EASTON, MARYLAND — Maryland's two-week firearms season for sika and white-tailed deer opens Saturday, Nov. 28, and runs through Saturday, Dec. 12, the Department of Natural Resources said Wednesday.
Hunting is allowed on certain Sundays in all but three counties. Bag limits and antlerless dates are in the 2026-2027 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping. Licenses and stamps are sold through DNR's MD Outdoors system or its free mobile app, at a licensing agent, or by calling 866-344-8889. Hunters going after sika deer must also buy a sika hunting stamp.
The antler-point restriction remains in effect. A hunter may take one antlered white-tailed deer within the yearly bag limit that doesn't have at least three points on one antler, and any additional antlered deer must meet the minimum. Junior hunters and apprentice license holders 16 or younger are exempt.
Deer hunters and anyone with them must wear daylight fluorescent orange or pink during the season. DNR lists three ways to do it: a solid cap, a vest or jacket with front and back panels of at least 250 square inches, or camouflage in the color worn above the waist with at least 50 percent fluorescent. DNR also tells hunters to inspect every tree stand and wear a full-body safety harness in the stand and while climbing.
New this year, DNR rules allow drones to be used to locate and recover wounded or dead game but not to hunt, trap or pursue wildlife. Hunters using a drone to recover a wounded or dead animal must call Natural Resources Police at 800-628-9944 before and after the search.
The Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area covers Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Washington counties. Talbot County is not on the list. Hunters can't move whole carcasses or certain parts out of the area unless they meet certain exceptions.
Hunters who donate deer to food banks can claim a state tax credit when they pay for processing.
Orange on, harness clipped, and then the first shot.
Source: Maryland DNR
Drawn from public records; drafted with AI and edited by Peter Gorman before publication.
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