DNREC To Open Additional Deer Hunting Seasons in January

DNREC’s Division of Fish & Wildlife is promoting the January opening of additional Delaware deer hunting seasons, which extend opportunities for hunters to harvest deer during the 2018/19 hunting season.

The following deer hunting seasons open in January:

• Handgun Deer*: Jan. 5 – 12, except for Sunday, Jan. 6
• Shotgun Deer*: Jan. 19 – 27, including Sundays, Jan. 20 and 27
• Muzzleloader Deer: Jan. 28 – Feb. 3, including Sunday, Feb. 3

*Straight-walled, pistol-caliber rifles are allowed in January only during the handgun and shotgun deer seasons.

Archery and crossbow deer seasons will remain open through Jan. 31, 2019, including Sundays, but hunters can still hunt with archery equipment and crossbows from Feb. 1 through 3 during the January muzzleloader season.

A Delaware hunting license or License Exempt Number (LEN) is required to hunt. More information on hunting license requirements is available at Delaware Licenses. To register for an LEN number, hunters can go to Delaware Hunter and Trapper Registration or call toll free 1-855-335-4868.

To purchase a hunting license, hunters born on or after Jan. 1, 1967, must have a basic hunter education safety course card/number. Hunters who took a Delaware hunter safety course starting in 2008 can print their hunter safety card by going to http://de.gov/huntersafety. Hunters who took their Delaware hunter safety course before 2008 should call the Hunter Education Office at 302-735-3600, ext. 1 to obtain a hunter safety card.

Registered motor vehicles used to access designated wildlife areas owned or managed by the Division of Fish & Wildlife are required to display a Conservation Access Pass (CAP). Hunters can opt to receive one free annual CAP with the purchase of any Delaware hunting license. To obtain a free CAP, or to purchase an additional pass, hunters will need the registration card for the vehicle to which the pass will be assigned.

Delaware hunting licenses and Conservation Access Passes can be purchased online at Delaware Licenses, at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office at 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901, or from hunting license agents statewide.

For more information on hunting and trapping, click 2018-2019 Delaware Hunting & Trapping Guide and Wildlife Area Hunting Maps. Hard copies of the guide and newly-updated hunting maps are also available at the license desk in DNREC’s Dover office. More information on hunting licenses, season details, and Conservation Access Passes is also available by calling the Wildlife Section office at 302-739-9912.