Hunting in La Petite-Nation in 2026, the dates and rules to keep in your pocket

Every fall it's the same scene. Trucks hauling ATV trailers up the 309 and the 321, blaze orange coming out of the closet, and somebody at the dépanneur asking whether rifle season starts this week. This year the answer depends more than ever on which side of the Lièvre you're hunting.

Your zone: 10 East or 10 West?

La Petite-Nation is hunting zone 10, split in two by the Lièvre River.

• Zone 10 East: most of the MRC, from Thurso up to Duhamel and Lac-des-Plages, including the Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve.
• Zone 10 West: the west bank of the Lièvre, meaning whatever parts of Bowman, Val-des-Bois and Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette lie across the river.

If you hunt anywhere near the Lièvre, pull up the official zone 10 and 11 map. Two minutes well spent.

Moose: the big change

In 2026, zone 10 East has only a bow and crossbow moose season, September 26 to October 12. The October 10 to 18 firearm season applies to zone 10 West only.

Also new: as of 2026, taking a moose with antlers under 10 cm in zones 1 to 12 requires an antlerless moose permit won in the draw.

White-tailed deer

The youth weekend is the one to bring the kid who passed their course this summer.

Bear, turkey and small game

• Black bear (zone 10): October 3 to 16, bow and crossbow; October 17 to 21, shotgun, muzzleloader, crossbow and bow; November 7 to 22, firearms, crossbow and bow. The spring hunt ran May 15 to June 30.
• Wild turkey: bearded or not, October 24 to 30. Spring was April 24 to May 18, bearded birds only. Turkey hunting stops at noon.
• Snowshoe hare and cottontail: September 19, 2026 to March 31, 2027, snares included.
• Ruffed and spruce grouse: September 19, 2026 to January 15, 2027.
• Grey partridge: September 19 to November 15.
• Coyote and wolf: October 25, 2026 to March 31, 2027.
• Groundhog: all year.
• Migratory birds (ducks, geese, woodcock): that's federal. See the Canadian regulations.

Different dates in the wildlife reserve

The Papineau-Labelle wildlife reserve runs its own quota hunts (by draw or booking):

• Moose: September 21 to October 8, and October 9 to 15.
• Antlered deer: October 9 to 15, and October 31 to November 22.
• Black bear: May 15 to June 30, October 9 to 15, and October 31 to November 22.
• Grouse, hare and rabbit, daily access: September 7 to 20, October 16 to November 1, and November 22 to January 15.

Same idea at an exclusive-rights outfitter: the rules can differ from the zone's. Ask whoever runs the territory. Our outfitters and reserve roundup covers them all.

The rules people forget

• Hunter's certificate and a valid licence, always. Buy the licence online or from a vendor.
• Blaze orange: 2,580 cm² showing on your back, shoulders and chest, for you and anyone with you. Exceptions: turkey, migratory birds, snares, and moose, deer or bear during bow-and-crossbow-only seasons.
• Public roads: in zone 10, no shooting from a public road, within 10 m of either side of the shoulder, or toward or across it. Small game with small shot is the exception.
• Hours: 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
• Transport tag: the unique number goes on the animal as soon as it's down.
• Parc national de Plaisance: no hunting, as in every national park.
• Hunters from Ontario: you can't bring in or possess a whole deer-family carcass killed outside Québec, because of chronic wasting disease. Plan your processing accordingly.

See poaching? SOS Braconnage, 1 800 463-2191. Save it in your phone before you leave; you won't always have signal in the bush.

Registering your animal

Deer, moose, black bear and turkey must be registered within 48 hours of leaving the hunting site, and before they go to the butcher. Online registration is free. Or use one of the two local stations:

Station Sport Nature, on the 309 in Val-des-Bois, is open daily 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and sells licences too. Sport N.P., on rang Sainte-Julie Est in Saint-André-Avellin, is open seven days, until 9 p.m. on Fridays.

Getting it cut

Three places to have your game processed:

Débitage des Cantons, on 5e Rang Est in Lochaber, does cutting and processing, and you'll probably leave with their house sausage, pepperettes or pepperoni too. Débitage B&B, on 7e Rang Est, also in Lochaber: call before you show up with an animal, especially at peak season. Both are certified Chasseurs généreux butchers, so you can donate part of your game to food banks. Ranch d'Amérique in Saint-Émile-de-Suffolk also offers butchering for hunters.

Licence stops

Local vendors: Station M. Lalonde in Chénéville, Quincaillerie Papineau in Papineauville, Dépanneur 10-10 in Thurso, and along the Lièvre, Dépanneur Bowman, Dépanneur du Village in Val-des-Bois and Dépanneur Chez Dan in Notre-Dame-de-la-Salette.

Hunting company

ACPTA brings together the hunters, anglers, trappers and archers of the Petite-Nation valley. In Notre-Dame-de-la-Paix, the hunting and fishing club runs a big-game contest (moose and deer) with tickets sold before September, plus an end-of-season supper in late November with music and plenty of prizes. Over on the Lièvre there's the Val-des-Bois/Bowman hunting and fishing club.

A word for non-hunters: the Albatros trail in Val-des-Bois closes during deer season, and in the reserve, blaze orange is required on trails while the big-game hunt is on. Dress for it.

All the dates and official links live in our hunting and fishing guide.

Val-des-BoisBowmanNotre-Dame-de-la-SaletteDuhamelSaint-André-AvellinLochaberSaint-Émile-de-SuffolkNotre-Dame-de-la-PaixPlaisance

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