September 25, 2025, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources:
COLUMBUS, Ohio – 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 Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, through Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026.
Hunters may use crossbows, compound bows, recurve bows, and longbows to pursue deer during the archery season. Deer are Ohio’s most sought-after wild game and an important food source for families 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 would take effect on Monday, Dec. 1, 2025, if approved by the Ohio Wildlife Council. This date coincides with the opening day of the seven-day deer gun season. Public comments on the proposal are accepted online at wildohio.gov until Thursday, Oct. 16.
Ohio has additional deer hunting options to accompany the statewide archery season. The two-day youth gun season is Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 22-23. The statewide seven-day gun season is open from Monday, Dec. 1 to Sunday, Dec. 7. An additional two-day gun season for all hunters is Dec. 20-21, followed by late-season muzzleloader hunting Jan. 3-6, 2026.
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 Dec. 2. Either-sex permits can be used to harvest antlered or antlerless deer and are valid statewide until Feb. 1, 2026. Find more details in the 2025-26 Hunting and Trapping Regulations.
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.
Through license and permit sales, hunters fund much of Ohio’s conservation work. Those funds, combined with sales taxes on hunting equipment administered to the Division of Wildlife, make possible Ohio’s wildlife research, wildlife management, habitat restoration, land acquisition, and wildlife education work.
The mission of the Division of Wildlife is to conserve and improve fish and wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all. Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.
ODNR ensures a balance between wise use and protection of our natural resources for the benefit of all. Visit the ODNR website at ohiodnr.gov.
