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Hunting is permitted in accordance with all applicable State and Federal regulations and is subject to special regulations. Hunters should consult with CDFW hunting regulations. The open season for each of the following species is concurrent with the seasons established by the State of California: geese, ducks, coots, moorhens, snipe and pheasant.
*This webpage is specific for Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa and Sutter NWRs*. Click here to find information about hunting at the Sacramento River NWR.
Permits:
Before You Arrive...purchase all licenses, validations & passes:
Check Stations DO NOT SELL any license items, validations or passes! Hunters must purchase any needed licenses, validations and passes prior to arrival at the Check Station.
Licenses, validations and passes may be obtained from:
Items you must have:
- California Hunting License
- Prepaid Type A Pass (not required for junior hunters) - Type A One-day, Two-day or Season Pass (this is like an entry day-pass)
- Harvest Information Program (HIP) Validation (if hunting ducks, geese, coots or snipe)
- California Duck Stamp (not required for junior hunters; not required if only hunting pheasants)
- Federal Duck Stamp (required for all hunters age 16 or older; not required if only hunting pheasants)
- Upland Game Bird Stamp (required if hunting pheasants; not required for junior hunters)
Fees And Passes:
| Type of Pass (for CA residents) | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Type A 1 Day Pass | $26.49 | Junior hunters do not need this |
| Type A 2 Day Pass | $42.38 | Valid for 1 hunter for 2 days or 2 hunters for 1 day |
| Type A Season Pass | $198.98 | ~ |
| Reservations | $1.34 | Per choice |
| Resident License | $58.58 | 18 and older |
| Junior Hunter License | $15.38 | under 16 years of age as of July 1 |
| CA Duck Validation Stamp | $37.29 | Juniors hunting under the authority of a Junior Hunting License do not need this |
| Upland Game Bird Validation | $23.25 | Needed for hunting pheasants |
| Federal Duck Stamp | $25.00 | ~ |
Regulations at Sacramento NWR Complex:
- Licenses - All hunters must possess a valid California State hunting license, and a HIP Validation. Junior Hunters 16 years of age and older must also possess a signed Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp). All adult hunters must possess a California State Duck Stamp, a signed Federal Migratory Bird Hunting and Conservation Stamp (Duck Stamp), and an Upland Game Bird Stamp (if hunting pheasants). See "Before You Arrive" above.
- Pass required - All adult hunters must purchase a Type A Pass (one-day, two-day, or season) prior to their arrival at the Check Station. Junior hunters do not need to purchase a Type A Pass.
- Check Station - All hunters must obtain a permit at the check station before entering the hunting area.
- Ammunition - Approved nontoxic shot is required on all refuges. No shot shell larger than 12 gauge and no shot size larger than T is permitted. Hunters may possess not more than 25 federally approved nontoxic shotgun shells after leaving the parking area. Weapons must be unloaded (no ammunition in the magazine or chamber) when in a vehicle or walking to/from a hunt area.
- Dogs - In the check station parking area, dogs must be kept in autos or on a leash.
- Parking - Vehicle parking is allowed only in designated parking areas.
- Vehicles may stop only at designated, assigned parking areas. The dropping of passengers or equipment or stopping between designated parking areas is prohibited except for designated mobility impaired areas.
- Littering and Fires - Please take your refuse with you when you leave; littering is unlawful and can be fined. Open fires are prohibited.
- Alcoholic Beverages and Drugs -The consumption or possession of an open container of alcohol, within public areas of the refuge, is prohibited. Marijuana and illegal drugs are prohibited.
- Checkout - All hunters are required to check out at the check station, report hunting results, return their permits, and vacate the refuge no later than 1 1/2 hours after the end of shoot time. Hunters need not vacate the refuge if participating in overnight stay on Tuesday, Friday, or Saturday nights.
- Bicycles - Access to the hunt area is by foot only. Bicycles and other conveyances are not permitted.
- Injuries and Accidents - Incidents involving injury or accident occurring on the refuge must be reported immediately to the check station or Complex headquarters at (530) 934-2801.
Special Sacramento NWR Complex Regulations:
- Spaced Hunting Areas at Sacramento & Delevan:
Hunters are restricted to within 100 feet of their assigned blind or hunt site except for retrieving downed or crippled birds. Firearms must be unloaded while being transported between parking areas and spaced hunting areas. - Free Roam Areas:
Hunters may use only portable blinds, temporary blinds constructed of natural materials, or existing concrete in-ground blinds. The construction of permanent blinds is prohibited. The cutting/breaking of woody vegetation is prohibited. All portable blinds, decoys, and other personal equipment must be removed from the refuge each day. - Upland Game (Pheasants) Special Regulations:
Pheasant hunting is permitted during the pheasant season on waterfowl shoot days only. Shooting hours for pheasants are 8:00 a.m. to sunset. Approved nontoxic shot is required for hunting pheasants. Pheasant hunting is not permitted in the spaced hunting areas (Blinds/Assigned Ponds), except for a special one-day hunt (the first Monday of pheasant season) on Sacramento, Delevan and Colusa NWRs. - Turkey Special Regulations:
Hunting of fall turkey is permitted during the turkey season on waterfowl shoot days only. Approved nontoxic shot is required for hunting turkeys. Turkey hunting is not permitted in the spaced hunting areas (Blinds/Assigned Ponds).
Bag Limits, Shoot Times, and Other Regulations:
- California Regulations: for current information, visit CDFW's Fishing and Hunting Regulations website.
- Season Dates and Bag Limits: for current information, visit CDFW's Waterfowl Hunting and Upland Game Bird Hunting webpages
- Shoot Times: for current information, visit CDFW's Shooting Time Table for Bird Hunting - Northern California webpage (the Complex falls under the Colusa column)
- White-fronted Goose Special Management Area:
The White-fronted Goose Special Management Area is a specific zone within which there are special restrictions on the harvest of all white-fronted geese. This area is located around the areas of Sacramento, Delevan and Colusa NWRs, and is bounded by Highway 162 to the north, Highway 45 to the east, Interstate 5 to the west, and Hahn Rd/Grimes Arbuckle Rd to the south.
Within the Special Management Area, hunting regulations of all white-fronted geese are subject to a delayed opening date, lower bag limit, and mid-December closure, all of which are intended to reduce the harvest of tule greater white-fronted geese (aka 'tule geese').
The majority of all tule geese winter in the western Sacramento Valley, especially on or adjacent to the Sacramento, Delevan, and Colusa NWRs. In 1975 a Special Management Area was created around these refuges to eliminate the harvest of the then-endangered Aleutian cackling goose. Cackling cackling geese and Pacific white-fronted geese were included when both of those populations were also at record low levels. While those goose populations have since recovered, tule goose numbers remain low and require restrictive hunting regulations to protect their population.
How are Tule white-fronts different?
There are two subspecies of white-fronted geese (aka specklebellies) that winter in California: the tule greater white-fronted goose and the Pacific greater white-fronted goose. Tule geese breed in the upper Cook Inlet Basin of Alaska and number only 7,000-10,000 birds and are only know to winter in the small area surrounding Sacramento, Delevan and Colusa NWRs. Pacific white-fronts breed in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta region of Alaska number upward of 600,000 birds and winter throughout California. Physically, tule geese tend to be larger and darker than Pacifics with less speckling on the adults' breasts, have thicker and darker heads and necks, and have larger bills. Despite these differences, there's a large degree of overlap in body size when comparing smaller tules to larger Pacifics, making field identification difficult. Anatomical measurements are often needed to distinguish the two subspecies.
Sacramento NWR Complex - Hunting Seasons and Bag Limit Summary 2023-2024:
Refuge | Species | Dates | Daily Bag Limits |
2 | Quail – Archery Only | August 19 - September 8 | 10 per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Deer – Archery | August 19 – September 3 | One buck, forked horn or better per tag |
2 | Deer – Archery | August 19 – September 3 | One buck, forked horn or better per tag |
2 | Feral Pigs – Archery and Shotgun only | September 1 – March 15 | One feral pig per tag |
2 | Dove | September 1 – 15 | 15 per day of which no more than 10 may be white-winged doves; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Deer – General | September 16 – October 1 | One buck, forked horn or better per tag |
2 | Deer – General | September 23 – October 29 | One buck, forked horn or better per tag |
2 | Waterfowl – | September 30 - October 2 | 10 large Canada geese per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
1 | **Waterfowl – Ducks | October 21 – January 31 | 7 per day; |
1 | **Waterfowl – Geese | October 21 – January 28 | 30 per day; |
1 | American Coot and Common Moorhen | October 21 – January 31 | 25 per day, 25 in possession |
1 | Snipe | October 21 – February 4 | 8 per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Quail – General | October 21 – January 28 | 10 per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Deer – G1 Late Season | October 28 – November 5 | One buck, forked horn or better per tag |
1 | Pheasants – General | November 11 – December 24 | 2 males first two days; 3 males thereafter; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Pheasants – Archery Only | October 14 – November 5 | 2 pheasants first two days; 3 pheasants thereafter; 1 female per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
2 | Dove | November 11 – December 25 | 15 per day; possession triple the daily bag limit |
1 | Turkey – Fall | November 11– December 10 | 1 either sex; 2 per season |
2 | Turkey – Spring | March 23 – 24 | 1 bearded per day; |
2 | Turkey – General Spring (shotgun/archery) | March 30 – May 5 | 1 bearded per day; |
2 | Turkey – Spring – Archery Only and/or Juniors Only | March 30 – May 19 | 1 bearded per day; |
2 | Late White Goose and White Fronted Goose | February 17 - 21 | 30 per day |
KEY:
- Sacramento, Delevan, Colusa, Sutter, and Sacramento River NWR units listed below
- Sacramento River NWR, all or part of the following units: La Barranca, Todd Island, Mooney and Ohm (portions closed to waterfowl hunting), Flynn, Heron Island, Rio Vista, Foster Island, Pine Creek, Capay, Phelan Island, Jacinto, Dead Man’s Reach, South Ord, Llano Seco Island 1 and 2, Sul Norte, Codora (Juniors only on weekends only), Afton, Drumheller North, Drumheller Slough, and Bogg’s Bend
- Daily Duck Bag Limits: 7 ducks/ but not more than 2 hen mallards, 1 pintail (either sex), 2 canvasback, 2 redheads (either sex), 2 scaup (either sex – scaup season Nov 7 – Jan 31); possession limit is triple the daily bag limit
- Daily Geese Bag Limits: 30 geese; may include up to 20 white geese; 10 large Canada; 10 small Canada; 10 white-fronted EXCEPT in the Sacramento Valley (West) Special Management Area, including Sacramento, Delevan and Colusa NWRs, where the white-fronted goose season will open October 21 through December 21 and during Youth Hunting Days; bag limit 3 white-fronted geese; possession limit is triple the daily bag limit
- Junior Hunts (18 or younger): Sacramento NWR = Dec. 16; Delevan NWR = Dec 9;
- Youth Hunting Days (17 or younger): Balance of State Zone: The 1st Saturday following the closing of waterfowl season extending for 2 days [Feb 3 – Feb 4, 2024]
- Veterans and Active Military Hunting Days: Balance of State Zone: Ducks only, extending for 2 days [Feb 10 – Feb 11, 2024]
