Alberta Hunting Season Dates: Elk, Deer, Moose, Bear

How Alberta's seasons are set

Alberta does not run one province-wide opener. Seasons are set by Wildlife Management Unit, or WMU, and by weapon, so the same species can open on different days in the mountains, the foothills, the boreal north and the prairie, and archery almost always opens ahead of rifle. The dates that follow are the current published windows from the Alberta Guide to Hunting Regulations, grouped the way most non-residents actually hunt: the mountain and foothills country along Alberta's western edge, which is where our own hunts run, and the prairie and boreal WMUs where the calendar differs.

One rule matters before any date: as a non-resident, you do not simply buy a tag and pick a week. In Alberta a non-resident, and especially a non-resident alien from the United States or Europe, hunts big game with a licensed outfitter and guide, and the tag reaches you through the outfitter's allocation. So the practical season for you is the window your outfitter hunts inside these legal dates, not the full span a resident might use. We cover exactly how that allocation works on how Alberta draws and allocations work.

Elk season dates

Elk is the September hunt. In the mountain and foothills WMUs, archery opens August 25 and runs to September 16, then the general rifle season opens September 17 and runs to November 30, with a six-point antler restriction in most of the 400-series units. The bugling rut peaks in September, which falls in the archery weeks and the very start of rifle season, and that overlap is the whole reason our rut hunt is timed to it. Out on the prairie WMUs the calendar shifts later, with archery from September 1 to October 31 and the general season November 1 to 30. Many antlerless elk seasons extend into the winter, running into late February.

Whitetail and mule deer season dates

Whitetail and mule deer share the same calendar structure. Archery opens August 25 or September 1 depending on the WMU and runs to October 31. The general rifle season opens September 17 and runs to November 30 in the foothills, mountain and boreal WMUs, and runs November 1 to 30 in the prairie and parkland. The rut hits in November across the province, squarely inside the rifle window, which is why our own deer hunt is a November hunt for bucks in the 130 to 170 class.

One thing to know about mule deer: antlered mule deer is heavily controlled by limited-entry draw for Alberta residents, so residents often wait years to draw a good buck tag. A non-resident does not enter that draw. A non-resident alien cannot enter it at all, and reaches an antlered mule deer tag only through an outfitter's allocation. That is a door Alberta closes to the do-it-yourself visitor and opens through a guide.

Moose season dates

Moose seasons vary the most by country. Archery opens August 25 or September 1 and runs to October 31 in most WMUs. In the mountain and foothills units where we hunt moose, the 400-series country, the general season runs roughly September 24 to November 30. In the boreal 500-series WMUs the general season is longer, often September 1 to November 30, and on the prairie and parkland it is November 1 to 30. The rut peaks in late September and early October, which is when a bull will answer a call, and that is the window our ten-day mountain moose hunt is built around.

Black bear, bighorn sheep and wolf

Black bear is the only big game with a real spring season. The spring hunt opens April 1 and closes somewhere between May 15 and June 30 depending on the WMU, with most foothills and boreal units running to June 15 or June 30. The fall bear season runs September 1 to November 30 across nearly the whole province, with an August 25 to 31 archery pre-season in many units. Baiting is legal only in listed WMUs, so the classic spring-over-bait hunt depends on hunting a unit where it is allowed.

Bighorn sheep is a mountain hunt on a tight window. For outfitted non-residents the general season runs roughly September 1 to October 15 in the mountain WMUs, while Alberta residents get a slightly longer window from late August to October 31. A lot of competitor content copies the resident dates by mistake, so read the non-resident season, which is shorter. Wolf has no conventional season table of its own. A non-resident holding a wildlife certificate may hunt wolf from the opening of any big game season in a WMU through to late spring, into May or mid-June in units where the bear season runs that late. That long window is why a wolf tag makes such a natural free add-on to any of our hunts.

What the calendar means for booking with us

Line the dates up against our hunts and the year plans itself. Our elk rut hunt is timed to the September bugle, and our elk migration hunt runs later in the fall when bulls move down out of the high country. Our moose hunt works the late September and early October rut. Our deer hunt is a November rut hunt for mature bucks. Bighorn sheep is a September and early October mountain hunt on the scarcest tag we hold. A wolf tag rides along with any of them.

Because we hold provincial allocations, the tag is guaranteed when you book, with no draw to win and no points to build, which is exactly the barrier Alberta puts in front of a non-resident who tries to go it alone. Pick the species and the experience you want and we will confirm the exact legal dates for your unit and year. Start on our Alberta hunts, read the fee side on non-resident hunting licences, or go straight to plan your hunt.