• White-tail deer are plentiful in Ohio.deer image by Henryk Olszewski from Fotolia.com
  
  Deer hunting regulations in Ohio govern when and where you can hunt, what weapon you can use and how many deer you can bag. The hunting regulations also put limitations on hunters under the age of 18. Each year, the Wildlife Council meets to determine the hunting and fishing regulations for Ohio. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources allows you to obtain a license, get an antlered or anterless deer permit and tag your deer online. Ohio issues a paper license which the hunter may choose to laminate to avoid moisture damage, but the deer permit cannot be laminated.
  
  

Deer Hunting Season

• The Ohio Revised Code states that a hunting license and deer permit is valid from the first day of March until midnight on the last day of February the following year. The code also states that archery hunting begins the last Saturday of September and runs through the first Sunday of February. Gun season starts the first Monday after Thanksgiving and runs through the following Sunday. The third Saturday and Sunday in December is also set aside for gun season. Muzzle-loading season starts the second Saturday after New Year's Day and runs through the following Tuesday. The specific dates and bag limits are available on the Ohio Department of Natural Resources website.
  
  

License Requirements

• When you hunt deer in Ohio, you must have a hunting license. You must also have a deer tag. As of 2010, the cost of the hunting license is $19. The deer tag is $24 for an antlered deer tag and $15 for an antlerless deer tag. An anterless deer is a deer without antlers or antlers less than 3 inches long. You must first purchase the deer tag to purchase an antlerless tag.
  
  

License Exceptions

• A landowner is not required to buy a hunting license or deer tag when he hunts on his own property. This exception also includes the landowner's spouse and children. If you rent a property and 50 percent or more of your income comes from agriculture of the land you rent, no license or permits are required for you to hunt on the land. Veterans living in Ohio must apply in writing for a free hunting license and deer tag. Former prisoners of war and active duty armed forces members on leave may apply for a free hunting license in writing. The purchased deer tags are still required.
  
  

Hunting on Private Land

• You must have the owner's written permission when hunting on private property. The permission form is available to download from wildohio.com and from the district offices of the Division of Wildlife. The permission slip must be with you at all times while hunting. If you fail to have permission, you may face 60 days in jail and a fine of $500 for a first offense. The second offense has a penalty of up to 90 days in jail and a fine of up to $750.
  
  

Other Regulations

• Phones and walkie-talkies are not permitted in the field when you are hunting. Any device capable of communicating the human voice is illegal to use while deer hunting. If you are aiding a hunter, you must have a hunting license. You also may not shoot across roadways, from the road or alongside the road. No motor vehicles are allowed to be used in deer hunting. You can use an ATV to transport the deer carcass to a vehicle for tagging.
  
  

Bag Limit

• Ohio is divided into three hunting zones. Zone A includes Wood, Sandusky, Erie and Ottawa counties to the north and Mercer, Darke, Preble, Montgomery, Miami, Shelby and Auglaize counties to the west. Zone A allows a bag limit of one antlered and one antlerless deer, for a total of two deer. Zone B covers the rest of the western counties in the state and most of the northern counties. Zone B allows two antlered deer and two antlerless, totaling four deer. The northern border of Zone C is Richland, Holmes, Tuscarawas, Carroll and Columbiana counties. Zone C proceeds south throughout the rest of the state and west to Hamilton County. Zone C allows three antlered deer and three antlerless deer, for a total of six deer.