| Window | Dates | Days |
|---|---|---|
| Season | 14 NOV 2026 – 15 FEB 2027 | 94d |
As publishedNov 14, 2026 - Feb 15, 2027
ODWC regulates bobwhite and scaled quail on a single combined page/limit.Statewide range for bobwhite. No 'pot shooting' (shooting a resting covey) allowed. Some WMAs restrict nonresident access after Jan 31.
Northern bobwhite quail is present nearly statewide in Oklahoma, unlike scaled quail's panhandle-only footprint, but ODWC and OSU Extension sourcing describe a real density gradient within that statewide range driven by land-cover conversion rather than a hard regulatory zone: central and western Oklahoma's remaining native mixed-grass prairie, with limited tree cover and sparse-to-moderate ground cover, supports meaningfully higher quail densities than the northeastern part of the state, where widespread conversion of native grassland to introduced Bermuda grass and tall fescue pasture for cattle has degraded nesting/brood cover and food availability — introduced forages that don't provide appropriate quail habitat structure. ODWC's own multi-decade August Roadside Survey similarly tracks this west/central-vs-northeast pattern year to year, and the agency ran a dedicated 6-year ODWC/Oklahoma State University research project (initiated 2011) specifically on bobwhite population drivers in western Oklahoma, where the species has become the conservation and research focus even as it declines statewide at roughly 1.5%/year (a slower rate than most of the eastern U.S. range).
Provisional: ODWC's 2026 roadside quail survey figures are not out yet, so every number here is from 2025. Oklahoma comes into this season off a strong run. ODWC's October 2025 roadside survey put the statewide count at 4.54 quail per route, just under the long-term average of 4.75 and 70% above the 10-year average of 2.67. ODWC's own upland game biologist, quoted in Quail Forever's 2026 forecast, calls 2025 roughly a 68% increase over 2024 and the fifth straight year the statewide index has risen. The Northwest, Northcentral, and Southeast regions all finished above their long-term averages for the first time in 8, 8, and 18 years. The Southeast's turnaround stands out, to 4.63 quail per route against a 10-year average of 1.73, after extremely low counts from 2021 through 2024. The Northwest has consistently posted the higher counts since 2017. For 2026, that same biologist reports good early nest success from around the state, including drought-affected areas, and a local Quail Forever chapter said nesting "appeared to be OK" judging by the young birds and mixed-age coveys being seen. The counterweight is drought: weeks of 100-plus heat and little rain, worst in the western half of the state, which overlaps the Northwest's best quail country. Scaled quail add a Panhandle option under a combined 10-bird daily bag (20 in possession after the first day). Season runs Nov. 14, 2026 to Feb. 15, 2027.
A fifth straight year of rising bobwhite counts through 2025 and good early nesting reports in 2026, per ODWC's own upland game biologist, tempered by a hot, dry summer across the western half of the state.
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