| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 16 OCT 2026 – 07 FEB 2027 | 115d |
| Window 2 | 01 SEP 2026 – 04 MAR 2027 | 185d |
As publishedGeneral: Oct 16, 2026-Feb 7, 2027 (statewide + several NWRs). Falconry-only: Sep 1, 2026-Mar 4, 2027 (most units) / Jul 1, 2026-Mar 31, 2027 (Units 25M, 26M, 38M)
Hunted concurrently with Gambel's and California quail under the same Commission Order and aggregate bag limit (15/day total of all quail species, max 8 Mearns').
AZGFD's own Small Game Forecast states scaled quail are "primarily found in southeastern Arizona's Chihuahuan Desert grasslands." Independent birding/conservation sourcing sharpens that into named valleys: the Sulphur Springs, San Simon, and San Bernardino valleys, extending west to the Baboquivari Mountain foothills -- all in the southeastern corner of the state, southeast of Tucson toward the New Mexico and Sonora borders. AZGFD is also independently documented running an active grassland-restoration program in this same area (removing invasive mesquite by excavator across 22,000 treated acres of state trust and private land) with the explicit management goal of returning scaled quail and pronghorn to the restored habitat -- a second, corroborating agency signal for the same region.
Provisional: The Arizona Game and Fish Department's own Quail Outlook for 2026 hasn't published yet (expected mid-October, ahead of the Oct. 16 opener). Scaled quail numbers are expected to be below average this year, per Quail Forever's 2026 forecast, and AZGFD's statewide small game program manager expects Gambel's to show better numbers than scaled quail. Neither source says whether scaled quail are up or down from last year, only that 2025 was a poor brood year for all three of Arizona's desert quail, so treat this as a below-average level rather than a trend. Two of the forecast's sources say conditions look good for scaled quail heading into fall, but that monsoon rains drive brood-rearing and confident predictions are difficult; AZGFD's program manager adds that extreme heat continued and monsoons only arrived in August. Scaled quail are found in the southeast corner of the state, in areas with patches of bare ground, and that southern region remained in dry to moderate drought through August.
A below-average population level per Quail Forever's 2026 forecast, with no year-over-year direction given. The southeastern range stayed in drought through August, and late monsoon rains leave brood-rearing uncertain.
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