Ohio hunters checked 85,448 deer during the weeklong gun season, a slight drop from 2024 but still above the three-year average, with a bonus hunting weekend scheduled for December 20–21.
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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.
November 21, 2024, Press Release from the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife: COLUMBUS, Ohio – Ohio’s weeklong deer gun hunting season begins Monday, Dec. 2, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife. The gun season traditionally begins the Monday after Thanksgiving, is open to all hunters, and runs until Sunday, Dec. 8. An additional deer gun weekend follows on Dec. 21-22. Ohio’s first deer gun season was in 1943, and excitement has remained high for white-tailed deer hunting ever since. Deer gun harvest totals are typically highest in eastern Ohio. Coshocton (2,440), Tuscarawas (2,260), Ashtabula (2,189), Muskingum (2,076), and Knox (1,878) counties led the state during the 2023 seven-day gun season.
You might have seen a lot of people in orange vests out and about.
Monday marks the first day of Ohio's deer gun week, which runs through Sunday December 8th, with an additional bonus weekend from December 21st - 22nd.
And while deer gun season remains very popular, more hunters are investing their time and skills into hunting deer with the bow.