The most important three weeks of the North Country hunting year are almost here. New York’s Northern Zone regular firearms season for deer and bear opens Saturday, October 24, and runs through Sunday, December 6 — and if you hunt Jefferson, Lewis, or St. Lawrence County, you’re in it. The entire tri-county area sits in the Northern Zone, which means our season opens nearly a full month before the Southern Zone’s (November 21). Bow season is already underway as the warm-up act; this piece is about the main event.
The 2026 regular season at a glance
| Season | Dates |
|---|---|
| Deer & bear, regular firearms (Northern Zone) | Oct 24 – Dec 6, 2026 |
| Legal hunting hours | 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset |
That’s the whole calendar that matters for this piece. (Muzzleloader hunters get a late season December 7–13 in select Northern Zone units — check the current guide if that’s your game.)
What’s new and worth knowing for 2026
A few things changed or are worth a refresher before opening day:
- Earn-a-2nd-Buck is new this year. Hunters who harvest and report an antlerless deer receive a second antlered-deer tag for the 2026–27 seasons. If you’ve ever wished for a mulligan on buck season, this is it.
- Crossbows are fully in the mix. Since a 2025 law change, crossbows can be used in the same seasons, places, and manner as vertical bows — and hunters noticed. Crossbows accounted for 55% of the 2025 archery-season deer harvest, up from 33% the year before.
- Orange or pink is the law with a firearm. Anyone hunting deer or bear with a firearm — and anyone accompanying them — must wear fluorescent orange or fluorescent pink: 250 square inches above the waist visible from all directions, or a hat that’s at least half orange or pink.
- Reporting is 48 hours, not 7 days. Paper-tag hunters must report a deer or bear within 48 hours — online, through the HuntFishNY app, or by calling 1-866-426-3778. E-tag users report immediately through the app. It matters: only about 63% of successful deer hunters reported last year (though that’s way up from the 49% five-year average, thanks to e-tagging).
What last season looked like
DEC’s harvest estimates for 2025–26 give a useful read on what you’re walking into:
- Hunters took an estimated 227,032 deer statewide, up about 2% — and for the first time in modern New York history, the harvest of mature bucks (3.5 years or older) exceeded the yearling buck harvest. Twenty-five years ago, two-thirds of harvested bucks were yearlings.
- Bear hunters took an estimated 1,759 bears statewide, with 557 in the Northern Zone (DEC’s 2025 bear harvest summary). Most Northern Zone bears fall during the regular season — particularly the first two weeks — so the timing of this year’s opener matters.
- In our backyard: WMU 6C (Tug Hill country, Lewis/St. Lawrence) produced 106 bears, and DEC notes an increasing trend there — the exception in a Northern Zone that’s otherwise stable. WMU 6H — that’s Fort Drum — gave up 17 bears at a density of nearly 10 per 100 square miles, one of the highest densities in the zone. WMU 6J on the Adirondack fringe took 91.
- Zero of 3,050 wild deer tested positive for chronic wasting disease. New York’s herd stays CWD-free.
Hunting Fort Drum’s training areas
Roughly 70,000 acres of the Fort Drum training area — everything north of Route 26 — is open to public recreation, and it’s some of the best-managed big game habitat in the region. Fort Drum is its own wildlife management unit (6H), and big game seasons there follow the Northern Zone dates above. But it’s an active military installation, so the rules have teeth:
- You need a Fort Drum Recreational Access Pass — and a REAL ID. The pass is $25 for adults 18 and older, bought online only through the iSportsman portal, good January 1 through December 31. Adults also need a REAL ID-compliant government photo ID on their person while recreating on post. No pass, no entry — no exceptions, including kids.
- Check in and out every day. Check in through the iSportsman site or the Sportsman’s Hotline (1-855-267-9770) before you go in, and check out no later than 2 hours after sunset. The hotline posts which areas are open the next day around 3 p.m. — and areas can close at any time for military training, so check before every trip. Recreation is secondary to the mission.
- Blaze orange rules are stricter than state law. Display at least 144 square inches on the front and back of your upper body, plus blaze orange headgear, from September 1 through March 30.
- Know the weapon restrictions. Firearms are prohibited in Training Areas 4A, 4B, 4D, 5A, and 5D during big game season — archery and crossbow only. No rifles in Training Area 6A. Hunting in the cantonment area is limited to military ID holders and their families.
- Two things you won’t find on state land: unexploded ordnance — learn “recognize, retreat, and report” before you go — and a hard no on baiting or feeding wildlife. Portable tree stands only, marked with your name and permit or phone number, and no screw-in pegs.
- Antlerless deer matter here. Fort Drum manages for roughly a 1:1 female-to-male harvest to keep the herd in balance with training and forestry needs. If you’re applying for Deer Management Permits, specify WMU 6H.
The full rules live in Fort Drum Regulation 420-3 on the iSportsman site — linked below. Read them; the installation enforces them.
Where to go, county by county
You don’t need a base pass to hunt the North Country — there’s a lot of public ground. DEC’s Region 6 holds 20 wildlife management areas covering more than 43,000 acres, plus hundreds of thousands of acres of state forest.
- Jefferson County — lake plains and river lowlands. Flat agricultural country cut with brush lots along Lake Ontario and the upper St. Lawrence. Deer concentrate on crop remnants, so scout the field edges. WMAs like Ashland Flats, Lakeview, Black Pond, and French Creek all offer public access.
- Lewis County — Tug Hill. Big, wild, and famously snowy — the Hill’s lake-effect snow can arrive during the season, so pack and drive accordingly, and don’t count on cell service. The payoff is large-bodied wilderness bucks in deep hemlock and hardwood, and as the harvest data shows, a growing bear population in WMU 6C. The Tug Hill WMA and surrounding state forests are the core public ground.
- St. Lawrence County — the big woods. The state’s largest county runs from St. Lawrence River valley farmland to Adirondack foothills; hunt the transition lines where they meet. Upper & Lower Lakes WMA near Canton and Wilson Hill WMA near Louisville are solid public bets.
Before you go: the short checklist
- License and tags through the DEC licensing system (DECALS) — online, by phone, or at an issuing agent. You can apply for up to two Deer Management Permits (antlerless tags) for the WMU of your choice; availability varies by unit, so check yours when you buy.
- Tag it, then report it within 48 hours. Online, in the HuntFishNY app, or at 1-866-426-3778. Bear hunters: save the skull or lower jaw — DEC collects a tooth to age the bear, and you’ll get the age back plus a commemorative patch.
- Wear your orange or pink, tell someone exactly where you’re hunting and when you’ll be back, and check your tree stand straps before the season, not during it.
- Dress for December in the North Country. The season runs into the 6th, and late-season snow is normal here, not a surprise — our Winter Survival Guide covers vehicle and gear prep if you want the full rundown.
- If you use a deer processor, line one up before opening day — don’t wait until you have a deer in the truck.
Not hunting? Read this anyway
If you hike, bird, run, or walk the dog on public land between now and December 6, wear something bright — a blaze orange vest or hat is cheap insurance during firearms season. The woods are shared ground in the fall.
Sources
- NYSDEC: Deer and Bear Hunting
- NYSDEC: Deer and Bear Hunting Regulations (legal hours, orange/pink rules)
- NYSDEC: Game Harvest Reporting
- NYSDEC: 2025 Deer Harvest Estimates (227,032 deer; Earn-a-2nd-Buck; crossbow data)
- NYSDEC: 2025 Black Bear Harvest Summary (PDF) (1,759 bears; WMU table)
- Fort Drum iSportsman: Hunting in the Training Area
- Fort Drum iSportsman: Access & Regulations