Ohio hunting season dates

• Sep 26 – Feb 7 Archery Archery (incl. crossbow) — statewide, Sept 26 → Feb 7.
• Nov 21 – Nov 22 Youth Youth gun weekend.
• Dec 1 – Dec 6 Firearm Primary gun week (Nov 30 – Dec 6).
• Dec 19 – Dec 20 Firearm Bonus gun weekend.
• Jan 2 – Jan 5 Muzzleloader Statewide muzzleloader.

Bag limit: 6 · One antlered deer per license year statewide (max 6 deer total; county antlerless limits are lower).

Primary gun week is Nov 30 – Dec 6, 2026. Shotguns, straight-wall rifles and some handguns legal in gun season. Hours: 30 min before sunrise to 30 min after sunset. Statewide max 6 deer, one antlered; county antlerless limits vary (2–6) — confirm your county on ODNR’s bag-limit map. The CWD Disease Surveillance Area adds early archery (from Sept 12) and early gun (Oct 10–12).

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-15-11 — Deer regulations (eff. 2026-07-06)

• Oct 1 – Oct 25 Shotgun Fall turkey (2026) — 70 designated counties; one bird, either sex.
• Apr 18 – Apr 19 Youth Youth spring weekend, South Zone (2026 dates — 2027 TBA).
• Apr 25 – May 24 Shotgun Spring — South Zone, 83 counties (2026 dates — 2027 TBA). Shotgun or archery; bearded birds only.
• Apr 25 – Apr 26 Youth Youth spring weekend, Northeast Zone (2026 dates — 2027 TBA).
• May 2 – May 31 Shotgun Spring — Northeast Zone: Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Trumbull (2026 dates — 2027 TBA).

Bag limit: 1

Fall turkey (Oct 1–25, 2026) runs in 70 designated counties: one bird, either sex. Spring: one bearded turkey per season statewide (shotgun or archery); hours 30 min before sunrise to noon for the first 9 days of each zone, then to sunset. Spring 2027 dates are set in late winter — the spring dates shown are the latest published (2026). Confirm your county zone.

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-15-10 — Wild turkey (eff. 2026-07-06)

• Oct 3 – Oct 4 Youth Youth, veteran & active-military waterfowl days (statewide).
• Oct 17 – Nov 1 Shotgun Ducks — Zone A first split.
• Nov 14 – Dec 27 Shotgun Ducks — Zone A second split.
• Oct 17 – Oct 25 Shotgun Ducks — Zone B & C first split.
• Nov 21 – Jan 10 Shotgun Ducks — Zone B second split.
• Dec 12 – Jan 31 Shotgun Ducks — Zone C second split.

Bag limit: 6

Daily bag 6 ducks with species sublimits (no more than 4 mallards incl. 2 hens, 3 wood ducks, 3 pintails, 2 black ducks, 2 redheads, 2 canvasbacks, 1 mottled; scaup 1/day for the first 15 days, then 2/day). Hours: 30 min before sunrise to sunset. Ohio’s 2026-27 duck season uses three zones (A, B, C — a new structure effective Aug 1, 2026). Zone A: Oct 17–Nov 1 & Nov 14–Dec 27. Zone B: Oct 17–25 & Nov 21–Jan 10. Zone C: Oct 17–25 & Dec 12–Jan 31. Zone A is NW Ohio and the western Lake Erie tier (Auglaize, Defiance, Erie, Fulton, Hardin, Henry, Marion, Mercer, Ottawa, Paulding, Sandusky, Shelby, Van Wert, Williams, Wyandot + part of Lucas); Zone B is NE Ohio and the north-central tier (incl. the Cleveland, Akron and Youngstown areas); Zone C is the rest of the state (most of central and southern Ohio). Confirm YOUR zone on the ODNR waterfowl-zone map. Geese run concurrently with separate limits.

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-7-06 — Ducks, geese & coots (eff. 2026-06-30)

• Sep 5 – Sep 13 Shotgun Early September resident Canada goose (statewide; Canada & cackling only; sunrise to sunset).
• Oct 17 – Nov 1 Shotgun Regular goose — Zone A first split.
• Nov 14 – Feb 2 Shotgun Regular goose — Zone A second split.
• Oct 17 – Oct 25 Shotgun Regular goose — Zone B & C first split.
• Nov 21 – Feb 15 Shotgun Regular goose — Zone B & C second split.

Bag limit: 5

Dark geese: 5 daily (Canada/cackling/white-fronted aggregate, ≤1 brant). Light geese (snow/blue/Ross's): 10 daily, concurrent with the regular goose zones. Hours: 30 min before sunrise to sunset (regular), sunrise to sunset (early September). 2026-27 uses the new A/B/C zones — Zone A regular goose runs to Feb 2, Zones B & C to Feb 15. Confirm your zone on the ODNR waterfowl-zone map. Geese run concurrently with the duck season.

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-7-06 — Ducks, geese & coots (eff. 2026-06-30)

• Sep 1 – Nov 8 Shotgun First split.
• Dec 12 – Jan 1 Shotgun Second split.

Bag limit: 15

Daily bag 15. Hours: sunrise to sunset (Ohio dove hours are NOT the ½-hour-before-sunrise start used for most game). Statewide; ODNR plants managed sunflower/dove fields on select wildlife areas for the opener.

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-7-05 — Mourning dove (eff. 2026-07-06)

• Sep 1 – Jan 31 General Gray, fox, black & red squirrel in aggregate; statewide, no split.

Bag limit: 6

Daily bag 6 (aggregate). Hours: 30 min before sunrise to sunset. 2026-27 season: Sep 1, 2026 – Jan 31, 2027.

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-15-15 — Squirrel (eff. 2026-07-06)

• Nov 6 – Feb 28 General Cottontail rabbit; statewide.

Bag limit: 4

Daily bag 4. Hours: sunrise to sunset. 2026-27 season: Nov 6, 2026 – Feb 28, 2027. (Youth small-game days Oct 24–25 & Oct 31–Nov 1.)

2026-27 season · verified 2026-07-27 · Ohio Administrative Code 1501:31-15-16 — Cottontail rabbit (eff. 2026-07-06)