Deer season in Maine for 2026–2027 opens September 12, 2026, with expanded archery and closes December 12, 2026, at the end of the extended muzzleloader period. In between, the state runs seven separate hunting windows, each tied to a specific weapon or group of hunters, each with its own rules about what you can shoot and where.
2026–2027 Season Dates
The Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife (MDIFW) sets seven deer hunting periods for 2026–2027:
- Expanded Archery: September 12 – December 12, 2026 (designated areas only)
- Regular Archery: October 3 – October 30, 2026 (statewide)
- Youth Deer Hunt: October 23 – October 24, 2026
- Maine Resident-Only Day: October 31, 2026
- Firearms Season: November 2 – November 28, 2026
- Statewide Muzzleloader: November 30 – December 5, 2026
- Extended Muzzleloader: December 7 – December 12, 2026 (WMDs 12, 13, 15–18, 20–26, and 29)
Dates shift slightly from year to year, so confirm them with MDIFW before you head out.1Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. 2026-27 Maine Summary of Hunting Laws and Rules Expanded archery is restricted to designated areas near developed parts of the state, not the whole map. Regular archery and the youth hunt are open statewide.
What You Can Shoot in Each Window
Your big game hunting license entitles you to one antlered deer per year, no matter how many of these windows you hunt.2Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Deer Hunting Laws and Rules Take a buck in October archery and you are done for the season unless you also hold an antlerless permit.
Antlerless deer are off-limits during most of firearms and muzzleloader season unless you hold an antlerless deer permit or you’re hunting a designated either-sex Wildlife Management District (WMD). For the 2025 season, those either-sex WMDs during firearms and muzzleloader were 21–25 and 29, and the entire state was either-sex during regular archery and the youth hunt. The 2026 either-sex list is set through MDIFW’s spring rulemaking, so check it before opening day.3Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Season Dates and Bag Limits
In an either-sex district during firearms or muzzleloader season, the deer you take under your big game license can be a buck or a doe, but it still counts as your one deer. Any additional antlerless deer requires a permit.2Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Deer Hunting Laws and Rules
The youth hunt on October 23–24 is open to either sex statewide, so young hunters do not need an antlerless permit to take a doe during those two days.
Antlerless Deer Permits
An antlerless deer permit, sometimes called an Any-Deer Permit, allows harvest of a deer with no antlers or antlers under three inches. MDIFW distributes them through a lottery with allocations set per WMD based on local population data.4Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Antlerless Deer Permit
For 2025, the lottery ran from June 26 through July 31 with no application fee. Winners were posted August 14, and successful applicants had until September 11 to pay the $12 permit fee plus a $2 agent fee. Any leftover permits went on sale September 16 on a first-come, first-served basis.5Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife. Maine Antlerless Deer Permit Lottery Results MDIFW has not yet announced 2026 lottery dates, but the timeline typically tracks the same June-through-September pattern.4Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Antlerless Deer Permit
You can apply for multiple WMDs. A separate expanded archery antlerless permit allows an additional antlerless deer during the expanded archery season specifically.2Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Deer Hunting Laws and Rules
No Hunting on Sundays
Maine is one of the few states that bans Sunday hunting, and it applies across every one of these deer windows. A narrow exception exists for landowners who hold at least 20 acres, keep the land open to public hunting, register with MDIFW, and pay a registration fee capped at $25. Immediate family members of a registered landowner who hold valid hunting licenses can hunt the same land on Sundays. A first offense for Sunday hunting carries a civil fine of $100 to $500, and repeat violations within five years can escalate to a criminal charge.
If you are planning a week in the Maine woods, build the schedule around a Sunday off. This trips up out-of-state hunters more than almost any other rule in the book.
License You Need First
Every deer hunter in Maine needs a valid hunting license regardless of age. Hunters under 16 use a junior license; those 16 and older need an adult license, and for deer that means a big game license or an archery license depending on the window you plan to hunt.
Current fees, before agent fees:
- Resident big game hunting (16+): $26
- Nonresident big game hunting (16+): $115
- Resident archery hunting (16+): $26
- Nonresident archery hunting (16+): $75
- Nonresident 6-day archery: $26
- Junior hunting (resident): $8
- Junior hunting (nonresident): $35
- Resident combination hunting and fishing: $48
- Nonresident combination hunting and fishing: $169
Adult license applicants must have completed an approved hunter safety course. If you haven’t and have never held an adult hunting license before, Maine offers an apprentice license allowing you to hunt under direct supervision of a qualified adult. You can buy an apprentice license up to five times, but it does not satisfy the safety course requirement for a regular adult license.7Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Hunting Licenses and Permits
When Hunter Orange Is Required
During the firearms season on deer, including both muzzleloader periods, you must wear two articles of hunter orange visible from all sides. One has to be a solid hunter orange hat. The other must cover a major portion of the torso (a jacket, vest, or coat) and be at least 50% hunter orange.8Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 11203 – Hunter Orange Clothing A small decal on an otherwise solid orange garment doesn’t disqualify it.
Orange is not required during archery-only seasons. Once firearms opens on November 2, though, anyone in the woods should be wearing it regardless of weapon, since the expanded archery window overlaps the firearms season in the designated areas.
Legal Shooting Hours
Maine’s legal shooting hours are tied to sunrise and sunset in Bangor and adjust day by day across the season. MDIFW publishes a table each year with the exact start and end time for every date.9Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Legal Hunting Hours Print or download the current chart before your trip.
After You Take a Deer
Attach a plainly visible tag with your name, address, and license number to the animal before you move it or leave it.10Maine State Legislature. Maine Code Title 12 11502 – Deer Tags and Tagging Then take the deer to the first open registration station on your route and register it in your name. Registration costs $5, of which $1 funds Maine’s Deer Habitat Enhancement Fund.11Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Tagging, Transportation and Registration
You cannot keep an unregistered deer for more than 18 hours after harvest. One exception: hunting in an unorganized township and staying at a temporary camp, you can hold the animal at camp for up to seven days or until you leave the woods, whichever comes first, but you still must notify a game warden within 18 hours if you can’t reach a registration station. The registration seal stays on the animal until it is fully processed and packaged.11Maine Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. Tagging, Transportation and Registration