidelock percussion muzzleloaders. Muzzleloading revolvers are prohibited during the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
• Shotguns or rifles and handguns that fire straight-walled cartridges may be used to hunt deer in all counties during the Firearms Season and Junior Deer Hunt Days.
• Rifles and handguns that shoot bottleneck cartridges may only be used to hunt deer during the Firearms Season and Junior Deer Hunt Days in certain counties and areas (see map and description).
• Air guns that shoot bullets, arrows or bolts may be used to hunt deer in all counties during the Firearms Season and Junior Deer Hunt Days only.
• Deer harvested must count toward the bag limit of the season in which they are taken, please note:
  • Deer harvested with archery equipment during the antlerless-only second split of the early Muzzleloader Season in Region B must count toward the Archery Season bag limit.
• Hunters may not carry archery equipment and muzzleloaders at the same time when Archery Season and Muzzleloader Season are in concurrently. This includes the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
• Telescopic and electronic aiming devices may be used on all devices legal for hunting deer during the Archery, Muzzleloader and Firearms Seasons and Junior Deer Hunt Days. Telescopic and electronic aiming devices may not be used during the Primitive Deer Hunt Days.
• The antlered white-tailed deer bag limit is statewide. It applies to both Region A and Region B together.
• Antlerless white-tailed deer bag limits are separate and independent for Region A and Region B.
• Sika deer bag limits are independent of the white-tailed deer bag limits.
• Only one antlered white-tailed deer may be taken per day within the season bag limits. There is no restriction on the number of antlerless deer that may be taken per day in Region B within the season bag limit. Only one antlerless deer may be taken per day in Region A within the season bag limit.
• Antlered and antlerless deer may be harvested the same day within their prescribed bag limits.
• Daily deer shooting hours are one half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset with the exception of certain Sundays in certain counties (see Sunday hunting chart).
• Recorded or electrically amplified calls or sounds are prohibited for deer hunting.
• Hunters may dispatch wounded deer after legal shooting hours on the evening the wounding occurs. The hunter must use a weapon legal for the current season to kill the deer. Artificial lights may be used to assist with dispatching a wounded deer. Hunters must notify the Natural Resources Police by telephone at 800-628-9944 if they suspect they will need to kill a wounded deer they are pursuing after legal shooting hours and must call again when they are finished with the pursuit.
• Dogs cannot be used to hunt deer. However, trained tracking dogs may be used to find dead, wounded or injured deer. The dog handler must maintain physical control of the tracking dog at all times and only the hunter and dog handler may carry a hunting device while tracking the deer. Prior to tracking the deer, the hunter must notify the Natural Resources Police by telephone at 800-628-9944.
• Deer may not be hunted while they are swimming or taking refuge in water.
• Fallow deer (where they are found) may be taken in place of white-tailed deer during each of the deer hunting seasons.
• It is legal to bait deer except on state-owned or state-controlled properties.
• A person that intentionally wounds or kills a deer must make a reasonable attempt to retrieve and make use of the deer. This includes hunters and persons shooting under the authority of a Deer Management Permit.
• A person must have written permission when entering lands owned by another person or organization for the purpose of retrieving a deer. Some publicly owned properties also require permission before a person may access them.