MARYLAND – The Maryland Department of Natural Resources will open the winter firearm deer hunting season Jan. 9, 2026, in Deer Management Region B, which includes all of the state except the westernmost counties.
The season runs Jan. 9-10 across Region B. It will also be open Sunday, Jan. 11, on private and designated public lands in Cecil, St. Mary’s, Somerset, Wicomico and Worcester counties, and on private lands only in Calvert, Caroline, Carroll, Charles, Dorchester, Frederick, Harford, Kent, Montgomery, Queen Anne’s, Talbot and Washington (Zone 1) counties. Shooting hours end at 10:30 a.m. in Kent, Montgomery, Talbot and Wicomico counties.
Hunters with a valid hunting license, or those exempt from the license requirement, may use firearms to harvest sika and white-tailed deer during the season.
“The late firearms season provides hunters another chance before the end of Maryland’s 2025-2026 deer hunting season,” Wildlife and Heritage Service Director Karina Stonesifer said. “Beyond hunters filling their freezers or donating deer to those in need, the typically strong antlerless harvest during the January firearms season is a significant contribution to managing the abundant deer population in Region B.”
Hunters participating in the late firearms season must possess a valid hunting license unless exempt. Those intending to hunt sika deer must also purchase a sika hunting stamp.
Sika stamps and hunting licenses may be purchased online through the MD Outdoors licensing website, at a licensing agent or by calling DNR Licensing and Registration Services at 866-344-8889. DNR encourages hunters to consult the 2025-2026 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping for details on licensing, bag limits, registration procedures and other regulations.
An antler-point restriction remains in effect. Deer hunters may harvest one antlered white-tailed deer within the yearly bag limit that does not meet the requirement of having at least three points on one antler. Any additional antlered deer taken within the established bag limit must meet the minimum point requirement. Junior hunters 16 and younger are exempt.
The sika deer firearms season bag limit is three, with no more than one antlered. An antlered sika is defined as a deer with at least one antler visible above the hairline. The sika deer firearms season is open statewide.