The Light Goose Conservation Order (LGCO) is considered an annual tradition for many waterfowl hunters since it began in 1999. There is no other waterfowl opportunity in North America offering such latitude when it comes to regulations: There are no magazine restrictions, no daily bag or possession limit, use of electronic callers is permitted, and you can shoot 30 minutes past sunset – all sacred no-no’s across the US during regular waterfowl seasons regulated by state and federal law enforcement.

Besides the potential for high volume shoots, anybody who participates in this unique opportunity will tell you it’s the spectacle of the spring migration that keeps them coming back. On the best migration days hunters should expect to witness waves of various waterfowl and other bird species rolling past, but no other species of waterfowl surpasses the lesser snow goose in number and density during migration. It’s common to see hordes of snows and their smaller cousins Ross’s geese mob an area on the ground and in the air, in what can only be described as an incredible sight to behold.

The Mid-Continent population of light geese primarily migrate through the watersheds of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers consistently congregating in key areas within Arkansas, Illinois, Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, and Iowa, eventually packing into the neck of their hourglass shaped migration corridor in North and South Dakota. Read more

Don’t wait to apply for deer and elk permits. The application deadline is April 1. Hunters can buy licenses and apply for permits on the FWP website; click on “Buy and Apply.”

Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks offers several tools to help hunters navigate the application process. The application process is different for residents and nonresidents, but FWP has created instructional videos to help with both kinds of customers.

Hunters and anglers can also take advantage of the MyFWP mobile app. The app holds and displays licenses, permits and E-Tags, which can be downloaded and used in the field without cell service. To create a My FWP account, visit the MyFWP login page. Read more

Millennium Outdoors, a company renowned for making quality stands and hunting accessories, releases the Q400 Guard House Buck Hut in 2026. The new elevated hunting blind is designed and built for comfort, stability, and durability, providing years of protection from the elements – and concealment from wary whitetails. With an overall height of 15 feet, 8 inches, the Guard House is a rugged and dependable blind that provides individual hunters with comfort and room to move during long sits.

Constructed of heavy-duty steel with a powder-coat finish, the Guard House features adjustable legs, making it perfect for uneven terrain. A steel ladder with nonslip steps and a steel landing platform with handrails provide safe, easy entry and exit. A water-resistant, soft-shell material offers dependable, all-weather performance that withstands whatever Mother Nature throws at it, giving hunters a secure ambush site for years of hard use.

The Guard House has seven shooting windows, offering pristine views and flexible setup options for firearm, crossbow, and vertical bowhunters. It’s also configured to fit one Millennium M369 Revolution Seat (sold separately), giving hunters unbridled comfort and 360-degree silent rotation for monitoring surrounding terrain. It weighs just 225 pounds, is a cinch to set up, and has a maximum weight capacity of 500 pounds, making it perfect for larger-statured hunters and heavy equipment and gear.

Without compare, the Guard House Buck Hut is the ideal choice for hunters seeking a solid, elevated blind that performs flawlessly season after season.

Millennium Guard House Buck Hut features Read more

Licenses are on sale now for two spring turkey hunting seasons that do not require hunters to apply in Michigan’s turkey hunt drawing.

Hunt 0234 and Hunt 0301 offer flexible options for hunters looking for more opportunities this spring. Both seasons have unlimited quotas, and licenses can be purchased throughout the entire spring turkey hunting season.

Hunt 0234: Statewide license

Hunt 0234 runs May 2-31. (Note that the print version of the DNR’s 2026 Spring Turkey Regulations Summary incorrectly listed the 0234 season dates as April 25-May 31, but the correct dates are May 2-31.)

A Hunt 0234 license allows hunters to pursue spring turkey on:

• Public and private lands in the Upper Peninsula (TMU M).
• Public and private lands in the northern Lower Peninsula (TMU NN).
• Private lands only in the southern Lower Peninsula (TMU ZZ).
• Fort Custer military lands, with permission.

If you have a Hunt 0234 license, you must have landowner permission to hunt on private lands.

Hunt 0301: Private-land option for southern Michigan Read more

If you’re interested in the opportunity to harvest your own deer or elk meat this fall, take note of the upcoming application period and apply for a permit before the deadline!

The application period opens on March 19 at 8 a.m. MDT, and it runs until 11 p.m. MDT on April 23. To be included in the drawing for the hunts, you can apply for permits online, call or visit the nearest Utah Division of Wildlife Resources regional office or call the hunt-drawing helpline at 855-UTDRAWS (855-883-7297).

The results of the drawing will be released by May 31. You’ll be notified by email, but you can also get the drawing results online.

Big game hunts are held in Utah for the following species:

• • Bighorn sheep (desert and Rocky Mountain)
  • Bison
  • Elk
  • Moose
  • Mountain goat
  • Mule deer
  • Pronghorn

“We don’t have the data from the winter big game captures, the previous fall hunt harvest rates, and other big game surveys until March each year,” the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources Administrative Services Assistant Chief Lindy Varney said. “After we receive that data, we put together the permit recommendations for the upcoming fall big game hunting seasons. The drawing is held in April so that hunters have information about the proposed permit numbers prior to applying. Hunters can access the proposed permit numbers for each hunt unit beginning in April on the Utah Hunt Planner. The final permit numbers will be approved by the Utah Wildlife Board during their public board meeting on April 30.”

Starting March 19, applications will be accepted for most of Utah’s 2026 big game hunts. However, there are a few exceptions — permits for the state’s general-season bull elk hunts won’t be available until July. Permits for the general-season archery bull elk hunt go on sale July 7, the any-bull elk permits go on sale July 9 and the spike bull elk permits go on sale July 16. Those elk permits will be sold online, at all DWR offices and at license agent locations.

Changes for 2026 big game hunts

In December 2025, the Utah Wildlife Board approved a few changes to some of this fall’s big game hunts. For all the changes, see the 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook, but here are a few to be aware of:

• Anyone with an Ogden unit general-season, any-legal-weapon buck deer permit will be required to submit a sample for chronic wasting disease testing.
• The hunt boundary and season dates were updated for the 2026-27 West Cache elk extended archery hunt. (The season was extended from Dec. 15 to Jan. 31.)
• The board also approved adjustments to some of the existing bison hunts, as well as the creation of a new cow bison hunt that would be held during the 2026 and 2027 hunting seasons.
• Some relief options were also approved for permit holders in areas where natural disasters prevent hunters from being able to hunt.
• Hunters should note that there is a new Utah draw application system, so the website and contractor are different from previous application periods. Visit the DWR website to learn more about the new system features.
• New this year, the Utah Big Game Application Guidebook will only be digitally available, and printed copies will no longer be distributed. The guidebook will be available on the DWR website and in the Utah Hunting & Fishing app.

Join the Dedicated Hunter program

If you want a chance to hunt buck deer during all of the seasons for a particular hunting unit, you should consider applying for Utah’s Dedicated Hunter Program. You can learn more about the program, and how to join it, on the DWR website.

Utah Hunt Planner

If you’re thinking about hunting in a new area — or going after a species you’ve never hunted before — you will likely have a lot of questions. The Utah Hunt Planner is an interactive, online map that provides valuable information from DWR biologists to help answer a lot of those questions.

The Hunt Planner provides in-depth, hunter-focused information about all of Utah’s hunts. Use it when you’re researching hunts you want to apply for or use it after you draw a permit for a particular hunt. You can learn the best spots to find animals, see what the terrain is like, identify blocks of public land in the unit and locate the primary access points.

Visit the DWR website for more information about how to use the Utah Hunt Planner.

Applying for a bonus point or a preference point

If you’re not planning to hunt big game in 2026, you can still apply for a bonus point or a preference point. Earning a point increases the chance you’ll draw a permit the next time you apply. Your application for a point must be received no later than 11 p.m. MDT on April 23. However, you will also have an opportunity to apply for a bonus or preference point during the antlerless application period from June 9-23. You must have a hunting license or a combination license to apply for a bonus/preference point or a big game hunting permit.

Visit the DWR website for more information about bonus and preference points.

For more information about applying for a 2026 Utah big game hunting permit, see the 2026 Utah Big Game Application Guidebook or contact the nearest DWR office.

North Dakota Game and Fish Department harvest statistics show overall success for the 2025 season was 100% for bighorn sheep, 87% for moose and 62% for elk.

Bighorn Sheep

The Department issued eight bighorn sheep licenses, one of which was an auction license. The Three Affiliated Tribes Fish and Wildlife issued two licenses in 2025, one to a tribal member and one to a Game and Fish Department applicant. All 10 hunters were successful.

Moose

The Department issued 292 moose licenses last year. Of that total, 281 hunters harvested 245 animals – 147 bulls and 98 cows/calves. Harvest for each unit follows:

Unit	Hunters	Bulls	Cow/Calf	Success Rate
M5	7	2	1	42.86
M6	10	8	0	80
M8	15	12	1	86.67
M9	80	33	35	85
M10	114	61	45	92.98
M11	55	31	16	85.45

Elk

The Department issued 1,021 elk licenses last year. Of that total, 929 hunters harvested 576 elk – 280 bulls and 296 cows/calves. Harvest for each until follows:

Unit	Hunters	Bulls	Cow/Calf	Success Rate
E1E	134	33	36	51.49
E1W	191	43	62	54.97
E2	199	59	75	67.34
E3	364	121	121	66.48
E4	22	18	1	86.36
E6	13	2	1	23.08
E7	6	4	0	66.67

Elk, moose and bighorn sheep applications are available online at the North Dakota Game and Fish Department’s website, gf.nd.gov. The application deadline is March 25.

A total of 1,062 elk licenses are available to hunters this fall, an increase of 102 from last year.

A total of 296 moose licenses are available, which remains the same as last year.

A bighorn sheep hunting season is tentatively scheduled for 2026, depending on the sheep population. The status of the bighorn sheep season will be determined Sept. 1, after summer population surveys.

Bighorn sheep applicants must apply for a license at the same time as moose and elk, but not for a specific unit. Once total licenses are determined for each unit in late summer, the bighorn lottery will be held and successful applicants will be contacted to select a hunting unit.

Because the bighorn sheep application fee is not refundable as per state law, if a bighorn season is not held, applicants would not receive a refund.

Elk, moose and bighorn sheep lottery licenses are issued as once-in-a-lifetime licenses in North Dakota. Hunters who have received a license through the lottery are not eligible to apply for that species again.

A new coyote hunting and trapping season designed to address interspecies conflict and overabundance of the animals in Michigan will run for more than seven months starting next week.

The statewide coyote management season, approved earlier this year by the Natural Resources Commission, is open March 2 through Oct. 14.

Here’s what you need to know:

Read more

If you found yourself tagless after the 2026 pronghorn and elk draw, have we got a deal for you! Conservation First USA is holding its Big Game Super Draw where tickets to hunt pronghorn and elk for 365 days are only $10 per species. The best part: There is no limit to the number of tickets you can purchase.

BUY TICKETS TODAY!

This year there are 17 Arizona Special Big Game Tags available, SIX of which are elk and pronghorn tags.

Here’s the breakdown of this year’s opportunities:

Three winners each for the following hunt permit-tags:

• • Bighorn sheep (2 desert sheep and 1 Rocky Mountain)
  • Bison (1 Kaibab, 1 Raymond, 1 House Rock)
  • Elk
  • Pronghorn

Read more