Hunting hours
Hunting hours begin ½ hour before sunrise and end ½ hour after sunset. Click here for a sunrise/sunset table.
Required licenses and permits
To hunt black bear in Massachusetts you must have the appropriate license and permit, which you can buy through MassFishHunt.
Massachusetts residents:
- Hunting or sporting license
- Bear permit
Non-residents:
- Big game license
- Bear permit
Bag limit
1 bear per calendar year
Hunting zones
All Wildlife Management Zones statewide.
Hunting implements
| Hunting implement | Sept. 7 – Oct. 3, 2026 | Oct. 5 – Nov. 28, 2026 | Nov. 30 – Dec 12, 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rifle | X | X | |
| Revolver | X | ||
| Muzzleloader | X | X | X |
| Archery | X | X | X |
| Shotgun | X |
Rifle: Rifles .23 caliber or larger are allowed only during the first and second segments of the bear season.
Revolver: Legal for use only during the first bear segment. Restricted to a .357 caliber Magnum revolver with .357 Magnum cartridges only, or a revolver .40 caliber or larger.
Muzzleloader: Allowed during the entire bear season (all three segments). Must be .44 – .755 caliber, fired from the shoulder using a single projectile.
Archery Equipment: Allowed during the entire bear season (all three segments). All bows must have a draw weight of at least 40 lbs at 28 inches or at peak draw. Arrows must have well-sharpened steel broadhead blades not less than 7/8 inches in width. Expanding broadheads and hand-held releases are legal. You may use a crossbow only if you have a crossbow permit. Airbows, poisoned arrows, explosive tips, and bows drawn by mechanical means are prohibited.
Shotgun: Allowed only during the shotgun deer season (third segment) and includes shotguns with rifled bores. Must be no larger than 10 gauge. Slugs only. Buckshot is prohibited.
PROHIBITED: Bear may not be hunted with a rifle or revolver during any season when deer may be hunted with a shotgun.
Blaze orange requirements
A blaze orange hat is required on WMAs stocked with pheasant and/or quail during the pheasant and quail season. You must wear 500 square inches of blaze orange on your chest, back, and head while hunting bear on Youth Deer Hunt Day, during the paraplegic deer hunt, and during the deer shotgun season.
Hunting methods
Prohibited:
- It is illegal to use dogs for bear hunting.
- It is illegal to bait bear. Bait includes the use of lure, scents, or any other substance that may attract a bear (including cover scents).
- Wanton waste prohibited: It is unlawful for hunters to intentionally or knowingly leave a wounded or dead game animal in the field or the forest without making a reasonable effort to retrieve and use it. Each retrieved animal shall be retained or transferred to another until processed or used for food, pelt, feathers, or taxidermy. This does not apply to animals unfit for consumption or use—animals and their parts that are damaged, destroyed, decayed, rotting, diseased, or infected.
Tagging, transporting, and reporting requirements
Upon killing a bear, hunters must immediately fill out and attach to the carcass the "harvest tag" found on the bear permit. The bear must remain intact (other than field dressing), with the harvest tag attached, until it is reported and prepared for food or taxidermy. Hunters must report their bear either online or at a check station within 48 hours of harvest. If reporting online, a confirmation number will be issued and must be written on the harvest tag, if reporting at a check station a metal seal will be attached to the carcass. Either the seal or the harvest tag must be attached to the bear until it is processed. When transporting the bear, some portion of the carcass must remain visible until it has been reported.
MassWildlife is requesting a tooth from your harvested bear. Teeth are used to determine the age structure of the MA bear harvest and to model the black bear population. You will receive a letter with the age of your bear and a MA Bear Hunter sticker in late summer.
Hunting season framework
Labor Day until the end of the shotgun deer season.
Bear hunting regulations
This page is to be used as a reference, it is not the entire law and is subject to change. Refer to the bear hunting regulations in the Code of Massachusetts Regulations, 321 CMR 3.02(1) and to several provisions of the Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 131 for more information about bear hunting laws and regulations.
More information
Animals tagged for research
Some bear, deer, coyotes, and other animals may have ear tags or radio collars. It is legal to harvest them. If you find or take one of these animals, contact MassWildlife's Field Headquarters (508) 389-6300 immediately. You will be asked for information that will help biologists determine the source and status of these animals AND you will be asked to return the equipment to MassWildlife. Thank you for your cooperation.