Ohio Wildlife Council approves 2025-26 hunting seasons

The Ohio Wildlife Council approved 2025-26 hunting and trapping seasons for white-tailed deer, migratory birds, small game, and furbearers during its regularly scheduled meeting recently, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife.

Deer hunting seasons
The 2025-26 deer hunting season dates are similar to last year. As in years past, only one antlered deer may be taken during the 2025-26 hunting season. Ohio’s statewide deer seasons:

Archery: Saturday, Sept. 27, 2025, to Sunday, Feb. 1, 2026
Youth gun: Saturday, Nov. 22 to Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025
Gun: Monday, Dec. 1 to Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025; Saturday, Dec. 20 to Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025
Muzzleloader: Saturday, Jan. 3 to Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2026

The Ohio Wildlife Council also voted to increase the antlerless deer limit on public hunting areas from one to two deer, as well as allow deer management permits to be used to hunt or take deer from public hunting areas. Deer management permits are valid statewide for antlerless deer until Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025.

The county bag limit decreased to two deer in Defiance and Paulding counties.

The Chronic Wasting Disease surveillance area includes all of Hardin, Marion, and Wyandot counties; Auglaize, Bath, Jackson, Monroe, Perry, and Richland townships in Allen County; Bucyrus, Dallas, and Tod townships in Crawford County; Marlboro, Troy, and Oxford townships in Delaware County; Delaware and Madison townships in Hancock County; Westfield Township in Morrow County; and Claibourne and Jackson townships in Union County.

Additional deer hunting opportunities in the disease surveillance area:

Early archery: Saturday, Sept. 13, 2025, to Sunday Feb. 1, 2026
Early gun: Saturday, Oct. 11 to Monday, Oct. 13, 2025

Waterfowl hunting seasons
Season dates for the upcoming 2025-26 waterfowl hunting seasons were approved, with dates slightly different from previous seasons based on feedback from hunters:

Early Goose: Sept. 6 to Sept. 14, 2025
Early Teal: Sept. 6 to Sept. 14, 2025
Youth, active military, and veterans waterfowl: Oct. 4 to Oct. 5, 2025
Goose Lake Erie Marsh Zone: Oct. 18 to Nov. 2, 2025; Nov. 15, 2025, to Feb. 2, 2026
Goose North Zone: Oct. 18 to Oct. 26, 2025; Nov. 15, 2025, to Feb. 9, 2026
Goose South Zone: Oct. 18 to Oct. 27, 2026; Nov. 16, 2025, to Feb. 9. 2026
Ducks Lake Erie Marsh Zone: Oct. 18 to Nov. 2, 2025; Nov. 15 to Dec. 28, 2025
Ducks North Zone: Oct. 18 to Oct. 26, 2025; Nov. 15, 2025, to Jan. 4, 2026
Ducks South Zone: Oct. 18 to Oct. 27, 2025; Dec. 13, 2025, to Jan. 31, 2026

Additional hunting seasons
The Ohio Wildlife Council also approved hunting and trapping seasons for migratory birds, small game, and furbearers. Find the full list of 2025-26 hunting and trapping season dates at wildohio.gov.

Fall wild turkey hunting is open from Wednesday, Oct. 1, to Sunday, Oct. 26, 2025. The season limit is one wild turkey. Season dates for spring 2026 wild turkey hunting will be announced later this year.

Grouse hunting is open from Friday, Nov. 7, to Sunday, Nov. 30, 2025. The daily limit is one grouse.

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.

The mission of the Division of Wildlife is to conserve and improve fish and wildlife resources and their habitats for sustainable use and appreciation by all. Visit wildohio.gov to find out more.