STATES are listed in alphabetical order
PLEASE NOTE: The hunting seasons and bag limits are general dates used during the past several years. State Fish and Game Departments may change seasons and bag limits from year to year according to fluctuations in the yearly estimated populations. Please contact that state's Dept. of Fish and Game to get a copy of their current hunting season regulations.
Eastern cottontails and swamp rabbits inhabit the entire state, with some marsh rabbits in the extreme shoutheast and New England cottontails in the northeast sections of Alabama. Season dates are normally October 15 – February 28. The New England cottontail west of the Hudson River was re -classified as the Appalachian Cottontail. This is important distinction as the New England cottontail is a candidate for the Federal Endangered Species list, while the Appalachian cottontail is not.
Alaska is home to both snowshoe and tundra hares, but snowshoes have the greatest distribution. Snowshoe hares are found over much of the state with highest numbers usually present in the interior between the Alaska and Brooks mountain ranges. They are generally found on the lower Kuskokwim delta, the Alaska Peninsula, and the area north of the Brooks Range. The Kenai Peninsula is experiencing very high snowshoe hare populations recently.
Tundra hares are found primarily along the west coast of Alaska, including the Alaska Peninsula, with spotty distribution along the Arctic coast and the north slope of the Brooks Range. Tundra hares aren’t considered an important game species because they are found in remote coastal areas of the state.
Hare hunting seasons are normally September 1 – April 30 in Units 1-5 and September 6 – April 30 in Unit 14C. The daily bag limit was five in those units. There was no closed season and no bag limit in Units 6-26.
The desert cottons and black-tailed jacks are the most common species in Arizona, distributed statewide. Eastern cottons range across the center of the state into Mexico, and mountain cottons reside in the northeast. The antelope jacks, a species unique to deserts in the southcentral portion of the state, also call Arizona home. There is no closed season on rabbits and hares in Arizona.
There are eastern cottons, swamp rabbits, and black-tailed jacks in Arkansas; the first two are the most important to hunters. Both cottontails and swamp rabbits (swampers) are distributed statewide, but swampers are found predominantly in bottomlands of the delta and coastal plain. Jacks occupy only the northwestern portion of the state, being most common in the Arkansas River valley.
Seasons usually run from the first week of October through February, with a daily bag limit of eight rabbits. There are no rabbit harvest estimates for the state, but the average hunter success rate is .6 rabbit per hour.
There are four types of rabbits and three species of hares in California. The desert cotton inhabits much of the state, from Tehama County southward. Mountain cottons occupy east as well as some eastern counties in the middle of the state. Brush rabbits live all along the coast, extending farthest inland to the north; they also inhabit a band of brush country in the center of the state. Look for pygmy rabbits in sagebrush areas of Modoc, Lassen, San Bernardino, and Mono counties.
Coniferous forests in northeastern California are home to snowshoe hares. Black-tailed jacks are distributed over most of the state in open grassland and semi-open brushland. White-tailed jacks are found along the east side of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountains from Tulare County to the Oregon border.
The season for rabbits and snowshoe hares in California is normally July 1 – January 27. Daily bag limits were ten per person in Siskiyou, Shasta, Modoc, and Lassen counties and five a day in the remainder of the state. Jackrabbits can be hunted all year, with no bag limit.
Desert cottons are distributed throughout Colorado, and mountain cottons are found over all the state except the eastern end. Eastern cottons are available to hunters in eastern Colorado, especially to the north. Snowshoe hares inhabit coniferous forests in mountains across the center of the state, with white-tailed jacks inhabiting most of the state, and black-tailed jacks found primarily in the eastern half and southwest corner of the state.
Hunters can try for cottons and snowshoes starting September 14 and the season usually extends to the end of February.
There is eastern and New England cottons, plus snowshoe and European hares in this state. Eastern cottons are distributed statewide, with pockets of the New England variety scattered throughout the state. Snowshoe hares are found primarily in the northwest, with some also in the northeast. Localized populations of European hares are in southwest Connecticut.
The normal season dates for cottons and European hares are October 19 – December 7 and December 26 – February 28, with daily bag limits of three rabbits and one hare. The bag limit on snowshoe hares is two per day during the season, which runs November 16 – December 7 and December 26 – January 31.
Delaware is home to the eastern cottontail. The population has been declining over the past several years. For example, during 1983, 9,950 hunters accounted for an estimated 57,426 cottontails in Delaware, while the harvest was 109,558 by 15,814 hunters during 1974.
Season dates are normally November 19 – January 16 (January 13 in Newcastle County north of I-95) and January 21-26. The bag limit is four rabbits per day.
The eastern cottontail and swamp rabbit are found throughout Florida, with cottontails generating most interest among hunters. There are no closed seasons on rabbit hunting in the state. The daily bag limit is 12 and the possession limit 24.
Four types of rabbits are available in Georgia – eastern and New England cottons, swamp and marsh rabbits. Easterns occupy the entire state. The New England variety is rare, found only in north Georgia Mountains. The swampers inhabit the Piedmont, Ridge-Valley, and upper coastal plain areas, while marsh rabbits are restricted to the coastal plain.
The New England cottontail west of the Hudson River was re -classified as the Appalachian Cottontail. This is important distinction as the New England cottontail is a candidate for the Federal Endangered Species list, while the Appalachian cottontail is not.
The annual harvest of rabbits is 575,664 by approximately 70,000 hunters. Season dates were November 10, 1984 – February 28, 1985.
There are no rabbits native to Hawaii, but European domestics were released on some of the state’s islands. They remain on Rabbit (Manana) Island near Oahu and Lehua Island. There is no hunting season open for rabbits on these islands because they are not abundant and the islands are seabird sanctuaries.
Mountain and pygmy cottons are the species hunters will encounter in Idaho, ranging across the southern half of the state, with pygmies isolated to the southern third. Snowshoe hares, white- and black-tailed jacks are also found here. Snowshoes and whitetails inhabit much of the state, while black-tails are primarily in southcentral and southwest Idaho.
Rabbits can be hunted September 1 – February 28. An estimated 67,500 cottontails were harvested during 1983, compared to 156,800 during 1981. All hares, including jacks, can be hunted year-round.
The eastern cottontail provides a lot of hunter recreation statewide. Swampers may turn up in extreme southeast Illinois, and some white-tailed jacks may be seen in the northwest corner of the state. There were estimated 1,320,940 rabbits bagged by 178,747 hunters during the 1983 season. Season dates are normally November 10 – January 6, with a bag limit of four bunnies.
Eastern cottons range throughout Indiana, with swampers inhabiting swampy areas and wooded floodplains in southwestern portions of the state. There were 600,000 rabbits bagged by an estimated 177,000 hunters in Indiana during the 1980-81 season. The statewide season for rabbits is normally November 9 – January 31, with a daily bag limit of five. However, a number of designated public hunting areas were open to rabbit hunters starting October 1.
Eastern cottontails are found statewide in Iowa, with highest densities in the southern third of the state. White-tailed jacks occupy much of the state, except the southernmost and far eastern counties. Jacks are most common in the north.
The 1984-85 hunting season for cottontails was from September 1 – February 28 and November 3 – December 16 for jacks. There were 720,000 cottontails and 8,800 white-tailed jacks bagged during the 1983-84 season.
Rabbits and hares can be hunted year-round in Kansas, with a daily bag limit of ten on cottontails and no limit on jacks. From 778,000 to just over a million cottontails have been bagged by hunters in this state annually during recent years; hunter numbers have ranged from 77,500 to 92,500.
Eastern cottontails are found statewide wherever there is suitable cover. Desert cottons inhabit the western third of Kansas. Swampers are restricted to extreme southeastern counties of Cherokee, Crawford, and Labette along the Neosho River and its tributaries.
Black-tailed jacks are the primary species of hare found in the state, distributed throughout, but most common in grasslands west of the Flint Hills. White-tailed jacks occasionally turn up in northwestern Kansas counties.
Eastern cottons and swampers are most common in Kentucky. There is also a record of a New England cottontail taken on Big Black Mountain in Harlan County. Swampers are limited to wet areas in the western third of the state. The bluegrass section of central Kentucky consistently has the highest number of eastern cottons.
The Kentucky rabbit season generally opens on the third Thursday in November and runs through January, with a daily bag limit of four rabbits. Over a million (1,118,500) rabbits were legally bagged by 140,500 hunters in Kentucky during the 1982-83 season.
Both eastern cottons and swampers are found statewide in Louisiana. A combined harvest of 200,000-250,000 is taken annually. Season dates normally run from October 1 – February 28.
Maine is a stronghold for snowshoe hares – they occur statewide. Cottons occupy only the southwestern corner of the state. They are the New England species.
New England Cottontail has been listed as an endangered species in Maine and there is no open season for cottontail rabbits. Snowshoe hare are still a popular game species.
Eastern and New England cottons are the primary game species of rabbits in Maryland. The eastern variety is found statewide, with highest populations in the Piedmont region. New England cottons are found in the northeastern corner of Garrett County on Savage Mountain, where the habitat consists of northern hardwoods and evergreen trees.
There are also black-tailed jacks inhabiting a nursery in Kent County on the Eastern Shore. The animals were introduce there around 1975 by some of the local Beaglers and have survived, but not expanded their range.
Rabbit season has been November 15 – January 31, with a daily bag limit of six. There are currently about 77,500 rabbit hunters in Maryland, and they harvest approximately 266,000 of the animals a year.
Two types of cottons, snowshoe hares, and black-tailed jacks are found in this state. Jacks inhabit only Nantucket Island and were introduced there by some local Beaglers. Both eastern and New England cottons are distributed statewide, with the eastern variety primarily inhabiting fields, farmland, and forest edges, while the New England variety is more fond of woodlands. Snowshoe hares prefer forested areas with a brushy understory.
Season dates have been October 20 – February 28 for cottons, with the exception of Nantucket and Dukes counties, where the season opens November 15. Season openings are the same for snowshoe hares, but hunting ends for the of February 5 statewide.
There were 77,652 cottons harvested by 23,312 hunters during 1979 in Massachusetts compared to a take of 150,213 bunnies by 31,748 hunters in 1977. The snowshoe hare harvest declined to 16,528 in 1979 from 27,620 in 1977 and 40,508 in 1968. Estimates of hunter numbers after hares were 15,967 in 1968; 9,932 in 1977; and 7,321 in 1979.
Eastern cottons and snowshoes are the targets of Michigan rabbit hunters. Cottons are most common in the southern third of the state, but are distributed throughout the Lower Peninsula, primarily in Menominee, Delta, and Dickinson counties. The trend is just the opposite for snowshoes, with the greatest numbers found in the Upper Peninsula and northern counties of the Lower Peninsula.
Season dates are normally September 15 – March 31 statewide, with daily bag limits of five rabbits or hares. There were estimated 852,980 cottons harvested by 213,780 hunters during 1982 and 831,600 by 178,990 hunters during 1983. There were 313, 210 snowshoes bagged by 79,210 hunters in 1982 and 177,060 hares taken by 59,860 hunters during 1983.
Eastern cottons, snowshoes, and white-tailed jacks are available to hunters in this state. Cottontails occur statewide, with best hunting in the southern half of Minnesota. Snowshoe hares are most abundant in the northern half. Jacks are distributed all along the western side, with their range extending across the southern third of the state.
Season dates for all three species normally run from September 14 – February 28. There were 98,000 cottons harvested during 1983 as opposed to 135,000 in 1982. Harvest figures for snowshoes were 21,000 during 1983 and 61,000 in 1982. Hunters bagged 13,000 and 27,000 jacks during 1983 and 1982.
Eastern cottons and swampers are found throughout Mississippi. Season dates normally run from October 15 – February 28.
Missouri has one of the highest annual harvests of eastern cottons on record, with 2,300,117 taken by 204,872 hunters there during the 1982-83 season. More than two million cottons were also bagged during 1981-82. These prolific rabbits are found statewide, with swampers inhabiting the southwest and southeast corners of the state. Black-tailed jacks occupy counties in the western third of Missouri.
Rabbits are legal game with the normal season dates running from October 1 – February 15, with a daily bag limit of six.
Rabbit hunters have a free rein in Montana with year-round hunting and no bag limits. Eastern cottons can be found along the eastern border of the state. Both mountain and desert cottons are more common, with the desert variety in eastern counties and mountains throughout much of the state at low elevations. Pygmy rabbits have been reported only in the Grasshopper drainage in Beaverhead County.
Black-tailed jacks are confined to Beaverhead County, too. White-tailed jacks are common in open areas of the state. Snowshoe hares are common in forested areas of western Montana.
Eastern and desert cottons, plus white- and black-tailed jacks are available in Nebraska. Jacks are currently protected in the southeast portion of the state due to low populations. In the remainder of state, black-tails are generally associated with cropland and white-tails with rangeland. The distribution of desert cottons is limited to the western portion of Nebraska, while eastern cottons are found statewide.
Season dates for all rabbits normally run from September 1 – February 28, with a daily bag limit of seven on cottons and eight on jacks. The area open to jack hunting is north and west of Nebraska 15 and US Hwy 30.
Pygmies and two types of cottons – mountain and deserts – inhabit Nevada. Mountain rabbits are found over most of the state, pygmies are in the northern two-thirds, and the desert variety is distributed across the southern portion of the state. Nevada is also home to snowshoes (in west-central mountains), black-tailed jacks (statewide), and white-tailed jacks (northeast half, portion of northwest, and along most of western border).
Cottontails and pygmies can normally be hunted October 6 – February 28, with a daily bag limit of ten. Jacks can be hunted at any time.
New England cottontail rabbits are listed as Endangered in the State of NH.
The Eastern cottontail season is closed where it overlaps with New England cottotnails, as described at http://wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/Hunt_species/hunt_small_game.htm#Cot...
New Jersey is generally a cottontail state. Some European hares and black-tailed jacks, however, have been imported. Hares and jacks are found in parts of Hunterdon, Somerset, Middlesex, and Monmouth counties. Eastern cottons are distributed statewide.
Rabbit and hare seasons normally run from November 10 – December 1 and December 10 – February 9, with closures during the deer gun season. The bag limits are four a day for cottons and one a day for hares and jacks. There were estimated 75,700 rabbit hunters during the 1983-84 season, which harvested 522,330 cottons.
There are three species of jacks and two cottontails found in New Mexico. The jacks are blacktails, whitetails, and white-sided. The Animas and Playas valleys of Hidalgo County are the only locations in the US where white-sided jacks are found. These rare animals are on the state’s endangered species list, which gives them total protection. White-sided jacks are largely nocturnal and the front of their ears are tipped with black (on black-tailed jacks, ear tips are black on black).
Eastern and mountain cottons reside in New Mexico. All rabbits and hares, with the exception of white-sided jacks, can be hunted year-round and there is no bag limit. A small game or nongame-hunting license is required.
Cottons and snowshoes provide the bulk of the hunting opportunity in New York, but there are also European hares, and black-tailed jacks in the state. There is a small colony of black-tailed jacks, which were introduced (again by a Beagler), on the grounds of the Kennedy International Airport.
European hares were released at the village of Millbrook in Dutchess County around 1893, when a wealthy county resident began importing them from Hungary in shipments of up to 500 each. Releases were continued until 1911. These hares can only be hunted in Dutchess, Putnam, and Westchester counties. The season is normally from December 11 – February 28, with a bag limit of one hare.
Eastern cottons are distributed over most of the state, with some New England cottons also found in the state. Total distribution of the New England variety isn’t known, but they definitely inhabit he Rensselaer Hills east of the Hudson River. Season dates for cottons normally run from October 1 – February 28, in all but two of the state’s southernmost counties, where the season opens November 1. The daily bag limit is six. There were 1,009,650 cottons bagged by hunters in New York, according to the 1984 small game harvest survey.
Tullar said snowshoe hares are found in the Tug, Schohaire, and Showangunk hills, Helderberg and Neversink Highlands, plus the Adirondack, Catskill, and Taconic Mountains. Season dates normally run from October 1 – March 17, and are most liberal in the 14 northernmost counties, with a daily bag limit of six hares. Three other zones pictured in small game hunting regulation booklets have shorter seasons with daily bag limits of two. There were an estimated 146,282 snowshoes bagged in New York during the 1983-84 season.
Eastern cottons and marsh rabbits are the dominant species of bunnies in North Carolina. Marsh rabbits inhabit wet habitat in the eastern half of the state, with easterns found statewide. There are some New England cottons along the western border of North Carolina. Dates for rabbit hunting are normally November 17 – February 28.
Rabbits can be hunted year-round, with no bag limit in effect or license required, in North Dakota. White-tailed jacks are found statewide. Eastern cottons reside in all but the southwestern portion of the state (Badlands), where desert cottons replace them. There are a few mountain cottons in the western edge of the state. Snowshoe hares are present near the Canadian border along the eastern half of the state.
Cottons are found throughout Ohio, with the animals most abundant in southeastern and eastern counties. Season dates are normally November 2 – January 31, with a daily bag limit of four bunnies. There were 1,253,000 rabbits bagged in Ohio during the 1978-79 season and 2,816,000 taken during the 1972-73 season.
Two species of rabbits and one of hares are found in Oklahoma – the eastern cottons, swamp rabbits, and black-tailed jacks. Cottons and jacks are found statewide. Swamp rabbits are restricted to eastern third of the state.
An estimated 115,290 hunters harvested 1,32,998 rabbits in Oklahoma during 1982, with a kill of 976,920 by 89,248 hunters during 1983. Season dates have been October 1 – March 15.
Rabbit hunters have it made in Oregon. There are no closed seasons or bag limits, plus there are a number of species available. Mountain cottons, eastern cottons, brush rabbits, and pygmy rabbits live in this state. Species of hares include the snowshoe and white- and black-tailed jacks.
Mountain cottons inhabit the mountains and sagebrush rangelands of eastern Oregon. The Willamette Valley is the primary stomping ground of eastern cottons. Brush rabbits inhabit heavy brush on the west side of the Cascade Mountains. Dense sagebrush areas of southeast Oregon are homes for pygmy rabbits. Snowshoe hares are at home on timbered mountain slopes, and the jacks inhabit the desert or sagebrush plains of eastern and southeastern Oregon, plus Willamette Valley.
Both the eastern and New England cottons enjoy wide distribution in Pennsylvania, with Easterns found statewide and the New England variety in most of the state except the far west and part of the north, in forested habitat. There are also some snowshoe hares scattered across the northern third of Pennsylvania.
Season dates on snowshoes are December 26-29, with a daily bag limit of two. Cottontails can be hunted normally between November 3-24 and December 26 – January 12, with four rabbits a day legal. Approximately two thousand hares are harvested annually and close two million cottontails.
There are both eastern and New England cottontails in Rhode Island, plus some snowshoe hares. The eastern variety is found statewide in suitable habitat, with New England cottons found primarily in northern and western part of the state. Hares occupy swamps and thick cover in western Rhode Island as well as the vicinity of Tiverton and north of Little Compton.
Season dates for rabbits and hares have been October 20 – December 7 and December 17 – February 28. The daily bag limit is five for cottontails and two for hares.
Eastern cottons are found throughout South Carolina. Swamp rabbits inhabit the Piedmont region, primarily adjacent to the Savannah River. The coastal plains are home to marsh rabbits.
There was an estimate 524,288 rabbits harvested by 46,955 hunters during the 1981-82 season. Season dates varies by zone, with November 22 – March 1, being most common. Rabbit hunting was permitted year-round in some zones, with no bag limit. Other zones have daily bag limits of five rabbits.
Eastern, mountain, and desert cottons, plus white-tailed and black-tailed jacks are found in South Dakota. The eastern variety of cottons is found statewide, except for parts of the Black Hills. Mountain and desert cottons inhabit the Black Hills. The desert variety also occupies the northwestern portion of South Dakota.
White-tailed jacks occur statewide, and blacktails are in the south-central counties. The season on cottons normally runs from October 1 – February 28, with a daily bag limit of ten. Jacks can be taken year-round. There were estimated 103,900 cottons harvested in South Dakota during the 1982-83 season and 129,300 bagged during the 1983-84 hunt.
Tennessee’s rabbit hunters will find eastern cottons statewide and the New England variety n the eastern third of the state. Some snowshoes reside in the mountainous northeast, too. Swampers occur in western Tennessee. Season dates for all species generally runs from November 10 – February 28, with a daily bag limit of five.
There are four species of cottons in Texas – eastern, mountain, David Mountains, swampers. Easterns are found over most of the state, with the exception of far western counties. Davis Mountains cottontails are thought by some to be simply a subspecies of the eastern cottons. At any rate, they are found primarily in the pinion-oak-juniper woodlands of the Chisos, Chinati, Davis, and Guadalupe Mountains of Jeff Davis, Culberson, Presidio, and Brewster counties. The swampers live in suitable habitat in the eastern third of Texas.
The black-tailed jacks, the only hares in the state, occupies much of the state, being absent from a band of counties in eastern Texas. Rabbits can be hunted at any time in Texas and there is no bag limit. An estimated 1,070,513 rabbits were harvested by 183,108 hunters during 1982 and early 1983.
Utah has three species each of rabbits and hares: desert, mountain, and pygmy rabbits and snowshoes, white-tailed and black-tailed jacks. Cottons and jacks are distributed statewide, with snowshoes occupying coniferous forests in mountainous areas.
Season dates for cottons and snowshoes normally run from September 15 or 17 – January 31, with daily bag limits of five for hares and five or ten for cottons, depending on the county hunted. There is no closed season, bag limit, or license required for hunting jacks. An estimated 156,696 cottons were collected by 26,714 hunters during 1982, and 22,467 hunters harvested 180,767 during 1983. The harvests of snowshoes during 1982 and 1983 were 9,257 and 6,302 by 4,245 and 3,544 hunters respectively.
Snowshoe hares and cottontails are present in Vermont. Both eastern and New England cottons are found here, but the eastern species is considered most abundant. Best cottontail concentrations are found in the lower Connecticut River Valley and the southwestern quarter of the state (west of the Green Mountain range and up the Champlain Valley to the Canadian border). The northern third of the state has the greatest amount of hare habitat, but snowshoes are also available in the Green Mountain range.
Rabbit and hare hunting seasons usually begins the fourth Saturday in September in Vermont and extends through the second Sunday in March. The daily bag limit is three rabbits or hares, singly or in combination.
Eastern and New England cottons inhabit this state, with easterns found statewide and the New England species found in mountain counties in the west and northwestern portions of the state. New England cottons are generally located at elevations greater than 2,000 feet. There are also two or three small remnant populations of snowshoe hares in the mountainous counties.
Rabbit hunting begins on the first Monday in November over most of the state. Adirondack and Northampton counties open on the second Monday of the month. The season generally ends January 31 statewide, and the daily bag limit is six rabbits.
Either eastern or New England cottons are found in every county of this state. The New England species is most often found in wooded, mountainous habitat. Some snowshoe hares are found in the Allegheny Mountains in the eastern part of the state.
Season dates for rabbits and hares are normally November 3 – February 28. There was an estimated 484,034 rabbits bagged by 114,768 hunters in West Virginia during the 1980 season.
Eastern and New England cottons inhabit this state, with easterns found statewide and the New England species found in mountain counties in the west and northwestern portions of the state. New England cottons are generally located at elevations greater than 2,000 feet. There are also small remnant populations of snowshoe hares in the mountainous counties.
Season dates for cottontails and hares are normally November 3 – February 28. The daily limit for rabbits is 5 per day with a possession limit of 20, and the daily limit for hares is 2 per day and a possession limit of 8 hares. These are the limits for the 2001-2002 hunting season.
There are eastern cottons, snowshoes, and some white-tailed jacks in Wisconsin. Cottontails are distributed statewide, with the best hunting in the southern two-thirds of the state. Snowshoes occupy the northern two-thirds of Wisconsin, with jacks showing up along the western border.
Cottontails are found throughout Wyoming, with the mountain species everywhere except the southeast. Eastern cottons occupy the southeast. Desert cottons are found in prairie or desert habitat where it occurs. Snowshoes inhabit the state’s coniferous forests. White-tailed and black-tailed jacks are widely distributed in the state.
The season on cottontails and snowshoe hares is generally September 1 – February 28. There were 462,837 cottons harvested in Wyoming during 1983 and 3,563 snowshoes. Best counties for cottons are Natrona, Carbon, and Sweetwater. Jacks are classified as predators and can be hunted anytime without a license.