Guided Deer and Turkey Hunt FAQ for Northern Ohio

Every hunter needs an Ohio hunting license plus an either-sex deer permit or a turkey permit, guided or not. Ohio's license year runs March 1 through the last day of February, so a January muzzleloader hunt uses the same license as a November bow hunt. You buy them from the state, and we'll tell you which ones your hunt needs.

Nonresidents can hunt deer and turkeys in Ohio with a nonresident hunting license and the matching permit. The three-day tourist license does not cover deer or turkey, so don't buy that one for a guided hunt. Hunters from all 50 states bought Ohio nonresident licenses for the 2025-26 season.

Crossbows are legal for the whole archery season in Ohio, right alongside longbows and compounds. A crossbow needs a draw weight of at least 75 pounds, a working safety and a shoulder stock. A vertical bow needs at least 40 pounds. See our archery and crossbow deer hunts for how those hunts run.

It depends on the weapon. Bowhunters ask first for the opening weeks of November, and gun hunters want the week that starts the Monday after Thanksgiving, which is Nov. 30 to Dec. 6 in 2026. January muzzleloader and late archery are quieter and easier to get. Tell us the dates you can travel and we'll say what is open.

Dates are held with a deposit once we agree on them by phone. You'll get the amount and the cancellation terms in writing before you pay, and nothing is charged for asking about dates.

State law sets the ceiling: three deer per license year in each of our four counties and one antlered deer statewide. How many deer a booking covers is part of what we agree on by phone before you pay a deposit.

Ohio's deer rule treats any deer with antlers three inches or longer as antlered. A button buck or a buck that has already shed counts as antlerless for tagging. You get one antlered deer per license year, wherever and however you take it.

The hunter who took the deer is the one who checks it, by noon the day after the kill or by 11:30 p.m. if it's the last day of that season. Your guide walks you through it and makes sure the confirmation number goes on the deer.

None of our four counties is in Ohio's CWD surveillance area for 2026-27. That area covers Allen County and one township each in Hancock and Crawford counties, where the state runs early seasons and extra testing.

Archery opens statewide on Sept. 26, 2026 and runs to Feb. 7, 2027. Only the state's CWD surveillance area opens earlier, on Sept. 12, and none of our four counties is in it.

A longbow, recurve or compound needs at least 40 pounds of draw weight, and a crossbow needs at least 75 pounds. Crossbows also need a working safety and a shoulder-mount stock.

Bowhunting stays legal during gun week, the December two-day season and muzzleloader season. You'll need to wear a hunter orange vest, jacket or coveralls on those days, and the woods will be busier than usual.

Setups are built around the range you practice at, so tell us honestly what that is when we talk. A crossbow hunter and a traditional bowhunter get different stand placements for the same trail.

Straight-walled cartridges from .357 to .515 caliber are legal in Ohio's deer gun season, and the .45-70 is inside that range. Bring the rifle loaded with no more than three rounds between magazine and chamber. If you shoot something less common, tell us the cartridge and we'll check it against the rule with you.

Gun season runs Monday, Nov. 30 through Sunday, Dec. 6, 2026, then reopens for Saturday and Sunday, Dec. 19 and 20. The youth gun weekend comes first, on Nov. 21 and 22.

A muzzleloading rifle or shotgun of .38 caliber or larger, shooting a single projectile, is legal for deer. The 2026-27 muzzleloader season is Jan. 2 to 5, 2027, and hunter orange is required.

Three, counting the one in the chamber. That limit covers every gun used for deer in Ohio, so a pump or semi-auto shotgun needs a plug or a short load. Slugs only; shot shells can't be carried while you hunt deer.

The state had not announced spring 2027 dates as of November 2026. For reference, the 2026 south zone season ran April 25 to May 24, with the youth season on April 18 and 19. We'll have the new dates as soon as the Division of Wildlife posts them.

One bearded turkey per hunter for the spring season. The fall season has its own limit of one bird of either sex, on a separate fall permit.

In 2026 the south zone closed at noon each day from April 25 through May 3, then stayed open until sunset from May 4 to May 24. Youth season days run until sunset. Expect the 2027 rule to follow the same pattern, and check the state's dates when they post.

Rifles are not legal for turkeys in Ohio. The choices are a shotgun firing shot, a longbow or a crossbow, and you may carry only one of them while you hunt.

Ohio's youth hunting license and youth permits are for hunters 17 and younger. Hunters 15 and younger must also have an adult with them in the field.

The youth deer gun season is Saturday, Nov. 21 and Sunday, Nov. 22, 2026. It falls the weekend before Thanksgiving, with the regular gun season opening the Monday after the holiday.

A regular license requires proof of a hunter education course from any state. Without it, the hunter can buy an apprentice license and hunt beside a licensed adult 21 or older.

A parent who only watches doesn't carry a gun, and on youth weekend only the youth hunter may. Wear hunter orange along with the hunter. If the adult is the licensed supervisor for an apprentice, that adult needs a hunting license of their own.

On a guided hunt a guide sits with you, calls the shot and handles recovery. On a semi-guided hunt we scout and show you the setups, and you hunt them alone. Both follow the same Ohio seasons and limits.

Tell us what you own when we talk. Some hunters bring a saddle or a climber they trust, and others use the setups already in place. Either way you'll want your own safety harness.

Groups are the most common semi-guided booking. Tell us how many hunters and which season, and we'll say whether we have enough setups for everyone on those dates.

You start, and you call us. We'd sooner come help on a trail than have a hunter push a deer in the dark on ground they don't know.