Hunting in Newfoundland from St. John's: licences, firearms, gear and meat

14 October 2026 · 12 min read · Syed Omar Faruk Towaha

Hunting is part of life in Newfoundland and Labrador. Moose, caribou, black bear, ptarmigan, rabbit and grouse feed a lot of families, and a lot of people in St. John's head out every autumn. This guide covers the road from "I have a PAL" to meat in the freezer: the licences and fees, how to choose and look after a firearm, where to buy, what to wear and drive, and how to handle the animal afterwards.

Rules, fees and season dates change every year, and the provincial guide says it is not a legal document. Everything below comes from the 2026-27 Newfoundland and Labrador Hunting and Trapping Guide and the RCMP at the time of writing. Check the current guide and the Wild Life Regulations before you go out.

What you need before you can hunt

A PAL. See the guide to the CFSC course and the PAL application on this blog. You can't buy a firearm or ammunition without one.
Hunter Education. To hunt with a firearm in the province as a resident, you must pass both the Canadian Firearms Safety Course and the Hunter Education course. The combined course through College of the North Atlantic is $158 plus HST (the CFSC alone is $99).
An Outdoor Identification Card. A resident can't hunt with a firearm without one (or the out-of-province equivalent for non-residents).
A licence for what you are hunting. Big game needs a licence and tags. You must be at least 16 by August 31 of the licence year to apply.

Licences and fees (2026-27, residents)

All fees are plus HST, non-refundable, and a licence bought from a vendor or Government Service Centre adds $3.00.

Moose: $52.00 (seniors 65+: $33.80)
Woodland caribou (Newfoundland): $52.00 (seniors: $33.80)
Black bear (application): $39.00 (seniors: $25.35)
Small game, coyote and wolf (shooting): $10.00 (seniors: $6.50)
Ptarmigan (shooting): $10.00 (seniors: $6.50)
Migratory game bird permit: $17.00
Youth small game, snaring only: free for under 16

I couldn't find a fee for the Outdoor Identification Card on the fees page, so check with the Wildlife Division.

The big game draw

Moose and caribou licences are allocated by a draw, not first come, first served.

You apply online through the Wildlife Information Management System (WIMS). Phone help is on 709-637-2025 or 709-729-2630, and wildlifelicense@gov.nl.ca.
You choose up to eight management areas per application, and you can mix moose and caribou areas.
You choose which licence types you will accept for each area: either-sex, male-only or calf. Asking for a type an area doesn't offer can stop you being drawn there.
The draw uses a nine-pool priority system. Pool 1 is the highest, though it doesn't guarantee a licence. You can apply just to advance your pool without taking a licence.
A party can apply together as co-applicants, who are drawn ahead of individuals within each pool. If the two of you sit in different pools, the application goes in the lower one.
Results are posted in your WIMS account. Payment was due by July 3 for the 2026-27 draw, by mail, phone (709-729-3042) or through WIMS. Dates differ every year.

Choosing a firearm

First the law, then the practical side.

Legal minimums for big game (moose, caribou, black bear) in NL:

A rifle can't be smaller than a .243, and it can't use a bullet lighter than 100 grains or with less than 1,500 ft-lb of muzzle energy.
A shotgun must be 20 gauge or larger, loaded with a single slug or ball. Smaller-gauge slugs and full metal jacket, non-expanding bullets are barred.
A bow must draw at least 20 kg (44 lb), and a crossbow at least 68 kg (150 lb).

Practical choices

Cartridge: common moose rifles in this part of the world are chambered in .270 Winchester, .308 Winchester, .30-06 and .300 Win Mag. All of them clear the legal minimum comfortably. The .243 clears it only with heavier bullets, and many hunters prefer more energy for an animal as big as a moose.
Action: a bolt action is the standard recommendation for a first rifle: reliable, simple, accurate, and easy to check that it is unloaded.
Weather: this is wet, salty, cold country. A stainless barrel or a synthetic stock handles rain and fog far better than blued steel and walnut.
Optic: a 3-9x scope is plenty for most hunting in forest and barrens, and good, low-light glass matters more than magnification.
Fit: go and shoulder a few. If you can't get the stock up and look through the sights without straining, the gun doesn't fit you.
Small game: a .22 rimfire is the classic for rabbit and grouse, and a 12-gauge shotgun covers most birds. Pump and semi-auto shotguns used where wildlife is common must be plugged to hold no more than three shells.

Buy what you will practise with, and practise until the rifle is second nature.

Buying a firearm

I couldn't verify a current list of St. John's shops, so ask at a few local outdoor and sporting stores and compare. What matters is the process, which is the same everywhere:

You must be 18 or older with a PAL covering that class of firearm. A firearms licence is also needed to buy ammunition.
The seller must check that your licence is valid and that you're the holder, then get a reference number from the Canadian Firearms Program (online or 1-800-731-4000). The transfer of a non-restricted firearm can only take place after that number is issued.
The number is valid for 90 days or for the rest of your licence, whichever is shorter.
Non-restricted firearms don't need to be registered outside Québec.

Buying used from a private seller follows the same rules. If the seller doesn't ask for your licence or a reference number, walk away.

Caring for your firearm

Check it is unloaded every time you pick it up, with the action open and your eyes on the chamber.
Wipe it down after every outing. Rain, snow and salt air go straight into steel. Dry the outside, then wipe it with a lightly oiled cloth.
Clean the bore after each trip or after a wet day, with a rod, a properly fitting jag or brush, patches and a solvent made for firearms. Run patches until they come out clean, then a final lightly oiled patch.
Keep the oil light. A heavy film attracts grit, and oil in the chamber can be dangerous.
Check the scope mounts and screws, and the sling, before the season starts.
Store it dry, unloaded and locked, as covered in the storage rules in the PAL guide. Don't keep a firearm in a case if you have been out in the wet: damp foam makes rust.
Re-zero after any drop or knock, and at the start of every season.

What to wear

I couldn't find a legal requirement for blaze orange in the guide. The government's 2022 advisory says hunters are encouraged to wear it, and the guide's cover says "Be Safe Be Seen: Wear Blaze Orange". Wear it. Anyone can mistake a shape for an animal, and orange is cheap insurance.

Blaze orange: a vest and a hat at least, in all conditions.
Layers: a wicking base, a warm mid layer such as wool or fleece, and a quiet waterproof shell.
Boots: waterproof and broken in. Wet feet end a day quickly. Rubber boots are common on the bog and barrens, and warm hiking boots work on drier ground.
Gloves and a warm hat in a spare bag, since temperatures drop quickly at dusk and weather turns fast.
Carry: a map and compass or GPS, a headlamp, a knife and sharpener, rope or paracord, a first-aid kit, food and water, a whistle, lighter or fire starter, and your licence and tags.

What to drive

A pickup or SUV with decent ground clearance and good tires. Many access roads are unpaved and wet. A 4x4 is a real help but not essential in all areas.
A truck bed or trailer is useful for carrying a moose out in pieces, as is a tarp, game bags and rope.
An ATV is how many hunters get in and out, but it has strict rules. You can't operate one outside an approved area, with exceptions: a licence holder who has killed a moose, caribou or bear may use one to transport it, provided it is properly tagged. That is allowed up to five trips, with part of the animal on the ATV or trailer on the return. You can't carry a firearm while doing it, and it doesn't apply in wilderness, ecological or wildlife reserves or national parks.

Also remember the vehicle rules for firearms:

You can't carry, transport or possess a loaded firearm in or on a motor vehicle, snow machine or ATV, and you can't discharge a firearm from one. Loaded means a live round in the chamber, or in the magazine with the magazine attached.
You can't discharge a firearm from or across a highway, road or railway bed.
Outside hunting hours, firearms must be cased or securely wrapped and tied. If you carry more than one, each must be cased.

Hunting tips

Scout first. Learn the management area on the map, then walk it before the season. Look for tracks, droppings, rubs and browsing.
Know the hours. Big game may only be hunted from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset. Night lights are unlawful.
Play the wind. Hunt into the wind or across it, move slowly, and stop often to glass.
Be sure of your target and what is behind it, every time. Don't shoot at a sound or a patch of colour.
Take the shot you can make. Ethical hunters pass on a bad angle rather than wound an animal. Practise at the distances you intend to shoot.
Tell someone where you are going and when you will be back, and carry a charged phone or satellite messenger.
Know the boundaries: no discharging a firearm within 300 metres of a dwelling, and hunting is banned on most community pastures from May 1 to November 30.
Be a good guest. Pack out garbage, and keep offal and remains out of public view and away from roads, cabins and properties.

After the shot: tagging, handling and processing the meat

Tag first

A big game tag must be attached and locked on the animal before it leaves the place of kill, which is a 10-metre radius from where it was dispatched. Tags go on the quarters. It is an offence to possess or transport big game without them. If a tag fails to lock, or is lost, damaged or stolen, contact a conservation officer immediately.

Proof of sex and age

If your licence is male-only, leave the scrotum attached to the carcass until it reaches your home. If it is female-only, keep the head. For a calf-only licence, keep the jawbone as proof of age.

Field dressing and cooling

Meat spoils from the inside, so move quickly.

Field dress the animal as soon as you can, keeping the cavity clean.
Get the carcass cooling. Skin it if you can, split it into quarters if it is large, and keep it out of the sun and off the ground, on branches or a tarp, in game bags.
Keep the meat dry, and don't let blood and water sit around it.
Cool, aged meat in cold weather is tender. Warm weather is a race, so butcher or refrigerate quickly.
It is an offence to allow wild game that is suitable for food to be destroyed, wasted or spoiled.

Getting it home

Tag it, and carry the meat out in legal ways (see the ATV rules above).
Big game has to leave the place of kill by the season's closing date, or you need a permit to move it in the closed season.
A cold storage facility can't accept untagged big game unless you have a signed document listing your licence number, the harvest date, names and quantity.

Butchering

You can butcher your own with a sharp knife, a boning knife, a saw and a clean surface, or take it to a butcher. I couldn't find a current St. John's price list. Local butchers and wild game processors offer cut-and-wrap, so phone around for a quote, and expect a few hundred dollars for a moose, going by what hunters report. Ask about:

cuts (steaks, roasts, ribs, stew meat and burger)
grinding (with or without added pork or beef fat)
sausage making
turnaround and storage

Hunters also sell or donate meat. Selling big game needs a selling permit and a buyer with a Wild Meat Service Licence, and there is a Licence to Donate Game for donating. Meat that is given to you must come with a signed note with the licence number, quantity, date and names, which you keep until the meat is eaten. Sharing the Harvest NL passes donated meat to food banks.

Cooking safely

Cook all wild game thoroughly, and bear meat especially, because it can carry parasites. Freeze meat promptly, wrap it airtight and label it with the date.

After the hunt: report it

Licence returns are due within seven days of the date of kill or the end of the season, whichever applies, and go to the Wildlife Division. Small game and coyote returns are due within seven days after the season closes.
Submit samples. Jawbones from moose and caribou, black bear teeth and coyote carcasses all feed wildlife management, with drop boxes around the province.
If you shoot a marked animal, report it. It may be part of a study, and may not be recommended for consumption.

Penalties

Wildlife offences carry serious fines and can lead to losing your licence and firearm privileges. Common mistakes include an unlocked tag, a loaded firearm in a vehicle, hunting outside hours and wasting meat. Read the penalties page of the guide before the season.

Where to go next

The Newfoundland and Labrador Hunting and Trapping Guide (2026-27), for seasons, zones and fees
WIMS and the Wildlife Division, for licences, the draw and returns
College of the North Atlantic, for the CFSC and Hunter Education course
The Canadian Firearms Program (RCMP, 1-800-731-4000), for PAL and transfer questions