Coyote Hunting Laws in Missouri: What Every Hunter Needs to Know

Missouri is one of the more hunter-friendly states when it comes to coyotes, offering year-round opportunity with no bag limits and a growing toolkit of legal methods. But the rules are layered — season restrictions, permit overlaps, and newly updated night hunting regulations all require careful attention before you head out.

Whether you hunt private farmland, public conservation areas, or trap for fur, knowing exactly what the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) allows keeps you legal and in the field. This guide walks you through every regulation you need to understand for the 2026 season.

Is Coyote Hunting Legal in Missouri?

Yes, coyote hunting is fully legal in Missouri. Coyotes may be taken by hunting, and pelts and carcasses may be possessed, transported, and sold in any numbers throughout the year. The state classifies coyotes as furbearers, which means they fall under furbearer hunting regulations — but unlike many furbearer species, coyotes enjoy an unusually open season with minimal restrictions on numbers harvested.

Special method restrictions apply during spring turkey season, elk season, and deer season, so hunters should review allowed and prohibited methods before heading out during those overlapping periods.

Key Insight: There is no daily or possession limit on coyotes in Missouri. You can take any number in a single outing and possess any number at any time.

Missouri’s approach reflects the MDC’s recognition that coyote populations are robust and that hunting pressure serves a legitimate wildlife management purpose. According to MDC, many furbearer populations have experienced long-term population increases, allowing for additional harvest opportunity, and furbearers play important ecological roles where trapping and hunting are critical wildlife management tools. If you hunt neighboring states, you can also review hunting laws in Arkansas and hunting laws in Kansas to compare how those states handle coyote regulations.

Coyote Hunting Season Dates in Missouri

The coyote hunting season in Missouri runs from January 1, 2026 through December 31, 2026 — effectively a year-round open season. However, there is one critical daytime restriction built into that open window.

Coyotes may not be taken during the daylight hours from April 1 through the day prior to the beginning of the Spring Turkey Hunting season. This gap protects turkey hunters in the field from interference and reduces the risk of accidental disturbance during a sensitive nesting and breeding period. Night hunting during that same window remains subject to its own set of rules (covered below).

There is no daily limit and no possession limit at any point during the open season. During the November portion of firearms deer season, the antlerless portion, and the CWD portion in open counties, furbearer hunters must also possess an unfilled firearms deer hunting permit if hunting during daylight hours. During spring turkey season, coyote hunters must also possess an unfilled spring turkey hunting permit.

License and Permit Requirements for Coyote Hunting in Missouri

Missouri does not issue a standalone coyote-specific license, but you do need a valid hunting permit that covers furbearers. The permit you need depends on whether you are a resident or nonresident.

The Small Game Hunting Permit allows you to hunt birds (except turkey) and mammals (except deer), and Missouri residents may sell furbearers taken by hunting. This is the most common entry point for resident coyote hunters. Nonresidents may not take furbearers with the Small Game Hunting Permit, but they may chase furbearers for training dogs during the closed season — they must purchase a Furbearer Hunting and Trapping Permit instead.

Important Note: Nonresident hunters cannot use a standard Small Game Hunting Permit to harvest coyotes. You must purchase the Nonresident Furbearer Hunting and Trapping Permit before taking any coyote in Missouri.

Additional permit overlaps apply during specific seasons:

• During the November portion of firearms deer season, the antlerless portion, and the CWD portion in open counties, furbearer hunters hunting during daylight hours must also possess an unfilled firearms deer hunting permit.
• During spring turkey season, coyote hunters must also possess an unfilled spring turkey hunting permit.
• Lifetime permit holders and Archer’s Hunting Permit holders are also covered for coyote hunting under the applicable permit tiers.

Some military members may hunt and fish without a permit — check permit exemptions through MDC to learn more. For a broader look at how permit structures compare across the region, see hunting laws in Ohio and hunting laws in Indiana.

Legal Methods and Weapons for Coyote Hunting in Missouri

Missouri gives coyote hunters considerable flexibility in the tools they can use, though several restrictions apply depending on the time of year and whether other hunting seasons are open concurrently.

Firearms and archery equipment are broadly permitted for coyote hunting. During the November portion of firearms deer season statewide and the antlerless and CWD portions in open counties, other wildlife may be hunted only with a shotgun and shot not larger than No. 4 or a .22 or smaller caliber rimfire rifle, pistol, or revolver — this does not apply to waterfowl hunters, trappers, or landowners on their own land.

Dogs may be used in hunting wildlife, except bear, deer, elk, turkey, muskrat, mink, river otter, and beaver. However, there are time-based restrictions on using dogs for coyotes specifically. Dogs may not be used to hunt coyotes during daylight hours statewide from November 1 to the close of the November portion of the firearms deer season and during the antlerless portions in open counties.

Several methods are explicitly prohibited statewide regardless of species or season:

• Poisons, tranquilizing drugs, chemicals, and explosives may not be used to take wildlife.
• Motor-driven air, land, or water conveyances (including drones) may not be used to pursue, take, drive, or molest wildlife.

Pro Tip: During the firearms portion of the elk season in open counties, coyote hunters are restricted to a shotgun with shot no larger than No. 4 or a .22 rimfire or smaller — plan your equipment accordingly if you hunt in elk-season counties.

During spring turkey season, coyotes may be taken using only methods allowed for spring turkey, and hunters must have an unfilled turkey permit and a permit to hunt small game. This effectively limits you to shotgun or archery equipment during that window. Hunters in neighboring states can compare approaches at hunting laws in Tennessee and hunting laws in Virginia.

Night Hunting and Electronic Call Rules in Missouri

This is where Missouri’s regulations saw the most significant change heading into 2026, and it is worth understanding the new rules carefully.

Regulation changes approved by the Conservation Commission in fall 2025 allow the use of artificial light, night vision, and thermal imagery equipment from January 1 through September 30, excluding the prescribed spring turkey hunting season. The changes took effect January 1, 2026.

The Conservation Commission gave final approval in fall 2025 to regulation changes that increase the number of days that allow the use of artificial light, night vision, and thermal imagery equipment when harvesting coyotes. The regulation change extends the use of these tools to 252 days from January 1 through September 30, excluding the prescribed spring turkey hunting season.

The specific approved windows for artificial light, night vision, and thermal equipment are:

• Hunters may use night vision, infrared, or thermal imagery equipment to hunt coyotes from January 1 through April 19, 2026, and May 11 through September 30, 2026.

The gap between April 20 and May 10 reflects the prescribed spring turkey season window, during which these tools are not permitted for coyote hunting.

There is one important restriction tied to landowner-only artificial light use. Landowners may use artificial lights on their property, but while doing so may not be in possession of — or be in the company of someone who possesses — a firearm, bow, or other implement used to take wildlife. Artificial lights may not be used to search for, spot, illuminate, harass, or disturb other wildlife than the above.

Electronic call rules follow a specific framework. Electronic calls or electronically activated calls may be used to pursue and take crows and furbearers. Mouth and hand calls may be used any time. The key restriction is that electronic calls may not be used with artificial light or night vision equipment, except when hunting coyotes from January 1 through April 19, 2026, and May 11 through September 30, 2026, in conjunction with other legal hunting methods.

Pro Tip: The new 2026 rules allow you to combine electronic calls with artificial light and thermal/night vision equipment during the approved windows — a significant upgrade from prior seasons when these tools could not be paired together.

For context on how other states handle night hunting for coyotes, see hunting laws in Montana and hunting laws in Idaho. You can also explore Missouri-specific wildlife topics like turkey hunting season in Missouri to understand how the spring turkey season window affects your coyote hunting calendar.

Trapping Coyotes in Missouri

Trapping is a legal and historically common method for taking coyotes in Missouri. The state’s trapping framework for coyotes is managed under its furbearer trapping regulations, which differ in some key ways from hunting rules.

To trap coyotes legally, you need the appropriate trapping permit:

• The Resident Furbearer Trapping Permit allows you to trap and sell furbearers and groundhogs. You may also trap rabbits, but you may not sell rabbit carcasses. It is valid until June 30 and is available for Missouri residents only. You may only trap on conservation areas by special use permit.
• The Nonresident Furbearer Hunting and Trapping Permit allows nonresidents to hunt, trap, and sell furbearers. It is valid until June 30 and is for nonresident hunters and trappers. Trappers must have a special-use permit to trap on conservation areas.

One important note for trappers: trappers may not possess live coyotes, red fox, and gray fox after March 15. This is a firm deadline that applies regardless of trapping season status.

Trapping on conservation areas requires an additional layer of authorization. You may only trap on conservation areas by special use permit, and contact information for area managers can be found in the Conservation Area Atlas. Private land trapping is generally more straightforward, provided you have landowner permission.

Important Note: The Resident Furbearer Trapping Permit is valid only through June 30 each year. If you plan to trap into the summer months, verify your permit coverage before setting traps.

Missouri residents who take coyotes by hunting are permitted to sell the pelts. Missouri residents may sell furbearers taken by hunting. This makes coyote hunting and trapping a potentially income-generating activity during the prime fur season in late fall and winter, when pelts are at their best quality. For comparison on trapping frameworks in nearby states, check out hunting laws in Minnesota and hunting laws in South Carolina.

Landowner Rights and Depredation Rules in Missouri

Missouri landowners and their lessees have a distinct set of rights when it comes to coyotes causing damage to livestock, crops, or property. Understanding where standard hunting rules end and landowner-specific provisions begin is essential.

Hunting on private land in Missouri can differ from public hunting rules, with some special privileges for landowners, such as fewer restrictions and the ability to hunt without a permit. Landowners and lessees are exempt from several restrictions that apply to general hunters, particularly around vehicle use and artificial light.

On the artificial light front, landowners may use artificial lights on their property, but while doing so may not be in possession of — or be in the company of someone who possesses — a firearm, bow, or other implement used to take wildlife. This provision allows landowners to use lights to identify or monitor coyotes on their property but draws a clear line at using those lights in conjunction with weapons.

Vehicle access rules also give landowners more latitude. It is illegal for anyone except landowners and lessees on land they own or lease and certain agricultural workers to drive all-terrain vehicles in Missouri’s streams and rivers unless the ATV is on a crossing that is part of the highway system.

When hunting during firearms deer season, landowners benefit from an important carve-out. The restriction on weapon types during firearms deer season does not apply to waterfowl hunters, trappers, landowners on their land, or to elk hunters during the firearms portion of the elk season. This means a landowner protecting livestock from coyotes during deer season is not limited to a .22 rimfire or shotgun the way a visiting hunter would be.

Key Insight: If you are a landowner experiencing ongoing coyote depredation, contact your local MDC office. Written authorization from an MDC agent can unlock additional methods beyond what standard hunting regulations allow.

For depredation situations that fall outside standard hunting rules, written authorization of an agent of the department can permit additional methods on a case-by-case basis. MDC conservation agents are the point of contact for landowners dealing with significant livestock losses or persistent predator pressure that standard regulations do not adequately address.

If you hunt private land as a guest rather than the landowner, be sure to obtain permission from the landowner and respect the property as if it were your own. Scout the area you plan to hunt so you know where the boundaries, houses, roads, fences, and livestock are located on the property.

Missouri has a number of additional animal-related laws that landowners and hunters should be aware of. You can explore topics such as pet laws in Missouri, roadkill laws in Missouri, dove hunting season in Missouri, and backyard chicken laws in Missouri for a fuller picture of the state’s wildlife and animal regulations. Landowners dealing with predator pressure on livestock operations may also find brucellosis laws in Missouri relevant to their overall herd management approach.

For any questions about conservation area regulations, specific county rules, or written depredation authorization, contact your local MDC staff directly — you can find local MDC staff by county through the department’s website. Always verify current regulations with the MDC’s official coyote regulations page before each season, as MDC reminds hunters that its online summaries are not legal documents and that regulations are subject to revision during the current year.