Photo by TravelKS, licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Deer archery season is fast approaching for Ohio hunters

Here’s what you need to know

Hunting is a staple of Portage County going back thousands of years. As temperatures begin to drop and leaves begin to change, residents prepare to head to the woods in an attempt to fill the freezer and, if all goes well, get a new mount for the mantelpiece.

With archery season a little over a week away here are some things to be mindful of:

• The season runs from Sept. 26 to Feb. 7.
• Portage is a three-deer county, meaning a hunter cannot kill more than three deer in the county during the 2020–2021 season.
• Hunters need to have both a valid Ohio hunting license and either an either-sex deer permit or a deer management permit to hunt.
• Hunters may only take no more than one antler-less deer from all public hunting areas during the license year.
• Hunters are only allowed to kill up to one antlered deer during the 2020–2021 season.
• Portage is a “deer management county,” meaning a deer management permit may be used to take antlerless deer in the county. The permit is valid from Sept. 26 to Nov. 29.
• Longbows and bows (recurve and compound) with a minimum draw weight of 40 pounds and crossbows with a minimum draw weight of 75 pounds are also allowed.
• Hunters can hunt deer over bait, so long as they’re not on public land or in the “disease surveillance area.”
• Hunters who have a valid concealed handgun license are allowed to conceal carry a handgun but cannot use it to hunt, shoot or kill a wild animal.
• So long as a hunter is wearing the appropriate “hunter orange” they may archery hunt deer during the deer gun seasons.

For more information on Ohio hunting regulations go to ohiodnr.gov.

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