Ohio Wildlife Council approves 2026-27 hunting seasons

The Ohio Wildlife Council approved 2026-27 hunting and trapping seasons for white-tailed deer, small game, migratory birds, and furbearers during its regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday, April 29, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Deer hunting

The 2026-27 deer hunting seasons are similar to last year. Only one antlered deer may be harvested, regardless of where or how it is taken. Hunting hours are 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset. The statewide deer hunting dates for 2026-27 include:

• Deer archery — Saturday, Sept. 26, 2026, to Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027
• Youth deer gun — Saturday, Nov. 21, and Sunday, Nov. 22, 2026
• Deer gun — Monday, Nov. 30, to Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026; Saturday, Dec. 19, and Sunday, Dec. 20, 2026
• Deer muzzleloader — Saturday, Jan. 2, to Tuesday, Jan. 5, 2027

Deer management permits were approved for use throughout the hunting season on both private land and public hunting areas. Deer management permits may only be used to take antlerless deer.

Deer bag limits increased to three in Defiance, Paulding, and Warren counties. The bag limit in Athens, Meigs, and Washington counties, areas affected by an unprecedented outbreak of Epizootic Hemorrhagic Disease in 2025, is two deer (no more than one antlerless). The Wildlife Council also approved a season bag limit in the CWD surveillance area of six deer.

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The Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance area was expanded to include all of Allen County, Van Buren Township in Hancock County, and Holmes Township in Crawford County.

Hunters in the disease surveillance area will have additional opportunities to take deer:

• Early deer archery — Saturday, Sept. 12, 2026, to Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027
• Early deer gun — Saturday, Oct. 10, to Monday, Oct. 12, 2026

Additional hunting seasons

The Ohio Wildlife Council also approved 2026-27 hunting seasons for waterfowl, small game, migratory birds, and fall wild turkey. Most season dates are similar to previous years.

Ruffed grouse hunting will be limited to controlled hunting on four designated areas. Hunters may apply for those limited permits in July. Wild turkey hunting during the fall season is permitted only with shotguns using shotshells. No fall turkey hunting with archery equipment will be allowed.

Waterfowl hunting seasons will be split into three zones with new boundaries that were approved in 2025. Find the full list of hunting season dates at wildohio.gov.

Endangered and threatened species

Also during Wednesday’s meeting, the Ohio Wildlife Council voted to update Ohio’s threatened and endangered species list as part of a comprehensive five-year review.

The American barn owl was downlisted from threatened to a species of concern after genetic testing revealed the species likely has a larger contiguous Midwest population. The blackchin shiner was also downlisted from extirpated to endangered following its reestablishment in specific Ohio lakes.

Further changes include the addition of 17 bees and 16 aquatic invertebrates to the state’s threatened and endangered list following comprehensive surveys. These species were previously unlisted.

About Ohio Wildlife Council

The Ohio Wildlife Council is an eight-member board that approves all Division of Wildlife proposed rules and regulations. Council meetings are open to the public. Individuals interested in providing comments are asked to call 614-265-6304 at least two days prior to the meeting to register. All comments are required to be three minutes or less.