| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Window 1 | 19 SEP – 20 SEP 2026 | 2d |
| Window 2 | 10 OCT 2026 – 01 JAN 2027 | 84d |
As publishedYouth: Sep 19-20, 2026; General: Oct 10 (res.)/Oct 17-20 (nonres. variants) - Jan 1, 2027
Roosters (cock pheasants) only, hens illegal.Youth-only weekend Sep 19-20, 2026. General season: residents (all lands) and nonresidents on private land not in a hunting access program start Oct 10, 2026; nonresidents on public lands/hunting-access-program lands and nonresident 3-day-license holders (public/access-program lands) start Oct 20, 2026 (10-day delay); nonresident 3-day-license holders on private land not in access program start Oct 17, 2026. All groups close Jan 1, 2027.
Montana's own Field Guide describes pheasant habitat only in general terms (open grassland/cropland with brushy cover, especially along watercourses) with no narrative regional ranking, but FWP's own regional game-bird materials and independent hunting-press sourcing converge on the same shape: pheasant concentrates in irrigated agricultural river-bottom country, not the state's dry unirrigated plains generally. FWP's own materials break this out by named sub-area (Glasgow/Malta, Havre, and the Rocky Mountain Front/Hi-Line in the north; the Yellowstone River corridor in the south), and independent sourcing names Cascade, Chouteau, and Pondera as standout counties, all irrigated grain country along the Missouri River system. FWP's own 251-site Block Management/Roosters for Recruitment stocking program releases pen-raised birds for hunter access statewide.
Montana FWP's 2026 Upland Game Bird Season Outlook, published August 31, reads better for pheasant than for any other upland bird in the state this year. Region 7 in the southeast is the standout, with crow count surveys coming back well above average. Region 6 in the northeast should offer good hunting, likely similar to or better than the last couple of seasons. Region 4 in the north-central saw crow counts above last year's, concentrated where the habitat is good. Region 5 should be fair in decent cover, though some areas took summer weather damage. Region 1 is the one poor bet, where pheasant habitat is confined to the Ninepipe Wildlife Management Area and the Flathead Valley. The multi-year drought behind several down seasons is still the backdrop, but it isn't this year's story.
Crow counts up across the eastern and central range, with Region 7 well above average.
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