November 21 is circled on calendars all over Randolph County. That's the day gun season opens in Alabama's Zone A, which takes in the Woodland area under the state's 2026–27 zone map. What can be taken that morning depends on the ground under the stand, though. The rules differ on a family's own acreage or a lease, on open-permit public land, at Hollins or Choccolocco WMA, and at the shooting houses near R.L. Harris Dam. Each one runs on its own schedule through the winter.
The Week Before the Opener Belongs to Youth Hunters and Muzzleloaders
Archery season has been open in Zone A since October 15 and runs to February 10, 2027, either sex. This post goes up on November 12, and two short gun windows come before the main opener:
- November 13–16: Special youth gun hunt. Hunters under 16 can take either sex. Statewide, this window covers privately owned land, leased land and open-permit public land in Zone A, but it does not apply on Wildlife Management Areas, which set their own youth dates.
- November 16–20: Special muzzleloader and air rifle season. It's either sex and stalk hunting only, on private or leased land and on open-permit public land.
- November 21: Gun deer season opens. After this date the calendars split.
During these special seasons, Zone A's unantlered limit is two unantlered deer per day, or one unantlered deer and one antlered buck. Monday, November 16, falls in both windows: it's the last day of the youth hunt and the first day of muzzleloader season.
On November 21, the Property Line Becomes the Rulebook
Here is how the same opening weekend looks on each type of ground within an easy drive of Woodland.
| Where you hunt | Gun season dates | What's legal |
|---|---|---|
| Private or leased land, Zone A | Nov. 21, 2026 – Feb. 10, 2027 | Either sex the whole season |
| Open-permit public land, Zone A | Nov. 21 – Dec. 11; Dec. 12 – Jan. 3; Jan. 4 – Feb. 10 | Bucks only, then either sex, then bucks only |
| Hollins WMA, Clay and Talladega counties | Nov. 21–22 and Nov. 28–29, then scattered Zone A weekends | One deer a day on the November dates, one antlered buck a day after that |
| Choccolocco WMA, near Heflin | Zone A side: one deer a day Nov. 21–22. Zone B side: one deer a day Nov. 27–28 | Buck-only dates before and after, depending on the WMA's zone map |
| R.L. Harris Physically Disabled Hunting Area | Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Nov. 21 – Feb. 9 | One deer a day, three per season, shooting houses only |
The private-land row is the simplest one in Zone A. Gun stalk hunting runs from November 21 through February 10, 2027, and either sex is legal every day of it. Where dog hunting is allowed, it runs on private or leased land from November 21 to January 15, 2027, also either sex.
The December 12 Shift on Open-Permit Public Ground
On open-permit public land, the first three weeks of gun season are buck-only. The ADCNR deer season page lays out three segments:
- November 21 – December 11, 2026: antlered bucks only
- December 12, 2026 – January 3, 2027: either sex
- January 4 – February 10, 2027: antlered bucks only again
Two hunters can leave Woodland the same Saturday morning, one headed to a family farm and one to public ground, and be under different rules all day. On the farm, a doe is legal from the first hour. On the public tract, does are off-limits until December 12, and they become off-limits again after January 3. Christmas week sits inside the public-land either-sex window, so a holiday hunt on public ground has more options than an opening-weekend hunt does.
Hollins and Choccolocco Keep Their Own Weekends
Wildlife Management Areas don't use the statewide calendar at all. ADCNR describes Hollins WMA as a 28,802-acre big- and small-game area in Clay and Talladega counties, near Hollins. It also lists Choccolocco WMA in Cleburne County near Heflin, at 56,838 acres. Hunting on either one takes a WMA license and the WMA's own permits, on top of the regular license.
Hollins shows how far a WMA's dates can drift from the statewide schedule. Its 2026–27 permit sets a youth hunt on November 14–15, inside the statewide window but shorter. Primitive weapons dates are November 16–20 and again December 24–28. Gun hunts on November 21–22 and November 28–29 allow one deer a day, either an unantlered deer or an antlered buck. After that, the Zone A gun dates of December 17–20, January 7–10 and January 21–24 allow one antlered buck a day. Hollins allows no dog deer hunting and no buckshot. Bucks there also have to meet an antler standard that the statewide season doesn't impose. The Hollins permit puts it this way:
"To be legal for harvest, antlered bucks must have at least three (3) antler points (1 Inch or longer) on at least one main beam."
On some dates, Hollins also requires every harvested deer to be brought to the check station for data collection. Those dates include November 21–22, November 28, December 5–6 and December 19–20, with more in late December and January.
Choccolocco adds one more wrinkle: different parts of the WMA follow different zones. The 2026–27 Choccolocco permit gives the Zone A side antlered-buck-only gun dates on November 7–8, one deer a day on November 21–22, and buck-only dates again on December 3–6 and December 17–20. On the Zone B side, buck-only dates fall on November 12–15, one deer a day on November 27–28, and buck-only again on December 10–13 and December 24–27. The permit's map shows which zone covers the spot you plan to hunt.
A Shooting House at Harris Dam, Three Days a Week
R.L. Harris Dam formed Harris Reservoir, which ADCNR notes is locally known as Lake Wedowee. ADCNR's 2026–27 packet of physically disabled hunting areas includes the R.L. Harris Physically Disabled Hunting Area, which keeps its own calendar. Gun season runs Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays from November 21 to February 9. The bag limit is one deer a day and three per season, and any antlered bucks count toward the statewide three-buck limit.
The format is fixed. Only centerfire rifles or shotguns are allowed, the site holds no archery or primitive weapons hunts, and all hunting is done from the shooting houses. After a hunt, hunters record their harvest and wildlife observations on the sign-in/sign-out sheet. Reservations are made by phone with Wanda Hagan at 256-610-5790.
The packet's directions from Wedowee go 9 miles west on Highway 48 to Shady Grove Road, marked by the R.L. Harris Dam and Flat Rock Park sign. Turn left, go about 3 miles, then turn left on Blakesferry Road. After about 2 miles, turn right on Cragford Road, go about 1 mile to County Road 100, and follow it about 2.3 miles to the dam, which serves as the check-in station. From Lineville, the route starts on Blakesferry Road off Highway 9 and meets the same Cragford Road turn after about 7 miles. The Harris area hunts on its own weekday schedule, so a Tuesday at the dam can follow a Saturday on a family tract without the two calendars overlapping.
Alabama Power's own land is a different matter. The utility licenses hunting rights on more than 80,000 acres to clubs around the state, and many of those clubs have held exclusive access to their tracts for years. Bidding on the Alabama Power Shorelines hunting page is closed for this season. The utility also says it helps manage the accessible hunting sites near Harris, Jordan and Smith lakes with ADCNR.
Game Check Applies on Every Kind of Ground
WMAs add their own permits and check-station days, but the statewide reporting rule applies everywhere. ADCNR requires hunters to record each harvest right away on a paper or app harvest record and report it through Game Check within 48 hours. The Outdoor AL app can record a harvest without signal and finish the report once you're back in range. On Hollins WMA, a deer can't leave the area until it has been reported in Game Check.
This is general information drawn from published ADCNR and Alabama Power materials. It isn't legal advice, so check the current regulations and permits for the land you'll hunt before you go.
For landowners around Woodland, the private-land column above is the one that matters most. If you're thinking about buying acreage that comes with its own hunting ground, or selling land a family has hunted for years, Bill Coats knows these tracts from the road and from the water. Schedule a Free Consultation and we'll walk the property lines together.
