| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 19 SEP – 02 NOV 2026 | 45d |
As publishedSept. 19, 2026 - Nov. 2, 2026
Statewide.No dedicated MN DNR woodcock landing page exists -- season data drawn from the general small-game page and the statewide regulations PDF, both of which agree exactly. Shooting hours 1/2 hour before sunrise to sunset. HIP certification required (no federal/state waterfowl stamp required).
American woodcock is open statewide in Minnesota, and MN DNR's own framing describes the species as found mostly in the state's northern forests, surrounded by young aspen and brushland, present nearly statewide except the treeless western prairie, which lacks the young-forest/shrubland habitat the species needs. MN DNR groups woodcock with ruffed grouse in its own hunting guidance (shared young-aspen habitat, the same Ruffed Grouse Management Area network, and overlapping Hunter Walking Trails), and Minnesota publishes no state-specific singing-ground survey breakdown by region; only the federal USFWS woodcock report applies, and no 2026 edition has been released. Minnesota is nationally significant for this species regardless of the sub-state answer, an estimated 13,500 active woodcock hunters and 25,600 birds harvested in 2015, third-highest in the country for both hunters and harvest.
Minnesota woodcock numbers are down over the last decade, at -2.38% per year from 2016 to 2026 on the Singing-ground Survey. That runs against the long-term record, which is the only positive one in the Central Region at +0.93% per year since 1968. The state built numbers over decades and has been losing ground recently.
Recent decade down 2.38% per year, reversing the region's only positive long-term record.
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