When Is Deer Gun Season in Ohio? Dates, Limits, and Permits

Ohio deer gun season for 2025-2026 opens Monday, December 1, and closes Sunday, December 7, 2025, with a bonus gun weekend on December 20 and 21.1Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2025-26 The Ohio Department of Natural Resources Division of Wildlife sets the dates each year, subject to approval by the Ohio Wildlife Council.

All the Gun Season Dates for 2025-2026

Gun hunting for deer happens in several distinct windows, and the one you can use depends on who you are and where you hunt:

Sunday hunting is legal in Ohio, which is why these windows include weekend days without any special rule. Muzzleloader season follows after gun season, running January 3–6, 2026, and archery stretches from September 27, 2025, through February 1, 2026.1Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2025-26 Any deer you tag with a bow or muzzleloader counts against the same statewide limit as your gun-season deer.

Licenses and Deer Permits You Need

You can’t hunt deer in Ohio with a hunting license alone. You need the license plus a deer permit for each deer you plan to take.

A resident one-year hunting license costs $19. Nonresidents pay $180.96, and youth licenses are $10 for both residents and nonresidents.4Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Buy Hunting Licenses and Permits Anyone born on or after January 1, 1975, must complete a hunter education course before buying a regular hunting license.

Two kinds of deer permits exist, and the distinction matters:

  • An either-sex deer permit covers one antlered or antlerless deer. It is valid during all deer seasons and controlled hunts. The cost is $31.20 for adult residents, $218.40 for nonresidents, and $16 for youth.4Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Buy Hunting Licenses and Permits
  • A deer management permit covers antlerless deer only. It is valid on both private and public land through December 21, 2025, and costs $15 for adults and youth regardless of residency.1Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2025-26

Because the state allows only one antlered deer per season, most hunters carry one either-sex permit for a buck and add deer management permits for extra does. You can buy everything through the Ohio Wildlife Licensing System online, the HuntFish OH mobile app, or any authorized license vendor.

Which Firearms Are Legal

Ohio restricts gun-season hunters to shotguns, straight-walled cartridge rifles, muzzleloaders, and certain handguns. Necked-down rifle cartridges are not allowed.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations

  • Shotguns: 10 gauge or smaller, firing a single slug per barrel. No necked-down casings and no all-metal shells.
  • Straight-walled cartridge rifles: calibers from .357 to .515. Common choices include .350 Legend, .450 Bushmaster, and .44 Magnum.
  • Muzzleloading rifles and shotguns: .38 caliber or larger, single projectile per barrel.
  • Handguns: chambered for .357 Magnum or larger straight-walled cartridges, with a barrel at least five inches long measured from the front of the cylinder or chamber.

Shotguns and straight-walled cartridge rifles cannot hold more than three rounds in the chamber and magazine combined.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations If your semi-auto shotgun holds five in the tube, plug it before opening day.

Hunting Hours and the Orange Rule

Legal hunting hours run from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations Those times move day to day, so check a sunrise/sunset table for your county.

During every deer gun season, including the youth and muzzleloader seasons, every hunter in the field must visibly wear a vest, jacket, or coveralls in solid hunter orange or camouflage hunter orange. The requirement applies on public and private land, statewide, and it applies even if you’re out that day hunting something other than deer.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations A hat alone does not count.

Bag Limits by County

The statewide limit is six deer per license year, and no more than one of them may be antlered. An antlered deer is any deer with at least one antler three inches or longer.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations Archery, gun, and muzzleloader all pull from that same six.

Each county has its own lower cap, and you can’t exceed it in that county even if you still have statewide room. You can combine harvests across counties to reach the six. For 2025-2026:

  • One-deer counties: Athens, Meigs, and Washington.
  • Two-deer counties: Defiance, Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Morgan, Paulding, Vinton, and Warren.
  • All other counties fall into three-deer or four-deer tiers. The ODNR bag limit map shows your specific county.2Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Administrative Code 1501-31-15-11 – Deer Regulations

On public hunting areas the antlerless cap is two deer, and deer management permits are now valid on public land as well as private.1Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2025-26

Checking In Your Deer

As soon as you harvest a deer, fill in your permit with the date, time, and county of the kill. If you leave the deer unattended, the completed permit or confirmation code has to stay attached to the carcass.5Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Deer and Turkey Game Check

Then complete the game check to get the confirmation code. Three ways to do it:

  • By phone: 1-877-TAG-IT-OH (1-877-824-4864).
  • Online at ohiogamecheck.com, selecting “Complete Game Check.”
  • In person at any authorized license sales agent, with your permit number.

The deadline is noon the day after the kill. If you take a deer on the last day of a season, you have until 11:30 p.m. that same day.1Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2025-26 Missing the check-in is one of the most common citations wildlife officers write.

Written Permission for Private Land

Hunting on private land requires written permission from the landowner, whether the property is posted or not. Carry the permission slip with you and show it on request to any wildlife officer, law enforcement officer, or the landowner. Permission slip forms are available from ODNR district offices, in the printed regulations booklet, and on the ODNR website.

Hunting without written permission is a criminal offense. A first offense carries up to 60 days in jail and a $500 fine; a second offense goes up to 90 days and $750. The absence of “no hunting” signs does not create permission.

CWD Surveillance Areas: Watch Your Carcass

If you hunt a Disease Surveillance Area, the early October gun window is a bonus, but the carcass rules are stricter. It is illegal to remove high-risk carcass parts from a DSA. High-risk parts include the brain, spinal cord, eyes, and lymphoid tissues.6Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Disease Surveillance Area (DSA) You may transport a whole carcass out of a DSA only if it complies with deer carcass regulations or you deliver it to a Division of Wildlife certified processor or taxidermist within 24 hours of leaving the surveillance area.7Ohio Department of Natural Resources. Chronic Wasting Disease (Deer) DSA boundaries can shift based on testing results, so check the current map on the ODNR site before you hunt.