Your shooting season calendar: the key dates

As the season gets under way, here is a handy calendar of the key shooting and stalking dates
to keep by the gun cabinet. The game bird and wildfowl seasons below apply across England,
Wales and Scotland, with the one exception noted for woodcock, and the deer dates are for
England and Wales, as Scotland runs to different dates.

Game birds

• Red grouse: 12 August to 10 December
• Black grouse: 20 August to 10 December (1 September in Somerset, Devon and the New Forest)
• Ptarmigan (Scotland only): 12 August to 10 December
• Grey and red-legged partridge: 1 September to 1 February
• Pheasant: 1 October to 1 February
• Woodcock: 1 October to 31 January (1 September to 31 January in Scotland)

Wildfowl and waders

• Common snipe: 12 August to 31 January
• Duck and goose (inland): 1 September to 31 January
• Duck and goose (below the high-water mark): 1 September to 20 February
• Golden plover: 1 September to 31 January

Deer stalking (England and Wales)

• Red, fallow and sika, stags and bucks: 1 August to 30 April
• Red, fallow and sika, hinds and does: 1 November to 31 March
• Roe bucks: 1 April to 31 October
• Roe does: 1 November to 31 March
• Muntjac: no closed season; they may be stalked year-round.

A couple of things to remember
Game may not be shot on Sundays or on Christmas Day in England and Wales, and some
counties restrict Sunday wildfowling too, so it is always worth checking locally. Dates can be
affected by temporary bans in severe weather, and some ground carries its own rules, so a
quick check before you set out never goes amiss.

Dates from the Countryside Alliance and BASC. Always check the current rules before you head
out.