Deer season in Ohio begins soon, archers will be up first

CLEVELAND, Ohio – Fall is here along with cooler temperatures and changing leaves, and for many across the state that means one thing – deer season.

Archery hunting is up first.

The period for shooting deer using a bow and arrow, a method that has been riding a wave of popularity in Ohio in recent years, begins this Saturday statewide and will extend through Feb. 4, according to the Ohio Department of Natural Resources.

In three Ohio counties – Hardin, Marion and Wyandot – where a fatal neurological disorder called chronic wasting disease is a concern, bow season began Sept. 9.

ODNR encourages hunters to practice before going out in the woods, stating that it “can help you refine the patience and skill needed for a clean, ethical shot.”

Last year, hunters in Ohio checked 99,742 killed with archery equipment, mostly crossbows, out of a total of 210,977 deer taken during hunting season using all methods. Besides crossbows, other types of archery equipment used to hunt deer include compounds, recurves and longbows.

“Deer are Ohio’s most popular game animal, and hundreds of thousands of hunters spend time in the woods during the annual archery season,” Kendra Wecker, chief of ODNR’s Division of Wildlife, said in a prepared statement. “Through the license and permit purchases, those hunters fund much of Ohio’s conservation work. They also can supply healthy protein for their families with a successful harvest.”

Deer gun season begins later in the year. Youth will be allowed to hunt Nov. 18 and Nov. 19 and everybody else who is properly permitted can start shooting Nov. 27 through Dec. 3, and then again on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17. Hunting using muzzleloaders will be allowed from Jan. 6 through Jan. 8, 2024.

In Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties, an early gun season will be held from Oct. 7 through Oct. 9.

There are a variety of license and permit options for hunters. A one-year adult hunting license is $19. An either-sex deer permit for the season costs $31.20 and will allow a hunter to take one deer, either a buck or a doe. A $15 deer management permit will also allow a hunter to take one antlerless deer. Hunters can buy more than one permit in order to reach the applicable bag limit, which can vary from one county to another.

A free HuntFish OH mobile app enables the purchase of a hunting license and deer permit and also provides maps of public hunting areas.

Peter Krouse covers the enviroment for cleveland.com. Read more of his stories here.