| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 24 OCT – 25 OCT 2026 | 2d |
| Window 2 | 01 NOV 2026 – 15 JAN 2027 | 76d |
As publishedYouth: Oct 24-25, 2026; Regular: Nov 1, 2026 - Jan 15, 2027
Roosters only.A foot or fully-feathered head must be left attached during transportation and storage. Youth season open to ages 6-15.
MDC's own field guide states pheasant is "found only in about the northern quarter of Missouri, and in the Bootheel region" — an uncommon permanent resident in the northern Glaciated Plains and rare in the Mississippi Lowlands (Bootheel). The same combined Quail and Pheasant Roadside Survey used for bobwhite quail confirms this split with real 2025 density numbers: pheasants were counted only along the 4 northern zoogeographic regions' routes and the Mississippi Lowlands' routes (the other 3 quail-survey regions run no pheasant routes at all, reflecting the species' absence there). Statewide 2025 index was 0.25 pheasants/route (up 14% from 2024).
Provisional: the combined Quail and Pheasant Roadside Survey's 2026 edition isn't out yet; fieldwork just closed, report expected in October. Pheasants Forever's 2026 forecast reports pheasants as "bonus birds" while hunting quail, stable in northern counties: "where we have quality habitat, I think pheasants were able to hang on." Best hunting is north of Highway 36.
A stable read in northern Missouri, per Pheasants Forever's 2026 forecast, pending MDC's own October figure.
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