(DNR) – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reminds hunters and the general public that the 2025 pheasant season opens at 9 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 18, 2025, and runs through Sunday, Jan. 4, 2026.
The opening weekend, Oct. 18-19, has a daily bag limit of one rooster per day. Starting Monday, Oct. 20, the daily bag limit increases to two roosters per day. This limit remains in place for the remainder of the season. Hunters may harvest a rooster or hen when hunting in designated rooster and hen hunting areas (see page 18 of the hunting regulations for a list of these areas).
Once again, the DNR plans to stock approximately 75,000 pheasants from the state game farm on over 80 properties statewide. Depending on production levels, pheasants are released once before the pheasant hunting season and up to twice a week for the first two to three weeks of the season. After that, birds are released about once a week until the nine-day gun deer season opens on Nov. 23, and stocking resumes once per week on only a handful of properties following the nine-day gun deer season.
Hunters can use the DNR’s Fields and Forest Lands Interactive Gamebird Hunting Tool to locate properties stocked with pheasants. The tool also allows hunters to use aerial maps, topography and measuring tools to identify areas of interest and make their trips more productive and enjoyable.
Several pheasant hunting properties close at noon on weekdays beginning Oct. 20 through Nov. 2 (see page 18 of the hunting regulations for a list of these areas). Hunters are encouraged to double-check the legal shooting hours on the properties they intend to hunt.
Pheasant hunters should remember to follow the basic rules of firearm safety:
T – Treat every firearm as if it is loaded.
A – Always point the muzzle in a safe direction.
B – Be certain of your target, what’s before and beyond it.
K – Keep your finger outside the trigger guard until ready to shoot.
Additionally, hunters are encouraged to wear blaze orange or pink while pheasant hunting to increase visibility for other hunters and outdoor recreators. During any gun deer season, at least 50% of any hunter’s clothing above the waist must be blaze orange or pink, except for waterfowl hunters.
For more information, including complete pheasant hunting regulations, shooting hours and helpful tips, visit the DNR’s Pheasant Hunting webpage.
