Forest Game

Wild Turkey Hunting

Bear Hunting

Forest Game  - Black Bear and Wild Turkey Seasons & Bag Limits

Forest Game  - Squirrel and Ruffed Grouse Seasons & Bag Limits

Forest game species that can be hunted are black bear, eastern fox squirrel, gray squirrel, red squirrel, ruffed grouse, and wild turkey. These species occupy forested habitats across Maryland, from early successional forest land to mature forest land.

Hunting Hours
Spring Bearded Turkey Season: One half hour before sunrise to noon.
All other forest game species: One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.

Licensing Requirements
A Regular Hunting License, Junior Hunting License, Senior Hunting License or Nonresident Hunting License is required to hunt forest game. Additional permit requirements for black bear are listed below. See Licenses, Stamps & Permits for descriptions, prices, and availability of licenses, stamps, and permits.

Legal Hunting Devices for Forest Game
Legal hunting devices for Forest Game (except Black Bear)
For information on legal hunting devices for black bear see Bear Hunting below.

Wild Turkey Hunting
It is illegal to bait for spring and fall turkey hunting, use recorded or electronically amplified calls, or use motorized or electronic turkey decoys. An area is considered by law to be baited for 10 days after removal of the bait. Dogs and organized drives may not be used for hunting turkeys in the spring.

Fall turkey hunters are permitted to use rifles, handguns, shotguns (loaded with #4s, #5s, #6s, or a solid, single projectile), crossbows, and vertical bows.  Spring turkey hunters are restricted to shotguns loaded with #4s, #5s, or #6s, crossbows and vertical bows. 

Turkey Tagging and Checking Requirements
Before moving a harvested turkey a hunter must:

• Fill out a Field Tag and attach it to the animal, AND

• Fill out a Big Game Harvest Record block.

Then, the hunter has 24 hours to check in their game using the Internet check-in website (http://www.gamecheck.dnr.state.md.us) or the Maryland Big Game Registration Phone Line
(1-888-800-0121) and a confirmation number will be issued.

The Confirmation Number must be recorded on the Big Game Harvest Record.

See Turkey Tagging & Check-in System Requirement.

Turkey Hunting Safety Tips
Follow these suggestions to ensure a safe turkey hunting experience:

• Fluorescent orange is not required for hunting turkeys. However, turkey hunters are strongly encouraged to use it while turkey hunting.
  

  • Hunters should wear a cap of solid fluorescent orange at all times while moving.

  • Once at your calling location, tie a fluorescent orange ribbon on a nearby tree to make your presence known to other hunters. Instead of using a ribbon, you can also hang your orange cap on a nearby tree.

  • Successful hunters should tie an orange ribbon around the neck of the turkey when carrying it out of the woods or completely conceal the turkey in a game bag.

• Positively identify your target.  The primary cause of turkey hunting accidents is hunters not identifying their target.  Be positive it is a legal turkey and be sure the path to the bird and beyond is clear before taking the safety off and pulling the trigger.

• Never stalk a turkey or turkey sound.  Calling the turkey to you is the most rewarding and safe way to hunt turkeys.  Always assume turkey sounds are another hunter until you can be certain it is a turkey.  Assume other hunters are in the area even if you are hunting on private land.

• Never wear red, white, blue, or black.  Red, white, and blue are colors of a gobbler’s head.  All turkeys have black bodies.

• Shout “stop” to alert approaching hunters.  Never move, wave, or make turkey sounds if you see or hear approaching hunters.

• Use decoys with caution.  Always carry decoys completely concealed or with an orange ribbon on them.  Wear orange while setting up decoys and extra care must be taken when inflating inflatable decoys.  Carefully consider your decoy set-up to minimize the risk of putting yourself in the line of fire of someone that mistakes your decoy as a live turkey. 

Bear Hunting

DNR’s objective for the 2008 bear hunting season is to continue hunting bears in an effort to slow the growth of Maryland’s black bear population in western Maryland.

Hunting Hours
One half hour before sunrise to one half hour after sunset.

Licensing and Permit Requirements
In addition to the appropriate regular Maryland hunting license, a 2008 Maryland Bear Hunting Permit is required. Landowners will not be required to possess a regular hunting license if they hunt only on their own property, but they will need to apply for and possess a Bear Hunting Permit before they can hunt bears on their property.

Application Process for the 2008 Maryland Bear Hunting Permit

• Bear Hunting Permits will be made available through a random drawing process. 

• Applications for the Bear Hunting Permits will be accepted online from August 1- September 1, 2008 (24/7) at: http://blackbear.dnr.state.md.us/. 

• Telephone applications will be accepted from August 25 - August 29, 2008 by calling 1-888-579-6768 between the hours of 9am- 5:30pm.

• To apply, each applicant must pay a $15 nonrefundable application fee and may only enter once.  Applicants must possess a valid Hunter Safety Certificate or have held a hunting license prior to July 1, 1977 or hunted on private property prior to July 1, 1977 to apply.  The drawing will be held on September 2, 2008 and all successful applicants will be notified shortly thereafter.

• In 2007 DNR implemented a Preference Point System for bear hunting permit applicants.  Preference points provide additional entries in future drawings.  Applicants receive one additional entry in the random drawing for each year they have been a concurrent applicant.

• Applicants must apply each year to retain preference points.  If an applicant skips a year, all preference points will be forfeited.

• Once an applicant is selected to receive a bear hunting permit in the random drawing, all preference points will be forfeited.

• If an applicant is selected in the random drawing, but forfeits the permit, all preference points will be forfeited. 

• Applicants will not forfeit preference points by participating in the hunt as a Subpermittee or Landowner Subpermittee.  

• DNR will issue a limited number of Bear Hunting Permits this season that will be valid anywhere in the designated bear hunting area.  Each successful applicant may designate 1 sub-permittee who will be allowed to participate in every aspect of the hunt.  If hunting on private land, the permittee may designate the landowner as an additional ‘landowner’ subpermittee who will be restricted to hunting on his/her own land.  Only 1 black bear may be harvested by a permittee/subpermittee hunting team.

Legal Hunting Devices
Only those hunting devices that are legal for deer hunting are legal for bear hunting. Click here for Firearms, Bow & Falconry Regulations.

Click here for Advice on Effective Bear Hunting

Bear Tagging and Checking Requirements
All successful hunters are required to tag and check their bear as follows:

• A hunter killing a black bear shall attach the black bear field tag to the carcass of the black bear before removing the carcass from the place of the kill.

• All black bears must be field dressed at the kill site.  Proof of sex shall remain attached to the bear carcass.

• A black bear may be quartered or separated into pieces to facilitate retrieval.  However, the head and hide shall remain attached to each other and proof of sex shall remain attached to one hindquarter.

• A hunter killing a black bear must report to an official designated black bear checking station with the entire carcass of the black bear by 8 PM of the day of kill.  Once the hunter takes the bear to a checking station, the tag previously attached on the carcass will be exchanged for an official black bear possession tag provided by the Wildlife and Heritage Service (WHS) and securely attached to the carcass.

• If a hunter kills a bear and cannot reach a designated black bear checking station by 8 PM of the day of kill, the hunter must contact the WHS at 301-334-4255 by 8 PM on the day of the kill to report the kill.  The hunter shall then have 24 hours to report with the black bear carcass to a designated black bear checking station.

• All successful black bear hunters shall forfeit any biological data or specimens that WHS considers necessary to properly manage this species.

Fluorescent Orange
All bear hunters and anyone assisting a bear hunter are required to wear fluorescent orange.

Subpermittee
A subpermittee may hunt black bears only when the permittee is hunting black bears.  Landowner subpermittee permits are valid only on the landowner’s property.  Landowner subpermittees cannot hunt their property without the permittee being present on the landowner’s property at the time of the hunt.

Contact Between Hunters
A permittee and any subpermittee shall maintain visual contact with one another while hunting black bears.  The use of audio enhancement devices such as radios or cell phones are not considered visual contact.  

Hunter Assistance
A person that assists with the removal of a dead bear or escorts hunters into or out of a bear hunting area is not required to possess a Bear Hunting Permit.  However, they must be unarmed and wear fluorescent orange.

Bears in Dens
Hunters may not chase or disturb any bear that has taken refuge in a den.

Use of Dogs
The use of dogs for hunting black bears is prohibited, except under the following circumstances:

• If a hunter has killed, wounded, or injured a black bear, they may use a dog, or dog handler, to recover the bear.
• Only the bear hunter may carry a firearm or bow of any description while tracking a bear.
• The hunter may kill a wounded or injured black bear only if done in accordance with the laws, regulations, or other conditions for black bear hunting.  The black bear shall count toward the bag limit or quota of the hunter who first killed, wounded, or injured the black bear.
• Before tracking a black bear, the hunter shall notify, by telephone, the Natural Resources Police (301-777-7771).  The hunter shall provide information as to:
• Where the bear was killed, wounded, or injured;
• The name, address, telephone number, and hunting license number of the hunter and dog handler;
• The general location of the dead, wounded, or injured bear; and
• The name of the landowner where the search will be conducted.
• The dog handler shall maintain physical control of the leashed tracking dog at all times while conducting the search.
• The hunter shall obtain permission of the landowner or land manager before tracking a black bear with dogs.

Baiting/Attracting Bears
The use of any bait, scent attractants or electronic calls is prohibited for black bear hunting.

Sale of Bear Parts
Hunters may not sell parts of any bear that has been killed in Maryland.

Bear Hunting Season Closure
The WHS will determine a harvest quota prior to the Black Bear Hunting Season.  Once the harvest quota is reached, WHS will close the season.  After the season closure, it will be illegal for any person who possesses a Bear Hunting Permit to further hunt bears.

All bear hunters must call WHS after 9:00 PM of each day to determine if the bear hunt quota has been met and the bear hunt has been cancelled for the remainder of the season.  WHS will cancel the hunt once the harvest objective has been reached.  WHS will provide a recorded message that will alert hunters of the status of the bear-hunting season once the daily harvest has been determined. 

Pre-Hunt Meeting
All successful applicants of the Black Bear Hunting Permit Random Selection Process will be required to attend 1 of 2 pre-hunt meetings in order to successfully obtain a Black Bear Hunting Permit. Dates, times and locations of the pre-hunt meetings will be mailed to all successful applicants with their permit package.