Statewide deer-archery hunting season is now underway

VW independent staff/submitted information

COLUMBUS — This weekend marks the start of Ohio’s popular statewide white-tailed deer archery hunting season, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. Ohio has a long archery season that is open today through Sunday, February 1.

Hunters may use crossbows, compound bows, recurve bows, and longbows to pursue deer during the archery season. across the Buckeye State.

Bowhunting in Ohio is one of the most popular ways to hunt, as shown by the record 106,269 deer taken during the 2024-25 archery season. Overall, hunters checked 238,137 deer in 2024-25, the fourth-highest total on record.
 
October and November are the most popular months for bowhunting because of increased deer activity during their breeding season. Follow along as Ohio’s deer season harvest totals are posted every Wednesday at wildohio.gov.
 
Following an unprecedented outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease (EHD) in Athens, Meigs, and Washington counties, the Division of Wildlife has proposed a bag limit reduction in these counties which, if approved, would take effect on Monday, December 1.

Ohio has additional deer hunting options to accompany the statewide archery season. The two-day youth gun season is Saturday and Sunday, November 22-23. The statewide seven-day gun season is open from Monday, December 1 to Sunday, December 7. An additional two-day gun season for all hunters is December 20-21, followed by late-season muzzleloader hunting January 3-6.

Hunters are required to have a valid hunting license and deer permit before heading into the field. The deer management permit, used for antlerless deer only, is valid on private land and public hunting areas until the close of the bonus gun hunting weekend on December 21. Either-sex permits can be used to harvest antlered or antlerless deer and are valid statewide until February 1.

Hunting licenses and deer permits may be purchased on the free HuntFish OH mobile app. App users can also view maps of public hunting areas, see the current hunting regulations, view sunrise and sunset times, and check game without a cellular connection. The app is available for Android and iOS users in the app store. Licenses and permits may also be purchased online through the Ohio Wildlife Licensing System or at any license sales agent.