Ohio's deer archery hunting season begins Saturday

Saturday marks the start of Ohio's statewide white-tailed deer archery hunting season.

The archery season kicks off Saturday, September 27, and continues through Sunday, February 1. During the season, hunters may use crossbows, compound bows, recurve bows and longbows to pursue deer.

In addition to the archery season, Ohio will also host its two-day youth gun season Saturday, November 22 and Sunday, November 23, and its statewide seven-day gun season from Monday, December 1 through Sunday, December 7.

An additional two-day gun season for all hunters will be held December 20 and 21, as well as late-season muzzleloader hunting from January 3 through January 6.

Hunters are required to have a valid hunting license and deer permit before heading into the field. The deer management permit, used for antlerless deer only, is valid on private land and public hunting areas until the close of the bonus gun hunting weekend on December 2.

Either-sex permits can be used to harvest antlered or antlerless deer, and are valid statewide until February 1, 2026.

You can purchase hunting licenses and deer permits online through the Ohio Wildlife System or any license sales agent. You can also purchase it through the free HuntFish OH mobile app, available for Android and iOS devices.