Pheasant/Quail Seasons Open Saturday

The highly anticipated ringneck pheasant and bobwhite quail seasons get underway at 8am Saturday, and it’s an odds-on bet that a significant majority of the approximately 12,000 Pheasant/Quail Stamp holders will be afield.

For opening day ringnecks, it’s a mix of 5790 cockbirds and hens spread over 23 statewide wildlife management areas (WMAs), plus the sprawling Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area in Sussex/Warren counties.

There will also be 60 birds released on the permit-only Ft. Dix in Ocean County.

Quail stockings are limited to the Greenwood (Ocean County) and Peaslee (Cumberland County) WMAs. For opening day, each will be dosed with 600 bobs. These are on the only tracts where quail can be hunted legally, as the general statewide season continues closed.

Releases of both gamebirds will continue for every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday through December 31. There will be breaks after Thanksgiving Saturday, with releases then restricted for Tuesdays and Saturdays occurring December 17, 21, 24, 28 and 31.

When it’s a wrap December 31, totals of 57,480 pheasants and 11,000 bobwhites will have been released.

The full roster of stocked tracts, respective numbers of birds stocked, and dates is available on page 55 in the 2024-2025 NJ Hunting & Trapping Digest.

The daily limit for ringnecks is two of either sex; for bobs it’s four of either sex. The $40 Pheasant Quail Stamp is required to hunt any WMA that receives birds. Except for opening day, hunting hours are sunrise to half hour after sunset.

Considering the number of birds stocked, the $40 stamp is a magnum deal. Seen the prices of pheasants and quail on the commercial hunting preserves? Ringneck cockbirds range from anywhere from $25-30, hens a few dollars less. Quail come in around $14-16, with the neurotic exotic chukar partridge (a preserve staple) is in the $20 range. If you have a good working bird dog, great. If not, you’ll need to hire a guide/dog, and that adds significantly to the tab. Oh, yeah, don’t forget the mandatory tip. The $40 stamp suddenly looks quite the bargain.

Sure, the feather-dosed WMAs get crowded, especially on Saturday and Thanksgiving Day. Tuesday and Thursday are decent bets when it comes less orange out there, especially by late morning.

It’s a matter of picking your time and/or day. We’ve put birds in the game bag on stocking days by hunting the last couple of hours of legal shooting time. Not to be overlooked are the days that aren’t stocked. Plenty of birds survive, and working the fields and edges on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday can provide ample opportunity for flushes.

To learn more about the pheasant and stocking program, go to the November 2 podcast of Rack & Fin Radio. NJ DEP’s Fish & Wildlife southern region lands management supervisor Nate Figley talks the birds, the tracts, and the logistics of getting the ringnecks and bobwhites stocked on schedule.