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2008 - 2009 Ohio Hunting Seasons
The Natural Resource wants to keep you prepared for
this year's hunting season. Browse the seasons below by species,
and be sure you have your gear and your aim ready
as the various seasons open. For complete regulations, including
bag limits, geographical
zones, and any special exceptions, please refer
to the Ohio Division of Wildlife's Hunting & Fishing Regulations.
Looking for places to hunt in Ohio? Tired of
posted woodlots and "No Trespassing" signs? Explore
these TNR maps for help: Public
Land Access: State Wildlife Areas; Hunting
Guides; Hunt
Clubs: Game.
With TNR, you truly can Do More Hunting™!
COUNTDOWNS TO YOUR FAVORITE SEASONS ARE UPDATED DAILY
Don't be caught unprepared - Gear up for a great hunting season in Ohio with TNR!
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Ohio counties reporting the highest number
of whitetails harvested
during the 2007
deer hunting season included:
(1) Tuscarawas - 9,473 [3]
(2) Licking - 7,964 [5]
(3) Holmes - 7,585 [9]
(4) Guernsey - 7,416 [2]
(5) Harrison - 7,164 [7]
(6) Coshocton - 5,998 [1]
(7) Athens - 5,747 [12]
(8) Washington - 5,612 [10]
(9) Ashland - 5,047 [14]
(10) Jefferson - 5,014 [8]
2007 ranking in parentheses ( ) while 2006 ranking designated at right in [ ]
Statistics courtesy of the Ohio Department of
Natural Resources |
2008 - 2009 Ohio Whitetail Deer Season: Considering
that more than 230,000 whitetails were harvested yet again in Ohio last year, the future continues to look bright for
Ohio deer hunters. Help sustain Ohio’s deer hunting pre-eminence
by filling a doe tag (or two). With expanded seasons and increased bag
limits, there is usually room in the freezer (and on the wall!) should
the monster buck snort past your stand. The following seasons apply to
both antlered and anterless deer.
As always, please review all rules and regulations prior to time in the field to be sure you are in compliance with the Ohio Departement of Natural Resources. Regs change from year to year, so it's always worth giving things a thorough read before you take the shot!
LICENSE VENDORS - CHECK STATIONS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS - HUNTING GUIDES - ARCHERY RANGES - TAXIDERMISTS - BUTCHER SHOPS
ARCHERY (Statewide): Sept. 27, 2008 - Feb. 1, 2009
EARLY MUZZLELOADER (Special Permit): Oct. 20 - Oct. 25, 2008
YOUTH GUN (Statewide): Nov. 22 & 23, 2008
GUN (Statewide): Dec. 1 – Dec.
7 and Dec. 20 & 21, 2008
MUZZLELOADER (Statewide): Dec.
27 – Dec. 30, 2008
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Waterfowl species managed
by the seasons outlined at
right include:
Canada Geese
Snow Geese
Blue Geese
Ross' Geese
White-fronted Geese
Brant
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Goose Season: Dust
off the decoys and stock up on the heavy artillery.
Whether calling over corn, nestling in next to a pond,
setting up shop on a river bank, or hitting the big
marshes on Lake Erie, your blind is bound to be a busy
place if honkers are your pursuit this season. Ask
any golf course about the number of resident birds
in Ohio, and look to the Northern sky as the weather
cools to get in on some fantastic action through the
migration! See Publication
295 for more details on Ohio waterfowling.
LICENSE
VENDORS - HUNTING
GUIDES - GUNDOG
BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
EARLY (Canada Goose Only, Statewide): Sept. 1 - 15, 2008
YOUTH: Oct. 4 & 5, 2008
LAKE ERIE ZONE: Oct. 18 - Nov. 30, 2008 & Dec. 3 - 28, 2008
NORTH ZONE: Oct. 18 - Nov. 30, 2008 & Dec. 17, 2008 - Jan. 11, 2009
SOUTH ZONE: Oct. 18 - Nov. 5, 2008 & Dec. 6 - Jan. 25, 2009
LATE (Canada Goose Only,
Select Counties): None offered in '08/'09
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 Waterfowl species managed
by the seasons outlined at
right include, but are not
limited to:
Mallards
Wood Ducks
Black Ducks
Redheads
Mottled Ducks
Pintails
Scaups
Teal (Blue, Green & Cinnamon)
Coots
Mergansers
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Duck Season: From
black ducks to canvasbacks, tiny creek bottoms to expansive
Lake Erie shorelines, Ohioans have the luxury of a
bountiful diversity of both dabblers and divers and
picturesque places to pursue them all. Generally strong
production and a resulting increase in population levels
may offer hints of a memorable season in the blind
in 2008. Time it right so that you're in the marsh
or on the water when the ducks are overhead! See Publication
295 for more details on Ohio waterfowling.
LICENSE
VENDORS - HUNTING
GUIDES - GUNDOG
BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
TEAL: Sept. 6 - 21, 2008
YOUTH: Oct. 4 & 5, 2008
NORTH ZONE: Oct. 18 - Dec. 7 & Dec. 20 - 28, 2008
SOUTH ZONE: Oct. 18 - Nov. 2, 2008 & Dec. 6, 2008 - Jan. 18, 2009
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Spring turkey hunt information
will be posted in early 2009
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Wild Turkey Season: Forty
years ago, Ohio’s fledgling turkey hunting initiative opened its
first season on an estimated 3,000 birds statewide.
Going into the 2008 season, the state population now
stands at an astounding 260,000 turkeys. Through sound
wildlife management, the Ohio Department of Natural
Resources (ODNR) Division of Wildlife has successfully
bolstered the eastern wild turkey
population in Ohio’s woodlands such that Ohio is now gaining national
notoriety as one of the most reliable hunting states
in the entire Midwest. Get out there and take part
in a true game management success story!
LICENSE VENDORS - CHECK STATIONS - HUNTING
GUIDES - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
FALL/GUN & ARCHERY (Select Counties): Oct. 11 - Nov. 30,
2008
SPRING (YOUTH): April 18 & 19, 2009 (select areas April 20 - May 17)
SPRING/GUN & ARCHERY (All Counties): April 20 - May 17,
2009
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2008 – 2009 Ohio Mourning Dove Season: Ohio
has more corn in the ground than in any other time in its history. Last
year supported a bumper dove population. These factors should make for
some interesting dove hunting this year. See Publication 298 for details.
LICENSE
VENDORS - GUNDOG BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Sept. 1 - Oct. 22 & Dec. 9 - 26, 2008
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Squirrel Season: Slink
down a tree line, float a stream, or simply pull up
a stump in your favorite woodlot. But don't be one who forgets to sharpen
his .22 accuracy on this oft-overlooked but tableworthy bushytail. Red,
gray, black, fox - they're
all fun and worthy of pursuit.
LICENSE VENDORS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Sept. 1, 2008 - January 31,
2009
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Woodcock Season: Be
weary of the magical timberdoodle! Woodcock hunting
in Ohio is a time-honored past time in the state's
steeped hunting tradition. Watch your step in the moist
creek bottoms flooded forests - not just because of
unstable footing, but because of the explosive excitement
these little bundles of energy bring when they burst
from their roosts!
LICENSE VENDORS - GUNDOG
BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Oct. 11 - Nov. 24, 2008
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2008 - 2009 Ohio Ruffed Grouse Season: Wing
shooters be warned, with declining availability of
secondary growth habitat in Ohio, grouse hunting has
recently teetered at near historical lows. And statewide
the outlook is not terribly
bright. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that there
are still decent resident populations of "drummers'
where the understory provides proper food and shelter.
Help the DNR - if you're a grouse hunter, don't give
up - report your field observations to a local Division
of Wildlife representative.
LICENSE VENDORS - GUNDOG
BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Oct. 11, 2008 – Feb.
28, 2009
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2008 – 2009 Ohio Cottontail Rabbit
Season: Unleash the hounds! Unlock
the kennel crates and strap on the chaps. Get in
the field and be prepared to be humbled by a racing
cottontail or two. Keep pounding that brush and it
will pay dividends. They’re
out there (and with a mild winter in '06, they're likely
to be out there in big numbers!).
LICENSE
VENDORS - GUNDOG BREEDERS - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Nov. 7, 2008 – Feb.
28, 2009
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2008 - 2009 Ring-necked Pheasant Season: You
certainly don't have to go to South Dakota to find
ringnecks. Give the dogs a run through the "back 40,"
or if you simply can't wait for a flush, consider a
visit to an area hunt
club (they can get a jump-start on
the season and get you hunting birds starting September
1!). In addition, the State historically releases more
than 15,000 mature birds each year - just prior to
opener - at more than 25 public
hunting accesses to
bolster natually reproducing stocks.
LICENSE
VENDORS - GUNDOG BREEDERS - HUNT CLUBS/SHOOTING PRESERVES - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Nov. 7, 2008 - January 11,
2009
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All photos used by permission of the
Ohio
Department of Natural Resources |
2008 - 2009 Ohio Bobwhite Quail Season: The
Northern Bobwhite Quail Habitat/Upland Bird Initiative,
sponsored by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Farm Service
Agency Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) along with
an emerging presence of Quail Forever chapters (an
offshoot of Pheasants Forever) serves as evidence that
this upland bird is on the rebound in Ohio. A mild
winter with relatively low snowfall accumulations in
2006 may contribute to make for an interesting 2008
campaign.
Adams, Athens, Brown, Butler, Clark, Clermont, Clinton,
Darke, Defiance, Fairfield, Fayette, Gallia, Greene, Hamilton, Highland,
Hocking, Jackson, Lawrence, Marion, Meigs, Miami, Montgomery, Morgan,
Perry, Pickaway, Pike, Preble, Ross, Scioto, Shelby, Vinton, Warren,
Washington, Williams, and Wyandot counties (among others) in Ohio are
thought to have favorable habitat potential for the bobwhite.
LICENSE
VENDORS - GUNDOG BREEDERS - HUNT CLUBS/SHOOTING PRESERVES - HUNTING RETAIL SUPPLIERS
Statewide: Nov. 7 - Nov. 30,
2008
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