2026–27 Missouri Rabbit Season Dates & Rules
Everything below is for the 2026–27 rabbit season and follows Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) regulations. Season dates, limits, and methods can shift year to year, so treat this as your planning sheet and confirm the fine print on mdc.mo.gov before opening day.
Missouri rabbit season dates, 2026–27
| Activity | Dates | Hours |
|---|
| Rabbit hunting | October 1, 2026 – February 15, 2027 | Sunrise to sunset |
|---|
| Rabbit trapping | November 15, 2026 – January 31, 2027 | Cage traps, checked daily |
|---|
When Does Rabbit Season Start and End in Missouri?
Rabbit hunting season in Missouri runs October 1, 2026 through February 15, 2027 — a continuous four-and-a-half-month window through fall and deep into winter. Late season, after a frost has knocked the cover down and snow betrays tracks, is prime time for jumping cottontails.
If you plan to trap rather than hunt, note the dates differ: the rabbit trapping season runs November 15, 2026 – January 31, 2027. If you are asking when does rabbit season end in Missouri, the hunting answer is February 15, 2027. Dates are set annually, so confirm the current opener and closer on MDC before your first trip.
Missouri Rabbit Limit & the Swamp-Rabbit Sub-Limit
The missouri rabbit limit carries a wrinkle most small-game seasons do not — a species cap inside the total:
Missouri rabbit bag limits, 2026–27
| Species | Daily limit | Possession limit |
|---|
| All rabbits (cottontail + swamp) | 6 | 12 |
|---|
| Swamp rabbit sub-limit | 2 | 4 |
|---|
| Jackrabbit | Protected, no take | Protected, no take |
|---|
So you can take a full daily limit of six cottontails, but no more than two of your six may be swamp rabbits. The possession limit is the most you can have on hand after the first day afield. Limits are reviewed each year, so verify the current numbers on MDC before you hunt.
Which Rabbit Species Are Legal? (Mind the Jackrabbit)
Missouri has two legal rabbits and one that is strictly off-limits:
- Cottontail rabbit — the common, widespread bunny of brushy fields, fencerows, and field edges across the whole state.
- Swamp rabbit — the larger "swamper" of bottomland and wet lowland timber, mostly in southern Missouri. Legal, but capped at 2 per day.
- Jackrabbit — protected; may not be hunted or trapped. Know the difference before you shoot.
Cottontails and swamp rabbits share the same daily and possession totals, with the swamp-rabbit sub-limit applied inside them.
Permits & Shooting Hours
To hunt rabbit in Missouri you need a Small Game Hunting Permit (a Small Game Hunting and Fishing Permit and several other permit types are also valid). Hunter education is required for anyone born on or after January 1, 1967, unless they are hunting under an Apprentice Hunter Authorization.
Legal shooting hours for rabbit are sunrise to sunset during the open season. Confirm current hours, permit options, and any pricing on MDC before opening day.
Legal Methods: Guns, Dogs & Traps
Most rabbit hunters work the brush with a shotgun — a 20- or 12-gauge with an open choke and No. 4 to No. 6 shot is hard to beat for fast jumps in thick cover. A .22 rimfire is also legal and a favorite for sitting rabbits and snow-day still-hunting. Bows and crossbows are permitted too. Cage-type trapping is allowed during the trapping season with proper labeling and daily attendance.
Note the deer-season overlap: during the November firearms deer season, rabbits may be taken only with a .22 or smaller rim-fire or a shotgun with shot no larger than No. 4 (this does not apply to landowners on their own property). And in ten southern counties — Butler, Carter, Dent, Iron, Madison, Oregon, Reynolds, Ripley, Shannon, and Wayne — dogs may not be used during daylight hours of the November portion. Always confirm current methods on MDC.
Hunting Rabbits With Beagles
Running beagles is the heart of Missouri rabbit hunting, and it works because of how a cottontail runs. A jumped rabbit will not leave its home range — it loops in a wide circle and comes back near where it started. So the dogs do the hard part: they push the rabbit out of cover you could never work on foot and keep it moving, while you post at a funnel or opening along that circle and wait for it to come around.
A pack of two or three steady beagles is plenty. Let the dogs strike and open up, then move quietly to the likely return route rather than chasing the music. Outside the November deer-season county rule above, dogs are legal all season — and a good rabbit dog is the difference between a long walk and a full game bag.
Where and How to Hunt Missouri Rabbits
Rabbits live where food meets cover. Hunt the edges — brush piles, fencerows, overgrown field borders, blackberry tangles, and the weedy margins of crop fields. Cottontails are densest across northern Missouri, where farm ground laced with cover holds big numbers; swamp rabbits hold in the bottomland thickets and wet timber along the big rivers in the south. Kick brush piles and walk the thickest cover slowly, pausing often; the pauses are what make a nervous cottontail bolt.
The season saves its best for last. After the first hard frosts thin the cover and a fresh snow makes tracks and shapes obvious, late-January rabbits hold tight and the shooting is at its finest. Dress for briars, move in a zig-zag, and keep your safety on until the rabbit clears the cover.
