Ohio’s deer archery season comes early, yet none too soon for the eager in all or part of nine counties not far northwest of Columbus.
It starts 30 minutes before sunrise on Sept. 12 for hunters with a valid
license and necessary permits. Those hunters may take a single buck and multiple does inside what’s known as the Deer Surveillance Area (DSA).
The zone covers all of Allen, Hardin, Marion and Wyandot counties and townships in Delaware, Union, Morrow, Hancock and Crawford counties.
THE GREAT OUTDOORS: More on Ohio hunting and fishing
Closest to Columbus, the DSA includes Marlboro, Troy and Oxford townships in Delaware County; Claibourne and Jackson townships in Union County; and Westfield Township in Morrow County.
The season limit within the DSA is six, although only one deer may be antlered. An either-sex permit is required to take an antlered deer, while non-antlered deer require a discounted deer management permit. An either-sex permit costs an adult hunter $31.20, while a deer management permit runs $15 – a bargain for adults and youths. The half-cost permits encourage the killing of does, not only within the DSA but statewide.
Although bowhunters are inclined to take antlered deer, the key to reducing deer numbers is eliminating does.
Disease casualties aside, the Ohio deer population has been growing of late. That has been reflected in season harvests the past two years that finished among the top 10 all-time.
The Ohio Division of Wildlife established the DSA after a wild deer taken in Wyandot County was confirmed in 2020 as carrying chronic wasting disease (CWD), a malady fatal to deer that lingers for years in areas where infected deer roam.
The disease zone has expanded significantly since being initially identified among wild deer in Ohio. The early hunts and six-deer limit within the DSA are in part an effort to control or at least slow the disease’s spread.
There is little evidence that CWD, which attacks the brain and nervous system, can spread to humans who eat the meat of infected deer. Yet, caution is advised about eating the flesh of an animal that is visibly symptomatic.
Deer can carry the disease for months and possibly years before showing symptoms that include “drastic weight loss, stumbling, drooling and listlessness” as described by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The hunt within the DSA runs until 30 minutes after sunset on Feb. 7, 2027. Additionally, an early gun season is scheduled Oct. 10-12.
Mandatory sampling is in effect on some days. Check the booklet, Ohio Hunting and Trapping Regulations 2026-27, for details.
Talking turkey
The wildlife division has proposed the following dates for the 2027 spring turkey hunt:
• South Zone (83 counties, including Franklin, Licking, Fairfield, Delaware, Union, Pickaway and Madison) – April 24 through May 23, 2027.
• Northeast Zone (five northeastern counties) – May 1 through May 30, 2027.
• South Zone Youth – April 17-18, 2027.
• Northeast Zone Youth -- April 24-25, 2027.
Hunting hours and season limits follow the pattern established in recent years.
Also proposed was the elimination of the daily limit and the 9-inch minimum length limit on crappie caught at Hoover Reservoir. In addition, most site-specific regulations on black bass would be scrapped and folded into the statewide limit of five bass with a minimum length of 12 inches.
The fishing changes would take effect on March 1, 2027
An online game-check option for river otter trapping would begin Nov. 15.
The proposals are being mulled by the eight-member Ohio Wildlife Council, which will render approval or not in late October. Citizens have until Sept. 30 to post comments at the website, wildohio.gov.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Archery season for deer hunters in Ohio starts in September
