Outdoors · Firelands region

Ohio’s deer archery season is open through Feb. 7

Bowhunters took nearly half of last season’s 232,142 deer. Here are the permit rules and the gun-season dates that follow.

By Firelands Current staff · September 25, 2026 at 2:00 PM

Ohio’s white-tailed deer archery season opened Saturday, Sept. 26, and runs through Sunday, Feb. 7, 2027. Areas designated for disease surveillance opened earlier, on Sept. 12.

Crossbows, compound bows, recurve bows and longbows are all legal.

What you need

Hunters need a valid hunting license and a deer permit. Ohio sells two types: a deer management permit for antlerless deer only, and an either-sex permit for antlered or antlerless deer. A new discounted package of two permits costs $43.89 for residents ages 18 to 64.

Licenses and permits are available through the HuntFish OH app, huntfishoh.gov, or licensed sales agents.

Last season

Hunters took 232,142 deer in the 2025–26 season, and 107,738 of them, or 46%, were taken with a bow, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

The gun seasons

Youth gun: Nov. 21–22
Statewide gun: Nov. 30–Dec. 6
Additional gun days: Dec. 19–20
Muzzleloader: Jan. 2–5, 2027

The full list is in ODNR’s 2026–27 season dates.