The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announces the opening of the two-week firearms hunting season for sika and white-tailed deer on Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025, through Saturday, Dec. 13, 2025. This period allows hunters statewide to target deer using shotguns, muzzleloaders and other permitted firearms, with Sunday hunting available in all counties except Anne Arundel, Montgomery and Prince George’s. The schedule supports deer population management amid estimates of 200,000 to 250,000 white-tailed deer across the state, a figure stable from recent years but varying regionally due to factors like habitat and disease.
The season addresses ongoing needs to control deer numbers, which influence agriculture, vehicle safety and forest health in areas like Southern Maryland’s Charles, Calvert and St. Mary’s counties. Hunters harvested 18,930 deer during the early 2025 archery and muzzleloader segments, an 8.1 percent drop from 2024 linked to abundant acorns reducing deer movement and epizootic hemorrhagic disease outbreaks in southern counties. In contrast, the full 2024-2025 season yielded 84,201 deer statewide, including 40,366 antlerless to balance sex ratios and curb overpopulation.
“The two-week firearms season is fast approaching and Maryland hunters are preparing for opening day,” said Karina Stonesifer, director of the DNR’s Wildlife and Heritage Service. “As part of the hunting heritage for many families, the firearms season is by far the most popular deer hunting season in the state. For many new hunters, this is the first exposure they have to deer hunting, deer management, and the feeling of putting fresh venison on the table for their families.”
Detailed bag limits and antlerless harvest dates appear in the 2025-2026 Maryland Guide to Hunting and Trapping, accessible online through the DNR website. Statewide, hunters may take up to two antlered white-tailed deer annually, with additional antlerless quotas varying by Deer Management Region. Region B, encompassing Southern Maryland, permits five antlerless deer during the firearms season, while Region A limits to three. Sika deer pursuits require a separate sika hunting stamp, available alongside licenses via the MD Outdoors portal, licensing agents or by calling DNR at 866-344-8889.
An antler-point restriction applies to white-tailed deer: One antlered deer per year may lack the minimum of three points on one antler, but subsequent antlered harvests must comply. Junior hunters and apprentice license holders 16 or younger receive exemption. These measures, in place since 2012, aim to protect young bucks and sustain breeding stocks, particularly in high-density areas like Calvert County’s wooded tracts.
The Chronic Wasting Disease Management Area, expanded in 2025 to cover all of Allegany, Baltimore, Carroll, Frederick, Howard, Montgomery and Washington counties following a first detection in Howard, imposes transport limits on carcasses. Hunters may not move whole deer or high-risk parts—such as heads, spinal columns or lymph nodes—beyond boundaries without deboning or quartering, per exceptions outlined in DNR guidelines. The 2024 surveillance identified 62 positive cases among tested deer, up from prior years but concentrated in the management zone. Officials note no evidence of human transmission, though they advise against consuming brain or spinal tissue from any deer, routinely discarded in processing.
Safety protocols mandate fluorescent orange or pink attire for deer hunters and companions during daylight hours: either a solid cap, a vest or jacket with 250 square inches of panels front and back, or an upper garment at least 50 percent fluorescent in camouflage pattern. Tree stand users must inspect equipment and use full-body harnesses, with DNR recommending a prusik knot on a tether line from ground level for fall prevention. Maryland reports fewer than five hunting-related fatalities annually in recent data, underscoring these steps’ role in risk reduction.
Donation options provide further incentive. Hunters donating venison to approved programs qualify for a state income tax credit covering up to $75 in processing costs per antlerless deer, plus a $50 credit for the harvest itself, capped at $300 yearly unless under a deer management permit. Processors in Southern Maryland, such as those in La Plata or Leonardtown, often coordinate with groups like Hunters for the Hungry, which distributed over 200,000 meals last year. Local inquiries can reveal additional outlets, aligning with DNR’s Venison Donation Grant Program funding up to $25,000 for processors.