COLUMBUS — A favorite fall tradition for many Ohioans includes a trip to pursue deer during the annual gun hunting seasons, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife.
The first of those is the youth deer gun hunting season, which begins Nov. 19-20. The weeklong gun season open to all hunters kicks off Nov. 28 and continues until Dec. 4. The deer gun weekend is Dec. 17-18.
Hunters harvested 87,405 deer during the 2021 gun seasons. That total includes the 70,381 deer harvested in the weeklong gun season, 9,392 taken in the gun weekend, and another 7,632 deer taken in the two-day youth season. The three-year average for deer harvested in the gun seasons is 84,224.
Harvest totals are typically highest in the eastern half of Ohio. Coshocton (3,017), Tuscarawas (2,811), Muskingum (2,533), Knox (2,478), and Ashtabula (2,438) counties reported the most deer checked during the 2021-22 gun seasons.
Legal hunting implements during the gun seasons includes shotguns, straight-walled cartridge rifles, muzzleloaders, handguns and archery equipment. Ohio’s deer muzzleloader hunting season is Jan. 7-10, 2023. Muzzleloaders and archery equipment are legal hunting implements during this season.
Check the latest Hunting and Trapping Regulations for information on county bag limits, licenses and permits and the disease surveillance area in Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties.
As a reminder, deer management permits are valid only until Nov. 27. During the gun seasons, Ohio hunters will need an either-sex permit, unless exempted, available at wildohio.gov, on the HuntFish OH app, and at license vendors.
The free HuntFish OH mobile app can be downloaded from the app store to conveniently purchase fishing and hunting licenses, check game, view wildlife area maps, and much more.
Hunters interested in tracking the season’s harvest can view weekly deer harvest reports at wildohio.gov. The Division of Wildlife posts deer harvest numbers each Wednesday throughout the hunting season. A final report is also posted after the conclusion of the archery season.
Help protect Ohio’s wildlife resources. Report any violations to the division’s Turn-In-a-Poacher hotline by calling 800-762-2437. All reports remain anonymous, and tipsters may be eligible for a cash reward.
