The Ohio deer gun season traditionally begins the Monday after Thanksgiving and includes an additional gun weekend, with this year kicking off on Dec. 2 and running through Dec. 8. A bonus weekend is happening Dec. 21-22.
Hunting hours are from 30 minutes before sunrise to 30 minutes after sunset.
In the 2023 season, hunters harvested over 95,000 deer during the gun seasons, surpassing the three-year average of 93,207, with more than 70,000 deer taken during the seven-day gun week.
Regardless of location or method, the statewide limit for deer hunting for 2024 in Ohio is six deer, with only one antlered deer allowed. Hunters may combine their county harvests to reach the total limit.
During this year’s youth deer hunting season, held Nov. 16-17, 10,400 deer were harvested statewide, including 1,878 harvested in Knox County.
Meanwhile, the deer archery season kicked off on Sept. 28 and runs through Feb. 2, 2025, and the deer muzzleloader season is set for Jan. 4-7, 2025.
Earlier this year, ODNR announced an extension of deer management permits, which are now valid until Dec. 22, 2024, coinciding with the bonus deer gun hunting weekend.
These permits, which allow hunters to harvest additional deer to help manage herd populations, are available for use during the weeklong and bonus deer gun hunting weekends.
The bag limit for deer has increased from two to three deer in six counties: Butler, Clinton, Fayette, Greene, Madison and Pickaway.
A detailed map of these changes can be found at wildohio.gov.
In response to the ongoing concerns about Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD), the ODNR has expanded its disease surveillance area in 2024 to include Auglaize and Jackson townships in Allen County, following the discovery of a CWD-positive deer in the area in 2023.
As a result, additional hunting opportunities have been made available within the surveillance area.
Archery hunting in these areas opened Sept. 14 and early deer gun season took place from Oct. 12-14.
Hunters in these areas will be required to submit deer samples for testing on the first two days of the weeklong deer gun season on Dec. 2-3.
The ODNR will continue to provide voluntary testing drop-off locations and monitor for CWD in and around the affected counties.
Hunters are encouraged to familiarize themselves with these regulations and take advantage of the expanded opportunities, especially in areas impacted by CWD, as the state works to maintain healthy deer populations.
More information, including maps and detailed regulations, can be found on the ODNR website (ohiodnr.gov).
