Hunting has long been valuable in North Carolina’s culture. Here’s what and when you can hunt during the 2025 hunting seasons, plus how to get a license. 

Some might consider hunting an old-fashioned sport, but the truth is that many people in North Carolina secure food for themselves and their families by hunting. It’s an old way of life, but it’s essentially no different than buying meat at the grocery store. The only stipulation is that you follow state guidelines for what you can hunt and when you can hunt. For instance, you’ll want to back away if you see a red wolf, as 2025 might be a huge year in North Carolina’s conservation efforts for the endangered species.

Staying safe, not sorry, is the name of the game with hunting, and we don’t only mean with the wildlife. Failing to follow North Carolina’s wildlife laws during the 2025 hunting seasons could result in fines and other repercussions, but more on that later. Here are this year’s seasons, the most commonly hunted animals in the Tar Heel State, the punishments for breaking hunting rules, and more.

How to get a license for the 2025 hunting seasons

Before we can get into the actual 2025 hunting seasons, we have to go over North Carolina’s license requirements. According to the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, everyone aged 16 and above is required to have an active hunting license to pursue wildlife. Yes, that means that children aged 15 and under do not need a fishing, hunting, or trapping license. However, like adults with licenses, they still have to report any big game they hunt, like deer or bears. Important to note is that folks who don’t live in North Carolina but are hunting in the state also need licenses; the law applies to residents and nonresidents alike.

There are four general hunting animal classifications in North Carolina: game status, which is the generic label indicating that an animal is able to be hunted; nongame status, which includes animals like armadillos and coyotes that aren’t officially labeled as game but can be hunted if you have the correct permit; big game status, which includes larger animals like bears and deer that need to be registered; and furbearer status, which is used to describe animals like bobcats and skunks that can be trapped.

The general hunting license in North Carolina covers all small game, including raccoons and opossums. However, for other types of wildlife, you need additional certifications or privileges applied to your license. For example, you need a specific privilege for big game and another privilege for waterfowl. Basically, you need to be prepared when you head for a hunting session, and only shoot the wildlife for which you’re explicitly certified.

Thankfully, purchasing a North Carolina hunting license can be done quickly and easily online, as well as in person and over the phone. The same website is where you register your hunted animals that require it.

2025 hunting seasons broken down by wildlife species

In North Carolina, hunting seasons are the most active during the winter months, so there isn’t much to legally hunt or trap at the time of writing. For example, the 2024-2025 hunting season for animals like bobcats, rabbits, and quails ended at the conclusion of February this year. At the time of writing, the final active vernal season is the wild turkey spring season, which ends on May 10.

This isn’t entirely bad news, though. We’re at the perfect point in the year to prepare for the 2025 hunting seasons—the general trapping season is from Oct. 1 to Feb. 28—which we outline below based on each type of animal permitted to be pursued in the state.

When can you hunt bears?

Bears are hunted in the winter, partly because they’re hibernating, which significantly lowers the risk of being attacked while hunting. During the 2025 hunting seasons, you can pursue these cuddly-looking creatures at different times based on where you’re located in the Tar Heel State.

The general hunting range lasts from October to the end of December, though the exact dates differ for each region. For example, in the Mountain Bear Management Unit, which encompasses areas like Cleveland and Surry, the hunting season is from Oct. 4 to Nov. 22 and again from Dec. 13 to Jan. 1. Meanwhile, some zones in the Coastal Bear Management Unit have considerably shorter windows. For instance, Zone 3, which includes Beaufort and Martin County, has a hunting season of Nov. 8 to Nov. 16 and again from Dec. 13 to Dec. 28.

When can you hunt birds?

As previously established, the wild turkey spring season is ongoing until May 10, and once it ends, it won’t be back until the spring 2026 season, which lasts from Apr. 11 to May 9 next year. Other birds are still on the table this year, though. Grouse will be huntable from Oct. 13 to Feb. 28, while quail will be huntable from Nov. 22 to Feb. 28.

Meanwhile, pheasants are fair game from Sep. 1 to Feb. 28 except on the Barrier Islands of Carteret, Dare, and Hyde Counties. There, pheasant season doesn’t begin until Nov. 22, but it also ends on Feb. 28. Crows are even trickier. They have a hunting season from Aug. 1 to Feb. 28, but they’re only huntable on Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays during this period. Who knew?

When can you hunt small game?

If birds aren’t your animal of choice, don’t fret. Plenty of small game have open hunting seasons around the same time as grouse and quail. Take the humble rabbit, which is huntable from Oct. 13 to Feb 28. Raccoons and opossums follow the same dates. Squirrels are a little trickier. Common species like gray squirrels and red squirrels follow the same date range as rabbits, raccoons, and opossums. However, fox squirrels are only huntable from Oct. 13 to Jan. 31. 

Interested in slightly larger game? You can hunt bobcats from Oct. 13 to Feb. 28, but foxes are a different story. Each county in North Carolina has its own guidelines for fox hunting and trapping, with trapping and hunting often having different legal date ranges. 

Fox seasons are typically in the fall and winter, like the animals listed above, but it doesn’t appear that fox-season dates have been released for the 2025-2026 season at the time of writing. Still, if the 2024-2025 season dates are anything to go by, hunters should expect the hunting season to begin in November in most counties and the trapping season to kick off the following January in most counties. That said, some North Carolina counties allow year-round fox hunting. These include Anson, Catawba, Halifax, Henderson, and Perquimans. 

When can you hunt deer?

Deer are one of the most common animals hunted for personal use and sport alike, but North Carolina doesn’t have a cookie-cutter hunting season for the beloved beast. Rather, the state is split up into five zones—Northeastern, Southeastern, Central, Northwestern, and Western—and each has its own date ranges for using archery, blackpowder (aka gunpowder, an old-school way of hunting that predates modern gun technology and is adored for the fun difficulty it provides hunters), and guns. 

Generally, the deer date ranges last from mid-September to the beginning of January. For example, the hunting season for the Northeastern zone is Sept. 13 to Oct. 3 for archery, Oct. 4 to Oct. 17 for blackpowder, and Oct. 18 to Jan. 1 for guns.

Young hunters can get in on the action, too. For two days only—Sep. 27 to Sep. 28—the state has its annual Youth Deer Hunting Days. The Western zone additionally has two more days Nov. 27 to Nov. 28. 

For full date ranges for every animal and area in the state, read the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission annual hunting schedule. 

Repercussions for breaking wildlife laws

Hunting is highly regulated across the United States, not just in North Carolina, in order to keep many animal species from becoming endangered or extinct. Breaking these hunting laws can bring fines and other repercussions that can seriously set you back.

According to FindLaw, fines assigned for breaking hunting laws can range from $250 minimum for “[a]ny person who unlawfully takes, possesses, or transports any wild turkey” to $2,500 minimum for “[a]ny person who unlawfully takes, possesses, or transports any elk.” In addition to monetary repercussions, you could have your hunting license revoked or misdemeanors applied to your record for not following state guidelines during the 2025 hunting seasons. 

These laws are taken seriously in the Tar Heel State, too. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, which accepts anonymous tips about illegal hunting, reported in a May 2024 press release that two hunters were caught after illegally killing 15 deer and were made to pay over $10,000 for the illegal poaching. Their licenses were also revoked, one for five years and the other for a decade.

So, no matter how much you enjoy hunting while staying at cozy waterfront cabins in North Carolina in the fall or at one of North Carolina’s best state parks in the winter, don’t forget to brush up on state laws so you don’t find yourself as the one being hunted.